Lotsa Pasta: Olive Garden offers year of never ending pasta

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Olive Garden customers who can't get enough pasta have a chance to enjoy unlimited servings for a year.

The restaurant chain is offering its first annual pasta pass as part of its never ending pasta bowl promotion. The pass is available to 1,000 customers who pay $300.

The 52-week pass goes on sale along with 23,000 passes that offer eight weeks of unlimited access for $100 starting at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday at www.PastaPass.com . Olive Garden says 22,000 pasta passes were claimed instantaneously last year.

Olive Garden's executive vice president of marketing, Jennifer Arguello, says the annual pass was added after customers made it clear eight weeks was not enough.

The eight-week pass can be used from Sept. 24 through Nov. 18.