Hidden Cash promotion comes to Houston's Discovery Green
Some lucky Houstonians became a few dollars richer Saturday when a national phenomenon made its way to the Bayou City.
Just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the Hidden Cash Twitter account, @HiddenCash, announced that there was free money to be claimed in white envelopes under benches and chairs at Discovery Green in downtown.
Jason Buzi with Hidden Cash says that a total of $1,500 was left in 15 envelopes at near the playground and water area of the park for Houstonians who followed clues from the promotion's Twitter feed.
The philanthropic Twitter promotion has hidden, no-strings-attached money around Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay for the past three weeks. This weekend they expanded to Houston, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York City and Mexico City.
New Yorkers in Central Park and Prospect were posting picutres of themselves holding white envelopes full of bills to Twitter, and Mexico City's Parque Chapultepec was hopping with Hidden Cash followers.
In Houston, some people found one envelope, while others found two or three. All told there were a few hundred people at the park looking for cash.
Nick Hall, who was at work across the street from Discovery Green, came over on break to find some cash. He did, snagging close to $100. He planned buying lunch for his co-workers, he said.
"I've got a new baby so this will help out a bit too," Hall said.
Dozens of cash-seekers worked the park over with a fine-tooth comb, scutinizing every bench, trash bin and chair.
Charlie Duhon and his young son found $40 in an envelope during their vacation from Shreveport, Louisiana.
"We're going to go to McDonald's and get some lunch," Duhon said. They had no clue that there was free money at the park until they began seeing other people search.
Susanne Theis, program director for Discovery Green, said Saturday afternoon that the park staff wasn't contacted before hand by Buzi or Hidden Cash representatives. She reported that everyone was good-natured and having fun with the contest.
"There was no panic or anything, and we had our usual staff of security and police that we always have on Saturdays," said Theis, as a man outside her window was checking the bottom of a light pole in the hopes of finding some loot.
"Beautiful of a light pole as it is, I have never seen such a thing," Theis said.
The whole affair reminded her of the annual Easter egg hunt that the park throws, albeit the stakes were a bit higher in this hunt.
"I wish we could have handed out some cloths to people to give the park a once over while they were searching," she joked. Even the weeds next to the park's paddle boat pond were being sifted through, just in case they held an envelope.
Those in the park who had no idea what was going on, like Stacey Myers, were a bit disappointed they weren't in on the search.
"We could all use a couple extra bucks," Myers said.
Buzi, who made his own fortune in the real estate business in San Francisco, said earlier this week that Hidden Cash is his way of paying forward on his good luck.
"It's my money that I made in real estate and I want to give it to people who can use it," says Buzi. He's not the only one who is behind Hidden Cash, he added, mentioning that other well-to-do friends are also contributing to the handouts.
The hard part about giving away thousands of dollars, Buzi says, is nailing down the logistics. He must find people in each city that he can trust and who will find good hiding spots for the money.
Just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the Hidden Cash Twitter account, @HiddenCash, announced that there was free money to be claimed in white envelopes under benches and chairs at Discovery Green in downtown.
Jason Buzi with Hidden Cash says that a total of $1,500 was left in 15 envelopes at near the playground and water area of the park for Houstonians who followed clues from the promotion's Twitter feed.
The philanthropic Twitter promotion has hidden, no-strings-attached money around Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay for the past three weeks. This weekend they expanded to Houston, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York City and Mexico City.
New Yorkers in Central Park and Prospect were posting picutres of themselves holding white envelopes full of bills to Twitter, and Mexico City's Parque Chapultepec was hopping with Hidden Cash followers.
In Houston, some people found one envelope, while others found two or three. All told there were a few hundred people at the park looking for cash.
Nick Hall, who was at work across the street from Discovery Green, came over on break to find some cash. He did, snagging close to $100. He planned buying lunch for his co-workers, he said.
"I've got a new baby so this will help out a bit too," Hall said.
Dozens of cash-seekers worked the park over with a fine-tooth comb, scutinizing every bench, trash bin and chair.
Charlie Duhon and his young son found $40 in an envelope during their vacation from Shreveport, Louisiana.
"We're going to go to McDonald's and get some lunch," Duhon said. They had no clue that there was free money at the park until they began seeing other people search.
Susanne Theis, program director for Discovery Green, said Saturday afternoon that the park staff wasn't contacted before hand by Buzi or Hidden Cash representatives. She reported that everyone was good-natured and having fun with the contest.
"There was no panic or anything, and we had our usual staff of security and police that we always have on Saturdays," said Theis, as a man outside her window was checking the bottom of a light pole in the hopes of finding some loot.
"Beautiful of a light pole as it is, I have never seen such a thing," Theis said.
The whole affair reminded her of the annual Easter egg hunt that the park throws, albeit the stakes were a bit higher in this hunt.
"I wish we could have handed out some cloths to people to give the park a once over while they were searching," she joked. Even the weeds next to the park's paddle boat pond were being sifted through, just in case they held an envelope.
Those in the park who had no idea what was going on, like Stacey Myers, were a bit disappointed they weren't in on the search.
"We could all use a couple extra bucks," Myers said.
Buzi, who made his own fortune in the real estate business in San Francisco, said earlier this week that Hidden Cash is his way of paying forward on his good luck.
"It's my money that I made in real estate and I want to give it to people who can use it," says Buzi. He's not the only one who is behind Hidden Cash, he added, mentioning that other well-to-do friends are also contributing to the handouts.
The hard part about giving away thousands of dollars, Buzi says, is nailing down the logistics. He must find people in each city that he can trust and who will find good hiding spots for the money.
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