Michael
Jackson
memorabilia
being
sold
at
a
Las
Vegas
auction
has
made
$500,000
in
its
first
day.
The
iconic
black
and
red
military
style
jacket
worn
by
Michael
in
1987
was
one
of
the
biggest
earners,
fetching
$24,000,
at
the
first
half
of
the
two-day
auction
at
the
Hard
Rock
Hotel
and
Casino
on
Wednesday
(30.05.07).
More
than
1,100
items
had
been
put
up
for
grabs
at
the
sale,
led
by
auctioneers
Guernsey's,
including
mementos
from
Michael's
solo
career
and
his
time
in
The
Jacksons.
A
collection
of
gold
and
platinum
albums
presented
to
the
Jackson
family
for
sales
of
'We
Are
the
World',
a
charity
recording
by
a
group
of
artists
known
as
USA
for
Africa,
sold
for
$20,000.
The
auction
was
set
to
end
late
last
night
(31.05.07).
'Thriller'
singer
Michael,
who
will
not
receive
any
of
the
profits,
had
previously
attempted
to
halt
the
sale.
The
Jacksons
lost
possession
of
the
items
after
failing
to
pay
a
storage
bill.
The
memorabilia
was
sold
to
luggage
delivery
company
Universal
Express
Inc.
last
year.
Despite
having
paid
$5
million
for
the
collection
and
$2
million
in
transportation
costs,
the
company's
chief
executive
Richard
Altomare
said
he
was
not
disappointed
with
the
sales
so
far.
Other
auction
items
include
a
model
of
alien
film
character
E.T.
and
a
good
luck
telegram
sent
by
Marlon
Brando
in
1984,
numerous
one-off
costumes
worn
by
Michael
and
his
siblings,
and
a
collection
of
personal
letters.