A ten-year old grilled cheese sarnie - yes, that one - which supposedly bears the image of the Virgin Mary has been bought by online casino Golden Palace.com for $28,000 (£15,000).

Peckish Diana Duyser made the sandwich a decade ago, but after taking a bite out of it, she noticed the Virgin Mary's face staring back at her. Convinced this was some kind of divine sign, she's kept the sandwich in a plastic box and kept it close by ever since. The 52-year-old woman also reckons it brought her good luck over the years helping her win $70,000 (£37,000) at casinos.

Which is why it is perhaps appropriate that the item - flogged via eBay - has been snapped up by an online casino which also bought the ball David Beckham infamously booted over the bar during England's crucial Euro 2004 shoot-out with Portugal last summer.

Said GoldenPalace.com chief exec Richard Rowe: "We will definitely use the sandwich to raise money for charity, and we hope it will raise people's spirits as well.

"With the massive amount of hits on the eBay site and thousands of search engine queries, it is obvious that this is something people want to know more about. We believe that everyone should be able to see it and learn of its mystical power for themselves." ®

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