Finding money is a riveting feeling, like randomly winning the lottery of sorts – even if the payoff is a lot smaller.

Sometimes the seasons change and you examine your closet for a new look, only to find an old twenty in the back pocket of your shorts. Other times, you’re walking across the parking lot and you spot a bill floating across the ground. You pick it up and quickly scan the horizon for who may have lost it. Unable to locate the culprit, you quietly revel in your tiny windfall.

But what happens when you know the person who lost their fortune?

Such is the case for Armando Markaj, a waiter in East Harlem at Patsy’s Pizzeria.

For ten years he’s been selling slices and has seen plenty of people come and go. Not all customers are created equal in the service industry. Some patrons are respectful, while others choose not to give your service the time of day.

So when a snarky customer refused to leave him a tip, and then accidentally left behind her life savings in an envelope, he was faced with the ultimate dilemma.

Unfortunately, many waiters in the industry become accustomed to customers being unwilling to tip. It wasn’t necessarily unusual for someone to stop in, enjoy their meal, and leave without appreciating the service. However, this particular woman’s reason for not tipping was completely bizarre.

According to Markaj, when the woman stopped in to dine, she was offended by the fact that the restaurant’s decor mainly featured photos of men. In her opinion, the women were missing.

Unsure how to react to her offense, the weary server replied to his patron in a joking manner, “Maybe women don’t eat pizza”, and walked away. This only soured the woman more.

Taken aback by the waiter’s light-hearted attempt to relieve the heavy situation, the woman scrawled a note on a piece of paper before leaving. The note read, “Well, women don’t tip either.”

Markaj brushed the situation aside, realizing you can’t please everyone in this world. It was when he began to clean her table that he discovered a different kind of note. An envelope, be exact. And inside? A check for nearly half a million dollars.

Initially, the waiter considered trashing the envelope, but he revealed:

“When I opened it, it said Citibank. I thought it was something important.”

Important indeed! The check was made out for $424,000. But instead of getting even with the difficult customer, Markaj did the right thing and gave the envelope to the store owner, Frank.

As it turns out, the check was made out to a Karen Vinacour. The same woman from before. A retired social worker, she had frantically called the pizzeria in an attempt to retrace her steps. But it was the wrong location. And after learning that it would take another three months for her bank to issue a new check, she became hysterical.

Luckily, the pizza parlor was quick at work to track her down. Upon her arrival, she admitted that the check was her entire life savings, which she intended to use to purchase a new home.

Embarrassed and in tears, she offered Markaj the missing tip. But out of pride, the waiter declined.

In an interview, Vinacour admitted to having a stressful day. She regretted not tipping the waiter and was ever grateful for his decision to return the lost money. Easing out their differences, she is confident she and Markaj will remain friends for life.

Check out this lost and found story for yourself in the video below!

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Sources: YouTube/PIX11, Shareably, Bored Daddy, YouTube/NBC NY