John Smoltz, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar join Panini America VIP party guest list
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
One of the newest Baseball Hall of Famers, a hardcourt legend and two more young NBA stars have been added to the Panini America VIP Party guest list for Saturday night.
Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz and Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar headline the latest batch of signers for the exclusive event. Joining them will be Chicago Bulls rookie Bobby Portis and Milwaukee Bucks star Jabari Parker, who also were announced on Friday.
Baseball’s career hits leader Pete Rose and former NFL and Texas Longhorns star Ricky Williams were previously revealed as the first two guests — with more to come — for a party for those who spend $7,500 on a list of selected products on the show floor from a selected list of dealers.
Eligible attendees will receive 500 silver VIP packs after they sign up for the event and then gold VIP packs at the event with cards made just for the program. The guests will sign photographs noting the event for attendees as well.
The products for the fourth-annual event include:
Baseball
2015 Cooperstown
2015 Donruss
2015 Elite
2015 USA Baseball Stars & Stripes
Basketball
2014-15 Donruss
2014-15 NBA Hoops
2014-15 Paramount
2014-15 Prestige
2014-15 Prizm
2014-15 Totally Certified
Football
2015 Clear Vision
2015 Contenders Draft Picks
2015 Prestige
2015 Prizm Collegiate Draft Picks
Non-sports
2015 Americana
2015 Country Music
Cases and boxes must be purchased from Atlanta Sports Cards, Blowout Cards, Dave & Adam’s Card World, Marty’s Sports Card Exchange or Steel City Collectibles as part of the program.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Sports Card Monthly magazines. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
