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BERLIN -- Japan and Holland huddled quietly. Italy looked on gloomily. Left out of the negotiations, Canada and Finland tried to strike a deal themselves.
Money and property traded hands. Soon, a red arc of Dutch hotels stretched from lowly Mediterranean Avenue all the way to middle-class New York Avenue. Everyone knew it was just a matter of time.
"Time to roll," Canada announced wearily.
Here in the city where East and West, communists and capitalists, once faced off, players from 28 countries gathered over three days for the world championship of Monopoly. And as if it isn't bad enough that the U.S. economy is in the doldrums and that the Dow Jones average is sputtering, the U.S. Monopoly champion didn't even make it to the finals. "He went home yesterday," a Monopoly spokeswoman said, slightly embarrassed. "He...