Investors Throw Dice on Jacko's Vegas Comeback

A Las Vegas comeback could be in the cards for Michael Jackson if a private equity firm has its way, the Wall Street Journal reports. A firm that owns the Las Vegas Hilton and a big stake in a casino company bought $23 million of Jackson's debt last month and is now in talks with the singer about an Elvis- or Celine-style residency on the Strip.

The company wants the exiled King of Pop, now holed up in rural Nevada, to ditch the image-tarnishing Neverland ranch and consider comeback options—including performing up to 180 gigs yearly in a purpose-built theater or building a Vegas show around his tunes. If the singer, who has shunned the spotlight since his 2005 child-molestation trial, consents to the plans, a Thriller Casino could be on the way, the firm tells the Journal. (More Michael Jackson stories.)