Olive Garden Ups The Ante On Never-Ending Pasta With New Lifetime Pass

As if bottomless pasta for nine weeks isn't enough to get your mouth watering, Olive Garden has gone way beyond their typical Never Ending Pasta Pass this year, as they're set to offer a Lifetime Pasta Pass to 50 very lucky customers for the first time ever.

For the sixth year running, Olive Garden is offering those who are quick on the (Internet) draw the opportunity to purchase a Never Ending Pasta Pass for $100 plus tax (via MarketWatch). This entitles the bearer to enjoy a whopping nine weeks of unlimited pastas and sauce options from the restaurant's Never Ending Pasta Bowl menu, plus their iconic unlimited soup or salad — and don't forget the breadsticks. 

The offer is good for dine-in only, but you can easily blast your way through (and beyond) the value of the pass pretty quickly, so it's no surprise that the pass has, in prior years, sold out super fast. They go on sale at 2:00 p.m. ET on August 15, and Olive Garden recommends you grab a place in virtual line five minutes prior to the starting time. While it may seem like 24,000 available passes means that there's plenty for everyone, they'll probably go pretty quickly. 

There's something new this year, though. For the very first time, those who purchase the Never Ending Pasta Pass will have an opportunity to choose to upgrade to a Lifetime Pasta Pass — there will be a box to check if you'd like to upgrade during checkout of the regular pass.

If you're one of the first 50 people who selects that option, and you're deemed eligible, it will cost you another $400 (plus tax). If you're fortunate enough to have this choice, though, you won't be limited to 9 weeks of your favorite pastas — when they say lifetime, they mean lifetime.

Those who opt in will receive an email notifying them of their eligibility (remember, it's limited to 50 people around the country), and will have 48 hours from that moment to purchase the upgrade. If you're one of those lucky 50, though, once you fork over the extra dough, you'll be able to enjoy bottomless pasta forever.