At least their likenesses, anyway.
Wicked's Seth McCoy reports: "A day after receiving word that Jenna's inclusion in the Naughty and Nice Abercrombie & Fitch catalog was causing a bit of controversy, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has now banned Jenna. Jenna, who is in Vegas for several performances at The Riviera for their X-rated "Crazy Girls Fantasy Review," was to be featured on one of the commemorative gambling chips -- just her face, no nudity. Well, a church group recognized Jenna, as well as chips featuring Nikki Tyler and Heather Hunter and promptly made a complaint to the Board. The chips have now been pulled from circulation, but Jenna will still perform at the Riviera for the remainder of the week."
According to Las Vegas columnist John L. Smith, "Casino executives at the Riviera must have thought they were on to something, well, busty when they decided to mint special chips to honor the planned appearances of adult film stars Nikki Tyler, Jenna Jameson and Heather Hunter.
The ladies are starring in the Riviera's "Crazy Girls Fantasy Revue" during the Comdex convention this week. But, according to Smith, they have since been replaced.
Smith writes: "By reputation, Comdex attendees are an especially randy bunch of computer freaks, and their annual migration generates little cash in the casino but millions for topless cabarets and nudie shows at local resorts. The mass of mouse-clickers converges on the skin joints like an army of foreign legionnaires crawling across the Sahara for the last sip of Sparkletts."
According tlo Smith, the Riviera has pandered top the crowd by producing skin shows buut may have gone over the line with the gaming chip idea. "It appears the state Gaming Control Board thinks so, too," Smith reports.
When a local church group got wind of it and started lodging protests, Control Board Chief of Enforcement Keith Copher evidently called a Riviera executive in an attempt to get to the bottom of the issue and discovered that the Riviera had, indeed, featured Jameson, Tyler and Hunter on $5 chips. It is not uncommon for casinos to have special commemorative chips printed of employees and celebrities. In fact, the Four Queens recently minted chips featuring Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. Fully clothed, thank goodness.
At first Copher thought the girls may have been Riviera employees or showgirls. But when informed otherwise, he suggested to the Riviera management that such chips might prove embarrassing to the image-conscious casino industry, which recently has been accused of catering to children by promoting cartoon-themed slots such as Betty Boop, the Three Stooges and South Park.
In another instance, according to Smith, Imperial Palace owner Ralph Engelstad was supposedly fined a fortune for embarrassing the industry after admitting having a Hitler-themed birthday party.
The Riviera pulled the porno girls chips out of circulation. "We believe this is not the sort of thing that's good for gaming's image," Copher said.
Riviera executives did not comment, but Riviera publicity man John Neeland told Smith the revue is so popular, the resort loses all its posters advertising it. This year, hotel officials had to secure the posters into the display stanchions with special screws.
