$185K paid for 19-foot-long cigar

WESTCHASE, Fla., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A Florida cigar dealer said he sold a nearly 19-foot long Gran Habano #5 El Gigante cigar for $185,000.

Juan Panesso, who runs CigarsDirect.com in Westchase, said he located the El Gigante for an unidentified buyer who was seeking a number of rare varieties of cigar for his private collection and he was able to get the buyer a discount from the usual $200,000 price tag for an El Gigante, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune reported Monday.

Panesso said the cigar, which he had shipped out of the country to the unidentified buyer, comes with its own 900-pound wooden carrying case. He said the stogie measures nearly 19 feet long and is more than 3 feet thick.

The dealer said the 1,600-pound cigar contains enough tobacco to make 25,000 average-sized cigars.

"We pride ourselves on finding the hard-to-find cigars," he said. "This shows we are able to fill all our orders."