K.C. collector says he bought Binion’s $1 million display

Friday, Jan. 21, 2000 | 10:57 a.m.

A former Las Vegas casino worker announced he was the purchaser of the display of 100 $10,000 bills that, until recently, were displayed in the lobby of Binion's Horseshoe.

Jay Parrino, a Kansas City coin collector, said he spent "more than a million, less than $10 million" for the display. Despite their age, and the glue used to hold the bills in place, Parrino said the bills are in uncirculated condition.

"I'd been probing into it for quite some time," Parrino said. "A lot of people have chased it over the years. When my chance at it came, I wasn't going to let it go by."

Parrino said he intends to put the notes up for sale individually. He's confident the bills will fetch at least $75,000 each, while the best condition notes could go for $150,000.

Although the Treasury Department said 340 of the notes remain in circulation, Parrino said he's only been able to trace about a dozen bills outside of the Binion's collection.

"This probably easily represents 90 percent of all the ($10,000) bills that exist," Parrino said. "It's the ultimate currency collection. It is the big news in the world of coins and currency today."