Using bind() to create a server with Lua Socket

Working with LuaSocket, this code works:

local socket = require'socket'
local server = socket.bind('*',51423)
local client = server:accept()

but this code fails:

local socket = require 'socket'
local server = socket.tcp()
server:bind('*',51423)
local client = server:accept()    
--> lua: /tmp/server.lua:4: calling 'accept' on bad self (tcp{server} expected, got userdata)

Yet the documentation for TCP bind implies that the latter should work, stating:

"Note: The function socket.bind is available and is a shortcut for the creation of server sockets."

How can I convert a generic "master" object into a server?

The motivation for this is the desire to add a timeout on the bind operation itself:

local socket = require'socket'
local server = socket.tcp()
server:settimeout(2/1000) -- Only wait 2ms when attempting to bind
server:bind('*',51423)