The worm up for sale

Andrew Edwards

Surf City’s Dennis Rodman is on the auction block.

“The Worm,” a former NBA rebounding champ known for his body

piercings and notorious parties as much as his skills on the court,

put himself on eBay on Monday as part of a charity drive for tsunami

relief.

“Celebrities are looking to do their own thing, I think this is a

perfect fit for Dennis,” Rodman’s agent Darren Prince said.

The top bidder in the “High Roller Fantasy” auction would win an

all-expense paid weekend trip to Las Vegas with Rodman. His

publicist, Shannon Barr, said the trip would likely be a wild

excursion where the winner could end up dining, gambling and visiting

strip clubs with the Worm.

“I hope it’s a man because Dennis is just debauchery,” Barr said.

Bidding opened at about 8 p.m. Monday with $6,750 set as the

minimum bid. As of early Wednesday, no one had bid on the auction.

Rodman and Barr are hoping media coverage, especially on the radio

and water cooler talk generate a buzz that will drive bidders to the

Internet.

“He’ll do some radio spots to promote it, but eBay gets millions

and millions of hits per day,” Barr said. “We’re hoping word of mouth

just spreads.”

Rodman hooked up with Internet casino GoldenPalace.com to set up

the auction, which is not his first charity event with the company.

In July stunt sponsored by the casino, Rodman and a multiple

sclerosis patient ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain and raised

$50,000 for research.

Rodman and the patient, Wisconsin resident Ray Sabbatini, were

decked out in GoldenPalace.com T-shirts for the perilous run. The

casino donated $10 for every runner the pair could convince to wear

casino garb.

The online gambling house has a reputation for wacky charity

drives. In one effort to raise funds, the casino is sponsoring a tour

of unusual artifacts. Featured attractions include a grilled cheese

sandwich that supposedly bears the image of the Virgin Mary, a rock

with markings like a weeping Christ and an allegedly haunted walking

stick.

“A lot of the time, we’ll just be watching television and a light

bulb will go off,” marketing director Jeff Korman said, explaining

how people at the casino think up unusual promotions.

All of the money generated by the auction will go to charity,

Korman said. The majority, 90%, will go toward tsunami relief, and

10% will be given to the Generation Gametime Foundation, Seattle,

Wash.-based group that promotes sports and literacy to young people.