Macau casino mogul Ho bids record US$330,000 for giant white truffle at auction
A Macau casino mogul bid a record US$330,00 at auction Saturday for a giant white truffle dug up in Tuscany, organizers said.
Billionaire Stanley Ho made the winning bid for the 1.497 kilogram (about 3.3 pound) truffle during an auction staged simultaneously in Florence, London and at Hos Grand Lisboa hotel in Macau, said auction organizer Giselle Oberti.
The price bested the previous record for a truffle of $212,000, she said.
The unusually heavy truffle was dug up last week by truffle hunter Cristiano Savini, his father Luciano and dog Rocco in Palaia, a town about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Pisa. The Savinis said Rocco started sniffing "like crazy" when he zeroed in on the fungus.
Guinness World Records lists a 1.3-kilogram (2.86-pound) white truffle found in Croatia in 1999 as the biggest.
Truffles can fetch €7,500 (US$11,155) a kilogram in Rome, though they usually weigh from 30 to 80 grams (1 to 2.8 ounces) each. Slivers of white truffles, with their strong aroma, are prized in Italy to flavor pasta sauces and rice dishes.
Proceeds from the auction were to go to an Italian organization that helps sufferers of genetic diseases, a group that helps street children in London and Catholic charities in Macau.
Four of nine lots of truffles — each one sold with a magnum of wine — were auctioned off at the London end of the auction, said Maurizio Saporito, assistant manager of the Refettorio restaurant where the auction was held.
"It was loud and busy because we could hear the bidding in Macau and Florence live as well," Saporito said in a telephone interview.
Calls placed to Ho at the Grand Lisboa werent immediately returned late Saturday. Ho is best known for his casino monopoly in the southern Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.
2007-12-06
