Starving kids don't bother Kobe Bryant

Stories like this always remind me that pro athletes live and walk in a world much different from ours - at least until they inevitably go broke by age 40 from doing stuff exactly like this story.

Pic and story from TMZ:

Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, were at Friday night's grand opening of BLUSH Boutique Nightclub at the Wynn in Las Vegas, when he saw poker player Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari kick in for two bottles of $1,400 Cristal champagne. According to sources inside the club, Kobe wasn't about to be shown up by some puny little card player -- and kicked in for five bottles. Antonio, who's used to upping the ante, then switched his order to ten! Go big or go home!

Kobe ended the competition when he purchased an astounding 15 bottles -- and then left the club! Just to put Bryant's baller status into perspective -- Kobe's $21,000 bill still doesn't cover what NBA and gambling legend Charles Barkley drops on one hand of blackjack!

You have to love Kobe's competetive spirit, and the sheer audacity to do something this ridiculous. There's nothing quite like spending a teacher's yearly salary on something you'll never use. Good to see capitalism at work doing, uh, whatever it is capitalism does.

-WCK