Man Thinks Bottle Of Wine Costs $37.50, Gets Bill For $3,750

A man got the shock of his life when the bill for a bottle of wine came out to be 100 times more than he thought it would. Joe Lentini asked for a recommendation for a bottle of wine for the table at Bobby Flay Steak at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The waitress recommended Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon, which he was told cost "thirty-seven fifty." Lentini got an unfortunate surprise when the actual price tag had two extra zeros. Actual (restaurant) retail price: $3,750. His party's bill, with tax, came out to $4,700.

"I asked the waitress if she could recommend something decent because I don't have experience with wine," Lentini told Connect New Jersey. "She pointed to a bottle on the menu. I didn't have my glasses. I asked how much and she said, 'Thirty-seven fifty.'"

Lentini went on to say that he was shocked at the exorbitant bill, and complained to the manager, explaining that the waitress' explanation of the wine's cost was unclear. The waitress disagreed, and the restaurant said that the best they could do was lower the price to $2,200. Although Lentini still couldn't afford the hefty cost, he and two other people at his table agreed to split the bill.

"As the leading culinary destination in this region, we consistently serve as many, if not more high-end wine and spirits without incident," executive vice president Joseph Lupo said in a statement, and cited non-auditory surveillance footage as evidence of the fair treatment of the customer in question. "In this isolated case, both the server and sommelier verified the bottle requested with the patron. "We simply will not allow the threat of a negative story that includes so many unaccounted and questionable statements to disparage our integrity and standards, which Borgata takes great pride in practicing every day."

The kicker? The wine wasn't even that amazing. Lentini said of the high-end wine: "It wasn't great. It wasn't terrible. It was fine."

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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi