When 'thirty-seven-fifty' for your wine means $3750

When someone says "thirty-seven-fifty" for wine, what do you assume? (Screaming Eagle/ iStock)

You’re at a restaurant and can’t be bothered with looking at the wine list, so why not ask the waiter for a suggestion, right?

But for one New Jersey man, this move led to an expensive misunderstanding.

According to NJ.com, customer Joe Lentini was at Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City, N.J. when he asked the server to select a bottle of wine for his party of 10.

"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 said.

He assumed that figure meant $37.50, which was for a bottle Screaming Eagle wine.  But when he got the bill arrived, it was $3,750, a whopping $3,712.50 more than expected.

Screaming Eagle is a highly sought-after California cult wine which sells in limited quantities and fetches in the thousands of dollars depending on the vintage.

Lentini admitted that he’s not a big drinker. "I don't know much about wine at all."

After complaining to management, he and his party were able to negotiate the price down to $2,200 and paid their tab.

Borgata said it conducted a thorough investigation of the incident, and it believes the proper practices were followed.

"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 this isolated case, both the server and sommelier verified the bottle requested with the patron."

So what did the pricey wine taste like?

"It wasn't great. It wasn't terrible. It was fine," said Lentini.