A Cigar Hustlers Podcast Episode 368 Blood Clots, Playoff Proposals, and Cigar Industry Buzz
Episode Summary
Episode 368 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast closes out 2024 with Mike Steponkevich, Mike Palmer, and Boots in the Deltona studio for a loose, year-end conversation that mixes cigar industry news with trending topics. The guys open by recapping Mike's guest appearance on Bear's show alongside William "Coop" Cooper, where a 35-minute tangent about whether Cigar Aficionado is still relevant somehow proved its own point. That leads into a running bit about how much airtime they should devote to dissecting Coop's Top 25 list (34 minutes, they decide) and Halfwheel's rankings (36 minutes), plus commentary on how retailer-affiliated "Top 25" lists conveniently feature the cigars those retailers sell — often bundled into a purchasable sampler. They also mention Barry Stein and the idea of getting him on to talk about his days on Two Guys.
The cigar news segment centers on Warped Cigars' New Day, a release Kyle Gellis developed by sending three test blends to retailers and letting them vote on the blend and vitola. The hosts break down the specs — an Ecuadorian Sumatra Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler, 5 7/8 x 52 parejo, made at Tabacalera La Isla in the Dominican Republic, $14.75 per cigar, 1,000 boxes of 15 — and spend real time criticizing the vague "Nicaraguan binder" disclosure, arguing brands should either name the specific tobacco or simply say "undisclosed" rather than list a country and call it a blend description. They then run the math on 12 exclusive retail partners (Atlantic Cigar, Jack Schwartz Importer, Luxury Cigar Club, Max Amar's Ultimate Cigars, Small Batch Cigars, Neptune Cigar, Oxford Cigar Company, Smokingpipes.com, Stogie's World Class Cigars, Cigar Chapel, The Vault Cigar Lounge, Tobacco Leaf, and Wooden Indian) and question whether that small a group can absorb 83 boxes apiece. Mike also shares his history with Warped, going back to a $14–$15 El Oso Lancero pitch more than a decade ago, and reflects on how industry relationships get built through friction rather than ended by it.
Elsewhere, the show covers trending topics — Gal Gadot's disclosure of a massive brain blood clot during her eighth month of pregnancy, Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves proposing on the field after Washington clinched a playoff berth against the Falcons (good news for Mike's Buccaneers), and the death of President Jimmy Carter at 100. Mike recounts getting hassled by security at the Bucs-Panthers game over his kids standing, the "duck for the Bucks" good-luck omen, and a truly ugly Osceola County crime story involving a Marco's Pizza delivery driver charged after a dispute over a $2 tip. The episode wraps with a candid push on 2025 goals: merch store launch and a rebrand for the podcast, tobacco cultivation ambitions, broadening the show's appeal beyond pure cigar talk, and Boots wanting the show — and his own name — to be household names in the cigar world. Riverside Cigars is shop of the week and William Cooper is listener of the week.
In This Episode
- 01Recapping Bear's Show and the Cigar Aficionado Relevancy DebateMike recounts guesting alongside Coop and the 35-minute argument over whether Cigar Aficionado still matters to modern cigar consumers.
- 02Top 25 Lists, Sponsors, and Cigar Media CredibilityThe hosts poke at retailer-driven year-end lists, samplers built from the rankings, and plan timed rebuttals to Coop's Top 25 and Halfwheel.
- 03Trending Topics: Gal Gadot, Jeremy Reaves, and Jimmy CarterGal Gadot's brain blood clot during pregnancy, a Commanders playoff-night proposal, and the passing of President Jimmy Carter at 100.
- 04Bucs-Panthers Game, Standing Fans, and the DuckMike's run-in with stadium security over his kids standing, plus the blocked punt that birthed 'a duck for the Bucks.'
- 05Warped Cigars New Day: Retailer-Voted BlendFull breakdown of Warped's New Day — Ecuadorian Sumatra Rosado wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler, 5 7/8 x 52, $14.75, 1,000 boxes.
- 06Why 'Nicaraguan Binder' Isn't Good EnoughAn argument that brands should disclose specific tobaccos or openly say undisclosed rather than list a vague country of origin.
- 07The 12-Retailer Exclusive ModelRunning the numbers on whether a dozen shops can realistically move 83 boxes each, and what exclusivity does for a brand like Warped.
- 08Florida Story and 2025 GoalsA Marco's Pizza driver charged over a $2 tip dispute, plus New Year's goals including a merch store, a podcast rebrand, and tobacco cultivation plans.
Brands & Cigars Discussed
Linked items are in our shop. Mentions without a link aren’t currently stocked or couldn’t be matched with confidence.
Transcript
*Music* Who's in my life? Good or is it bad? Welcome to the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, episode 368. Recorded live at the Mike and Mike Production Studio in Deltona, Florida, this is the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, the show where cigars, business, and life collide.
Join your hosts, Mike Steponkevich and Mike Palmer, as they bring you unfiltered takes on the cigar industry, insider stories, and a whole lot of laughs. And me, I'm Boots, your sound and video engineer. And who can't ad-lib and just read exactly what's on paper. It's true, he can't.
So sit back, light up, and enjoy the hustle. Here we go. Enjoy. Oh, he added, here we go, he did, he ad-libbed.
Here we go. Whatever. Welcome to the Cigar Hustler Podcast, the show brought to you commercial-free. A massive shout out to our amazing patrons on Patreon.
Thanks to your unwavering support, we're able to deliver unfiltered, unbiased opinions And all the things cigars and personalities in the cigar world. Your backing makes it possible for us to keep it real for our listeners. Cheers to you. com and search the Cigar Hustler Podcast.
It's been a busy couple of weeks, buddy. It's cigars, it's retail, it's Christmas, everybody's miserable. You know how that goes, buddy. Everybody's miserable.
Come on, it's Christmas. Give me a break. All right, what are we doing first? You are the leader of the Cigar Hustlers podcast.
Oh, I hate being really. I went on Coop yesterday. Oh yeah, no, no, you went on Bear. I went on Bear yesterday.
I apologize. Coop was also a guest. Yes, I went on Bear yesterday. I tried to stay up, it starts so late, but with my illness and my drug-induced coma and stuff, I didn't make it.
You didn't stay, you weren't on at all. No, no, I passed out about 9:30. There was zero witty comments from you, that's how I knew you weren't there. Yes, that's true, it really wasn't it, go ahead, sorry Bootsy.
I didn't even know you were going on until like, you were on. You know, you're not around as much as you used to be, so. Well, I don't know, do you follow Bear on social media? I do.
Oh, he only, was it a last minute thing, it sounded like from the beginning? No. Oh, he only promoted it the day of, I think? It was designed to kind of be like this hover episode.
Yeah. So when his child was born... Oh, you guys had to set up after the fact. Yeah.
Ah, I see. So we had done that. We had made that plan prior to probably a few months ago. Oh.
And then baby, boom. Insert episode. Insert episode. Oh, he should have shot it early too.
It would have been funnier. He had some technical difficulties. He was running a little... I saw there was something where the screen went black for a while.
Yeah. He tried to put up a picture of... - Jimmy Carter and his brother. - Oh, and his brother Billy, yes.
Then I tried to cut a joke, and then no one responded. I didn't know if anybody heard us. - I don't think I heard the joke. - Yeah, it's possible.
- It was just you and Coop for a short time. - Yeah, it was just me and Coop. And that's when I started going in on the CA conversation. - Yes, that's where you interjected the CA thing.
- Yeah, that went really well. - And apparently we talked about it for 35 minutes. 35 minutes we talked about it, Michael. 35, 35 minutes.
- The guy, at least he does his research. Stop watching? Yeah. Apparently.
Yeah. You know, I mean, he argues that it's relevant because we talk about it. For 35 minutes, yeah. We talked about how it wasn't relevant for 35 minutes.
Right. And he goes, because of that, it's relevant. Because that, it's relevant. Yeah, I heard all that.
Look, you know, people cover the LA Times and the New York Post and they say how they're losing relevancy every day. Right, sure. And they are. Right.
And it's the same with CA. Don't talk about it. However, it's not relevant. However, I will say this.
Yes. In order to up the relevancy of the relevancy for the cigar media, I feel like we do need to spend a little more time ripping apart Coop's Top 25 when it comes out. Oh, certainly, yes. Yes, we will.
If he ever gets to the end. That's what I said that, I go, well, you know, when March, when you release your Top 20, it's January 13th, 35, 35 minutes. Oh, I thought he was doing like one a day or something. He does.
He does, but he didn't start on December 1st, apparently. Today would be the last day. One, one, one. I don't know.
It's crazy. And then we'll highlight half wheels as well. We always talk about it. Yeah.
Yeah. We're going to give it 36 minutes of our time. Oh, you want to? Yeah.
We're going to start the clock and do a 36 minute. We can do a countdown. One minute. I believe.
One minute more. One minute more. To make it more raw. Oh, yes.
Coupe one minute less. 34 minutes. 34 minutes. Not as relevant.
Not as relevant as CAA. But kind of relevant. Right. Who's his big sponsor this year?
Then we can figure out who's number one. Oh, you know what? I don't know. We can figure that out.
Who's that name behind him now? Is it United Cigars? Alec Bradley. Alec Bradley.
Oh, it's going to be the Superstition. Alec Bradley made a cigar called the Superstition? Yeah. I don't believe it.
I looked at two guys' list today, it's everybody they sell, plus their cigar, and then you can buy a top 25 sampler, includes all of them. Oh. It's gonna be United Cigar as number one. Yeah.
Or you can buy two samplers for a deal. Well, to be fair. Yes. If you don't think your kid is the prettiest.
Well, yes. Certainly. You know, how do you not? Right.
That's why we won't do it. Are we on Cigar Advisors' List? I don't, maybe. I tried to find it today, I couldn't find it, but I got a nice congratulations from the guy at Bogart's for us getting on the top 10 Cigar Advisor List.
Really? The War Bear. Oh, right. But I couldn't find it.
It probably exists somewhere. Somewhere, I guess. Ask the guy to send the link. Well, I guess I can do that.
Actually, I got it from his wife. Oh. Nate, and then Nate's wife follows me now, too. I love those Bogart guys.
Ask for the link. Yeah, I'll ask for the link. Good idea. You know?
That's why you're the boss, Mike. That's why I'm in charge. That's why you're in charge. That's why I'm in charge.
We made Barrel Burner. We already mentioned it last week. Barry. Barry Stein.
Barry Stein. He used to be on Two Guys, right? Yeah. Oh.
Yeah. You should get him on the show and have him talk about the dirt. It's been several years since he was on that show. Ooh.
Ooh. Yeah, you're right. To reach out to Barry. Two guys exposed.
Yes. Three guys. The dirt behind the show. Love that.
Okay. All right. Trending topics this week, we've got Gal the Dot. Gal the Dot.
Gal Good Dot. Gal the Dot. Gal the Dot. The Dot.
Gal Good Dot, Wonder Woman. Yes. Had a brain tumor in her eighth month of pregnancy. Brain.
A blood clot in her brain. Sorry. She had a blood clot in her brain. Okay, there's a big difference.
Yes, yes, there's a big difference, yes. That's why, yeah. Massive blood clot in her brain during her eighth month of pregnancy, they found it. How do they discover that?
She was having massive headaches. And they went in and did an MRI on her head, and like, there's this thing in there. You got a blood clot. We got to get that, or if it pops loose, you're done.
Okay, so tell me the story, or are we just... No, no, this is just the highlights, and then we'll come back, and we'll come back in the end. Uh, Washington Commander Safety Jeremy Reeves, luckily they won that game, because he had a proposal set up at the end. Oh, right.
Called his young lady down on the field. Okay. Uh, Commanders, that's the same team, right? Yep.
Oh, yeah. And the follow-up story is how they did win. Okay. Didn't realize that's the way that worked.
Yep. S. President Jimmy Carter died at the age of 100, the longest living post-president president. He's holding out.
He yelled out. All right. Do you know he lived in government housing as a child? I, you know what I- Actually, when he got out of the Navy, oh you did, because that's where I heard it on the show.
Yeah, no, you thought that was untrue. Interesting. You thought that was untrue. Really?
Well, I, no, I thought it was true. I just didn't make that. Oh, I didn't think he was the only. Yeah, let me know when I can finish my sentences and you not finish them for me.
Sorry. Sorry. Yeah. Go ahead.
No, I'm done now. You finished it. No, no. We're moving on.
Go ahead. No, no. That was the final story. That was it?
That was it. Okay. All right, well, let's get into it. Except we have Boots as his trending topic story.
I love Boots as trending topics. Yes, very, very exciting. Is there a button or no? No, we're not doing yours yet.
Calm down over there. Oh. Did I hit the button now? I hit the button.
No, no buttons left the first of the year. It was a button. Okay. Gal Gadot reveals she had a massive blood clot in her brain during pregnancy.
All I wanted was to hold on and live. Oh my goodness. The actress said her symptoms included excruciating headaches that kept her confined to her bed. Gal Gadot with her fourth child, Ori, O-R-I, Gal Gadot was opened up about a life-threatening health crisis she experienced while pregnant with her fourth child.
The Wonder Woman Actress 39 detailed the terrifying event in an Instagram post on Sunday, December 29th, Revealing that she was diagnosed with a massive blood clot in her brain during her 8th month of pregnancy. For weeks, I had endured excruciating headaches, I can't do her accent at all, I can't, no, no, no, it's like South African or something. Yeah, confined me to a bed until I finally underwent an MRI that revealed the terrifying truth the star wrote. In one moment, my family and I were faced with how fragile life can be.
It was a stark reminder of how quickly everything can change, and in the midst of a difficult year, all I wanted was to hold on and live. She had to have someone write that for her. Gal Gadot shared that she was rushed to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery. Apparently, the MRI was not done at the hospital.
It was done somewhere else? Apparently, because they rushed her to the hospital after the MRI, not upstairs or anything. Gal Gadot said she was rushed to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery and also gave birth to her daughter, Ori, now nine months old, during the procedure in March. At the same time?
Yes. They opened her brain. Opened her brain, and opened her tummy. Her vajayjay?
They don't really come out that way if they go in after them. Yeah. They go above. They cut in the C-section?
Yep. The C-section? Yep. It's nice to know all of these personal things about Gal Gadot.
You know what I mean? It just sounds so fucked. I don't understand why the hell we have to know all this stuff. I don't know.
It's the number three trending topic today, behind the dead president. Oh, the second one, which we're not covering. You guys are probably way too young. The show Alice.
Linda Lavin. No. Mel's Diner. Alice, who the, is Alice?
You don't remember Mel's Diner, they worked at Mel's Diner, there was the one where she always said, "Kiss My Grits" and none of that? Well, Linda Lavendie, she's an actress from the '80s. Is this on Happy Days? No, it's on Alice!
Only Alice I know is from Brady Bunch. No, different Alice. That bitch, I mean, she had a job. You know what I mean?
75 kids. Always getting yelled at. Always getting yelled at. It's crazy.
Had a mullet. It was terrible. A mullet. Did she have a mullet?
No, it was kind of cut short in the back, but it looked like it from the front. He looks like it from the front. It's very trendy. It's very in at that point.
It was very made-y. But yeah, the top three stories were president died, actress died, Gal Gadot had a brain. Almost died. Almost died.
Life is important. It's Wonder Woman. Life is important, yes. It's a way to really bring down 2024 to a close, huh?
Yeah, really down. Very intense. Okay. So, Gal Gadot.
Gal Gadot, she's fine. She's fine. The baby came out just a couple of weeks early. Right.
No big deal. Brain fixed. Unfixed, Blood Clot, gone. Good to do.
Well, good. Yes. Well, I hope Gal is having a speaker. Oh, when I talk to her, I'll tell her you send well wishes.
Yeah, please send my regards. I will. That's nice. You're such a nice man, Michael.
I have my moments. Washington Commander Safety Jeremy Reeves proposed to his girlfriend after the team reached the first playoff berth since 2020. I wonder if they lost if he would have still done it. Of course he would have.
I don't know why. It would have been a different type of story. Yeah, it wouldn't have been as exciting. It would have been all down and everything.
Player Reeves proposes to wife on Washington Commander's loss on the field. The guy still, after being grief-stricken on the field. Reeves-Greves. Here's Gal Gadot is fine.
Here's the headline, Reeves-Greves then proposes. Oh, nice. Gal Gadot says yes. Gal Gadot, not knowing where she is, agrees to marriage.
It was a successful night for Washington Commander safety Jeremy Reeves for more reasons than one. After helping his team to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Reeves then got down on one knee to propose to his long-term girlfriend, Mikayla Worley. The moment came after the Washington Commanders secured a dramatic 30-24 overtime win at a home against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. With the Northwest Stadium crowd celebrating the win, Reeves helped Worley down from the stands before popping the question at the side of the field.
Worley sunk to her haunches? Her haunches. What is this? Sunk to her haunches.
Sunk to her haunches. Tears flowing before saying yes, the pair then embraced and a teammate ran over to celebrate with the happy couple. Glad we got to share that moment with the best fans in the world, Reeves posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the game. It was perfect ending to a brilliant night for commanders who were superbly led by rookie quarterback Jaden Daniels.
There you go. You know, I don't know what to talk about here. Yay for them getting... They got engaged.
Congratulations. He just gave up half his stuff. Well, they only give up if it's over. Yeah, that's a good point.
They haven't got married yet. One way or another, it'll be good. Still tied. It ends.
Long time running. They said it was long term. How long is a long term relationship? How old is this kid?
22? 23? I don't know. Okay.
Come on, Boots. Give me some info. What's the guy's name? Reeves.
Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy Reeves. R-E-A-V-E-S. How old is Jeremy Reeves?
I need to know. They look mid-20s. All right. So how long is the relationship?
Very pretty blonde lady. How long is the relationship? Long term. Five years?
Four. He's 28. Oh. He's almost 30.
He's older. He's older. Okay. 28.
Google the girls how long she is. Early. How long have they been together? Mikaela.
M-I-K-A-E-L-A. How long has Jeremy Reeves and Mikaela been together? You're going to need faster response time from you, Boots. It said there's no internet in there.
I am, damn it, oh, I hit the button, I hit N instead of M. Wow. It's still there. Okay.
Michaela Worley. Yeah. Yeah. That's her name.
Yeah, that's her name. Stop looking at the pictures. She's not even relevant enough for them to do a Wikipedia on her. She does not have a Wikipedia.
So we don't know how long they've been together? No. Can you Google her name with his connected? Okay.
Oh, hold on, hold on. Who is Mikayla? All you need to know about her. Oh my God.
You got about 10 seconds before I move on. Okay. Can't be that long. All right, Washington Commanders quarterback Jaden Daniels, still wearing his burgundy uniform, sat down at a table for his post-game news conference.
He smiled and said something that shouldn't have surprised anyone after watching his playoff cinch perform at Sunday night. Oh! What'd he say? Well, you have to guess.
He said, Yeehaw, we messed up them Falcons. Oh, close, I'm tired, but I'm happy. I'm tired, but I'm happy. That was a hell of a game.
Carrying a franchise to the playoffs in his best season in years can do that to a rookie. Oh, he's a rookie. He is. But that's what Daniels has done, his two-yard touchdown pass.
Yeah. Is that a big deal, two yards? Well, that was the ending of it. That's the ending of it.
Oh, the tight end, Zach, not out front. Ertz, not out front. I mean, if you just finished the sentences instead of asking, two-yard? Well, it didn't seem that significant to just two-yard touchdown, like that's a big deal.
That's why I should read the whole sentence. Oh, in the overtime. Yeah, there it is. Gave a Washington 30-24 win against the Atlanta Falcons and cinched a playoff spot.
Oh my God, I can't with you, dude. Yeah. This is where you talk. I'm glad I'm giving you time to speak.
I'm giving you time to speak. Oh, this is where I speak? Yes. It says right here, Mike speaks.
Mike speaks. Yeah, listen. Yes. I'm very excited about the Commanders winning yesterday.
Do you know why, Palmer? Why, Michael? Because they beat the Atlanta Falcons. So now that puts the Falcons down and the Buccaneers up?
That's correct. Ah, it's a mathematical thing. Yeah, you know, it's the only sport where the person has to lose. Yeah, the only sport where somebody has to lose so somebody else can win.
Not like any other sport. No, no, all the other ones are different. All the other ones are completely different. Completely different.
All matters who wins on the other side. Yeah, just soul wins. Yes. L's mean nothing.
No. So yeah, because of this, because of the Commanders win. Yes. Now the Bucks are in the NFC South Division spot.
Oh. Did you just, Boots O? Yeah. Oh my goodness.
He's still looking up Worley over there. No, I found it. Blonde lady, pretty. She's just not relevant.
She's some guy's girlfriend. If he didn't propose, we still wouldn't know who she was. I just want to know what the... They were childhood friends.
That's it. Okay, so they've known each other for a long time. So he's 28, so a possibility of, you know, 28 years. Okay, so he's not going to give up.
He's not going to give up half his shit. He's giving her all of his shit. Moving forward, it's all hers. Well, he already did that.
Well, not yet, because they're not married, but okay. Thank you, Boots, for getting back to us seven minutes later. On to the next story. So, the Falcons losing was huge.
Huge. I went to the Panthers game. Oh, did you? Yep, the Bucs-Panthers game last night or yesterday.
Oh. And, man, the Bucs just murdered them. It was fantastic. Great game.
It was fun to watch. Good game. Yeah. It was fun.
Yeah, we had a good time. I got yelled at by security. I heard. Oh, because you were on the...
Yeah. But then I guess they shouldn't talk about it here. No, you can. Yeah.
Just because I heard doesn't mean somebody else may be. I didn't hear. Yeah, he hasn't heard. So, people were upset that the kids were standing again.
Oh, Saga 2. So, I said, sorry. Saga 2? Saga 2.
I said, sorry, the kids are going to stand. It's a sporting event. Is it the same guy? No, it's a different guy.
Oh. This is a guy, he was probably a solid 80 pounds overweight. Oh. You could see...
Sorry. What's going on now? I have no idea. What's going on with you?
I think he's possessed. You need to stop. Possessed by the boot over here, I don't know what happened. He had the indentation of the CPAP strap across his face still.
Still? Yeah. Oh, he's dehydrated. Or just high levels of estrogen, you know.
" Okay, she walked away and I told them, you guys just go ahead and keep standing. Is there something like in small print on the back of the ticket or something that says you have to stay seated? It says don't have fun. You're right.
No, listen, you know what's really funny is I know that people are so divided in this one statement as far as people standing and not standing in the crowd. But look, if you're going to go to a sporting event, you have to be prepared that people are going to be standing and they may obstruct your view. Don't construct your view. At that point, you're probably gonna have to stand up, move around.
You're in the front row, can't, how tall, your children are not that tall. Yeah, I know, I understand, I get it. I can't see over, it's not like, you know, they're forming a wall, okay, all right, put your arms up, you know. Not like the Spartans with the shields up and they're forming a wall.
Everybody shut them down. They will not see the game. So, Jax was upset. " And then there were people next to us, and they heard me saying that.
Like, yeah, listen to your dad, yeah, whatever, you stand and enjoy yourself. Whatever you stand, yes. You know? She told her I'm peeing on a guy.
No, that's ridiculous. That's ridiculous. That's how you get thrown out. That's where you draw the line.
Yeah. Can't pee on anybody. I just, look. Definitely draw the line I'm peeing on people.
I just have no problem. Yeah, I'm not peeing on anybody. You know, they say you should pee on somebody though that gets stung by a jellyfish. Yeah.
Right, jellyfish! Oh, I thought he had a jellyfish on them. I saw a jellyfish, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. Oh, that's the indentation from his sea pouches, I'm sorry.
So, there was a duck on the field. A real duck? A real duck. How did that happen?
Oh, it was incredible, the duck goes on. Oh, the mighty ducks. And we all started, yeah, everybody started yelling, duck, duck, duck. Better be careful, it's almost New Year's, that guy is gonna get cooked.
And when the duck was on the field, the bucks blocked a punt, and they ran it back for a touchdown. Oh, lucky duck. Yeah, so now we got this whole thing, I think. I feel like this is, this could be a thing for the bucks.
It could be a duck. A duck for the bucks. Oh, a duck for the bucks. A duck for the bucks.
A duck for the bucks. I heard it here first. Copyright. We have copyrighted then.
Write that down. Need make shirts. Duck for the bucks. So, you know, with the exception of the angry fat people behind me, everybody else had a really good time.
Mr. CPAP behind you. Everybody had a really good time. Oh, I hope he's a fan of the show.
He's an avid listener. Yes, he should call in. I just want you to know. That's not what CPAP does.
He doesn't have COPD. No, but he breathes like that when he doesn't have it. The CPAP just helps you sleep. Yeah.
Alright, and then finally, on a somber note, 39th President US Jimmy Carter died at age 100. Carter! Yimmy! Former President Jimmy Carter died Sunday.
The world rushed to offer condolences and share the accomplishments of the 39th President who was 100. Did you know that he's the only president that lived in public housing? Really? Yeah.
That's why he was so avid about Habitat for Humanity. Yeah. But it was funny, the stories were about what other people said about him after he died, not so much about the man himself. I didn't realize he was in hospice for so long.
I didn't either, but I knew he was back like a year. Oh. Yeah. Holding on.
Yeah, no kidding. It seemed a little premature. What'd you say, Boots? We're not fucking leaving.
I'm not fucking lying about it. I'm coming, honey. S. President, remarked Sunday, said Carter stands as a model of what is meant to live a life of meaning and purpose.
He doesn't say those things anymore. I don't know if he ever did. He hasn't been able to speak for years. Kamala Harris said, "Carter was guided by a deep and abiding faith in God, in America, and in humanity.
" I grew up in public housing, too. Where we have green grass. I understand his challenges in life. He didn't say his standard things?
No. Donald Trump offered his highest respects. It was a great, it was huge. He was a great president.
Almost the best president, but I'm the best president, so that doesn't even. Almost. He strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, though. I didn't like his views.
I didn't like his views. But, you know, he was a good president. He was a good president. Could have been better, but he's not going to be me, so I'm great.
It would have been better if he's not going to be me, so just like him. Oh my goodness. , followed by a private interment in Carter's hometown of Plains, Georgia, according to the Carter Center. Though final arrangements are still underway, the Joint Task Force National Capital Region and Department of Defense will ultimately conduct the ceremonies.
The ceremonies. The remaining living presidents, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton also remembered Carter on Sunday. They were joined by several world leaders and lawmakers expressing their condolences over the former president.
Is that the only three presidents left? That are still alive that had been presidents, yes. Really? Who were they?
Obama, Bush, and Clinton. Okay, you said Bush. Which Bush? Junior?
Oh, yeah, the old one's dead. Yeah, the old one's dead. He died. Bush Senior's dead.
Yeah, he couldn't hang. I remember seeing him on like the Today Show where he was in a wheelchair or whatever and he did like a skydive out of a... Oh, I saw that when he turned something, I forgot how old he was. And then he died shortly thereafter.
Well, he probably shouldn't have jumped out of the plane. I don't recommend jumping out of the plane. Wasn't Carter in a lay-down wheelchair, I think, the last time I saw him out in public? I haven't seen Carter.
I don't know who. A lay-down wheelchair? You mean a gurney? No, sort of.
A lay-down wheelchair. Well, you know, in a wheelchair, you normally sit up like we're sitting in these chairs. Yeah. It was more of a reclining.
A little less Stephen Hawking. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It was like a Stephen Hawking.
A little more. Stephen Hawking said something. Beep-boop. Beep-boop.
Beep-boop. What is he, R2-D2? Well, he's typing on the keyboard. At least we're covering all markets.
Is he still alive? No, he's dead. He's dead too? He's dead.
He was dead long before he was even dead. A lot of dead people this week on the show. He's dead. He came up on like an Epstein Islands list and people were like, wait a second.
He was on the list? Yeah. It doesn't even make sense. What the hell is he doing?
Allegedly on the list. You know, who knows? And it's like, wait a second. Come on.
What are we doing here? Dance slower. Tant. It was not me.
Come shake your booty. Marbooty, Tommy. I mean, ridiculous. Ridiculous.
So, at least at this point, we've smashed the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and now one of the world's smartest men. Right, make fun of them too. Covering all bases today. Covering all the bases here.
I've got our stats from this current year. It's not last year, this year. Let me ask you this. Sure.
Because New Year's Eve is almost here. Right. This is going to release New Year's Eve. Right.
Do you have any New Year's resolutions, Michael? Michael? No, I haven't really thought about it. Nothing?
No. I would like to lose some weight. That's it? Yeah.
Lose a couple LBs? Sure. That's it. You know, I haven't really sat down and thought about it.
No goals? No. Nothing? Not that I can, not off the top of my head.
Nothing for, you don't want to do better on the podcast? Oh, certainly. Well, yeah, like do better on everything. Just blanketing statement?
Sure. How's that going to make you better? You got to say, hey, this is what I want to do, this is what I'm going for, right? Well, we have the top show, I would like to make some money on the show, that would be nice.
We could, yeah, we have some, I have some ideas. Yes, yes, we have some things in the works, I understand that. We have some things that we have planned on happening for the show. I have goals.
Yeah, oh, well. I'm excited. No, I'm not going to tell them. Well, you put me on the spot making me talk, now you talk.
Our, my goals are going to be mapped out, you're going to see them throughout the year. Okay. You're going to see them hit. You're going to see them hit.
How do I know if we're hitting them? Don't know what they are. Don't worry, I'll say, and this was one of my New Year's goals. Oh, this was one of the goals?
Yeah. Oh, you know what, then I will do the same. No, you don't have any. Yes.
Maybe I just don't want to share it. I think that you need to, you like, we need to, we need things. I need things? You need to aim.
Aim. I need you to aim. I need to aim. Yeah.
For things. Yeah, like you just, I mean, you had a one full quarter of Poshik sales. Yes. Like, you know, you should have goals.
No? who you should tap into, how many more people you should contact, what your sales numbers should look like. I'm going to get to you. Relax.
I'm going to get to you. I haven't forgotten you, Boots. I know. Sipping your tea.
It's not tea, it's water. You're the king of all of these things, right? You're the guy that runs that. You keep the things upstairs together.
What are your goals? There's got to be something. I'd just like to make more money. That'd be nice.
Making more money would be nice. Yes, that would be nice. Okay. That's it.
Yes, whatever entails getting to that point. I don't have a dollar figure as long as it's more. Okay. I feel like we gotta do better.
We can do better. Do better goals? We can refine that, yeah. Well, I mean, if you hadn't put me on the spot, if you would have told me earlier this morning, I need you to come up with five goals for the...
I'm kind of surprised that you didn't have it. Like, this is what I want to do. Oh, well, I got a whole nother day for the year's over. Oh, so, yeah.
You had 364. I've got stuff going on all the time here, Michael. I'm super busy. I get it.
I'm super busy. There's so much going on. I've got so many excuses. I'm not making excuses.
It's hot in here. Oh, and now it's hot. Under the collar? No, no.
I think it's the broke a fever or something again. You're feeling the pressure? No, I don't feel any pressure. Boots, what are your goals?
Tell me some goals. I would like... Sure, now he's had time to think about it. Well, you grilled me.
Oh, you can go back. Wow. I would like two things. Okay.
I would like Cigar House's Podcast to be a household name in the cigar world. Ooh, okay. And I would like Boots's name to be a household name in the cigar world. That's not a goal.
That's a goal. That's been your statement since the dawn of time. No. Boots has not been my name since the dawn of time.
You've always wanted some form of recognition in something in life. That has always been a vision for you. Well, I think, well, basically it kind of goes with the show growing. It's the same thing.
Okay. That's all you want? I mean, I'd like my business to double in revenue. I'd like my kids not to get hurt throughout the year.
I mean, a bunch of stuff, but it's the same stuff every year that a lot of people have. Okay. You know that the second Friday in January is New Year's Resolution Quit Day or something? Really?
Probably, yeah. Oh, that's how long it takes. Your gym is going to be very busy for the next 30 days. Two weeks at least, yeah.
Two weeks. I've got some injuries anyways. I didn't get to go today. Oh, that's why you're here early.
So, yeah. What did you injure? Everything. I've had this arm pain that's really bad.
It's gone right up by your elbow, right? Yeah, and it's been ongoing, but I'm reaching a point now where it's just like, okay, well, you're just gonna have to tape it up. I don't know what to tell you. We're moving forward.
Are you damaging things? Probably. Well, then maybe you should bring the weight down or something. No, and really bad.
That's ridiculous. And really bad back pain. There's something going on in my back. It's pretty bad.
Oh. Yeah. But hey, whatever. We're going to keep it rolling.
Keep it rolling. Keep going. I'm going Ronnie Coleman style where, you know, he walks and he has to. He has a walker now.
Yeah. He walks like this. He's totally bent forward. Oh.
Yeah. He may have got that fixed by now. Those could be old clips. I don't know.
I don't think so. Usually don't their knees go or something? That's why he has a walker? No, it's his back snapped.
He was squatting. Is Sammy still working out? Yeah. Yeah.
Okay. All right, just kind of curious. I just want to know what my friend's goals are. It sounds like you guys need to, in my personal opinion, kind of narrow in on this a little bit and have something a little more definitive, just for the record.
So what are yours? Why won't you share yours? I mean, you know, on what realms do you want to do? Where do you want me to go?
Where do you want me to cover? Start at the beginning, Michael. I mean, there's a lot of things. For one, I want to launch our first merch store for Cigar Houses podcast.
I want to rebrand Cigar Houses podcast. So I'm very excited about all those things. Those aren't goals, those are things we've already worked out. That's exactly a goal, and that's why it came to fruition.
Okay, but that happened this year. Well, not the launch of, but we've been planning it. Yeah, well, you have to start building the vision. I don't wait till 12:31 at fucking 11:59 PM to write my visions.
Okay. Right? I have a bigger vision for what I want to do as far as cultivation of tobacco. That should be very interesting.
And I have some plans as far as tying all that in to the brand. I got some pretty big goals. Pretty big goals. Is it all for next year?
Some of them are a three or four year span. Gotcha. Some of them are a one, but it's all kind of this big picture, which I showed you. Yes.
I did. Yes. Yeah. So you've seen it.
Yes. Exactly. So, yeah, no, I have some really big goals and some really big visions. S.
That's my big goal. Do you think that the cigar shows are not as narrow-minded as just doing exclusively cigar information lately? Well, I mean, Coop's talking about food. Coop's talking about food.
Like the show Bear Show last night, you guys were talking about parenting and fatherhood. Yeah. How about that cigar does a lot of sports? Yeah.
I think that those things are important. Smoking tobacco does something in the beginning of theirs, too. We've added trending topics, so it's more like current events in the beginning of ours. Yeah, you gotta really, like all of these things are important, right?
So you really gotta make things relatable for people. Right, I think it's widening the audience for the shows. We all realize that we gotta do something. Right.
I think the number one consumer of content, especially on the other media platforms, are people in the industry. Oh, sure. Right? Right.
So, there's that. Okay. All right. Well, let's proceed here.
Nice. Write down better goals, both of you. You have one week. Oh, for next week's show.
We'll review. All right. So, let's get into the cigar media. Oh, wait.
You need Boots's. Oh, Boots's Trending Topics. Here we go. You guys ready?
Yeah. All right. New Year's Day is often the time when many federal offices and some private- No music? He said there's no vote.
Not until the first of the year. Oh, sorry. Go ahead. There's a lot going on, Michael.
There's holidays. There's things. Been a busy week. There's a lot going on.
No time for your goals. And some private businesses stay closed. After a long year and busy holiday season, many workers look forward to the day to relax and spend time with friends and family. Here's what you need to know about the history behind New Year's Day.
S. S. Office of Personal Management. Permanent.
Permanent. Wait, we can't walk that, Mac? No. Ever.
It takes an act of Congress. There's always got to be a guy. It's an act of Congress. Okay.
Do you want me to read all of this? It's not that long. Okay. So many words.
New Year's Eve is not a federal holiday, but many people take this day off each year using their paid time off hours. PTO days. Got it. Well, I get New Year's Day off.
Since New Year's Day falls during the week, many federal employees will get the day off. As well as some private employees who business chooses. Oh, don't read the oatmeal stuff. That's what I'm asking.
You want me to read all of it? Part of the commercial, part of the ad. Oatmeal. Doctors viewed oatmeal every day.
This is what happens. Shocker. However, it is not a requirement for private business to close on New Year's Day on January 1st, 2025. , according to Newsweek.
These holidays included New Year's Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The year 1880 saw the addition of Washington's birthday as a federal holiday in 1885. C. I feel like they should have covered...
you know what, we could have shaved off George Washington's birthday... What? No, go ahead. and made January 2nd like a recovery day.
Like they didn't have... you don't have to go back to work till the 3rd. Right. You know what I mean?
Because a lot of these guys get so jacked up New Year's Eve that they're gonna be horseshit January 1. Well, you get New Year's Day off, but not the day after. They can't roll into January. Give them a solid 48 hours is what I'm saying.
Yeah, make it like an IV day. And now Washington's birthday isn't even technically a holiday. Now it's called President's Day. They put Washington and Lincoln together.
Oh yeah, we include everybody. They don't have President's Day anymore, I thought. I thought President's Day was what they had and they don't have Washington's birthday or Lincoln's birthday. No, it's called like...
Agnostic? No, it starts with the I. Indigenous People Day? Indigenous People Day?
It's Indigenous People Day? It's Indigenous People Day? So they've changed it from about the Presidents to the Indians? Yeah.
I think they did. That's what they did? I don't think so. I don't think that's the way that works.
That's amazing. Oh, I can't wait till he looks this up. I love it when he eats his own crow. It's fantastic.
All right, you chime in when you find Indian Day. Tell me if Indigenous Day took over President's Day. Please. I don't even see a scream.
I guess it's still here. President's Day still exists? Which day is not here? Is it Columbus Day?
Which day is not here? We don't observe Columbus Day anymore. Indigenous Peoples Day? That might be correct.
That sounds about right. That sounds right. Because he was very bad. Sorry, I thought there was one day.
He was very bad to the Indians. You know, Christopher Columbus was not a president, right? Yeah, you know, he was not the first president of the United States. He was a sailor.
He was a sailor, yeah. So was Popeye, we don't celebrate him. I feel like we... He's not real.
He's the sailor man. We could have a good Popeye's Day, though. National Popeye's Day? National Popeye's Day?
Oh, like Chicken Bay. The chicken brand would love that. That would crush, yeah. Yeah, we're going to Popeye's.
All right, in the news, hit the news button. We still have a news button. Do we? Oh, good.
From the four corners of the world, all the cigar industry news you could possibly need. The Cigar Hustler Podcast Report with Mike Toon. A dozen retailers get warped new day. For its latest release, Warped Cigars relied on the opinions of some of its retailers to decide which cigar to release.
- It's a lovely day. - Warp says that it created three different test cigars, entirely different in both wrappers and filler blends. They were sent to various retailers who were asked to vote on which blend they liked and which fatola they liked it created in. Did we get that?
- No. - I don't think you guys have ever had Warp. - Have we ever had Warped? - Kyle reached out to me a hundred years ago and I said that, oh man, your price was kinda high, and then he was like, okay, and just disappeared.
- Oh, this is the guy who went to call you to tell you why he's not making something anymore or something? - Yeah, same Kyle. - He's probably not gonna call you. You didn't tell me there was some type of insult to me.
It wasn't really an insult, at that point, let's see, this was probably 12 years ago. Oh, young upstart. Oh, the beginning. Yeah, and he reached out and he had a cigar called El Oso, which is the bear.
Yeah, I remember this cigar, it was a good cigar. It was a good cigar, I think it was like $14 or $15 for Lancero, and at that time, at that time it was really expensive. Yeah, it would have been. It's kind of a high price, dude, for what you're doing.
He had the cute little bear on the band, though. It did. It was adorable. Right.
And he's like, okay, and then he just kind of disappeared. Man holds a grudge, huh? 12 years later, he's still not calling. It's hard to say if he holds a grudge or if, you know, I think more often than not, I mean, you've had experiences with retailers.
Certainly. And if you feel like things aren't jiving that way, a lot of times people give up too fast. Right. That's true, I do.
Yeah. Yeah, you gotta like not go away. Oh yeah, no, trust me. You know what I mean?
Yeah, he's just circling back again. Oh, me and my buddy Joe? You know which Joe I'm talking about? No.
Oh. We're friends on Facebook now. Yeah? Yes.
There you go. Facebook friends. Facebook friends. You're on your way.
I text him randomly. Go ahead, Joe. How are things? That's good.
Would you like to get this? And now you're friends. Right. Joe.
All right. People don't understand that that's how relationships are built sometimes. Sure, yeah, a little conflict, and then you build on that. I don't have to agree, if you think I'm going to agree with you off the jump.
Right. The winning combination chosen by the retailers' votes is called New Day. It's offered in a 5 and 7/8 by 52 Parejo Vitola. Blend wise, New Day uses Ecuador and Somata Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers.
The cigar was made at Tabla Galera, La Isla in the Dominican Republic. He wouldn't like him, it's Dominican. Each cigar is an MSRP of 1475 and production is limited to a thousand boxes of 15 cigars. They'll only be sold at 12 retailers, just 12, only 12.
12? 12 retailers. S. or in a certain region?
Across the United States. Would you like to know who they are? Yeah, I do. Tell me the rapper again.
The Ecuador and Sumatra Rosado wrapper. Okay. Over Nicaraguan binder, Nicaraguan fillers. All right, so, it kind of went vague on the binder.
Yeah. Like, you know, I can understand if you just want to hodgepodge the filler. Right. And say, oh, Nicaraguan, Dominican, whatever.
You know, instead of breaking it all down, that's okay. But you didn't even tell me the binder. You just said, that's Nicaraguan. Maybe it's undisclosed.
I would have respected undisclosed more. More than a general country. S.? You see, you see what I'm saying?
Right. Like, it doesn't, the math ain't mathin'. Hmm. You know, eh.
Well, we didn't get the vote. You gotta get, maybe he forgot when he was writing this and he just said, you know what, it's Nicaragua. Yeah, we didn't write that down, we're so sorry. It's that pile over there.
Again, I revert back to undisclosed. Undisclosed, then yes. So in the future, please, instead of just saying the country, say undisclosed. I just feel like you really, when it comes to Rapper and Binder, you really should either A, disclose exactly what it is, as Ecuadorian Habano, whatever, you know, Nicaraguan, I don't know, Condega, Nicaraguan, whatever, you know, Nicaraguan Habano, if you want to say, or what, something, but to say that it's just a country, Yes.
That is vague, you're not saying anything, and I'd rather you're either A, just owned not saying anything, or B, got a little more descriptive. Would Nicaraguan hodgepodge binder be acceptable? Yeah, I would love that. That would be acceptable?
Or Pallone 1. At that point, you're Gurkha and you're selling some rare breed, you know what I mean? Like, this is the- Or his Nicaraguan Pallone 1. Pallone 1.
Pallone 1. Oh, that's nice, actually. Oh, that's really good. That's a very rare.
Very rare. Super rare. Yeah, like you really gotta, you have to ramp up your bullshit at that point. Right.
I want the, I really either want full bullshit or, you know, like a little more honesty. Sure. Not like mid-level just kind of writing it in. Make sense?
I understand. Yeah. I understand. Okay.
Either over the top or nothing at all. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gotcha. We definitely understand that.
What is it? It's e-cigar. I feel like I'm talking about Booth. What kind of, what's, what's the tobacco?
Oh, I can't really, it's, you know, good. What I have is really good for your mouth hole. You know what I mean? That was pretty good, actually, Michael, that was good.
Hi, how are you? Hi, hello? I thought that was him. I thought that was Michael.
Can you hear me? All right, Matt, that's enough. Matt's signal area. Matt, Matt, Matt.
All right, 12 retailers, Atlantic Cigar Company in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Okay. Jack Schwartz, importer in Chicago. Who?
Jack Schwartz. Okay. Sausage King of Pomona. Importer.
Importer. Luxury Cigar Club, Cottonwood, Arizona. Luxury. Max Amar's Ultimate Cigars, Small Batch Cigars, Orange, California.
Love those guys. Neptune Cigar, Miami. Oh. Oxford Cigar Company, Orlando, Florida.
Interesting. com. Okay. Long's, South Carolina.
Stogie's World Class Cigars, Houston. Stogie's. Cigar Chapel, Bend, Oregon, The Vault, Cigar Lounge, Meridian, Idaho, Tobacco Leaf, Lakewood, Colorado, Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop, Havertown, Pennsylvania. Lakewood, Colorado?
Yes. In a state that doesn't allow smoking? They don't allow smoking. Okay, so how many cigars are they producing?
1,000. 1,000 boxes of 15 cigars, so 15,000 cigars. 15,000 cigars. Yes.
So 1,000 boxes. Yes. And how many retailers? 12.
Yeah, so they don't get very many. 2 gigawatts. So you're saying 83 boxes across the board. 83 boxes each.
If they buy that. If they bought that many. You think that's enough people to facilitate the thousand boxes? I don't think so.
I don't think so. I mean, you know. Sounds kind of limited here. Like, okay, Atlantic's a big buyer, Small Batch is a big buyer.
Luxury. Uh, luxury could be a decent sized buyer, yeah. They're a big buyer. Neptunes, eh, I think they could be okay.
I think they could be okay. I don't think that they're gonna... 83? Yeah, I can't see him popping off on such a high number.
How about Stogie's world-class Houston? Jorge? No, I can't see him buying 80 boxes or something. Neptune didn't buy 80 boxes.
I'm sorry, not Neptune, Oxford. Yeah. He's not buying 83 boxes. So then you gotta go back to the other guys.
You gotta go back to your Atlantics and your small batches and say, okay... I need you to buy more. You need to buy 150 or 200. I mean, really, he's asking for, what, $7,000.
And like, what's the play here? Do you think that, do you think that those guys could easily move that product? You know, the real question here is, is Warped still big enough where it could flip that really quick? You know what I mean?
A thousand boxes. I don't really see Warped at all. It probably becomes available to the general public here, you know, relatively. I just feel like he's trying to find his way.
Wasn't he like in CI? Uh, I don't know. I don't know if he went to CI. He could, but you know, he launched that whole new Kyle Gellis family thing.
Right. Oh, maybe he just doesn't care. I think that he cares. I just, I don't, I don't know.
I don't know what he's doing. Does your news clipping say these are sold to those retailers or being offered? It's being, being sold to those retailers, I'm sure. The only combination shows my retailers, these are the only people that get it.
I feel like his mentality is, I'm only going to work with guys that, you know, make my life easy, which is fair. Right, it'll only be sold at 12 retailers. Right. So exclusivity.
Right. So these are probably guys that voted on One Cigar too. They've already bought it. Okay, continue.
That's the end of the story. What's the retail for? 75. Hmm.
Hmm. Is there a picture of it? Not on here. No.
There is on half-wheel. There is? Yeah. Is it banded?
It did have a band. Okay. Small band. Interesting.
All right, we have a Florida story to finish off the year. Okay. A long, drawn-out Florida story. Okay.
How long? Nah, don't worry about that. A 22-year-old pizza delivery driver. Let's start over again.
Oh, okay. The 22-year-old pizza delivery driver is facing charges, including murder, after deputies say she violently attacked the customer over a tip amount. Wow. Osceola County deputies say on Sunday, deputies responded to Riviera Motel on East Erlo-Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee on reports of a home invasion and stabbing.
When they arrived, they found a victim who had been stabbed multiple times, as well as it appeared items were taken from the room, a news release states. Oh, robbery as well. Yes. The victim was transported to the hospital, and the last check-in is in stable condition.
Alvejo was facing an attempted murder charge, but that has been upgraded to premeditated murder. News 6 is working to confirm who was killed in the incident. So we don't know who died yet. Okay.
There's more to the story. According to deputies, Brianna Alvejo, who is a Marcos Pizza employee. Marcos Pizza. Marcos Pizza.
Delivered a pizza to the victim and became upset over the tip amount. She later returned to the victim's motel room with an unknown male who was armed with a firearm where she attacked the victim. What was the tip amount? Do you know?
Two dollars. Two bucks. After obtaining an arrest, well, there's a story, though, involved with it. Okay.
After obtaining an arrest warrant, Alvejo was arrested on Monday at the restaurant and booked in the, do you have a question? Oh, no. Oh, I thought you raised your hand. booked in the Osceola Jail on no bond.
The affidavit was for Alejo's arrest warrant released Thursday. The victim was in the hotel room with a boyfriend and her five-year-old daughter when the stabbing occurred. Investigators said, adding, the victim was stabbed 14 times, underwent surgery for a punctured lung, and learned at the hospital that she was a few weeks pregnant. Oh, maybe the baby.
Oh, baby does. The victim and her boyfriend had reserved the room to celebrate the boyfriend's birthday, the affidavit states, when the pizza was delivered. 10 order. That's a lot of pizza.
How much? 10. That's probably just a pie at this point. With inflation prices on the rise.
Crazy. She tried to pay for the order with a $50 bill and asked for change, conveying she did not want to leave that large a tip. Alvejo told the victim that they don't provide change, prompting the victim to ask for her money back and look around for bills, smaller denominations, according to the affidavit. The victim eventually paid for the order and gave LaVejo a $2 tip, which she told investigators that LaVejo rolled her eyes and walked away without saying anything.
Later, as the victim and her boyfriend and her daughter were reportedly asleep, she heard and answered a loud knock at the door. According to the affidavit, when she went to the door, LaVejo and a tall male brandishing a gun, both all in black and wearing face masks, allegedly forced themselves into the room after pointing the gun at the victim and her daughter. The male allegedly commanded the victim's The victim brought her boyfriend into the bathroom, where investigators say she smashed the boyfriend's phone as Alejo began rummaging through the victim's things. She reportedly dumped out the victim's purse and broke her daughter's Nintendo Switch.
That's a lot going on. Well, I know they got that 50 somewhere around there somewhere. Right, they're looking for the 50, right. This is when the victim felt a hard strike to roll her back, realizing upon the sight of blood she had been stabbed with a pocket knife.
My goodness. The victim threw her daughter onto the bed and tried to pick up her phone. Alejo grabbed the phone and smashed it on the floor, striking the victim multiple times more with the knife. All right, so what do you think an adequate tip is for a pizza?
10 bucks. $33 pizza? Yeah. Five bucks?
Five? Yeah. I mean, you don't really do, I mean, you just can, but 20% standard tip when you go to a restaurant. Right.
There's a lot more involved as far as the service and everything. So, on a $33 thing, I probably would have went five bucks. Yeah. Do you think that that would have not gotten you stabbed?
I think the problem was she gave her the 50 and the girl thought she was getting a, you know, almost a $20. She asked for the money back and then gave her two bucks. Right. I don't think anything back, anything short of that $20 would have pissed her off.
Well, she was short on change. Well, they don't bring change. The driver doesn't bring change. All she had was a couple extra bucks at that point.
Sure. I don't know. Who knows? Okay.
I feel like the stabbing is just over the top. Yeah, I feel the stabbing, the robbery, the guns. I haven't gotten that far yet, guys. I'm just talking about, you know, before we even get to that.
I delivered pizza when I was younger. 10 bucks. I was younger, 10 bucks. I know, you were a Papa John's Special.
Right. 10 bucks on a $33 pizza? Yeah, I delivered in Lake Mary though, so 20 is great. That's a 30% tip.
I'm gonna be a pizza delivery guy. Apparently, yeah. Lake Mary man is great. So, I can't believe you walked away from that job.
Yeah, I know. Just cush. Yeah, well. You've been living large right now.
Yeah. I should have, yeah. I just got some regrets. Could have been corporate.
So, okay. Might own your own Jimmy John right now. Now, here's the next question. Oh, whatever it was.
Would you ever order Marco's Pizza? My wife likes Marco's Pizza. The sauce tears my stomach up. I don't like it.
I think they have a pepperoni pizza. That's great. If we order that, I get a sandwich or something. Okay.
Would you order Marco's Pizza now, knowing that the delivery drivers are fucking psychopaths? No, the company did release a statement that they're very sorry, very upset, and this is no way the way that they run their business. I mean, they hired the person. Yeah, no.
Well, if you, I mean, if you met pizza delivery drivers, I always go outside and meet them. yeah whenever door dash anybody i always go outside and meet because we have the dogs i don't want to ring the doorbell like and stuff yeah i watch for them on the little mappy thing i go outside and meet them on the driveway right what's an event well not an event but i mean these people are rocket science scientists that are delivering the pizza and stuff i mean some of them look a little rough damn a little hurtful okay a little hurtful you know you didn't deliver my pizza i would call you down to deliver my pizza you can go all the way to the door okay so you meet them What do you do after you meet them? I don't go out and shake their hands and stuff, but I meet them at their car so they don't have to walk up and I've done half the work at that point. You meet them at the car?
Yeah, they usually pull in the driveway or they stop at the edge of the driveway and I walk out and meet them. That's why you give them the five bucks. Well, no, I mean, on DoorDash, it's whatever the standard thing is, bless you. Excuse me, sorry.
It's set up for something. It's like 13 or 15 percent or something. Whatever it is there. You tell them to stop within 10 feet?
No, I don't do the no contact delivery either. Stop there. Sometimes I have to hold them where they take a picture and then I'm in the picture. Well, maybe that, but now because of the fact that you go into living, maybe they look at you and like, oh, you know, I could probably roll this guy.
Out at the street? No, but they come back later. Oh, let them try to get in my house. Right.
Because you have the dogs. And the dogs. They'll just get you when you're out there mowing the grass. I don't mow the grass anymore, it's seasonal.
Oh, yeah, that's right. Seasonal, I have to mow now. Seasonal. Are they going to come by in the middle of a Sunday afternoon to rob me?
I'll hit them with the motor. We're gonna get them. That guy had a 50. I'm a gated community, so everybody now has the code.
You have to give them the code. Right. So. Hmm.
So you, I, I'm, I'm assuming that Boots would order Marco's Pizza without question. We're good, but I like Five Star. What, what is the problem with Marco's Pizza? I don't know.
It just seems a little. He's just thinking the story. Seems uppity? No, it seems the other way.
Oh, no, it's, I think it's a little more expensive. Marco's, well, so the one pie is probably 33 bucks. It might be. Yeah, that probably is.
If they probably get a large pie, it's probably $33. So, Marco's Pizza's more higher-end. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, they're more expensive.
I don't know about higher-end. They're more expensive. I don't know about the quality. My wife really likes Marco's for some reason.
Really? This is all intriguing to me. $5 pizza, delivery, $10. What pizza do you order?
She gets the small because I don't eat any of it. What pizza do I order? Yeah, what company? I mean, Lazy Moon Pizza is the best pizza.
What pizza? Yeah, but you're in the area for it, so. Yeah. What pizza?
Lazy Moon. Oh, I don't even know. That's where you get like a 50 inch pizza. Yeah, it's gigantic.
But you have quite the pastel of children there. I don't know, you know, I like, we have like a couple other small businesses around us, like New York's Best Pizza or something other, stuff like that. I try and, you know, try and keep it local. What's crazy is Marco's is a chain.
Right. It's not a mom and pops. Yeah, that's why they'll hire anybody. Let's see, it seems here that you have multiple felonies.
How do you feel about delivering? Don't they have delivery cars, too? I'm just kidding, it's a joke, it's a joke, it depends on how you order it, you can order it direct from them and one of their people come or you can order it through DoorDash, certainly not that more expensive through DoorDash either, it's weird. Interesting.
Hmm, okay, you got a Listener of the Week? I do have a Listener of the Week, and I have a Shop of the Week. Okay. Shop of the Week is Riverside Cigars.
They placed an order today. But they ordered Phosphoro. It doesn't matter. Greg said it doesn't matter.
They're paying for that too. Okay. And listener of the week. Yeah.
Mr. William Cooper. William Cooper. The Coop.
The research extraordinaire. Skip was quite excited. He made listener of the week last week. Oh, yeah.
Oh. Yeah. He texted us. You didn't see that comment?
I didn't see it. Oh, yes. Fantastic. So, this week is William Cooper, who apparently watches our show with a stopwatch.
Really? Apparently so. Yes. Yep.
I can't wait for the 34-minute review of the Coupes Top 25. Yes, you can't wait. Oh, we have to wait for two weeks. Two more weeks.
We'll cover Half Wheels for 36 minutes. There you go. So this is the New Year's edition, right? Are you guys gonna eat your Black Eyed Peas?
I don't do any of that stuff. Yeah, me neither. I'm gonna tell you what, though. We're gonna go a little bit further in on that Kyle article, the Warped Cigars.
Yeah. Yeah, I got an image of the cigars while you were speaking. Oh. Yeah, Boots showed me.
Yes. Interesting stuff. Oh. Yes.
All right. This has been episode 368. Happy New Year, everybody. Happy New Year.
Happy New Year. See you next year. Bye. Bye.
Show Notes
In this episode, we dive into some trending and headline-grabbing topics, including:
• Gal Gadot’s shocking revelation about surviving a massive blood clot during her pregnancy.
• Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves proposing to his girlfriend after clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2020.
• Commanders’ playoff success as Jayden Daniels shines again.
• Remembering the 39th U.S. President, Jimmy Carter, who passed away at age 100, as tributes pour in honoring his remarkable legacy.
Next, we tackle cigar industry news with a look at Warped’s New Day, which has reached a dozen retailers.
Then, we share a wild and dangerous Florida story about an Osceola County pizza delivery driver charged with murder following a dispute over a tip.
And, of course, we wrap up with our weekly shoutouts:
• Shop of the Week: Riverside Cigars
• Listener of the Week: William Cooper
Tune in for all this and more on Episode 368!