GoldenPalace.com Buys William Shatner's Kidney Stone

Wednesday January 18, 2006

Captain's log. Star date: 011806. William Shatner. Has gone. Where no man has gone before. And sold a part of himself. To online casino. GoldenPalace.com. For $25,000. To benefit. Habitat for Humanity.

The former Captain of the Enterprise passed a kidney stone at warp speed and beamed it into the waiting hands of Golden Palace Casino. The casino paid $25,000 for Shatner's specimen, the entirety of which will go to Habitat For Humanity to help provide housing for those in need.

Although the kidney stone that broke down Shatner's shields caused him more discomfort than a Klingon pain stick, the sci-fi/pop-culture icon is more than happy that his calcium offspring fetched such a price.

"When I was contacted about selling my kidney stone to Golden Palace Casino for an original price of $15,000 I turned it down knowing that my tunics from Star Trek have commanded more than $100,000. I offered the stone, stint and string for $25,000 and informed them that 100% of the proceeds would go to benefit Habitat for Humanity and I retain visitation rights."

"I want to own it," said Jimmy Kimmel on his November 14th show as he interviewed Shatner about his stone. "It is the ultimate Star Trek collectible. You know, it's like a real dilithium crystal." Unfortunately for Jimmy, Golden Palace Casino transported past all other offers with their 25K.

With more drama than a T.J. Hooker finale, Shatner ended up on a gurney with stirrups. "It was a gurney for pregnant women," said Shatner. "They're wheeling me through the hospital -- my legs are in the stirrups and I'm screaming -- and somebody says, 'Look, there goes Captain Kirk, he's having a baby!' Very, very embarrassing."

"We are very pleased to own this piece of TV history and to be able to help a worthy charity like Habitat for Humanity," said Golden Palace Casino CEO Richard Rowe. "We're excited to have a piece of him that can't be replicated, and we intend to take it on tour with our other unusual items. We are confident that this will be our most enterprising advertising campaign to date with the Captain on board."