Paris Hilton ticket up for grabs again

MARION VAN DIJK/Nelson Mail

ALL FOR CHARITY: Nelson jeweller Glen Tomlinson with Paris Hilton's boarding pass, which he will put on eBay with the proceeds to go toward the IHC and Child Cancer Foundation.

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The saga of Paris Hilton's boarding pass lives on - it's about to go up for sale on American auction site eBay.

Nelson's Glen Tomlinson, owner of Glen James Jewellers, paid $710 for Hilton's boarding pass in an auction run by Auckland computer engineer Phil Adamson last week.

Inspired by Nelson man Grant McNeill's 30 Random Acts of Kindness, Mr Tomlinson has decided to re-sell the boarding pass on eBay.

The new auction, which Mr Tomlinson is in the process of organising, will have no reserve and he will donate all proceeds to IHC and the Child Cancer Foundation.

Mr Adamson found the boarding pass, with the name Paris Hilton and a seat number, on an Air Pacific flight to Fiji. Originally he thought it was advertising material, but once home he went online and found Hilton had been in his seat just two days before, visiting the exclusive Wadigi Island resort with old flame Doug Reinhardt.

The original TradeMe auction created an international media flurry, featuring on news and blog sites around the world, including Hilton's own Bebo and Twitter accounts.

Almost 50,000 people visited the auction site and it attracted more than 100 bids before Mr Tomlinson won. He confessed that he wasn't a huge fan of the socialite, having only ever seen one of Paris Hilton's movies - and it wasn't House of Wax - but expected a bit more interest in her home country.

"It's a different market in America, there's a lot more people there that obviously hate Paris, but there's a lot more followers as well," he said.

"A hundred dollars, fifty dollars, that's fine and I'll be happy."

His mates had been ribbing him about trying to make money out of it, but it was all for charity, he said. "Businesses give money to charity and this is just another interesting way to raise money."

The original finder of the boarding pass, Mr Adamson, said it was "fantastic" Mr Tomlinson was carrying on the fun in the same spirit.

"It's funny that this thing is living as long as it is when you consider it's a piece of paper someone threw away," he said.

"There's enough silly people around to make mirth out of such a thing. I think good on him." Mr Adamson has donated his winning bid of $710 to Plunket and Cure Kids.

Hilton, however, hadn't been in touch with him.

"No, she doesn't often call and she never writes," he joked. "I feel so jilted."

- © Fairfax NZ News