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Digital Social Hour
From Drifting to Top 10: Building a 300K Download Podcast | John Gafford Part 2 DSH #968
00:30:48
From drifting to 300K downloads a month! 🚀 John Gafford reveals how he built a top 10 entrepreneurship podcast and escaped the currents of life. Tune in for game-changing insights on achieving success and living with purpose! 💯
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- [00:01]
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Host
Speaky's vibe is a vibe.
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John Gafford
Dude, I was gonna join it. You know, I got I. Because it was cheap to join it. I got approved for the membership and I got it. And then I literally, I went, I went there with a couple friends, but it made me realize, do I really need a private club membership that I feel like I'm going to be obligated to use and the only thing really to do there is drink and the place is 35 minutes from my house. Yeah, I just decided that's probably a.
- [01:20]
Host
Bad plan for me. All right, Part two with John Gafford. It's been a little over a year now. Thanks for coming back on, man.
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John Gafford
Been a minute, man. Been a minute.
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Host
Yeah. You started your own show now?
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John Gafford
Yeah, well, my show's been going for like three years. Consistently now in the top 15 for entrepreneurship. I think it was number nine yesterday. Yeah, we're doing good, man. Got. It's averaging right around 300, 000 downloads a month, which I'm very proud of. And yeah, we're doing great, man. Escaping the Drift.
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Host
Check it out. What's. What's your goal with that show?
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John Gafford
So you know, that show is very much like I, I have a book coming out very soon. Yeah, it's actually, I talked to the publisher this morning. Very soon my book will come out of the same name, Escaping the Drift. And the whole idea with that is it's kind of like a user's manual to my dip 26 year old self. So many people are just kind of drifting along with the currents of life and what I try to do is provide, you know, practical advice and bring high level achievers on that. Drop their secrets about how to kind of get out of that. Just floating along with the currents of life and start achieving at a different level.
- [02:23]
Host
Yeah. So at 26, you were just kind of figuring out, man.
- [02:26]
John Gafford
I mean, dude, I did a lot of really cool stuff, right? I had a lot of super cool jobs as a kid. I mean, I was running nightclubs. I mean, in my early 20s, I was a top level brass for Hooters of America restaurant chain. I own my first, you know, bar when I was 20.
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Host
Damn.
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John Gafford
But, you know, I wasn't achieving any real success. Right. Like, I had a lot of cool jobs that I had, but, you know, I wouldn't say I was building any wealth, right?
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Host
You were working for someone else, dude.
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John Gafford
Yeah, man. I was just drifting along with the currency Wherever life was taking me, man, that's what's happening.
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Host
Hooters fell off, man.
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John Gafford
Yeah, dude. I have not been in a Hooters restaurant. And, you know, it's one of those things when you eat so much of something for six years, which I did.
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Host
Yeah.
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John Gafford
Like, I never want to eat it again, ever.
- [03:05]
Host
That's how I feel with Chipotle, dude.
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John Gafford
I'll tell you this. So back in the day, man, working at Hooters, it was like. It was like a fraternity house.
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Host
Yeah.
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John Gafford
It was the stuff that we did back in what would have been now the late 90s in those restaurants. I mean, it was sheer insanity compared to what you could get away with in any workplace.
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Host
Oh, I bet. And now all those girls are just making more on only fans. So.
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John Gafford
Yeah, I. You know, I cannot imagine how hard it would be to staff one of those restaurants or staff a place that is dependent on female sexuality when those girls can't jump on only fans they want to do.
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Host
Yeah. I wonder how the clubs got affected, actually.
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John Gafford
I mean, well, Vegas, I don't think so much because, I mean, you look at those girls in Vegas that are making, you know, $200,000 a year to hold a sparkler up at a sign or carry a bottle to a table, it's insane. And for those of you who don't live in Vegas to hear that, yeah, that's real.
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Host
That's common.
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John Gafford
That's common. But, yeah, I think when they're making that kind of money in the right clubs, I think it's. I don't think it's affected them. Yeah.
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Host
Do you go out to any clubs?
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John Gafford
As rarely as I possibly can anymore, man. You know, I think These days, I like to be in places always. Live music. Well, that's always the thing I'll always do.
- [04:14]
Host
You love music.
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John Gafford
You know, the club stuff, you know, dude, you know, I don't. Maybe it's the old man in me now. If I can't hear, I'm just like, dude, I'm miserable.
- [04:21]
Host
Yeah.
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John Gafford
Like, bro, I just want to talk to people.
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Host
Yeah. Yeah. Have you always been big on music?
- [04:26]
John Gafford
Always. You know, back in the day, the nightclub that I had in Atlanta, Cobalt Lounge, was Esquire magazine named it the number one nightclub on the east Coast, United States. And that was in 2000. We had all the super bowl parties there, which were awesome. So. Yeah. But I mean, I came up in that era of when house music and techno and all that stuff was really having a second wind, if you will, through that time of the late 90s, early 2000s. And then house music really took over through that early part of the 2000s. But as far as, like, bands and stuff, I've been playing drums since I was six. Wow. And one of the joys of my life has. For whatever reason, you know, one of the bars I own ran in Atlanta was a live music venue, so I got to meet a lot of really cool people there that wound up becoming very, very famous. And, you know, I will say one of the greatest stories of my life is being able to be with the boys in the band. When you can go to a show and you have that all access and you're hanging out in the green room behind it, and there's just. There's just nothing better.
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Host
The camaraderie, right?
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John Gafford
Yeah, dude, it's the closest thing you can. You can be to, like. I don't know. It's pretty special.
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Host
Yeah. No, that Speak vibe is a vibe.
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John Gafford
Yeah.
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Host
You know, I like those. I went to the one in fountain blue. Have you been to that one?
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John Gafford
Yeah, yeah.
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Host
Pony Room.
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John Gafford
Are you talking about Poodle Room? Up top.
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Host
Poodle Room. Yeah.
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John Gafford
Dude. I was going to join it. You know, I got I. Because it was cheap to join. It was like 8,000 bucks for the membership, and then it was not that much month, not much monthly. And I got approved for the membership, and I got it. And then I literally. I went. I went there with a couple friends, and we had like five old fashions. And then two of my guys smoked a cigar and the bill came out. And the bill was egregious, which I kind of knew it would be. But what. What it made me realize was I didn't do. I really Need a private club membership that I feel like I'm going to be obligated to use. And the only thing really to do there is drink. And the place is 35 minutes from my house. Yeah, I just decided that's probably a bad place.
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Host
I didn't join either. I went. Water was 10 bucks. And then I loved the live cello music, but other than that, yeah, great.
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John Gafford
Great view. Unbelievable and. Unbelievable view. Did you see, like, the. You saw the sushi restaurant?
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Host
Yeah. That's like 500 bucks, right?
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John Gafford
It's crazy. And, I mean, it'd be a cool place to do private events, but again, it's just. It's really far from where I live.
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Host
Oh, definitely have an event there.
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John Gafford
Yeah. I love when people, you know, think because you live in Vegas that you're on the Strip every night and it's like, dude, it's getting further every single day. I mean, with traffic, it's literally getting further.
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Host
There's actually traffic now in Vegas, bro.
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John Gafford
I was telling you earlier when I came in to get to. From the Win to your event at Mandalay on Friday, it took us 54 minutes on the Strip. It's crazy.
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Host
Crazy.
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John Gafford
And why was. You know, the Uber driver was not doing what I was telling her to do still. There would have been a faster way to get there, but. Yeah, it was. It's a disastrous.
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Host
Yeah, no, I remember when I moved here four years ago, and I don't remember any traffic that year.
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John Gafford
Yeah, I can get. You know, it's funny. I used to. You know, we have offices on this side of town and on the other side of town, and my partner and I, we always meet at the Win because neither one of us wants to make the traffic officers like.
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Host
Yeah, because Summerlin's starting to get pretty bad.
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John Gafford
It. It is. I mean, we were over there last week, and I. I went to watch football with some friends in the Ridges, and. And, yeah, man, you don't realize how busy it is getting over there as well.
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Host
Yeah, I'm excited about Vegas, though. There's a lot of good things coming.
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John Gafford
There's a lot, man. People ask me all the time about Vegas and especially being doing what we do with the real estate market and talking about the future of the real estate market in Vegas. And, you know, nationally, you're seeing a price pullback. You're seeing prices drop, and there's going to be probably a correction a lot of areas. But I just don't really see that for Vegas, because if you look at the growth that we've had in Every direction over the last seven years. Name one other city you can even think of that's picked up every major sports franchise in an eight year window. We're going to have basketball probably announced within the year.
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Host
Yeah.
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John Gafford
And then we'll have every major franchise playing here within a 10 year period. That doesn't happen. To go from zero to every single team like that just does not happen. And you seen with that this massive shift in migration to Vegas because slowly but surely we're becoming less and less dependent on gaming as our primary revenue driver. Driver. I mean it will always be a huge revenue driver here. But you know, when I first moved here, that was it. I mean it was, it was. Gaming was the driver of everything. And now you're starting to see with a lot of tech moving in and different things that are happening around the Valley, we're becoming less and less dependent on what happens.
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Host
Right? Yeah. You're seeing Hollywood coming in too.
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John Gafford
That's going to be huge. You know those studios, I, you know, they've announced it, it's there. Did you know that the tax credits that they asked for are greater than what the Raiders asked for? What the A's asked for?
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Host
No way. Well, they'll probably produce more money, right?
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John Gafford
Dude, the. I don't, I don't know though. But how, how could it Hollywood, I mean, no, you're not selling tickets to shoot movies. You're shooting with, with localized people.
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Host
Right.
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John Gafford
They're saving monies because the unions won't necessarily be here effectively. I'm sure they will pretty quickly. But the cost of doing business here will be much different. Which again I think why that affects you look at something like that. How does that affect the real estate industry? And I've had this conversation. You know, a year ago I was talking to some, some friends, I was talking to Justin Colby and he's like, what should we buy? And I said, you should buy 1.5 to 2 and a half million dollar midterm rentals is what you should buy and get as many of them as you can. And he's like why? I'm like, because dude, if Will Ferrell comes here to shoot a movie for four months, he doesn't want to stay at the Win. They're going to want a place that they can stay that feels like they're living here.
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Host
Right.
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John Gafford
So if you can get those midterm rentals for people that are coming into work on the movies, you'll be able to bang on them smart. They're going to do very, very well. But Stuff like that is what. You know, obviously, now you got that segment being gobbled up, and it just. All these little things trickle down into our local economy.
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Host
Yeah, dude, there's so much taken off comedians. Yeah. The ovon Andrew Schultz had a show the night of my event. Concerts are blowing up here.
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John Gafford
There is not. You know, people talk about living other places, and they say, you know, New York, you know, the city never sleeps. Dude, if you live in Las Vegas, there is literally something you can do every single night of the week. You know, it's funny. Case in point, randomly, my. We were dinner on Sunday night, and my wife was talking about comedians and was talking about how my son, who is 16, would love carrot Top, which is ridiculous. It's a ridiculous show. It's not highbrow comedy. It's just nonsense. But it is pretty funny. And literally, like, I made one call, and we're going to take my son to see Carrot Top tonight because. Every night of the week. Yeah, tonight. Because it's just. I thought of it two days ago, and then it's. And then tonight we're going. And there's something. Every night. Every night. Which. The only thing that makes it hard is if you have season tickets to all this stuff, like, especially.
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Host
Which you do.
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John Gafford
It's a lot. It's a lot, man. Hockey's a lot. Football's a lot. There's a lot.
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Host
You might be one of the biggest Golden Knights fans in the. In the world, dude.
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John Gafford
I love it, man. You know, we sit right behind the penalty boxes, which is great. We go to almost every single game.
- [11:15]
Host
I will say, the one game I went to was good networking.
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John Gafford
Yeah, dude, that section. That section where I sit in those club seats is awesome. Yeah.
- [11:21]
Host
I met Sean. Whan was there.
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John Gafford
There's a couple.
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Host
I think Grant Cardone might have been there.
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John Gafford
Yeah. Yeah. Dude, we see. You see so many people in that club right there. It's crazy. Like, the football games are too big. Right. There's too many places for people to disseminate to. But in the night's games, it's really kind of local. Yeah, it's really localized. A couple.
- [11:37]
Host
Yeah. Because when you go to the bar every period at the end, meet some people.
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John Gafford
Yeah. You see everybody. It's great. Great networking.
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Host
Yeah. Shout out to the Knights. Are they good this year? I haven't been keeping on.
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John Gafford
They're going to be, though. They haven't started playing this year, but they're, you know, probably going to be dreadful. Traded away. Pretty much the heart and soul of our team. Got traded away. So we'll see, man. Jonathan Mar still got traded with, but we'll see. We'll see what happens.
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Host
You take the bag.
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John Gafford
Ah, dude, I think they just didn't want to pay him. I think they thought he was getting too old and didn't want to pay him anymore. Damn. So off he went. Okay. I don't know, man. Who knows?
- [12:02]
Host
Who knows? Have you had any of those guys on your pod players?
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John Gafford
No. You know what? Honestly, I've never tried.
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Host
That's surprising.
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John Gafford
Yeah, you know, it's one of those things where I have met a bunch of those guys. They all buy. They all bar buy cars from Nick Dosa.
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Host
Yeah.
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John Gafford
Who owns Vegas Auto Gallery. So I've met a couple of them. You know, obviously they're. They were hanging around there a lot when, when I was spend a lot of time over there at Nick's place, I would meet a lot of those guys. But yeah, I've never even asked any of them again. With my show, we really lean towards, you know, heavy entrepreneur stuff, really. Business building stuff is what we try to do. I've had some athletes through. I mean, we had Al. Jermaine Sterling, who Aljo is great. Awesome. And that was really just about his story of overcoming and persistence, which is great because to do what he does in the ufc, you've got to have that mindset.
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Host
Absolutely.
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John Gafford
That was a mindset. Talk all day.
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Host
Oh, yeah. I was looking at your top episodes. Ryan Sirhant was up there.
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John Gafford
Sirhan was great. You know, obviously we, what we do is very similar, so we had a lot of stuff to talk about. It was funny. I, I accused him of. Of ruining real estate, which was funny.
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Host
Social media. Yeah.
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John Gafford
Well, no, no, not so much him. It was more million dollar listing. The way that they get on the phone and, and, you know, argue over deals and transactions on the phone when that's not at all really how this works because you've got, you know, everything's got to be on paper and go back and forth contracts. But I asked him about that and he was essentially like no man in Manhattan. That's really how this is. I mean, that's really how it gets done. There's no question.
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Host
So handshake deals out there, right?
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John Gafford
Well, no, it's just they're able to massage and manufacture things on verbal offers because the contracts go to attorneys to be drafted.
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Host
Right.
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John Gafford
So they have to kind of massage out the terms. That's how it is. I mean, New York's crazy for real estate. There's no mls In New York, a lot of people don't know. There's.
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Host
How do you find a house?
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John Gafford
Well, that's why they go do all these open houses and go to all this stuff and do all those things because they have to kind of know this inventory. There's so much that's off market. It's crazy.
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Host
Holy crap. I wonder why they don't have one.
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John Gafford
It's just how it's always been and it's wild. There's so much off market stuff and so much new. You know, you've got to. You got to be in the know. So it's a much more, you know, we're blessed in these markets because we have the MLS and we could just kind of, what are you looking for? And go find it. Whereas those guys, you're really paid for what you know out there. So mad respect to Ryan and what?
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Host
Based off connections, dude. Yeah, Mad respect. Shout out to Ryan. Did you watch his new show?
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John Gafford
Have not watched his new show, man. Have not done that. I don't watch a lot of tv.
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Host
I don't.
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John Gafford
It's not something I do. It's the only time I watch TV is if I'm on the treadmill. That's it. And I'll binge watch one thing. Like I'll just start on something and binge watch it and then when it's done, I'll start something else.
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Host
100%.
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John Gafford
So I'm literally watching one thing at one time.
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Host
Yeah. No, these days in the car, I'm just listening to pods.
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John Gafford
Yeah, man. It's one of those things where you know and shout out to you for doing that because, you know, when I, when I was your age and young, you know, you think you have all the time in the world and you think time is this infinite resource that goes on forever. And then when you get a little older, you start to realize, or more or less more. When you start watching your kids grow up and the speed at which your kids grow up is what's kind of crazy. You start to realize how finite that time is and you start to get real selective with how you spend your time, I bet. And what you do. And I'm very particular about, I say no to way more things than I say yes. Like, no offense, but if you see me at one of your events, you're welcome, brother. And I come to almost all of them. I do because I. Because I find value in what you do. But yeah, I say no to a lot of people that ask me to a lot.
- [15:19]
Host
No, I appreciate that for Real, because I know you're one of the top guys at my events, obviously. So the fact that you're showing up, it means a lot.
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John Gafford
I show up for you. My man. I always will.
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Host
Appreciate it. Dude, did you have like a quarter life or midlife crisis where you started realizing this?
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John Gafford
No, dude, I don't think it. I don't, I don't, I don't think so. Because I've always. One of the things about me is I've always done what I want to do. I have a very understanding wife that, that understands that if I'm going to do something, it's just what's going to happen. And you know, sometimes, well, I'd say more, more times than not, that works out, sometimes that results in seven figure losses. But, but it's always kind of what I want to do at the time of the direction I want to go. And she trusts me to do that stuff. But I think, again, I think the thing that hit me the most that I heard somebody say was, you know, you get 18 summers with your kids. And I think it was. I saw Jesse Edzler say that and when I saw that, it really hit me. I was like, man, you know, this is going fast. And my son, who's 16, is a junior in high school. I got this summer, next summer, and he's gone.
- [16:16]
Host
Wow.
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John Gafford
He's off to college. You know that when you have kids, 95% of the time that you spend with them in their entire life is before the age 18.
- [16:25]
Host
Wow.
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John Gafford
So from now until the day I die or, you know, it's only 5% of time left. And, and that makes me very hyper aware of what I'm doing and where I spend my time.
- [16:36]
Host
That's deep, man, because a lot of parents are just grinding while they have kids.
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John Gafford
You can't, it's time. You can't get back. And I think that, I think that one of the advantages that I had of having kids later in life instead of, you know, you know, there's a give and take, right. I have friends that had kids when they were like 22 years old and now those kids are adults and they're great adults and those people are the same age as I am and they have 27, 26, 28 year old kids and they're like hanging out together like friends. Right. So that would be awesome. Right. That would be awesome to have your kids like adults that you could hang out with while you're still young enough to like hang out with them like that. But on the flip side, of that coin. You know, I think my kids have kept me young at heart for a lot longer than you would. I mean, we didn't have kids, so I was 33. And by doing that, it is definitely, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, kept me young.
- [17:24]
Host
Yeah.
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John Gafford
You know when you show up at the. When you show up at the school and you're by far the oldest dad, you're like, okay, cool. Yeah. And not that old, bro. I'm not that old. Right. But, you know, when you're in there and, you know this dad is 22 and you're 36, it's a. It's a little bit of a gap to deal with, but I like that. I like that they've kept me young and. Yeah. And the fact that I was more financially stable with them when they were born made me able to choose my. You know, I've never. I've never had. I've never worked for somebody else.
- [17:56]
Host
Wow.
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John Gafford
I haven't worked for. I haven't worked for another human being as far as punching a clock since I was 28 years old. I think was probably the last time that happened. 29 years old, maybe. No, no, no, no, no, no. Just. I've had. I had other jobs that I did and things that I did. But. But, yeah, but the fact that I've always worked for myself in those times has given me that freedom to be able to spend as much time as I want it with them.
- [18:19]
Host
I see both sides of it because I have friends now that are living paycheck to paycheck. And, dude, it's just stressful, man.
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John Gafford
With kids, you know, I can't imagine. You know, it's like I think about it all the time and I wonder. I mean, my wife's awesome and we have a great relationship, but I wonder how much different that would be if we had to sit down and have conversations like, well, we can't pay this. We're going to put this off, and blah, blah, and that undue stress on a relationship. I would think that that stress of money probably undoes way more relationships than you would think.
- [18:48]
Host
Right? That's why.
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John Gafford
That's the normal count.
- [18:49]
Host
No, I'm the same way. That's why I'm building a safety net before I have kids. Because you never know, man.
- [18:54]
John Gafford
Yeah, no, no, no. For sure you don't. And then. And then, like, you know, you start having some weird health stuff happen, and all of a sudden you're like, holy, are they set up for forever? And then you start kind of grinding again. And scrambling for that. So you're. You're never as prepared as you think. And, And. And life has levels. I mean, there are people out there in the world that, you know, could walk in and look at, you know, and this is not a flex. It's not that much money. Don't. But I'm saying they could walk in and look at my active checking account, and they would be like, I could retire on that. Right? Yeah. Because they just could live well within their means. It is what it is. And then there's people that, you know, then there's. There's levels to this. So the more you get, the more you have to make. And everybody has a number of what they have to have to retire. Like, okay, I can. I can plan this out, and then I can do that. Yeah, I'll get there at 50. I'll get there by 55. I'm not working anymore after 55.
- [19:42]
Host
Well, you got to be careful with retirement because they're doing new studies on brain health.
- [19:45]
John Gafford
I know. Well, okay, here's the thing. Okay, let's talk about that. So when I say. When I say retire, I don't mean I'm going to sit around and play golf every day. That's not what I mean. I mean that even in this business, Right. You know, we have 600 agents at work here. And between this and then the mortgage company and then the title company, everything else that we own, I feel the need to have to be here every day. Not that I have to do anything other than direct traffic a little bit, but I feel like if I'm not here, I'm setting the wrong example of leadership for the level of effort that you need to put out to do what needs to be done.
- [20:23]
Host
Wow.
- [20:23]
John Gafford
And I feel like, especially with our agents who come in and, you know, they all. They cycle in and cycle out. Right. They might. There might be a month where I don't see one of our people because they're just not coming in the office or working from home. But I always feel. I also feel like this responsibility that when people walk in, they need to see me. Like, I need to be here on that one day a month. And then my walk in, I need to be here.
- [20:46]
Host
Yeah.
- [20:47]
John Gafford
And so my definition of retiring and retirement is not ceasing to work projects. It's not ceasing to chase your passion. It's ceasing to have to feel that. To have the need to feel like you have to be anywhere at any given time.
- [21:01]
Host
Interesting.
- [21:02]
John Gafford
That's what I want to get Away from. That's what I want to.
- [21:04]
Host
Okay, so you would just be more like behind the scenes.
- [21:06]
John Gafford
Yeah, dude. I mean, look at that point. You know, I sit on the board for a couple different things and, you know, a couple paid board chips. I was talking to my buddy Josh about this weekend, and it's kind of the same plan. Just a couple paid board, board seats, advisory seats, no equity, no fiduciary. Just. Just straight up, easy peasy. And give me something to think about and something to do and something to mold and help that next generation up as we go along. I plan on being fully involved in that stuff, but again, it's that I need to be somewhere on Monday at 9:00am that's what I got to get away from. Yeah, that's the thing. And we have. And I think we're going to get there.
- [21:44]
Host
You're there already. You just.
- [21:47]
John Gafford
Yes and no. Yes and no.
- [21:48]
Host
Yeah, I feel that. Did you pick that up from Trump, that leadership style?
- [21:51]
John Gafford
No, you know, honestly, I picked that up. If I had to say anything, probably from Kent Clothier, who is. I'll see him tomorrow. Kent's a good friend. And Kent's whole philosophy of time is now, you know, and. And going from hustler to CEO. And, you know, one of the most profound things I ever heard him, anybody say was he said, how many. You know, he's talking. It wasn't even where was he speaking. I don't remember what it was, but he was like, how many people here own a business? A bunch of hands went up. He's like, okay, cool. What would happen if you left for 90 days, didn't call in, didn't do anything, left for 90 days, didn't show up? What would happen? Would you come back to a business? And people were like, well, no, she'll be, you know, stuff would be hitting the walls. He's like, well, then you don't have a business. You have a job, a business, something you can leave and still just prints money for you. And that's how you make that jump from that hustler mentality to the CEO mentality, which so many people fail to do. And, you know, we. I, like, I don't have to work. Like, I have great people that can handle every single task on a daily basis that I can do. Other than the vision of the direction of the companies, that's the one thing that. That is dependent on me right now. And as we develop within our companies that next generation of leaders, you know, part of that development of them is teaching them to have that same level of vision to see what's coming down, see what's coming in the direction the company needs to go.
- [23:15]
Host
I love that you're going to Kent's Mastermind tomorrow. First time in Boston.
- [23:18]
John Gafford
Yeah. For. Never been to Boston, man. Never been there. Shockingly enough, I've literally been all over the globe and I've never been to Boston. It occurred to me when I saw that, I was like, I've never been here. How's that possible?
- [23:28]
Host
That is wild. Will you be trying a lobster roll?
- [23:31]
John Gafford
I'm sure I will be trying a lobster roll, I think. How do you go and not eat a lobster roll?
- [23:35]
Host
That's what they're known for, man.
- [23:36]
John Gafford
Yeah, dude. You got to do it.
- [23:37]
Host
I just had a viral clip for. I asked this guest, where do you rank Vegas in terms of food?
- [23:41]
John Gafford
Yeah.
- [23:42]
Host
In America. He said number one.
- [23:43]
John Gafford
It is. What is number one for one? Number one for one simple reason. Every single great restaurant around the country, their second location is here. I mean, my favorite restaurant in Vegas, my favorite restaurant is Bavette's Solid Steakhouse, which is a Chicago steakhouse with their second location.
- [24:00]
Host
Oh, I didn't know they were Chicago.
- [24:01]
John Gafford
That's from Chicago. It's absolutely just.
- [24:03]
Host
It's the best bone marrow in Vegas.
- [24:04]
John Gafford
It's the best. And it's just. It's just a carbon copy of the restaurant there. You look at the other restaurants, I figured Joe's Crab or Joe Stone Crab. Sorry, not Joe Scratch. Joe Stone Crab from Miami. I mean, every great restaurant now. I mean, I love Komodo at Fountain Blue. I think it's great. These are all restaurants from other places. So if there is a foods, if there's a something that is really wonderful in an area, it gets recreated here. The only thing I will say the exception to that is, is I don't think there's a great New Orleans restaurant in Vegas.
- [24:35]
Host
I haven't seen any.
- [24:36]
John Gafford
I don't think there is at all. I think I. I think there's no great New Orleans restaurant. Like, I think when I first moved here 20 something years. 20 years ago. I want to say that a Commander's palace in the casino at Orleans. I want to say that's true, but I don't know that that's true. But they just. No great New Orleans restaurant has ever tried out here. Shocking to me.
- [24:58]
Host
What do you think about Hot and Juicy?
- [25:00]
John Gafford
I think Hot and Juicy is good, but I don't think New Orleans. When I think that I think, I think, I think, I think, I think Asia.
- [25:07]
Host
Oh, really?
- [25:08]
John Gafford
Yeah. That's what I think.
- [25:09]
Host
I thought that was like, Southern like.
- [25:10]
John Gafford
No, I mean, the way they. They kind of do it, but. But it's not the same. There's just. It's just not the same.
- [25:16]
Host
Do you still go to New Orleans every year?
- [25:17]
John Gafford
I'm there so many times a year. It's crazy. We're there. We'll be gearing up, obviously with Marty Guard coming up in the spring. We'll be going again this year.
- [25:25]
Host
It's on my bucket list. I've never been.
- [25:27]
John Gafford
Dude, best time ever. If you ever want to go, let me know. I'll definitely take care of you.
- [25:30]
Host
Okay. When you go.
- [25:30]
John Gafford
Best time ever. I think this year it's in March. It changes.
- [25:34]
Host
So next year then, right?
- [25:35]
John Gafford
Yeah. I want to say, but to give you a little taste, though, because, you know, I have, like, an epic mar. Party at my house every year.
- [25:40]
Host
I'm going this time.
- [25:41]
John Gafford
Yes. We fly food in from New Orleans. It is an epic, epic event.
- [25:45]
Host
Gone. Couldn't make the last one. I was actually really bummed, dude.
- [25:48]
John Gafford
It's a great. It's a great party. It's the only. I throw literally one party at my house a year, and that's the party.
- [25:53]
Host
That's.
- [25:53]
John Gafford
Wait.
- [25:53]
Host
I love that, man.
- [25:54]
John Gafford
And it's an epic party.
- [25:55]
Host
Let's go. What's. What's next for you, my man?
- [25:58]
John Gafford
So, yeah, like I said, the. The book is. Is coming out publisher this morning. I had some notes on. On against the final manuscript. So that'll be done. And as soon as that finishes. It's probably in the next six months, actually. No, I'm going to say it's in the next six months. I've been saying probably six months, but after the conversation, it'll be within the next six months. It should hit. Yeah. Excited about that. What's next with this is we just continue to grow the companies that we have, obviously being fully vertically integrated, we continue to continue to grab market share in Vegas. Happy to say now that one out of every 17 homes sold in the Valley is sold by us.
- [26:33]
Host
Wow.
- [26:34]
John Gafford
Which I like that. That's a great number. And. And we continue to do that with the same agent count. So we've. We continue to gain great agents. Is. Is, you know, once as others retire and step out of the business, we gain better and better agents with, you know, we have the highest average price point of any large brokerage in Las Vegas. All right. Because we gear towards luxury, which is awesome. And. And yeah, I mean, just keep doing.
- [27:00]
Host
What we do love it, man. We'll link your stuff below. Check out the pod as well, guys. Escaping the drift, right?
- [27:04]
John Gafford
Escaping the drift, man. Anywhere you can hear podcasts.
- [27:07]
Host
Boom. Thanks for coming on, man.
- [27:08]
John Gafford
All right, brother.
- [27:09]
Host
Thanks for watching, guys. See you next time. Peace.