What hurts more than a champagne hangover?

A thousand-dollar bar tab.

On July 3 a customer allegedly ordered several bottles of expensive champagne at the Mansion Room at Fielden's after-hours club on West Broad Street, running up a bill of more than a grand, police say. “Now, I don't know if that included tip,” Richmond police spokesman James Mercante says. The customer then left the premises without paying, according to authorities, who arrested Brian Michael Spiers, 36, of Highland Springs, and charged him with defrauding an innkeeper.

Spiers said someone else must have used his card to purchase the champagne, says 3rd Precinct officer Thomas McGovern, who assisted with the arrest. Nevertheless, McGovern says, “he was quite intoxicated.” Spiers' hearing is set for Sept. 17.