A MACAU casino mogul bid a record US$330,000 at auction on Saturday for a giant white truffle dug up in Tuscany, organizers said.

Billionaire Stanley Ho made the winning bid for the 1.497-kilogram truffle during an auction staged simultaneously in Florence, London and at Ho's Grand Lisboa hotel in Macau, said auction organizer Giselle Oberti.

The price bested the previous record for a truffle of US$212,000, she said.

The unusually heavy truffle was dug up last week by truffle hunter Cristiano Savini and dog Rocco in Palaia, a town about 40 kilometers from Pisa.

Proceeds from the auction were to go to an Italian group that helps sufferers of genetic diseases, a group helping street children in London and Catholic charities in Macau.