Bar starts 'Major League Dreidel'

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NEW YORK, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A New York bar owner says the upcoming Major League Dreidel event is for Jewish and gentile spinners of the Hanukkah tops alike.

Eric Harris Pavony, owner of The Knitting Factory bar, said Major League Dreidel will kick off Dec. 12, the second night of Hanukkah, with the world's first competition for "professional" dreidel spinners, the New York Post reported Monday.

Pavony said the event will follow different rules than the traditional Hanukkah game: Instead of judging points by the letters that land on top when the dreidel falls, competitors will try to keep their dreidels spinning for the longest times.

"MLD validates the dreidel as a bona-fide sport -- and its elite are recognized and respected like professional athletes," Pavony said. "However, they are paid in chocolate money."

The bar owner said the competition is open to people of all faiths.

"Some of the best spinners are non-Jews," Pavony said. "Also, part of being a great spinner is having a great spinner name like Dr. Dreidel, Spinderella or The Gentile Giant."