Ethnic Avenue – The Street That Crosses All the Others

Posts Tagged ‘Indian Casinos’

You have to hand it to Magic Johnson, after years of performing magic on the basketball court, he’s now performing his magic act in the pockets of unsuspecting ethnic people.

The metamorphosis from Magic Johnson, the jolly basketball player to Magic Johnson, the jolly street thug was a gradual process—so gradual, in fact, that most people probably haven’t noticed how sleazy he’s become.

Magic’s career as “business man” started like everybody else’s—with an eponymous chain of movie theatres. Before you knew it, he owned a few commercial buildings. Then, he got into the strange business of selling you your daily cup of undrinkably strong coffee (Starbucks) and your weekend order of “loaded” potato skins (TGI Fridays).

But, these days, Magic Johnson will sell you just about anything. His commercials are getting so outrageous, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s figured out how to pick your pocket through the screen when you turn your back to the television.

Here’s a sampling of Magic’s latest “inventory”:

San Manuel Casino

An unusually raspy Magic pitches the long odds and third-shelf entertainment of Southern California Indian casinos.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Services

Claiming that it’s “money like magic,” he pushes the loan-shark-like terms of the Money Now Loan—an unfavorable Tax Refund Anticipation Loan scheme for the most desperate.

Rent-a-Center

The most thuggish of Magic’s hustles, Rent-a-Center will lease you an old TV for three times its original price and send someone to threaten you at your house if you miss a payment. Despite how bad that sounds, I think most of us can agree: it would totally be worth it if Magic showed up at your door, and personally beat you down in his NBA uniform.

See Magic’s Rent-a-Center Commercials