A waiter in West Hollywood, Calif., said he didn’t realize the tip for $7,000 attributed to “Tips for Jesus” was real when he tossed it — and now he’s praying for a miracle to resurrect the money.
Rob Kinney, 67, told the San Francisco Chronicle he received the tip on the $50 restaurant meal in December but tossed it, thinking the diner who left it was simply drunk.
But after seeing the media stories on similarly large-sized tips left at restaurants across the nation — with the same “Tips for Jesus” attribution stamped on the bill — he realized his error.
But now it’s too late. And he wishes he could somehow take back the receipt.
“I was pretty naive,” he told the Chronicle. “I thought it was someone who had a drink too many and didn’t realize what they were doing. The money sure would have come in handy for me to help for retirement. We have no such plan at work.”
The “Tips for Jesus” tag touched down in New York three times in one weekend in December: A waiter at Bo’s Kitchen was left a $1,000 gratuity, a worker at the Smith near Lincoln Center received a $3,500 tip, and another at NoMad in the Flatiron District got $7,000, according to the Daily Mail.
It’s speculated that the man behind the moniker is former PayPal vice president Jack Selby. The waiter at Bo’s Kitchen said he served a group that included Mr. Selby, the Mail reported.
Mr. Selby, 39, hasn’t revealed himself as the tipster, though his personal Facebook page gives indications that he might be involved. On top of that, Mr. Selby owns homes in every state where the tips reportedly have been left — Michigan, Arizona, California and New York.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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