Last Expo hotdog draws big price, online auction for charity

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1835&ncid=1835&e=19&u=/cpress/20041020/ca_pr_on_od/expensive_hotdog

QUEBEC (CP) - The Cirque du soleil has paid $2,605 for what is believed to be the last surviving hotdog from the Montreal Expos era, a radio station said Wednesday.



"I was hoping for $1,000 and people thought I was crazy," said Mathieu Roy, a morning man at Energie 102.3 FM in Trois-Rivieres-Que. Roy said the Montreal-based circus's winning bid was about 700 times the original purchase price of the steamed wiener on a plain white bun.


The radio station held a contest last month giving away four tickets to the last Expos game in Montreal on Sept. 29. The winner was given the tickets on condition he return with the last Expos hotdog.


The radio station got a local expert in plastics and plaster to dry and varnish the bun and make an exact replica of the wiener. The original wiener is in a hermetically sealed package, floating in a stew of preservatives to ensure it survives.


"We were told the wiener just wouldn't keep any other way," Roy said.


All proceeds from the sale will be donated to Des sous pour un bout de chou, a charity dedicated to buying Christmas gifts for underprivileged children.


The Expos played their last game in Montreal in September after 36 years. The team is expected to begin play in Washington next year