Real money hidden in French Monopoly sets for 80th anniversary

PARIS, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Hasbro France is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Monopoly by hiding real money in 80 copies of the popular board game.

The French wing of Hasbro, which purchased Monopoly producer Parker Brothers in 1991, said one copy of the game being sent to store shelves in France will contain $23,268 worth of Euro notes instead of play money, while 10 other sets contain $340 worth of cash and 69 sets contain $170.

Florence Gaillard, brand manager at Hasbro France, said the company "wanted to do something unique" to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the board game.

"When we asked our French customers, they told us they wanted to find real money in their Monopoly boxes," she said.

Patrice Wimmer, who was hired to count out the money in the special-edition sets said there is one dead giveaway for customers seeking a windfall -- the boxes containing the Euro notes had to be made slightly bigger to accommodate the cash.

However, Wimmer said it would take a careful eye to find the difference.

"The difference is marginal, unless you turn up at the shop with precision scales," Wimmer said. Hasbro France said the prize-winning sets were concealed among 30,000 boxes in four versions of the game: classic, junior, electronic and vintage.