TRUFFLE DEFEAT

December 5, 2007 — ARTIST Damien Hirst sent his friend Marco Pierre White, the famed British chef, to buy the world's largest truffle at the international auction held simultaneously in Macau, London and Florence yesterday. Hirst, who sold a diamond-encrusted skull for $100 million, can afford it. But, he and White dropped out when bidding topped $110,000 and the 3.3-pound fragrant fungus went to Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho for $330,000. Also bidding was Sheik Mansoor Bin Zayed al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi. A rep for Hirst didn't return e-mails. We can only imagine what he would have done with the truffle.