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ET CETERA

 
Published Oct. 8, 1992|Updated Oct. 12, 2005

Dutchman new Monopoly champ: Joost Van Orten of the Netherlands won the World Monopoly Championship Tuesday in Berlin by mercilessly bankrupting his four competitors in 85 minutes. The "World's Greatest Property Tycoon" is a 34-year-old company manager.

Monopoly was first launched in the United States in 1935. A world championship for the popular board game has been held eight times since 1973.

Van Orten accepted the $15,140 prize, equivalent to the amount of play money used in the standard U.S. edition of the game, saying he had not pursued any strategy except to concentrate on taking over all orange-colored properties.

Asked if he would invest his prize in property, he said: "Absolutely not. I'm going to put it straight into the bank."

The next World Monopoly Championship will be held in 1995.

Gallery sues for Marilyn photos: Photos of Marilyn Monroe working in an airplane factory in 1945 are being held hostage in Italy, according to a $45,000 lawsuit filed by a gallery owner in Palm Beach.

The pictures are part of a portfolio of 18 Monroe photos, each valued at $2,500, that art dealer Bruce Helander gave to restaurateur Rosario Pallavicino on consignment to sell in Italy, said the suit, filed Tuesday.

"He hasn't sold them and he hasn't returned them," said Helander. "We've asked to have them returned and all we're getting is a shrug of the shoulders."

Pallavicino could not be reached for comment.

Onassis yacht for sale again: The yacht of late tycoon Aristotle Onassis will be put on the auction block for a second time next month, officials in Athens, Greece, said Wednesday.

The Greek state put the 325-foot Christina up for auction Aug. 18, but only two potential buyers showed up. Both said the $4.4-million starting price was too high.

"We don't think the price was too high. We think the auction wasn't promoted well enough," said one official.

The starting price will stay the same in the second auction, which is set for Nov. 15 but could be moved by a day or two to satisfy the schedules of potential buyers.

The Christina, named after the Greek shipping tycoon's late daughter, was given to the state in 1978. It was used 12 times by Greek officials, the last in 1985, and the finance ministry said it could no longer afford its maintenance costs.

Officials said the yacht needed $2.2-million in basic repairs and another $4.4-million to modernize the vessel.