U.S.

'$10,000 Tip? I Don't Remember That'

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

June 9, 2000 / 10:59 AM EDT / CBS

The British man who left a Chicago waitress a $10,000 tip later rejected by his credit card company claims he was drunk and doesn't remember leaving the huge amount on a $9 bar tab.
David Martyn Nicholas left the tip last Monday for Leg Room waitress Melanie Uczen, 23. She had told Nicholas, who said he was a doctor but is a software engineer, that she needed money for graduate school.

Nicholas, 35, said Friday at his London home that he felt someone had "clearly taken advantage of my drunken state in that bar," adding that he doesn't remember the incident.

But Leg Room owner Fred Hoffmann said Nicholas seemed to be thinking clearly at the time, noting that the bar's manager photocopied his passport and had him sign a statement agreeing to the tip.

Uczen also said she did not believe Nicholas was drunk.

"He was happy. He was sincere," she said.

On Thursday, Leg Room manager Shawn Krutsinger said the lounge's corporate attorney would try to contact him about the debt. "We are going to give Mr. Nicholas one week to make good on his commitment," said Krutsinger.

It appears the wait will be futile, as CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier reports, Nicholas now says he doesn't have the money to cover the commitment.

But, not to worry. "If he doesn't, we are going to give her the $10,000 tip," Krutsinger said.

He said the lounge has benefited from the publicity surrounding the story and feels it should honor Uczen's tip if Nicholas doesn't.

In other words, the $10,000 tip was worth a million dollars in publicity.