ACHP 611 Bunny Ranch Business Plan & 153 Million Drivers Exposed

Episode Summary

Episode 611 of A Cigar Hustler's Podcast opens with hosts Mike "Palmer" and Triple G Superstar (with Mikey Szczepankewicz on the board) working through listener comments from the lounge — availability of the SBC 26 release, the free box owed to a listener who got the podcast tattoo, merch requests (hoodies, black polos), and a long tangent on whether stop signs and traffic infractions are actually enforceable on private property (short answer: generally no, but DUI is the near-universal exception).

The news block covers two headline stories. First, Dennis Hof's Nevada brothel empire — the Moonlite BunnyRanch, Sagebrush Ranch and Love Ranch, plus 11 additional Nevada properties, licensed businesses, vehicles and trade names — is listed for $33.9 million, prompting the guys to seriously (and not so seriously) debate whether the valuation makes sense. Second, a dark web service called Nexus claims to hold more than 153 million scanned U.S. and Canadian driver's licenses, possibly from an ongoing breach at a Louisiana identity verification provider; cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs reportedly found his own Virginia license used as a free sample. The hosts tie it back to real-world retail experience: banks scanning IDs on every deposit, gated-community license scanners, and how much harder fraud screening has gotten for small online cigar retailers. A lighter segment covers Florida's 5.67 million free eggs from an egg price-fixing class action settlement, plus a rant on cage-free vs. free-range labeling and phony "Kentucky Wagyu" steak.

Cigar news is the meat of the episode. Davidoff, via Tabadom Holdings, has ended its 34-year membership in Pro Cigar, the Dominican Republic's manufacturers association — a founding member walking away after leadership changes following Hendrik Kelner's 2021 departure. The hosts speculate on whether it's a cost/benefit call or internal politics. They also break down the new Eroa Expedition Collection from Christian Eiroa's CLE: an international-market follow-up to the Aviator Series, a numbered leather-tagged trunk of 176 6x52 toros priced around $20,000, going to select retailers in Bulgaria, Bahrain, Germany and the Ivory Coast. Perdomo is shifting its 30th Anniversary line from 30-count to 20-count boxes, cutting $135–$155 per box to help retailers move product.

The show closes with "What's the Score?", the guys' guessing game against a halfwheel review — this time Brooks Whittington's write-up of the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Tapa Negra Corona Gorda, a two-wrapper (Ecuadorian Connecticut seed plus Nicaraguan sun-grown Cuban seed) Nicaraguan cigar from Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua. Notes included pecans, creamy cedar, espresso, honey, cocoa, buttered bread and peanut butter, with construction issues and burn corrections on two of three samples — and comparisons to the Sobremesa Brulee and Brulee Blue.

In This Episode

1. 01
   Lounge Comments & Merch Talk
   SBC 26 availability, the tattoo-for-a-free-box promise, and listener requests for hoodies and black polos.
2. 02
   Are Stop Signs Enforceable on Private Property?
   The guys dig into traffic infractions, parking-lot stop signs, and why DUI is the one nationwide exception.
3. 03
   Bunny Ranch Empire For Sale at $33.9M
   The late Dennis Hof's Nevada brothel portfolio hits the market and the hosts debate whether the valuation is actually a deal.
4. 04
   153 Million Driver's Licenses Exposed
   A dark web operation called Nexus claims millions of scanned U.S. and Canadian IDs, with Brian Krebs' own license used as a free sample.
5. 05
   Florida's 5.67 Million Free Eggs
   An egg price-fixing settlement pays consumers in eggs, sparking talk of white collar crime and cage-free vs. free-range labeling.
6. 06
   Davidoff Leaves Pro Cigar After 34 Years
   Tabadom Holdings ends its founding membership in the Dominican manufacturers association, and the hosts speculate on the real reason.
7. 07
   Eroa Expedition Collection
   Christian Eiroa's CLE ships a numbered trunk of 176 toros at roughly $20,000 to select international retailers as an Aviator Series follow-up.
8. 08
   Perdomo 30th Anniversary Goes 20-Count
   Perdomo drops box counts from 30 to 20, cutting $135–$155 per box to improve retailer movement.
9. 09
   What's the Score? Sobremesa Tapa Negra
   Guessing Brooks Whittington's halfwheel score for the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa Tapa Negra Corona Gorda and its two-wrapper flavor profile.

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

I can't believe you broke his nameplate thing. Three, go. Welcome to a Cigar Hustler Podcast. Premium Cigars, Unfiltered Opinions, and Conversations.

P. Palmer, your host, joined by the man everyone loves, Triple G Superstar. Oh my God, he's been drinking again. He's asleep.

He's taking a nap. Then in engineering, we have Mikey Szczepankewicz running the board again. You took your headphones off. He can't hear us.

We can say anything we want. He can't hear us. He can't hear us at all. He can't hear us at all.

This is amazing. From cigar sports and business to pop culture and the wildest headlines, If it's worth discussing, we're gonna talk about it. No safe spaces, just real perspective, big laughs and chaos at any moment. Welcome to a Cigar Hustlers podcast.

Dun, dun, dun. On today's show, I have a new business for us all. A new what? A new business?

A new business for us? Yes, for us. To get into? Yes, for us.

Perfect, that's what I needed. Does it involve water? Water's very hated, apparently. No, no water.

153 million driver's licenses have been scanned and are in the process of being taken - You mean by hackers? - Yeah, that makes sense. - Yeah. - Free eggs for everybody?

- They have chickens too. - The hackers do. - The hackers have the... And then in cigars...

- Were you going to lighten that while we were getting ready? - We were very busy taking a nap. - You were taking a nap. Then cigars...

- You have ash on you for me. - We got a new cigar, we got some cigar shipping, and we have cigar information. - I said Palmer. - Oh, I do.

Oh, I do. - There you go. There you go. Touch better.

But first, Mikey, tell us what the people are saying. They're saying all kinds of things, Palmer. Now back to you. Now we go to Palmer with weather.

It's wet! It's gonna rain! Is that it? Want me to keep going?

So, first of all, like and subscribe. We're reviewing and listening to the show. com a cigar hustlers podcast and some comments from the lounge because we didn't do that on our Labor Day show let's see this jacked up on one episode which is interesting maybe I should call it if chat GTP should fix it team money said He said, "I can see everyone smoking these glorious SBC 26's. " People are starting to get them.

I could rattle off some names, but then I would not rattle off all the names and someone would get mad. We actually had a retailer already sell out and they just re-upped within a matter of days. Oh yeah, I saw that. Steve was filling an order upstairs today.

Yeah, well, we're almost out here soon. But what Team Money is actually stating to you, Mr. Palmer, The first thing that I told you, Mr. Palmer, and us, is that he gets one for free.

Oh, that's right, because he got the tattoo. Correct. Oh. Oh, that's right.

I spoke with him about this, yes. I forgot that's the one he chose. We should definitely make sure that that box is set aside for him, absolutely. Yeah, before we run out of them.

As a matter of fact, I'll do that as soon as this episode is over. He should come on the show and get it from us here. Oh, that would be great. Yeah.

He lives in Arizona. Well. He travels. I mean, come here.

There's wine at Target. target and plenty of sprinklers and maybe heroin we're not sure potentially heroin okay okay he works for the government he can take days off oh my god i can't deal with you guys i can't wait till this show's over told you this is gonna be a negative session uh team money also says you can legally get a dui while driving a golf cart so tiger cannot drive one on public golf courses However, privately owned courses in gated communities, he is allowed. Hmm. There you go.

Because it's privately owned? I guess so. Well, I wonder if you can then get a DUI on privately owned property, even though it is a vehicle. Great question.

So, not pertaining to a DUI, but I actually looked into this. You know the stop signs? I knew you were going to talk about this. Because this is one of my, I love this topic.

Yeah, you love this. " You know what, I run them all the time not to. Because I'm not too. Because, yeah, absolutely, right?

Yeah, right, right. It's a suggestion. Running a stop sign is a traffic infraction, right? So a traffic infraction is punishable only on public roads and thoroughfares, right?

Publics, or any private piece of property, you don't have to stop for those stop signs, legally. Right. Just go right through them. I bet you would still get pulled over and have to argue that.

That's fine. Give me the ticket. I'll win it in court. Right.

Private property. You can't give me a ticket here. That's exciting. I was very excited about that.

Is that another thing you said where you could buy your Diplomatic Immunity? He did say that. I still believe that you can buy Diplomatic Immunity. You want me to ask Magic Robot?

Ask Magic Robot and then tell it to use ChatGPT just right off the beat. I think your ChatGPT is wrong. It can't be. It's a robot.

Magic Robot, can I blow... Wait a second. Wrong website. Wrong website.

I'm sorry, you have violated our standards and procedures. I'm gonna go to Claude. Ask it if traffic infractions of stopping at a stop sign are enforceable on private property. Magic Robot are stopping or what?

Traffic infractions are enforceable for stop signs on private property. Are traffic infractions enforceable like running through a stop sign? On private property. On private property enforceable.

Let me see here. Magic, robot, magic, robot. Generally, no. , usually isn't enforceable by police as a moving violation, the way it would be on a public street.

A few nuances. Some states carve out exceptions for private property that's open to public use, like shopping mall or apartment complexes. Uh oh. Parking lots allowing police to enforce certain traffic laws.

DUI is the most common exception nationwide, even on fully private land. So there it is. So that's what it all started from, right? Can we get drunk and drive a vehicle in the parking lot?

The answer is no. You cannot. Well, it said some places they enforce the stop sign thing, too. I'm still blowing them all.

Right through. Could you like then, like at the airport? No, yeah. I don't know.

Is the airport private property? It belongs to the airport. It's government property. I don't think we do, I don't think, I don't think we have government-run airports.

I mean, probably the military ones, but you know, that's a whole different thing. Good question. Good question. Are airports publicly ran?

Can I get drunk at an airport? Yes. There's a business that runs the airport. Signage matters legally, even if not enforceable in traffic court sense, it can establish liability if someone gets hurt from ignoring it.

Well, that's totally different. Different. Yeah. I'm not planning on running people over, but I'm not stopping.

What about crosswalks in a parking lot? I don't know. See? Private property.

Yield to pedestrian signs? It's like there's no rules on private property. I can just run people over. You can just do what you want.

Ah, this is a private property officer, Mur. I have diplomatic immunity. I have diplomatic immunity. I spent $250,000 to the country of Botswana.

I'm a diplomat. And I'm perfectly fine to do whatever I want. There you go, that's Greg. On your people out of southern accent.

Yeah, America. Do you know who I am? I love that. Then you go to another country and do it, if this is America, I'll be fine.

I love that. Do you know who I am? Do you know where I'm from? "Magic Robot" has answered.

All right. All right, on with the news? No, no, I got more comments. Oh, you got more comments.

Oh, sorry, I thought it was just-- There's more people that are gonna be getting a free box of cigars now. " Yeah. It's gotta be a big sack. It's gotta be a good post-Danya tattoo.

Do we have one for a big P on the face? Just like a-- Two boxes. Maybe two boxes? Where the P goes around the eyeball?

Oh, that's nice, yeah. Oh, that guy is-- And then it goes down and points on the chin. Oh, it'd be down the nose, yeah. - Yeah.

- Down the nose, and the V comes up to the side. - Oh yeah. - That guy travels with you to events, just so you know. - That's fine.

- Yeah. - Okay. - In my security. " Yep.

- Oh, that's a shirt. - Poking the bear is just a privilege? - Poking the bear is a privilege. - Hmm.

- Okay. - Privilege. - I was thinking about doing one that said "The Catalyst" with my face on. The Catalyst?

All hail the king. Hail the king. Hail the king. They want an all hail the king t-shirt.

My guy House of Raw says you guys are definitely nowhere near the worst podcast. I have listened to hundreds and basically you're the only one I listen to now, aside from Creekside and a couple others. There are some shockers out there. Keep doing what you're doing.

Salute. Thanks House of Raw. That would be the opposite of the worst if we're one of the few that he listens to like that. Yeah, we're up there.

And I don't know if Steve sent you a tracking number, I don't know if he knows how to do that, but be on the lookout. Because it's going to Australia, buddy. Courtesy of us. @cw6383, Brighton Early says, Tiger lost his license because he refused the breathalyzer.

In Florida, that's an immediate suspension of your license, allegedly. That's what he said. Yes? Yeah, you can.

Five years? Yeah. No, I think it's one year you submit it for if you refuse... He lost this for five, so I guess.

That's interesting. I thought, well, maybe it's mandatory one and then at the judge's discretion after that, possibly. I think the judge kind of threw the book at this guy. Yeah.

He's probably mad because, like, you know, Tiger rips into everything and he's like, you know, I probably knew a couple people or something like that. He what? Tiger likes to, you know, Tiger. Tiger likes the tiger?

Yeah, like you don't know the stories about Tiger? He allegedly likes women, a lot. A lot of them. At Waffle House.

Okay. At Waffle House, as well? Seems to have an affinity for Waffle House. Oh, he's picking them up at Waffle House.

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That is awesome. This is not true.

There was one from Elise Waffle House. No, really? Yeah. No way.

Yeah, because they showed her in her diner outfit. Oh. So, she was not a He was a terribly unattractive woman. Okay.

But she was... Waffle House. Waffle House. Yeah, Waffle House 9.

Well, Waffle House 9 is... Which is like a normal everyday 5 or 6. Maybe 4. Could be.

Could be. Could be. If she didn't do her hair that day. That's awesome.

" Because he ripped and hit the... Yeah, he just pushed a bit and... Yeah. Poop, a ticket.

Which we kind of addressed on the Labor Day show. Pokemon on him, he's got to have them all. - Mm hmm. - Mm hmm.

- Um, let's see. " - Mm. - Oh, a black polo, what would we put on the black polo? - I don't know.

- Just the logo? - I don't know, we could probably do something like that. - You know what we haven't done in a while that a couple of customers have asked for upstairs? - Tell me.

- Hoodies. - It's about that time. - It's been a while since we've done some cool hoodies. We've done some cool hoodies.

That one, I'm sorry, the one we did last year, the black on black is cool. Yeah, we did a CH pod one. Oh, did you? Yeah.

Black on black. And it was a cool material. We could do something like that. I mean, we're about to approach like the cold in months.

It's hoodie season. It's hoodie season. Here we go. Knee high boots and cinnamon coffee.

Cinnamon, it's pumpkin spice, bro. Pumpkin coffee. I don't know what it is. I don't order it.

It's cinnamon little brooms. Oh, cinnamon brooms, pumpkin spice, and knee high boots. Yes, and you have that right not to order that, Greg, just so you know. The right?

Yeah. Yeah, right. It's over-regulated. They're actually going to regulate it, they're going to ban it in the state of Florida.

Right. Mikey doesn't like it. Could you imagine the upheaval? That's how you don't pass laws, you anger the middle-aged white women.

Still want to try the banana bread. Their voices are louder. Banana bread sounds delicious. Alright, this is much older.

" He just got to it eventually. Well, he is a big fan of Phil and others that look like Phil. There's camaraderie amongst the two of them. They go off gallivanting together.

I don't know what it is that they do. Are you saying that he's more of a bear individual? Is it like two bears? Can there be two bears in a relationship?

Because I would say both of them are kind of bear-esque. But no, they're besties, those two. They are. They enjoy each other's company, which is nice.

He traveled down to Miami last weekend. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. After Pete was just here. Well, Pete probably spent the night at the camper that's located on the side of the house.

That's probably where he stayed. No, they let him in the house now. Oh, they did. Oh, do they?

You're not supposed to let the bears in the house, though. He's still let the bears in the house. He made them stay in the RV. That was like where you have an RV.

No, no, because it was weird for Phil's wife. " I missed my husband. I know that he made that up, but it's probably true. It's probably true.

And Pete would have to go in the house to go to the bathroom in. Yeah. You know what, just come in. Just come in at this point.

Bring the bear in the house. Yeah. And you know what's cool is, Peter Nenna, he listens. He's an avid listener of the show, because he, like, when someone makes comments about the short clip, You're like, okay.

You know it's a short clip. Yeah. I'm like, okay. But then he started hitting me with some stuff that I know wasn't on a short clip.

I'm like, uh-oh. He listens to the whole show. He listens to the whole show. It's good.

Yeah. It's good. com, the lounge. And yeah, now let's get on with the show with a broken teleprompter.

Yeah, we have a broken teleprompter. One of the most famous brothel empires in America is officially for sale wait the one in Nevada that's the only one there right yep it will cost you thirty three point nine million dollars the bunny ranch the bunny ranch the late Dennis oh he died I didn't know he's dead yeah the late Dennis Hoffs Nevada Empire is being sold as one massive package including the moonlight bunny ranch the sage brunch ranch the love ranch along with 11 additional Nevada The deal also includes four licensed businesses, vehicles, equipment, trade names, websites, and other assets. I gotta say, actually, it doesn't sound like a bad deal. Usually when people list their business, they always shoot the moon, right?

But that seems like it might make sense. You think 33 million makes sense? Yeah, bro! Have you not watched this show?

" Done! Give me the 10 grand! He can't. I mean, it's crazy.

Okay. Hoff turned the Bunny Ranch into a national name after it was featured on HBO's Cat House. I didn't know he died. He died a long time ago.

He died in 2018 at the age 72, just weeks before he won a Nevada State Assembly election after his death. So he was dead and he still got elected. I love this, man. That is amazing.

People like you so much, you win when you're dead. You get elected into office when you're dead. You're dead. That was like the Eddie Murphy movie, Distinguished Gentleman.

You remember that movie? That's the one where they take him and they use his name for like their... The other guy died and he uses a similar name to become Senator. Oh, to confuse people.

Yeah. 'Cause they see a name and they go, oh, that must be, that's that guy I know. Yeah. How come he's black now?

It's a totally different guy. Oh, it's not Steve Smith that I know, it's Steve S-M-Y-T-H. th steven aceman i'd like to see the breakdown of this company and what they they their line items for value for each thing i'm super intrigued because the real estate has to have property has to have value too right yeah the main flagship the moonlight property sits on 20 acres i'm saying bro like this seems like a pretty good deal to me so much semen though oh everything no everything well i mean you're not taking it to live there no but but he did live there and he You would cycle out girlfriends from the working class women that came in. It was nice.

Certainly you would. Wild. Why get a real girlfriend? Yeah.

Crazy. Bring in number seven. But none of them are real women. No, none of them are real.

None of them are real women. Neither the blonde representation of the first one, nor the Burnett, the other blonde, or the redhead, these are all AI-generated, much like your AI-generated photo that I saw today, where it showed your tattoo and I commented, I don't know if you saw that? No, yeah. When did you get a sleeve tattoo?

No, no, that's not what I asked. I said that's not a fish. Oh, gotcha, man. Did you know that Palmer has a tattoo of a large fish?

Yeah. Because he was very much into fish. Yeah, that was my first tattoo. Yeah.

Not into fish anymore. No more fish. But it's still a nice looking fish. He's got a big fish, though.

It's a nice looking fish. Can you imagine if, you know, she was like, you need a hobby, I need you out of the house. And he like, he was, instead of it being cigars, he was into fish. You know how different his life would be right now?

I would own a boat too. Yeah, maybe. I would work for two guys that had a fishing charter. I thought you were gonna go a different direction with that.

I thought you were gonna say tattoos and he just comes home like, you know, the lizard man just covered in tattoos. My eyeballs are all blacked out, forked tongue. I got a hobby, honey, look. Look, it's tattoos, la la la.

I think if he was into fish by this point, he probably would have taken the boat out and, you know, blown his brains out at this point, you know? Probably so. Yeah, so essentially, cigars saved your life. Yes, exactly, cigars saved your life.

So anyways, do they have line items for the value of these companies? I'm sure on the sale brochure or whatever it is, I'm sure there is, but it's not in the store. Oh, okay. Just that the main house is on 20 acres.

There you go. So, Greg's moving to Nevada. I mean, maybe we could put together some venture capitalists and put together enough scratch. " You know, what's funny is I think my wife might actually be okay with it.

I don't believe it for a second. I don't either. Nope. No, I think you're a little delusional.

Okay. She's Puerto Rican. What, are you hanging out with the hookers tonight? Like, realistically.

You wouldn't hang out with the hookers. It would be work. You're running the place. It would be work.

I had to work late. I have to work late. I have to work late. We got a new girl.

I gotta see if she's any good. Come on. It's a long weekend. I'm testing the product.

I gotta work late. I'm testing the product. I'm testing the product. You would be murdered in your sleep, sir.

Gone. And I'd be like, you know what? I get it. I get it.

Oh, I mean, he's not. There's no way he can get it. Oh, he's definitely not a partner. Oh, without question.

No, you're not. I doubt I could either. I mean, I can't have AI models. No, you're not.

You're AI out. You're AI out. It's all AI, honey. Sure.

Sure they are. Where are you taking all their pictures? I'm in charge of social media. I take their photos.

Yeah. Nope. Not touching that. I don't know.

I might get away. My wife insisted on going to a strip club. That's a little different than you hanging out with hookers all day. Not hanging out.

It's work. " She's gaslighting you. She might want to buy a strip club. She's setting you up.

She's setting you up. Well, maybe you should start there. Start small. Work to the prostitution.

Yeah, we work our way to the brothel. Right, right, right. Start with strippers. Yeah.

Start with, maybe just like a lingerie store. Maybe we start with just hiring a girl here. Just a lingerie. Maybe just hire a girl here.

We don't do that. Yeah, see how that goes for the three of us, and then, you know, then the strip club. Oh, God, that's too funny. Too funny.

Hire a girl. Okay, moving on. All right. Now, a scale is almost unbelievable.

S. and Canadian driver's license scans, so scans of the actual driver's license, potentially making this one of North America's largest ever exposures of government-issued identification. This may be an active leak, not an old database. Investigators believe it's still a problem.

It's still leaking. I believe they were appearing in real time suggesting someone may have maintained continuous access to an identity verification system. Yeah, so like, there are things that are going on that I don't like. " And I'm like, "You said hi, Greg, when I walked through the door.

You need my ID? " So I give them the ID, and then part of the equipment that scanned checks scanned the ID. So there's a copy of that ID that this private company, this private bank, now has every single time I make a transaction. - Yeah, right.

- Yeah. That's crazy. - Well, now, to get into my mother's neighborhood, you have to put your license into the little machine that scans it that tells them who you are, And they match up the picture with the camera picture to make sure you're the person on the list. There's another database.

Right, I'm in that one too. Yeah, I mean, so like it's only a matter of time before all of everyone's information gets into somebody that is the wrong hands. Right. It's just a matter of time.

My fingerprint's on your door over there. Oh, I could use that. Can I sell that? Yeah, to the Bunny Ranch.

To the Bunny Ranch. 9 million. $33 million. The reporter found his own license.

Cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs discovered that his Virginia driver's license was being used as a free sample. Wow. That's amazing. Right.

So here. Check this out. Check this out. We can buy these licenses.

Here, look, here's one. Shit, that's me. Wow. He's not even qualified enough for price.

He's the free sample. He's the free one. Yeah, he's not even valuable. And he's a journalist.

Yeah. You know this guy? You see him on the news? Boom.

Here you go. Ooh. Evidence reportedly points towards information collected by a Louisiana identity verification provider, but neither Reuters nor the FBI has definitely established who was breached. The FBI says it's actively investigating.

What was the number? 150 million? 153 million. That's a lot.

Well, yeah. That's a lot. But there's Canadian ones too. Still a lot.

There's only like seven or eight Canadians there. They live close to the border because it's too cold as you go off. There's not a lot of Canadians. Yeah, yeah.

Man, okay. Took my joke, too. All right. Sorry.

He's upset. Look at him now. He's the one that's upset. I'll just stay back here and push the buttons.

A digital scan contains information criminals can repeatedly use for identity theft, fraudulent accounts, and verification scams. People could monitor their financial accounts, freeze their credit if concerned, and never assume that showing a license alone proves I guess they could like take a pic, you know, they could like put your picture on my, yeah, then all of a sudden you're me. I'm you. That's it.

That's all it takes. Yeah, I mean, look, you know, we're, we do pretty thorough things when we have questions when something doesn't add up on, on our site. Yeah. Yeah.

And it just gets harder and harder every year, I would say. You know, there was one where it's like, man, it's, I don't know, like it checks all the boxes, but like it feels like it's fraud. You know? Did we see a copy of that ID?

We did. And was it fraud? Funny it was Canadian. It checked all the boxes.

They checked all the boxes. Checked all the boxes for fraud or checked all the boxes for it was good? It was good. And we still canceled the order.

Sometimes you get a feeling. Yeah. Yeah, no, it just didn't fit. It didn't fit, man.

Better safe than sorry. There was something, and I'm like, you know, no, this isn't, this is, something's wrong here. 67. 67.

67. Million free eggs. Greg, why do you think they're getting eggs? Obviously, there's an overabundance of eggs somewhere.

Someone has too many eggs. A plethora of eggs? There's a plethora of eggs? An egg plethora of eggs?

Yeah, too many eggs. No. That's not what happened. Remember when the egg prices went up?

Okay. You just got off the phone with her. I am Googling something for content for us to have a conversation. Yeah, that's what I thought.

Okay, go ahead. Are there eggs in a dozen? No, how many population of Florida? There's like 23 million people in the state of Florida.

So they have all of ours. Okay, tell me why we're getting these eggs. Because back when they raised the prices of eggs, they were artificially raised by some egg organizations. Ah, the egg mafia, the egg kingpins.

The egg kingpin. Then there was a class action suit, and now they have to, the eggs will reach families throughout all 67 Florida counties, Feeding Florida's nine food banks and more than 2,400 community partners are handling distribution. What a duping. What a duping.

This is crazy, right? So, okay, first of all, we're gonna rob you, right? We're gonna sell you something that's super inflated. Then we're gonna get caught robbing you.

And we're gonna say, okay, you owe us this money for money. Okay, we owe you that much money? Yeah, no, we're gonna pay you with eggs. Well, there was a monetary thing, too, and, I'm trying to think, $348,490.

Seems shy. For consumer protection and antitrust enforcement. Well, then you add the eggs, the value of the eggs. But I don't want the value of the eggs.

I want cash. No, you want eggs, because they're shorted. Why are we paying in eggs? Because that's where the money's going to go once the zombies come.

It's not even enough eggs for each person in the State of Florida to get one egg. 56 million eggs, correct? 67. 67 million eggs?

23 million people? Well, they're going to food banks, you're not going to get an egg allotment that you go and pick out. So it's going to the people that didn't even buy the eggs? Going to the poor people.

How does this make sense? in 17 different states. 67 million spread out amongst? Yes.

That's just what we're getting. Oh, okay. All right. Still shy.

I'm not getting an egg. Not a single egg for you. Not one egg. I mean, this is an interesting thing because, like, realistically, you paid the premium for the egg.

You accepted the price. You could have skipped it. Right, you didn't have to buy the eggs. Right.

You don't buy eggs, you have chickens. Where else am I going to get eggs? From your backyard. Let's say I don't have chickens.

So let's say I don't have chickens. Yeah, you have a, you have. Let's say I don't have. You said you, you said you get three.

Now you have 17. Let's say I don't have chickens. I'm a regular person. Just normally going about my day and I need eggs.

Right. All of the eggs are expensive. You go to Greg's house and steal the chickens. All right.

I see where this is going. Steal his eggs. There you go. Steal his eggs.

Yeah. Like the raccoons do. The raccoons do steal them. Pull the legs off the, off the chicken so they can't run.

They just lay eggs. Yeah. Yeah. There you go.

Legless chickens. I don't know. Mike, you know, if price is too high for something, you don't buy it, I feel like that's probably what happened, that's how there's an overabundance, I'm like, alright, well, we'll give you some of these eggs, you know? Yeah, unless people started buying eggs because the price of eggs was too much, so now we pay you in eggs.

There's a five-year imposed compliance requirements so that they cannot do this again. And then, now, year six, back to business, baby. That's right. $18 a carton.

Start killing chickens. We're pissed off. Did somebody go to jail? Nobody went to jail.

Nobody goes to jail for those big type of crimes, white collar crimes. That's kind of my point. Yeah, nobody goes to jail for those. Isn't that obnoxious?

The chickens? Chickens are kind of in jail. It's crazy. The chickens live in jail.

Right. Yeah. Chickens are in jail. You know, I saw the difference between a cage-free and then like a cage and there's like a third term for chickens that give eggs.

So you saw one running loose, you saw one in a cage. Free range. Free range. But cage-free isn't the same as free-range.

Right, cage-free, caged, and then free-range. They're all in cages. So it's a little bit of a bigger cage with each one. Yeah, pretty much.

And like the free-range from what I saw, they had like these little rails they can stand on. They get the rails. They get to stay on these rails. And that makes it better, eggs?

I'm confused. Well, yeah. Cost more money for the rail. You gotta charge a super premium.

Yeah, well, you gotta put it in the middle with the rod, and they jump up on it. Right, and then it electrocutes them if they don't lay eggs. Yeah. Yeah.

You only lay two eggs. There were three more eggs. Yeah, I thought that was, it made me want, I wanted to buy, is there a lower one? Is there a double caged?

Well, they actually ripped the legs off, and they just put in a shoebox. And there's a hole for the egg to drop out of. Oh, so it's veal eggs. Yeah, it's just stacks of shoe boxes.

Veal eggs, right? With the holes. Yeah. I want those eggs.

Have you seen the process for, like, they do keep some cattle like that, not just particularly veal, but there's cattle that are just kept in- A box? In a box. Does it taste good? Probably.

Very soft. We've probably eaten it. It's very soft. Box steak?

Box steak. Mm-hmm. Where was I? Where was I?

I was at some restaurant and I had... Probably in Argentina or... No, no, no, no, no, no. Some foreign country?

Yeah. It was... They had exorbitant amounts of money for the experience? It was Rome.

It was... No, no. Japan. No, it wasn't there.

No, no, no. It was Peru. It was Greece. Oh my God, no.

You're taking me off track. So like they use this term and I'm going to mess it up. It was like... Rich people.

It was like Kentucky Wagyu steak. Some, some, some state in the United States with the word Wagyu, and like the- I gotta massage my cow, it's Wagyu. I asked the waiter, could I tell the story, I asked the waiter, you know, what's best on the menu, and he wants to go through this, and there was a whole category for this Americanized Wagyu, and I'm like, when did we start using the term Kentucky Wagyu? " Right?

So, "I ordered it. Why not? " Like, it didn't taste like Wagyu. It's just, you know...

Because you've had Wagyu. Of course, yeah. Of course. Yeah.

Of course. Of course. You know, I'm out of my stature. What?

I have not... This is not Wagyu, waiter. This is Kentucky bullshit, is what we call. I would like to see the manager, please.

I would like to speak to someone. Do you know who I am? I'm Greg. I've been to 17.

Triple G. You know what's funny? Triple G. I love how my brother's busting my chops.

The first time I ever ate at this restaurant that this experience with, he took me to it. Oh, you went to Ravenous Pig. No, I did not. It wasn't at Ravenous Pig.

Ravenous Pig would probably have legit Wagyu. It was on City Walk. Oh, where Ziggy lives? No, by the Universal Studios.

You went to Cowfish? I've been there with you as well. Oh, man of your stature. No, again, with you.

He eats it regularly. Where'd you go, burn? No, it's like a wood fire steak. Rich man food?

I don't know what it's called. The first time I ever went there was with you. I went there once and it was terrible. I never went back.

Oh, okay. And guess what? You got duped again. I learned my lesson the first time.

Michael got the Nebraska Wagyu. The Nebraska Wagyu. I like a good Kansas City. Yeah, that was the first and last time I went there because I went there because I'm poor.

" It was the second time I was there. Hundreds of times. The first time was with you. Several times.

Several. I would say several. Several. You want to know a life hack about CityWalk?

I'll tell you. Tell me. Our favorite place is Cowfish. With the Brussels sprouts.

Yeah, the Brussels sprouts are pretty good, I think. But usually, when you go to CityWalk, you go to these places, We can't get in, like, I don't book a Rezo. Right. I mean, we wing these things.

But if you go upstairs in the escalator, there's a bar in the back, and with tables, you can sit down, and the bartender will serve you. Oh. So you can go to the bar, if it's just you two, and you can get a whole meal there, no problem. You don't have to wait or nothing.

That's the trick? That's the hack. We do that all the time, we'll go to a bar and have dinner instead of sitting in another restaurant. Is there any way to save money?

Don't eat the Wagyu. Don't go to CityWalk. Yeah. Don't eat the Wagyu.

It's fake anyway. It's not real Wagyu. Yeah. It's Kentucky.

No. If it's got a state in front of Wagyu, it's not good. They lied to you. They lied to you.

They lied. Mentiroso. Alright. Cigar news.

Dun, dun, dun. Dun, dun, dun. Davidoff quits pro cigar. This is big.

Wait, what? Yeah. Yeah. This is big.

When I saw this, I saw it on Epicurean Smokes link. I was like, oh, shit. Go ahead. Davidoff, one of the largest companies in Dominican Republic industry, He has left Pro Cigar, the Dominican Republic's main cigar manufacturers organization.

, Davidoff Dominican manufacturing operation that includes its two cigar factories, tobacco processing operations, and farms. It was a founding member and has been part of the Pro Cigar for 34 years. At least until earlier this year, for decades Pro Cigar was led by Hendrik Kellner, who was Mike was the head of Tabacon and later a global brand ambassador for Davidoff before he left the company in 2021. Since his departure, Pro Cigar has gotten new leadership and has been undergoing significant change compared to its previous era.

It's unclear how much these changes are related to Davidoff's decision. Tabacon Holdings has been a very active and committed member for 34 years. However, looking at our future vision and priorities, we have decided to end our membership with Pro Cigar. " So, I imagine there's a fee to be a member of this?

Yeah, of course. It can't be that expensive. But I don't think that's what it is. It's got to be something else.

And I don't know about the whole reason why they said about focusing on a global market. That just sounds like media fluff. It's a media fluff. There's, there's something there that we're not seeing, for sure.

It says their last participation was noticeably scaled back. Their last what? Their last participation in it, it was noticeably scaled back. So it was not as grand and, and as big as they normally do.

Davidoff's participation. Yeah, yeah, like last time. Well, because they probably were posturing for this move. Right.

Our membership expires, we are not going to renew. Aha. Well, I think that, here are the two hypotheticals. number one is they felt that the juice wasn't worth the squeeze right the time the effort the energy like yeah this doesn't make a lot of sense or it i think it might be possible that one guy one brand in particular was the dominant in this scenario in this space like maybe they kind of run it and they felt like everybody else would fall beneath that and you know how this It works in the cigar industry, if somebody's the number one guy, then the other guys aren't happy about that.

Maybe not all of them, but some of them. And boom, you know, it's like, you know, we're out. Super interesting, whatever it is. Yeah, it's hard to say, but we would like to know more.

So I'm sure that someone will tell me. Yeah, somebody will tell you. Well, maybe not anymore. Why not?

We're not talking about it anymore, Michael. Okay. I don't think anybody has a problem with telling me anything, still. Alright.

At least the real ones. We done? We done? Moving on.

Eroa Expedition Collection arrives at select stores. Who? Eroa. Oh, Eroa.

It's his neat little suitcase. We talked about the suitcase before. Now there is a trunk. Yeah, 30 Gs.

Yeah, last year's CLE Cigar harkened back to the early days of travel with a release called the Aviator Series. Hmm. It was an extremely limited release, just, I'm sorry, are you okay over there? Yep, I'm finally getting tired.

Alright. Just five American stores received the cigars and they arrived priced at over $100 per cigar. How many in the unit? Let's read on.

Let's read on. After the cigars were shown off, Christian Eroa, the founder of CLE, said there was persistent demand for some of the company's international clients. Now some of those stores are getting a new release that sounds a lot like the Aviator Series, but in a bigger box. Bigger box.

0. Eroa declined to say if the two cigars were the same, but both cigars are 6x52 Toros. The Auroa Aviator Series Briefcase, for the most part, the exhibition collected brings back those same packaging elements, so it'll look like an old-timey suitcase. Yeah, yeah.

I want to know how many? It doesn't say. There is a picture, hold on, is he one, two, three, four, he can't tell if it's double or triple. How many do you think you're in there, Greg?

Well, if it's anything like our friend we met with yesterday, there's going to be at least a hundred, if not more. I mean, that just makes sense. That's a lot. It's a lot, at a hundred a clip.

- How do you display a suitcase? - On the floor. - Where do you put the trunk? On the floor.

- Well, the trunk is really too big, you could not put that in a humidor. - Yeah, yeah, no, you put it on the floor. - Because you can't, like, tear the lid off. - Yeah, but I think that these are more designed for a single cell.

Like, there's one person who's gonna buy the trunk, with all of its contents. - The trunks have a leather luggage tag on them, and they're each numbered. - Yeah. - So, the new ones are going to Best Cigar Sofia Bulgaria, Cigar, long name, Luxury Tobacco World in Bahrain.

Let's see, then Tobacco Simon Postam in Potsdam, Germany. Xeno Cigars on the Ivory Coast. Let's see, okay, due to local taxes, the price will vary though the MSRP for the entire case of 176 cigars. 176?

176? 176? Yes. It's not even 100.

It's going to be $17,000. It's going to be $17,000. Is $20,000. Which corresponds to the $20,064 MSRP for the Aviator Series in Freedom Dollars.

20 dimes. $20,000 for 176 cigars and a really cool case. Yeah, you get the box. You get the box.

So we're not carrying that? I don't think we're going to carry that one. We're not going to get that? Yeah.

But you did mention a lot of different locations globally, and I'm seeing more and more brands It's really becoming international brands, extending into, I mean, Canada, there's a bunch that I've seen going into the Canadian market these days that I never thought would, but they are. Yeah, a lot of people going to Canada. Christian mentioned that his first one was not offered internationally. He had a lot of people asking for it, so he made this one specifically for the international market.

Makes sense. Find a need, fill a need. That's business. Sure.

Did he go to sleep? Oh yeah, he was totally asleep. Oh, he wasn't saying anything. That's 'cause he was sleeping.

Ah. Totally asleep. All right, Perdomo shifts their 30th anniversary to a 20-count box. Oh.

Smart. You excited? " Well, I mean, I just appreciate not having to spend, you know, tens of thousands of dollars on A-box cars. That's all.

Ah, yes. They have shifting from 30-count boxes to 20-count boxes as it looks to help retailers increase movement of the line. Right, smart. According to retailers, the company said that it has listened to their feedback and made box purchases of the line more affordable.

The new 20 count format means the boxes are between, I don't know why there's a range, but I guess because different types of cigars? Different Vitolas. Ah, makes sense. Alright, what do you think the range is?

50. Michael? 00. He's totally asleep.

135 to 155 less per box when compared to the 30 count box. I won. No, you didn't. That's just how low, they've lowered the price that much.

That's how much they lowered it, not the actual MSRP. We have to know the actual price, which we don't know. Yeah, but it's definitely not $7, though. $5.

$5. He's going down. He's going down. 50.

More general information about Nick and his mother and all sorts of things. Okay. There's blends that they're offered in. I mean, they made news that they're putting less cigars in a box.

Slow news day, what do you want? I guess so. Was that a half-wheel article? Yes.

Okay. Alright, now it's time for the industry's favorite game. Let's see how excited he gets. What's the score?

Can you predict a cigar's score from a half-wheel review before it's revealed? We'll give you clues, you make your guess, as the review, that's not, where are you going? - I don't know, I don't know. - And the review unfolds, the answer gets closer, or does it?

The closest guess wins, now! - I already did it. - Let's play What's the Score? Today's Cigar, September 3rd, 2026, Brooks Whittington is the reviewer, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, Silver Mesa, Tapa Negra, Corona Gorda.

Tapa Negra, Corona Gorda, 26 books. We have reviewed this cigar ourselves on the Patreon. Ah, 92. 88.

Cigar Reviewed, Z Silver Mesa, Tapa Negra, Corona Gorda, Not a Cedar Sleeve. Country of Origin, Nicaragua, Factory, Fabrica de Tobacco, Hoya de Nicaragua, Wrapper, Ecuador, Connecticut Seed, and... What? Oh, two wrappers, that's right.

Nicaraguan, Sun Grown, Cuban Seed, Binder, Mexican, Filler, ASP, Esteli, Hybrid, Lajero, Condega, La Jolla, Esteli, C98, and Pueblo Nuevo, Criolo, Length 5x55 and 5x48, it's round, they smoked three. Uh, 92. 90. What cigar are we reviewing?

Hold on. Do you not know? Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. It is the Sober Mesa Tapa Negra.

Very good, very good. By Brooks Whittington, September 6th, 2026. Wow, he pulled it out. Very good.

Dude, I used to sleep in school and I made honor roll. I wouldn't have gotten a day, I would have gotten the year, what the cigar was. We can hear what the cigar was and who reviewed it, but not the day. Well done.

I'm a boss. Very good. Very good. Hang on.

Let me for you. Computing, computing, computing, thinking, thinking, thinking. Hey, you want to just jump to the end since he's not listening? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

You know what? Actually, wait until he falls asleep. Review a different cigar. All right.

Clue number one. The two-tone wrapper makes this cigar visually striking, but the flavor delivers too. Pecans, Creamy Cedar, Espresso, Honey Sweetness, Create a Full Complex Profile Without Overwhelming the Smoker. 91.

90. Why? Why so high? It might move two points.

You said 91, he said 90. His is lower. Yeah, but he's an 88 guy. We already did the first number.

The first number is always 88. After that, it moves. Okay. Clue number two, despite staying just under medium body for most of the experience, the cigar produces full flavor from beginning to end.

The transition into richer notes of cocoa, buttered bread, and peanut butter keep it interesting. Peanut butter, always keeping it interesting. I like peanut butter. My cigar has hints of peanut butter.

91. 92. Third clue: construction was the biggest disappointment. Two of the three cigars required burn corrections and the noticeable differences in ring gauge, weight, and even wrapper color suggest some consistency issues.

Interesting. Ninety. Ninety-two. Final thought, I'm a big fan of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust's Brulee line and even more of a fan of the Brulee Blue, so I've been looking forward to trying the Sober Mesa Tapa Negra since I heard about it.

Not surprisingly, I found that the Tapa Negra has quite a bit in common with the Brulee blend, including a profile full of strong and creamy nuttiness, both pecans and peanuts, As well as breadiness, cedar, and some light but distinct honey sweetness on the retrohale. However, there are also some differences including a tart lemongrass note on the finish and more pepper overall than I have found in any of the brulee cigars I've smoked. Then there is the addition of the Nicaraguan sun-grown wrapper at the top which adds an explosion of spice along with new flavors of charred meat, dry earth, and dark berry sweetness. After smoking three of the Tapa Negra Corona Gordas for this review, I actually wish the darker wrapper came down to the halfway mark so that I did not have to wait as long to get to that flavor profile, but even so, this is a wonderful blend that just about anyone looking for a full-flavored blend should love.

Explosions of Meat. Explosions of Meat, yes. Explosions of Meat. Which, by the way, is Phil McGuffey's new movie, Explosions of Meat.

Explosions of Meat. That's where he's at today. 90, 92, you went the wrong way, 87, what? There is no rhyme or reason to this, sleeping.

So what he said is, I'm sleeping and I still won. Yeah, I understand that. Okay. It's hard.

Heavy is the head. Is that it? We only got one today? That's it.

Yeah. Even though it was two for Tuesday? Yeah. Okay, well we're gonna double down here.

Why? We've already taken up like two hours. Yeah, what's the time? What are we doubling down on here?

What are we doing? You're tired. I have things to do. He's going to call his wife.

It is late. And I have a broken teleprompter. Broken teleprompter. Okay, fine.

I was going to give you one for you two to play, but that's fine. Oh, no. We're at an hour. We've got to be at an hour.

We're 52 minutes. Playing good. Yeah, we're fine. Fine, fine, fine.

God. Like and subscribe if you're reviewing and listening to the show. com for all your chpod swag. com, us, Cigar Hustlers, podcast.

Thank you very much today. We hope that we provide a great edutainment for you on this Tuesday. Greg? Goodbye.

Thank you very much. We got to go. My remote's broken, though.

Show Notes

The Fellas of Cigar Hustlers Podcast review and discuss the latest from Davidoff, Perdomo, and Dunbarton.A full cigar-industry news discussion — reviews, interviews, and commentary, plus the week's wildest headlines.In episode of the Cigar Hustlers Podcast, BDP, Triples G and The King run from the news desk to the humidor — reacting to the week's headlines before digging into cigar news and reviews featuring Davidoff, Perdomo, and Dunbarton. Honest conversation and industry commentary, new episodes every weekday.