As you can see from the accompanying photos, the Riviera’s biggest coup was to get Michael Jackson to immortalize his handprints in cement, in June 1984. Jacko’s prints were joined by those of Sugar Ray Leonard and Dolly Parton, the three names always cited whenever the Walk of Fame is described in the media. A former Riviera executive also mentioned some less-luminary Walk of Fame honorees as being Randy, Marlon, Tito and Jackie Jackson, and Don King, along with Pia Zadora and Tony Orlando.
We sent Anthony Curtis down to the Riv to search for any trace of the Walk of Fame and he reported back as follows: There's no evidence of handprints. They used to be outside where the Crazy Girls "No Ifs, Ands, or" sculpture is, but it's all covered over now with a cobblestone look near the door and a slicker surface toward the street. Along with the sculpture, they seem to have a penchant for putting things in the concrete.
First the handprints [and] now there are four tribute plaques in the cement (not evenly spaced in relation to each other) for Sammy Davis Jr., Liberace, Elvis, and that fourth pillar of Vegas entertainment, Frank Marino. There's also an embedded dollar bill and a nickel in the same area."
Initial attempts to obtain comment from the Riviera and to ascertain the current whereabouts of the old Walk of Fame paving stones were initially futile, with management perhaps too occupied with shutting the old girl down to be bothered with media inquiries. Then at the eleventh hour we struck gold, thanks to an anonymous inside source who informed us that the original hand prints had not been concreted over, but instead had been given away to high rollers. What fate became those contributed by Dolly, Sugar Ray, Don, Pia, Tony, or the other Jacksons, history does not currently relate; Michael's hand print, however, apparently "turned up in a barn back east."
As an aside, Anthony Curtis was actually present at the inaugural "handprint" event and, for a bonus prize, also recognized the Riviera executive pictured with Michael Jackson. Former Riviera vice president Mark Sterbens, who subsequently moved to Terrible's and is now at Hooters, was both stunned and amused to hear that this vintage image of him with the King of Pop had showed up and was doing the rounds again so many decades later, as part of the Riv's 60th anniversary celebrations.
