In the Dallas Mavericks' NBA Finals after-party, team owner Mark Cuban bought a bottle of champagne for his team, and then left a 22 percent tip. We also should point out that the bottle was nearly half the size of the 7-foot Dirk Nowitzki(notes), it cost $90,000, and his tip was $20,000. The New York Post reports that this made up the entirety of his tab for the night, but we suspect Cuban bought more than that.
From the Post:
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spent $110,000 in four hours celebrating at club Liv at Miami's Fontainebleau after his Mavs beat the Heat to take the NBA Championship. Cuban spent most of it on a $90,000 bottle of Ace of Spades Champagne for teammates Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry(notes), Brian Cardinal(notes) and Shawn Marion(notes). After partying with the trophy until 5 a.m. yesterday and taking in a performance by Lil Wayne, Cuban left a $20,000 tip for the wait staff. "Worth every penny," he cheerily told us via e-mail.
You can tell the measure of a man, or woman, by how well they tip. There are ridiculous and pointless unwritten rules about tipping that make the whole exercise frustrating to some who don't understand the practice, but at its core it shows a sincere understanding for what other people have to do at their jobs. Which is sort of the point of empathy.
Oh, and you can also tell the measure of a man's bank account by their ability to finance a parade, which is what Mark Cuban is doing for Dallas sometime this week:
Cuban repeated Monday that he will personally pay for the celebration. Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway says the city is in a budget crunch but still plans a parade, with details to be announced later.
According to Forbes, Cuban is ranked 459th on the "World's Richest People" list, with a net worth of $2.5 billion, so while he can't grab the check like this every day, this month's fun has been well within his means.
No word on the rumor that Cuban then returned home to make a delicately prepared club sandwich from the comfort of his kitchen, because "we had to use the rest of that turkey up, before it went bad." Before jetting off to the Cayman Islands to kibitz with Lorne Michaels and Alec Baldwin.
