Las Vegas
The biggest names in sumo wrestling were in Las Vegas this week for the first officially sanctioned sumo championship on U.S. soil in 20 years. With miniskirted waitresses supplying cocktails to wildly cheering fans in the Mandalay Bay event center, the 300-plus-pound athletes, clad only in their traditional diaperlike miwashis, bowed to one another and faced off on the traditional circle of raked dirt. The event was not the sellout promoters had hoped for. But many casino guests were delighted by the sight of sumo wrestlers lined up at the famous Las Vegas all-you-can-eat buffets. To nobody’s surprise, the event was won by 25-year-old Yokozuna Asashoryu, a Mongolian, who has won every major tournament so far this year. “I was really glad to see so many people come to watch sumo,” said Asashoryu.
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