Wall Of Shame: Disqualified Eating Contest Competitor Runs Out On $40 Bill

ROBINSON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A man is in hot water after entering an eating contest at a Robinson Township restaurant, and running out without paying after he was disqualified.

After feeling a bit guilty about leaving without paying the bill, he apparently wanted to make things right.

For seven years, Olympos Gyros on Steubenville Pike has been holding the Mt. Olympos Challenge. Eat three pounds of gyro meat topped with fries and all the fixings, about five pounds of food in all, and it's free, plus your picture goes on the Wall of Fame.

But failure to do so in an hour costs $40 and a picture on the Wall of Shame.

That's what happened to the young man, who KDKA is not identifying, in this case.

"Once we went into the back to grab some more supplies, the young man decided he was going to take off and that's when Steve started to run after him, and unfortunately, he didn't catch him," said John King, of Olympos Gyros.

King says the man ate most of the gyro, but they found out later he was cheating when he made several trips to the bathroom, claiming to fill his water bottle.

"When he went to the bathroom, he was purging it up, so that he could come back out and continue to eat," King said. "And we know this because when we went into the bathroom after he had left, we seen the results of what the challenge did to him."

Apparently, the man felt guilty about the sinister deed and sent a letter apologizing to the restaurant. He also sent a $20 to settle half of his debt.

"'I'm embarrassed and sorry for the inconvenience. I was able to scrounge up $20 to at least cover the cost of goods in the challenge. I hope you accept this as a peace offering. I was starving yesterday and made a poor choice. I am sorry,'" said King reading from the man's letter

The restaurant has no plans to pursue any charges. Instead, the just hope then man learned a lesson from the experience and stays out of trouble.