After the Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA championship in 2011 against the Miami Heat, team owner Mark Cuban was not going to waste time celebrating. Instead of going back to Dallas, the team stayed in Miami to celebrate, ultimately ending up at LIV Nightclub at the Fontainebleau, a hot spot ready to accommodate champions.
The first bottle they noticed? A 15-liter Armand de Brignac – aka “Ace of Spades” for a cool $140,000. Dirk Nowitzki was all-in. Cuban was too—until it was time to pay. He offered up his American Express Centurion card and was asked to step aside. His card was declined, and he later recounted that it hadn’t been activated.
A $140K Bottle and a Cold Call to Amex
The Centurion, more commonly known as the “Black Amex” is one of the most exclusive charge cards in existence. People do not apply for it. It is an invite-only charge card for ultra-high net worth clients. And while it technically does not have a spending limit, it is still requires activation. Cuban did not activate it.
That night, in a fog of champagne and championship excitement, Cuban was left somehow scrambling. Drunk and confused, he was asked by staff to use the phone and call the card company. “Dirk’s like, ‘Where’s the champagne?’ with an expletive,” Cuban said. “And I’m like, and I’m drunk as it is, and they’re like, ‘Mr. Cuban, can you come back here?’”
When he called Amex, the woman on the phone sounded impressed, but not starstruck. “I’m sorry sir, it has been declined,” she replied. He asked to speak to her supervisor. And her response: “How do we know it is Mr. Cuban?” Cuban replied, “Did you watch TV today? Did you watch the basketball game?”
After a bit, the card was approved, the champagne showed up, and the party resumed.
Cuban’s Complicated Relationship with Credit Cards
Ironically, Cuban has railed against credit cards for years calling them “traps,” due to their high interest rates. In 2011 Cuban was worth an estimated $2.6 billion and could have bought the champagne without the card, had he activated it.
The Centurion is also not a credit card, but rather a charge card. However, that would not matter when settling up. Like any other card, it came inactive in the mail for security reasons. That night, the richest guy in the room was put on hold with American Express, trying to convince them he was who he said he was.
For Dirk Nowitzki, the episode ended with a glass of elite champagne. For Cuban, the chaos was worth it. The Mavericks just won it all—a declined card wasn’t going to ruin it.
