As a guest at the "paying" opening night, let me just say this...almost the whole thing was staged... As we were getting mic'ed, the producer said "the drinks are free, so drink up. And if you have to get sick at the table- go right ahead..." Meatball guy was a friend of the family and I believe has a small part in the Sopranos...The "American Express" wine purchase was also staged. The producers were going around trying to stir up trouble among the guests, getting them to complain about anything and everything so there would be more "drama" on the "reality" show. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the kitchen fire was staged as well.