Pregnant waitress gets $973.65 tip

Thousand dollars and note saying 'keep the change' left to cover $26.35 bill

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updated 12:43 p.m. ET March 17, 2006

ROANOKE, Va. - When a couple left a huge tip on the table at a local restaurant, their waitress figured it had to be a joke.

They left $1,000 to cover a bill of $26.35 and a note saying “Keep the change! Have a great day.”

The gift left waitress Amanda Newkirk teary with excitement. But the 19-year-old, who is seven-months pregnant, couldn’t figure out why she’d been given such a generous tip.

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A couple days later, she got her answer.

A 28-year-old widow called Newkirk’s boss to say she’d left the tip because she “didn’t need it,” and wanted to give it to someone who did.

Erin Dogan says she’s a shopaholic and could have easily spent the money at a mall. She says giving the money to Newkirk made her feel “phenomenal.”