While working in corporate America is without a doubt the most soul-sucking endeavor a human can embark upon, it is not without its perks. Salaries are generally good, benefits are nice, and expensing lavish dinners is one of the most enjoyable things a modern human can do.
Consuming delectable food at some of the nation’s best restaurants, paired with exquisite wine, luxuries you could never afford on your own, then charging them to your company is so much fun.
When I was working in Silicon Valley, we would hit up steakhouse after steakhouse, gorging on prime rib and Cabernet. When travelling for my last job, I would Google “best restaurants” in the city I was in and eat amazing meals for free.
But my experience wasn’t even remotely close to that of 12 tech executives at CES. They racked up a $300,000 bill at Prime Steakhouse in Las Vegas.
Prime Steakhouse sounds delightful. It’s run by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who is one of the world’s most renowned chefs. And for being a celebrity chef’s restaurant in Vegas, it’s surprisingly reasonably priced. A dry-aged, bone-in rib eye is only $70. (I know that’s insane in normal land, but compare that to Mario Batali’s Carnevino, where the same steak is almost double that.)
But if everyone orders that, and you factor in tax and tip, that’s still only a $1,200 dinner. So how did these tech execs go so crazy? Nice, nice wine. From Las Vegas Review-Journal:
MGM Resorts International Chairman Jim Murren told analysts and investors Tuesday there were “encouraging signs” of increased customer spending at his company’s 10 Strip resorts in the past few months.
One anecdote Murren cited was a $300,000 dinner bill during the Consumer Electronics Show in January for a party of a dozen at the upscale Prime Steakhouse inside Bellagio, which included wine with a price tag upward of $15,000 per bottle.
Murren said he hadn’t seen a check like that since 2007.
That’s $25,000 a person. I’ve been known to put back an entire bottle of wine, but that’s usually $11 a pop shit. Maybe $13 if I’m feeling rich.
The wine list is unfortunately not online, but I bet it was all delicious.
So, friendly reminder. The rich. They have it better than us.
UPDATE: It was apparently Vice’s Shane Smith and not an expense account dinner, but the way he spent his winning after a solid blackjack streak. Per Bloomberg:
Vice Media Inc. Chief Executive Officer Shane Smith paid for a $300,000 Las Vegas dinner last month, according to a person who asked not to be identified because the meal was private. Smith, a Vice co-founder, had been on a lucky gambling run, the person said.
Brooklyn-based Vice has grown from a free, whiskey-stained Montreal monthly into a media titan.
[Via Bloomberg]