Arenas, Burgers & Whine

Owners of the Sacramento Kings basketball team, Gavin and Joe Maloof, are featured in a television ad for fast-food chain Carl’s Jr., and the ad is not a hit with some taxpayers.

The Maloofs appear in a 30-second spot, arriving in style at their Las Vegas Palms Hotel & Casino. The ad notes their net worth is more than $1 billion.

The brothers eat Carl’s Jr.’s Six Dollar Burgers in a private suite while expensive French Bordeaux is poured for them. The voice-over at the end announces “The Carl’s Jr. $6,000 combo meal, exclusively at the Palms.”

Meanwhile in Sacramento, the public is getting ready to vote on Measures Q and R, which would raise Sacramento County sales tax a quarter cent and provide spending of up to $600 million on a new Kings arena.

Opponents of the measures thought the timing of the commercial was inappropriate, and they held a news conference October 19th, waving hamburgers from the fast food chain and angry that the Maloofs would flaunt their wealth, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Katherine Maestas, who owns a political consulting firm, said the ad is “like a slap in the face to our community.”

Doug Elmets, a spokesman for the two measures, told the paper that the news conference was “one more example of a publicity stunt in what has now become a circus-like atmosphere of the no campaign.”

Carl’s Jr. seems pleased as punch with the ad.

“The ad’s been spectacular for us,” CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder told the Bee. I can’t think of an ad where I’ve had this much fun.”