Josh Abelson - Las Vegas Has Better Pizza Than New York? This Festival Founder Says YES. | DSH #1693

Summary

Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary

Podcast: Digital Social Hour
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Josh Abelson (Founder, The Industrial Event Space & Las Vegas Pizza Festival)
Episode: #1693 – "Las Vegas Has Better Pizza Than New York? This Festival Founder Says YES."
Date: December 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode brings Sean Kelly in conversation with Josh Abelson, a seasoned event entrepreneur, Las Vegas local, and founder of the Las Vegas Pizza Festival. The two discuss Josh’s journey building The Industrial event space, the rise of Vegas as a pizza and events capital, and bold claims about the city’s pizza outshining even iconic pizza hubs like New York. Expect behind-the-scenes stories about surviving the pandemic as an events business, strategies for making an event space a local gem, insights into Vegas’s changing entertainment landscape, health and wellness, and a passionate exploration of what makes a truly great pizza. The episode has a friendly, open vibe, mixing honest business talk with food enthusiasm.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building the Vegas Event Space Scene

• [00:39] Josh’s background: Chicago native, stint in California, fell in love with Las Vegas for its business climate and growth potential.
• Founding The Industrial: Started nine years ago with his wife, transforming a “blank warehouse” into a highly flexible, creative event space designed to bypass the “red tape” of Strip venues.
• [01:37] "We saw an opportunity to basically have a venue where there's no red tape ... affordable, where you can do those kind of crazy, unique ideas." – Josh

2. Event Industry Resilience and Adaptation During Covid

• [02:25] Josh describes pivoting during the pandemic: smaller, highly regulated events, drive-thru gatherings, and pioneering safety protocols.
• [02:40] "We started a policy for the city of Las Vegas on how to be safe when you're doing these events." – Josh

3. Landing Major Clients – Even a Presidential Visit

• [03:12] The Industrial’s success story includes hosting events for NFL, Microsoft, Ferrari, and even President Biden.
• [03:18] "To be able to say our venue won over all these thousands of other spaces ... quite an intensive planning process with Secret Service." – Josh

4. Marketing & Growth: Word of Mouth, Visibility, and Being a ‘Hidden Gem’

• [04:21] Most new business comes from Google search and SEO, but word of mouth is essential.
• [04:43] Flexibility is key: events for 10 to 2,000+ people.

5. Las Vegas Pizza Festival: Elevating the Vegas Food Scene

• [06:02] Josh’s flagship foodie event began in 2019 to shine a light on Vegas’s world-class pizza talent.
• [06:43] "[Vegas] has world champions everywhere ... really, really good talent." – Josh
• Festival details: VIP and GA options, unlimited pizza, local pizzerias (with rare guest participants), live dough-throwing, and exclusive slices you won’t find in restaurants.
• [09:00] "They're all putting out their best slice ... you won't be able to try that at the restaurant." – Josh

6. Best Pizza in Las Vegas?

• [08:33] Favorite spots include Good Pie, Pizza Rock (“13-time world champion Tony Gemignani”), Metro Pizza, Esther's Kitchen, Monzu, Prince Street.
• [09:54] Limited deep dish representation—more East Coast and grandma-style pizza in town.
• [11:43] Water and flour quality are crucial for pizza’s taste and digestibility; several Vegas spots import water from New York.

Notable Exchange:

• [08:04]
  • Host: “A 7.5 is pretty good.”
  • Josh: “If you're looking at the Portnoy ones, like a 7.5 is really good.”

7. The Wellness & Biohacking Trend

• [12:24] Health is a serious hobby for Josh; he and his wife have built a home sauna, cold plunge, and home gym.
• Bonding before business: Both appreciate the value of pre-meeting wellness routines for connection.
• [13:21] "The sauna is like, probably my favorite purchase of all time." – Host

8. Running Events in Vegas: Challenges & Opportunities

• [15:33] It’s hard to sell tickets in a city full of world-class, even free, entertainment.
• [16:39] Value, accessibility (including avoiding strip parking fees and expensive drinks), and local appeal are primary draws.

9. Vegas's PR and Economic Challenges

• [17:10] Growing cost concerns, hotel/service fees, and changes with gambling legalization in other states—how will Vegas compete?
• [18:12] Sports teams, concerts, and mega-events may be keys to resilience: “No other city can do that.”

10. Professional Event Analysis & Podcasting Insights

• [18:45] Josh: “Every little thing ... the first thing I do is I look up. What does it feel like in here? Smelling it, talking to employees ... It’s all basically like a market research.”
• Podcast favorites: Sean’s top pick is "Diary of a CEO" (Stephen Bartlett); Josh and Sean both admire Joe Rogan and Modern Wisdom (Chris Williamson).

11. Business, Growth, and Future Plans

• [21:46] Still plenty of room to grow and more Las Vegas people to reach.
• [21:59] The Industrial recently hosted a live podcast featuring Shaq and Mike Tyson.
• Incorporating media and podcasting into events is a strategy both see taking off.

12. Expanding Events & Food Experiences

• [22:53] Ideas flow: possibility of a food truck festival (The Industrial’s lot is perfect), plus Josh highlights mobile pizza ovens and the evolution of food trucks.

13. Business Partnerships & Personal Life

• [24:41] Josh works with his wife, the creative side to his operations, following a model of “trust first.”
• [25:45] Reminds the host of power couples Alex and Layla Hormozi, who also work out of Vegas.

Memorable Quote:

• [24:58] "You're never going to have anybody more trustworthy than your partner. In a business aspect, that's all it is, is trust." – Josh

14. Vegas Essentials: Favorite Casinos & Restaurants

• [26:54]–[28:29]
  • Venetian/Palazzo: Great for groups and staycations
  • Wynn: Best business and restaurant experience
  • Red Rock & Green Valley Ranch: Casual locals’ favorites
  • Durango: Best food court
  • “You could ask for anything at the Wynn, they'll take care of you.” – Josh

15. Final Plugs & Upcoming Events

• The Industrial: Find at theindustrialvegas.com
• Vegas Pizza Fest: November 15, 2025 (vegaspizzafest.com)
• [28:38] Josh is open to connecting via LinkedIn or through the websites.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [01:37] Josh: "We saw an opportunity to basically have a venue where there's no red tape ... affordable, where you can do those kind of crazy, unique ideas."
• [03:18] Josh: "To be able to say our venue won over all these thousands of other spaces ... quite an intensive planning process with Secret Service."
• [06:43] Josh: "[Vegas] has world champions everywhere ... really, really good talent."
• [08:04] Host: “A 7.5 is pretty good.”
  Josh: “If you’re looking at Portnoy ones, like a 7.5 is really good.”
• [12:24] Josh: "When you have good quality pizza, you can eat more slices ... compared to Domino’s, right? You feel kind of gross. When you eat something with good quality ingredients ... you can feel better afterwards."
• [13:21] Host: "The sauna is like, probably my favorite purchase of all time."
• [15:33] Josh: "How do you capture the attention of these people ... it’s all about delivering experiences that are different and then a value too."
• [24:58] Josh: "You're never going to have anybody more trustworthy than your partner. In a business aspect, that's all it is, is trust."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:39 – Josh’s background and move to Las Vegas
• 01:37 – Vision and founding of The Industrial Event Space
• 02:25 – Navigating Covid as an events business
• 03:12 – Hosting President Biden and big-name clients
• 06:02 – Origin and philosophy of the Las Vegas Pizza Festival
• 08:33 – Best pizza spots in Vegas and what makes them special
• 09:54 – Deep dish struggles; focusing on East Coast flavors
• 12:24 – Ingredient matters: water, flour, and how pizza makes you feel
• 13:21 – Health/wellness, saunas, and habit building
• 15:33 – The challenge of selling tickets and differentiation in Vegas
• 17:10 – Vegas’s PR problems and the impact of gambling expansion
• 18:45 – Analyzing events, learning from other industries
• 21:59 – Hosting Shaq and Mike Tyson’s live podcast
• 22:53 – The idea of a Vegas food truck festival
• 24:41 – Working with your spouse as business partner
• 26:54 – Best hotels, casinos, and food courts in Vegas
• 28:38 – Find Josh and upcoming events

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Episode Tone and Style

• Casual, affable, and honest—Josh provides grounded business advice, insider perspectives, and repeats an “open to new ideas” approach
• The conversation is energetic, friendly, and encourages transparency in both food and business critique
• The passion for community, value, and creative hospitality shines through

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For foodies, festival lovers, entrepreneurs, or anyone interested in how Las Vegas reinvents itself—this is a must-listen episode that could change how you think about both pizza and event spaces in Sin City.

Transcript

[Host]

When did the pizza festival start? Because you also run that, right?

[Josh]

Yeah. So we started that five years ago, 2019. We realized there was no pizza festival in Las Vegas. So the reason why we started it is to really highlight Las Vegas Pizza Town. Right. You think of pizza, you're thinking of New York, Chicago, L.A. whatever it is. But if you look at the restaurants that are in Las Vegas, there is world champions everywhere. There's really, really good talent there. So we started with highlighting the Las Vegas pizza industry and the talent there. Right. All of our vendors are local.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

Las Vegas pizzerias.

[Josh]

I think we have one that's kind of an international one. Had really good success with it.

[Host]

Okay, guys, got a fellow Vegas entrepreneur local here. We got Josh, 40 under 40. Thanks for coming on, man.

[Josh]

Yeah, thanks for having me.

[Host]

Yeah, that's awesome. Been here for nine years. Triple the amount of time I've been here.

[Josh]

Yeah. Yeah. Transplant from Chicago, lived in California for about four years. And love in Vegas.

[Host]

What do you like the most of those three?

[Josh]

I'd say Vegas now.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

You know, California was great when I was in my 20s. Chicago's great, too, when I was growing up. But I love Vegas.

[Host]

Chicago for me, too cold.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Cali for me. It's the politics. Vegas is great.

[Josh]

Yeah. Right in the middle.

[Host]

Yeah. It's hard to beat.

[Josh]

Summers kind of suck, but you get over that.

[Host]

Yeah. My plan next summer is to. To leave, but. Yeah, other than the summer.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

I don't see many downsides. No. Cost of living's good, food's great. Business friendly business. Great conference here every week. You have the industrial. You're probably having events all the time there, right? Yep.

[Josh]

Yeah, all the time. I mean, it follows we follow the convention schedule a lot of the times. We do a lot more corporate events, private parties, that kind of stuff. So when business travelers come in here, it's great for us.

[Host]

Nice. Yeah. That's why you came here nine years ago, right? To build that out?

[Josh]

Yeah. I started the business nine years ago with my partner, who's actually my wife, with a pretty much a blank warehouse. No power, nothing. And we saw an opportunity to basically have a venue where there's no red tape come from. A place of. Yes. Right. When you do events on the Strip or anywhere else, there's a lot of difficulties with doing that. Right. And it's very expensive. Right. So how do we have something that is affordable, but also where you can do those kind of crazy, unique ideas? You know, such things as a fireworks show. We've had a helicopter Land in our parking lot, 2500 people for the Las Vegas Pizza Festival. You kind of name it. So we've had much success doing that and just kind of breaking the mold of what event space is. And then, of course, no better place to do it than Vegas.

[Host]

Well done, man. So nine years ago, did Covid really mess up the business?

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah. We had to get creative. My number one priority was just to keep the doors open. Right. So we did events of 50 people. Right. Where you had to be socially, you know, whatever, so six feet away from each other, whatever process that was. What was really cool is that we started a policy for the city of Las Vegas of actually how to be safe when you're doing these events. So we did drive thru events too. Like for Halloween, we did a haunted house outside where you actually drove your car. There was no physical interaction on there. But my priority was like, hey, we're going to get through this. We all know we're going to get through this. Let's just weather the storm and figure it out.

[Host]

Yeah. Tough time for the event industry.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah. When you're telling, they're telling you, you can't have people meet. You know, our business is like, that's all it is.

[Host]

Right. So you've had some major events there. NFL, Microsoft, Ferrari, even former President Biden. Yeah. Popped in there.

[Josh]

Yeah. It was, it was pretty crazy. Last summer, when he was on the campaign trail, one of their campaign managers reached out and said, hey, we want to do a community event for 600 people. To be honest, I thought it was a joke at first because it was a Gmail. Right. Somebody just kind of reached out and lo and behold, the President decided that our space was great for what he wanted to do. And it was, it was such an honor to, you know, any president. Right. To be able to say, okay, our venue won't. Over all these thousands of other spaces there. Right. Quite a intensive planning process, if you can imagine, with Secret Service and all his team and all the people there. But it was a big. It was a huge milestone for us to. I always tell my team, if. If we could do an event for the President of the United States, we can pretty much do an event.

[Host]

Yeah. No, well done, man. Because he literally could have picked anywhere. He could have picked the Wynn, he could have picked the Venetian. Any other venue. Yeah.

[Josh]

So it was a, it was a huge honor for us and a big milestone.

[Host]

Stone, you guys must have really good word of mouth or just SEO or something for him to even find you guys.

[Josh]

Yeah. So I Mean, most of our stuff is from Google. A lot of people find us on Google, Google AdWords, and our SEO is pretty good, but we are trying to get the word out there because we kind of have been a hidden gem for, you know, I would say seven years now, but trying to get more and more people out here to understand that a place like ours exists. And, you know, we have groups of 10 people or we have groups of 2,000 people. Right. Our space is so flexible that we can kind of host anything.

[Host]

Yeah, I mean, you said I emailed you in 2022, so.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Yeah, that was years ago. Yeah, that's when I moved here and I just started having events, and my first one had like 5,000 people. And so. Yeah, you guys must have done a really good job on Google.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. We got to get one of your networking events back there.

[Host]

Maybe the F1 one.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

You know, F1's always a big week for you, I bet. Yeah.

[Josh]

So it's. It's crazy that that whole event is just. Is wild how they came into Vegas and, you know, didn't rub the locals the right way, you know, but from a business perspective, I mean, they're crushing it.

[Host]

Yeah. The first year, the locals hated it. I think it's growing on them now, though, right?

[Josh]

Yeah, they've had incentives to get people out there. They figured out the logistical process with the street closers and everything. So it takes time. I mean, that's a massive event. Right. So you have to let it grow over two, three years before they iron out the king there. But, yeah, now they have, I think, 100 GA ticket. Could be. I think 100, 150 bucks. So really encouraging people to go to that.

[Host]

Yeah, that's not bad at all. It used to be a thousand, right?

[Josh]

Yeah, it was like the first year was like, thousand dollars minimum for, like, grandstands. Doesn't include anything crazy.

[Host]

I'd be so pissed.

[Josh]

And I was actually at the. The practice the first year with the pothole incident, Right. There's only eight minutes of racing.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

So it was like, oh, goodness, that.

[Host]

Car got wrecked, right?

[Josh]

Yeah, that car got wrecked. The pothole went right underneath it. And then they shut down the race after it was literally eight minutes of racing.

[Host]

Bummer. Yeah. When did the pizza festival start? Because you also run that, right?

[Josh]

Yeah, so we started that five years ago, 2019. We realized there was no pizza festival in Las Vegas, and then we got with a lot of. Well, back up. So the reason why we started is to really highlight Las Vegas pizza Talent. Right. You think of pizza, you're thinking of New York, Chicago, L.A. whatever it is. But if you look at the restaurants that are in Las Vegas, there is world champions everywhere. There's really, really good talent there. So we started with highlighting the Las Vegas pizza industry and the talent there. Right. All of our. All of our vendors are local Las Vegas pizzerias. I think we have one that's like kind of an international one.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

But had really good success with it. Made it a foodie event, made it a great VIP experience. We have a VIP and a GA ticket where you get unlimited slices for everybody. Just a fun environment. Right. Started that five years ago. And then it's coming up this fall, November 15th, in Las Vegas. It's going to sell out this year.

[Host]

Nice.

[Josh]

And it's just a fun, fun food festival. Right. We have a lot of cool entertainment, dough throwers. It's a fun environment. I know. You were there two years ago.

[Host]

Yeah, two years ago. I went the last day, so they didn't have much pizza. But this year, I'll be there as soon as it opens.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Be there, get the VIP ticket. Well, I'll invite you. You can come this time. And you get full pretty quickly. Right. There's 20 of the best pizzas there, and you could. I mean, max out maybe nine slices, but after.

[Host]

Oh, you don't know me.

[Josh]

All right, let's see. We'll see what we can do there.

[Host]

I go hard.

[Josh]

All right.

[Host]

If I'm going to go there and there's 20 spots, I won't eat the full slice at each one. Just a little taste. You know how Dave Porter does it. Yeah.

[Josh]

Just do your own pizza tasting at the.

[Host]

Dude, I'm down. Do you allow people to film at the.

[Josh]

Oh, yeah, film. You could. You could rate the slices on there. Yeah, I'll do that.

[Host]

So I actually used to do that in Vegas. I used to review Restauran. I got to, like episode 10, and then I stopped because I was pissing too many people off. And I didn't mean to be, like, disrespectful, but, like, honest.

[Josh]

Honest feedback.

[Host]

Yeah, but, like, numbers are kind of relative. So, like, for me, like, a seven, five is pretty good.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

But some people would take that as an insult. You know what I mean?

[Josh]

If you're looking at the Portnoy ones, like, a seven, five is really good.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

And I wasn't even as strict as him. I was, like, a little strict. But in Vegas is such a small place, you don't Want to be pissing off restaurant owners here? I'm eating out every day. Like. Yeah, So I stopped doing that.

[Josh]

This guy's not allowed.

[Host]

So for the pizza stuff, I'll just say like what I like about it. Probably I won't give a number.

[Josh]

Okay, yeah, maybe like most creative slice, classic slice.

[Host]

Yeah, something like that. Make it. Make it fun. But growing up in Jersey, I ate some good pizza.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

When I first moved out here, I struggled a little bit, but now I found my spots.

[Josh]

Nice.

[Host]

You know, what's your.

[Josh]

What's your go to spots?

[Host]

Pizza Rock's pretty good. Evil pie. Good pie. Good pie. Yeah, good pie is good. And then Prince Street.

[Josh]

Nice.

[Host]

The one in Durango.

[Josh]

Very cool.

[Host]

Have you had that one yet?

[Josh]

I haven't had that.

[Host]

Yeah, that one's solid.

[Josh]

Good pie has been a staple since the beginning of the Pizza Fest. And then Pizza Rock, obviously. Tony Gimignani, he's a 13 time world champion, so he is. He's been supporting the festival forever and he is a great guy.

[Host]

Nice.

[Josh]

He's been doing it for so long now.

[Host]

Since you're friends with them, I don't want you to piss anyone off. But what are your favorite pizza spots in Vegas?

[Josh]

Those two are on the top ones. Good pie, definitely on there. I mean, they all bring something different. You know, I think John Arena, Metro Pizza, he's been doing it forever as well.

[Host]

I haven't tried that one.

[Josh]

That one's good. This year, James Trees is coming back from Esther's Kitchen doing a wood fire slice.

[Host]

That's my favorite Italian spot. Yeah, Esther's Kitchen. Yeah.

[Josh]

So he crushes it with pizza too. Gio Moro of a Monzu is going to be there.

[Host]

Manzu's good too.

[Josh]

Yeah, Manzu's really good. Italian Spot. They're all really good. And what's so good about the festival is they're all putting out their best slice. Right. So they're really trying to be part of the community and doing something different and just really dialing in with the ingredients and what they have. Which is. Which is cool because those are some slices that you won't be able to try at the restaurant and they're only doing it at the festival.

[Host]

I love that. Now, being from Chicago, I'd imagine you got some deep dish guys making.

[Josh]

Not as many as I would have think. You know, we have one this year on there, but deep dish is tough to get.

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[Host]

It's tough out here, huh?

[Josh]

Yeah. And there's. There's a couple places, but mostly more east coast Italian style.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Different style, grandma style.

[Host]

So I know with east coast pizza, it's a water issue, Right. So with. With deep dish, why do you think they can't replicate that out here?

[Josh]

I don't know if it might be an operator thing. Yeah, I feel like, yeah, they should be able to. There's some chains of Chicago places out here, but I don't know, maybe they're. They don't want to bring it out here.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

You got to come to Chicago to try it.

[Host]

Interesting. Yeah. Because I know some spots literally fly out water from New York. You know that?

[Josh]

I did hear about that.

[Host]

Yeah. Prince street flies out water. Some bagel spots do that too.

[Josh]

Yeah. It's all about the flour, too. Like the good quality flour that you get, how long it rises the dough that they make. So that's. That's where the good quality pizza comes in. Which is cool because you realize when you have good quality pizza, you could eat more slices, you know, like, compared to. Let's just call it Domino's. Right. You feel kind of gross. You feel heavy after that. When you eat something with good quality ingredients and water from, you know, Italy or whatever it is, then you can feel better afterwards. Yeah, you sure feel like a piece of after eating it.

[Host]

You hear so many stories of people going to Italy and they eat pasta every day and they don't gain weight. But you do that here.

[Josh]

Organic tomatoes, just no gmo, all that kind of stuff.

[Host]

Yeah. You big on health?

[Josh]

Yeah. Yeah, I like to. That's my. That's my hobby.

[Host]

Do you go to a 4M here?

[Josh]

I don't know what that is.

[Host]

It's like a biohacking conference every year. Yeah. I could bring you if you want.

[Josh]

Yeah, that'd be cool.

[Host]

I'm into all that stuff. Like sauna.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Peptides. Yeah.

[Josh]

Yeah, we bought it. We basically, me and my wife kind of built out in our house, like sauna, cold plunge gym, after Covid. We're like, we just need to be able to have it in our, in our facility. So I love doing that stuff all day. That's kind of my. When I'm done with work and whatnot, how I relax and, you know, we've had kind of wellness parties as well. I love it. IVs, red light therapy, all that kind of stuff. But it's a, it's a. You get hooked on it. Yeah, you're hooked on it. It's like when you feel that good and you're. You're able to kind of accomplish so much more during the day, you're like, I'm all in on no 100.

[Host]

I bought a lot of weird stuff in my life, but the sauna is like, probably my favorite purchase of all time. I had to like, pick one.

[Josh]

Well, you got a traditional or a.

[Host]

Red light wooden sauna.

[Josh]

Nice.

[Host]

Yeah. Do you like the traditional ones?

[Josh]

I like the traditional ones. Those are the ones that I've been in more. We just got a one that we can fit more people in now. So nothing's better than like after the 15 minute mark, you know, the conversations you could have. You should run a podcast in the sauna.

[Host]

I've thought about it.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

But my thing is like, some people only last like 5, 10 minutes.

[Josh]

Right.

[Host]

So you're like, oh, thanks for coming on.

[Josh]

You got to get the people that are like, can sit in there for 20 minutes.

[Host]

Like the Kevin Hart cold tub.

[Josh]

Yeah. Podcast. Yeah.

[Host]

Which by the way, I'm not trying to expose him, but it's not actually ice in there.

[Josh]

Oh, really?

[Host]

Yeah. But something like that would be cool in a sauna.

[Josh]

Yeah. Yeah. I think one guy does it. I've seen it's called Beat the Heat, where they kind of see how long they can stand in there.

[Host]

Oh, that's funny. You know, standing would be tough.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

The heat rises and I'm already six. Six. Yeah. Yeah.

[Josh]

You got to be sitting.

[Host]

Yeah. But I definitely want to get a multi person sauna down the road.

[Josh]

Or we can, you know, I believe I've never Been on, obviously, Rogan's podcast, but I think he has this whole experience that you go through with on Unplunging before the experience, really before you.

[Host]

Go on the pod, or you can.

[Josh]

Go before you go on about a gym, all that kind of stuff.

[Host]

That's sick.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Because you get to bond with the guests a little before.

[Josh]

Exactly. Yeah. It's like a whole day experience.

[Host]

Damn, I love that. Any other conferences you plan on starting or being a part of in Vegas?

[Josh]

We also do. We're the home of the Candlelight concert series. I don't know if you've ever heard of that. So you've seen them on social media, but it's essentially about 5,000 LED candles with a string quartet in the middle. So they're playing different programming. Like One Night is Queen and abba. Imagine Dragons, they have a couple ones. Adele's coming out. We're doing a Halloween one. So that's a great local event in Vegas where you want to have 60 to 70 minutes. It's a good date night spot. Or you just want to see really good music. And then it's all about the experience. Right. A lot of photo opportunities. We do those two to three times a month. And you can find those on our website. They're really popular.

[Host]

That's so cool. I want to go to that. My fiance wants to go to the Lantern one. Have you seen that one?

[Josh]

The Rise Festival.

[Host]

Yeah. Rise.

[Josh]

Yeah, I think that's coming up, right?

[Host]

Yeah, that one looks sick.

[Josh]

Yeah. They got some big name talent this year.

[Host]

Really? That.

[Josh]

Yeah, they got it. I think it's the three day festival. I think like Calvin Harris is headlining and Rufus.

[Host]

Interesting. Yeah. I'm always fascinated which events do well and which ones kind of fade into existence.

[Josh]

Yeah, it's. The event world is tough, right? And selling tickets, I mean, especially in Vegas, it's like you have a thousand different things to do, but half of them could be free. Right. So how do you capture the attention of these people? And we've done that really well with the Pizza Fest and Candlelight specifically because. Specifically from a local perspective. Right. They want free parking, they want to come in, they want to experience something cool. Right. They don't always want to go to the Strip. So that's where those kind of events that we do at our space kind of work in the figure. And then marketing is a whole other, you know, aspect of that. Just delivering, I think, experiences that are different and then a value too. Right now you can't get a ticket cheaper than 50 bucks to go anywhere. Right. So how do you just provide value to the guests, you know, even if it's a first time experience, whatever it is, so that they keep coming back. Yeah, right. Because people are very nitpicky about, like, hey, I'm spending $50, I better get $50 worth of entertainment or what.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

No matter what level of wealth I.

[Host]

Get to, I still operate that way.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Like, I don't want to pay for parking.

[Josh]

Yep.

[Host]

You know what I mean? I leave hotels at 2 hours, 59 minutes.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

20 bucks.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

You know what I mean? Like, this is how I'm wired.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

You know, it's.

[Josh]

It's expensive out there, man. Yeah, it's. And we offer, you know, we're not charging $20 for vodka soda.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Come get a normal drink and enjoy the experience.

[Host]

Some bars are like 30 these days. Crazy, right?

[Josh]

They gotta, we gotta figure it out as, as a community in Vegas. Right. Like, people are talking about that. You see that all over social media.

[Host]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh]

It's like you gotta draw people back here. And when you're charging them all that stuff for parking and the drinks and the service fees and all that stuff, it's like, what other money do they have to spend?

[Host]

Right. You know?

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

The hotel fees are nuts.

[Josh]

Yeah. It's insane. I think, though, I mean, Vegas is so resilient and we always kind of adjust and figure it out. But I feel like right now we do have a little bit of a PR issue going on, I think. So It'll be interesting to see Labor Day this weekend, how that comes. Right. That's one should be one of the biggest weekends of the year.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

See how you know that Turns out.

[Host]

I do wonder, as gambling becomes legal in more and more states, will that really eat at Vegas market share?

[Josh]

I have no idea. I know you do a lot of stuff with poker players and better. What are they saying on that? Are they like.

[Host]

Well, a lot of them are pissed with Trump's new bill. That's a separate issue, I guess. But like, just because we're known for casinos, like, people come here to gamble, but now it's becoming legal in other states, so they're, they're kind of worried, I guess, you know. Yeah.

[Josh]

I would assume if you live on the east coast and New York has a casino that's opening up, you know, you'd probably be more apt to go there.

[Host]

Yeah. You fly out.

[Josh]

Yeah. Save you some time and an effort. But then again, there's an opportunity for Vegas. Right. How do you differentiate yourself? How do you get people back here. We always figure it out.

[Host]

I think we will. I think getting sports teams will help. If we get basketball and baseball, we have some good headliners. And concerts all the time.

[Josh]

Yeah. I mean, it's. It's pretty amazing what Vegas can do to have a fight, a hockey game, you know, four concerts, like all in one night.

[Host]

Like that's.

[Josh]

No other city can do that. And I think that's underappreciated of like the logistics that go into it, just coming from an event world. But yeah, I mean, there's no reason for more for not sports teams to come here and more businesses.

[Host]

Right.

[Josh]

It's such a great place to do all those kind of things.

[Host]

When you go to events, I'd imagine you're psychoanalyzing how they're being run.

[Josh]

Every little thing from. The first thing I do is I look up, you know, the lighting. What does it feel like in here? Smelling it, talking to all the employees. Right. Seeing the experience of like me just talking to the bathroom attendant or the bartender or whatever it is, you know? Yeah. You just naturally just analyze everything and say, okay, take stuff from this event and this podcast and how could we implement that there? Because it was a good experience. But yeah, it's tough going to events and like really, really enjoying it, you know, because it's all basically like a market research.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

You know, no matter if it's a 10 person little dinner party or if it's a, you know, 60, 000 person concert at Allegiant.

[Host]

Yeah. You can learn something from every type of event.

[Josh]

Exactly.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

It doesn't matter.

[Host]

I do that with podcasts now when I'm listening to them, I'm like, you should have asked that question.

[Josh]

Yeah. It's probably even more impossible for you because you're listening. So it's like, how do you even, you know, turn that off?

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

How do you actually, like, listen to the content that they're putting out?

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

I got a question for you, if you don't mind. Obviously, you've been successful with the podcast. What's like a go to one that you always.

[Host]

My favorite right now, and it's not close, is Diary of a CEO by Stephen Bartlett.

[Josh]

Okay.

[Host]

I think he's the next Rogan.

[Josh]

Nice.

[Host]

Yeah. He invests more than anyone else in this show. I think he spends like over 10 million a year.

[Josh]

Oh, wow.

[Host]

Just on the development and marketing and the thumbnails and everything. He's the next Rogan. So he's someone I look up to. But when I was Younger was obviously Rogan.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

What about you?

[Josh]

Yeah, Rogan was the first one that I started with just kind of being the biggest. I mean he's got, I think the widest range of guests.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

And high profile people or some other ones I was listening to. Modern Wisdom is good.

[Host]

Great one. Chris Williamson.

[Josh]

Chris Williamson, he's got like his British accent and he's just kind of down to earth and has stuff, a lot of stuff for like young males our age and for sure, very relatable on their boat. Always looking for new ones.

[Host]

Yeah, those are solid. Chris invests a lot in production too.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah, he does. He did some crazy ones with like LED video Walls Behind.

[Host]

Yeah. With Tim Ferriss. I saw that one. Nuts. Yeah, there's a lot of good ones. But as my attention span keeps dropping scrolling all day, I just, I have trouble with Rogan these days. Like I have to listen at 2x speed because he's more just slow, chill. Yeah. Four hour episodes.

[Josh]

What I like about him is he just does his own thing. He doesn't care about. I don't think he cares about viewership or whatever.

[Host]

He already signed his deal.

[Josh]

He's just like, I'm going to do whatever I want and whatever I like.

[Host]

To do, that's what doing we're going to do. Yeah. Is that your goal one day to sell, sell some of these companies?

[Josh]

I don't know. I'm having fun doing it now. You know, I mean, you're always looking at what's the next step and how do you want to do that. But I mean, we're, we've, we've built this up, you know, the industrial specifically over coming up on nine years now and really have good momentum. We've built out a good team and you know, there's still a lot of people. I was talking to one of the producers in here and he had no idea about our space. Right. So, yeah, he's like, I do podcasts and I do all these kind of things. I was like, you got to come for a tour. There's still a lot of people in Vegas, I mean even internationally that don't know about the industrial.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

So there's a lot of room for growth there.

[Host]

You guys might have to start a pod studio in one of the side rooms. You have.

[Josh]

I would love that. Yeah, we have these little green room edge rooms, what we call them. But the biggest podcast we just did was Shaq and Mike Tyson.

[Host]

Nice.

[Josh]

So they did a live podcast, had about 200 people in the audience for NBA Summer League.

[Host]

Nice. So they popped in and set up and just.

[Josh]

It was Shaq's podcast, and we knew he was coming, and he's like, I'm going to have Mike Tyson as I get. Mike Tyson is hysterical. If you ever listen to that guy. He's got stories for days talking about his, like, pigeon collection and all this crazy stuff. But it was cool because our space could accommodate, obviously, the tech with the equipment and everything. But the live audience is a whole nother ball game. Right. To have those people.

[Host]

I think you guys should look into starting that because a lot of events now are incorporating media. So, like, a lot of conferences are hiring me to film podcasts at their events. Oh, very cool. Yeah, just interview the speakers. Interview whoever's there. You know what I mean?

[Josh]

Oh, we got to do one there.

[Host]

Yeah, it brings extra eyeballs. It's like a win win. We should definitely do one, though.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah. Because we can fit. We can do it intimate, you know, 50 people, or we can do, you know, 500 theater style seats.

[Host]

Yeah. That's so cool, man. What do you think about, like, a food truck festival?

[Josh]

We've never actually done one. We've had so many food trucks that have been part of our corporate events. We have actually two pizza trucks that are for the Vegas Pizza Festival. But it's a good idea. I mean, there's so much good pizza or, sorry, good food trucks in Las Vegas.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Josh]

Our parking lot would be perfect for it. To kind of set it up that way.

[Host]

That'd be sick.

[Josh]

Yeah, that would be.

[Host]

Because when I. When I lived in Jersey City, every weekend food trucks came. It's like my favorite memory. And I feel like in Vegas, I can't find a spot where there's just like 10, 20 food trucks now.

[Josh]

They're all kind of doing their own thing.

[Host]

Someone needs to bring them together. There's too much beef between them.

[Josh]

Yeah, Yeah. I feel like they're very, very territorial.

[Host]

Very. Because you'll go to Chinatown, there'll be one every, like, three streets, but they're not, like, grouped up ever.

[Josh]

Yeah, you got to go to.

[Host]

I like the lobster one. Cousins, Maine. Yeah. There was some hibachi one. There's a tac one. I don't know the names, but half the time they're better than restaurants. Yeah. You know. Yeah.

[Josh]

And it's cool. Like, you know, chefs that are coming up. Right. That might not have a restaurant, and this is like their experiment to do that.

[Host]

So. Dude, one time I pulled up a sketchy gas station. There was like a Mexican One with like the skewers.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Smelled like outside, but the food was fire like, you know what I mean?

[Josh]

You trusted it after the smell.

[Host]

I was starving. I was just like, it wasn't their fault. It smelled bad. It was just literally on a highway almost. Right. You know what I mean? Just exhaust everywhere.

[Josh]

Yeah. Now it's like not. You know, it used to be back in the day, like, food trucks were kind of dirty and kind of gross, but now it's like, those are normal now.

[Host]

There's some insane build outs. Yeah. Yeah. Some of them are dropping like 50k. Yeah.

[Josh]

At the pizza festival, they have a wood fire oven built in it. This massive glass frame.

[Host]

Wow.

[Josh]

It's like a whole spectacle watching it.

[Host]

Damn, I can't wait.

[Josh]

Levels. Yeah.

[Host]

What dates is that one this year?

[Josh]

November 15th.

[Host]

Fifteenth.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Oh, shit. I'll be on my honeymoon. Damn. All right.

[Josh]

Next year when you get married.

[Host]

Getting married. October 17th. Then we're going to Maldives for the honeymoon. Oh, very cool. November.

[Josh]

Congrats.

[Host]

You married?

[Josh]

I am. Nice business. My business partner is my wife, actually.

[Host]

That's impressive.

[Josh]

Yeah. So we've been together for. Don't quote me on this. 14. 14 years together.

[Host]

Well done.

[Josh]

7. 7 years married.

[Host]

Well done. And working is even more impressive. Working with her on the business.

[Josh]

Yeah. That was adjustment. When we started, you know, it was a whole different dynamic, dealing with your partner in it. But, you know, I recommend it in a sense that you're never going to have anybody more trustworthy than your partner. Right. So in a business aspect, that's all it is, is trust. Right. So it's been fun and to grow together. Right. To do the industrial and then bring it home, you know, and kind of have it full circle. Has been.

[Host]

I love it. Do you complement each other's skills in the business setting?

[Josh]

Yeah, I think so. She's more of the creative side to it. I'm kind of more of a operations logistics.

[Host]

Same with mine. Yeah. I can't do anything creative. Yeah.

[Josh]

Yeah. So it's good, you know, and she's got different angles of how she approaches people versus me. And then we're like, okay, what's the best way to do this? And kind of having it both together and different aspects.

[Host]

I love it.

[Josh]

She's. She's super helpful.

[Host]

Yeah. Reminds me of Alex and Layla Hormozi, too.

[Josh]

Yeah. Yeah. They crush it out here, too.

[Host]

I just went to his headquarters. Oh, my gosh.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

I think they're gonna buy a new building.

[Josh]

Yeah. Big enough? They do. I was looking. They do like seminars every week or something for 5k.

[Host]

Yeah, I might go. Honestly.

[Josh]

Yeah, I actually did one. It was what, two years ago, I think when they just first started. Because I'm like, I got to go see what this is about. Yeah, Definitely give you a good playbook on it. I think it's a lot of upsell opportunities for them.

[Host]

I heard that.

[Josh]

Yeah. But I mean, you know, I always like to say it can't hurt, right.

[Host]

I like being in rooms with those people doing cool shit too.

[Josh]

Yeah, yeah. Like minded individuals, right. That are talking about their businesses and what they have. But I mean he's, he's done a lot of things right, that guy. And he's a, he's a good, good guy to learn from.

[Host]

Good guy to have in Vegas too.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Bringing a lot of business to Vegas.

[Josh]

Yeah, for sure. He could have done his stuff anywhere but decided to do it here.

[Host]

Hopefully you spend some of that 100 million at the casinos to cycle the money.

[Josh]

Yeah, right. Maybe he could inflect the, the downturn there would be cool.

[Host]

I gotta ask your go to casino, what's your favorite casino in Vegas?

[Josh]

Oh, favorite. There's so many. There's for different purposes, I would say so. I've always liked when I used to come here after college. Right. When you used to put seven guys in a room and bunk up. Right? Yeah, the Venetian Palazzo. Because you can get the big, the.

[Host]

Big rooms and sweets.

[Josh]

It was clean, it was nice. They had everything there. I mean obviously the Wynn is a staple to always go to Fountain Blue. I've been very impressed with the restaurants that have been there close to the industrial. I'm not a big gambler, so I don't know really on the table side of it, but I mean they all have something to offer. You know, it's like. It's always good to pop around and see what other people, especially from a venue perspective, I always like to see what other new things they brought in and, and how they go about that. But there's, there's so many options.

[Host]

Great answers. So Venetian's my favorite to stay at for staycation. Yeah, I agree with you on that. Wynn's my favorite for business.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

So if I'm going for like a business meeting or like a nice. I'd even say maybe restaurants too. Yeah, it's up there for restaurants.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

And then to gamble. I don't really gamble, but I do like station casinos. Yeah. Like Red Rock and Red Rock is great. The one in Green Valley, I forget the name. Is it Green Valley? Ranch.

[Josh]

Green Valley Ranch.

[Host]

Yeah, that one's pretty cool.

[Josh]

Yeah, Durango's been.

[Host]

Durango's the food court. That's the best food court in Vegas. Yeah, that spots are.

[Josh]

And it's easy. You just park there. You go in there. It's clean. It's nice. I was going to say back to the win. I feel. I feel like their customer service on.

[Host]

A lot of stuff is just phenomenal.

[Josh]

Yeah.

[Host]

Yeah. You could ask for anything.

[Josh]

Yeah, they'll take. They'll take care of you, though. You don't have to worry about that.

[Host]

Yeah, when the NBA Summer league's in town, they all stay there.

[Josh]

Yeah, it's cool. They take the conference rooms and actually make some courts in there.

[Host]

Oh, really? Yeah.

[Josh]

Wow.

[Host]

I didn't know that.

[Josh]

Yeah, there's some actually indoor courts that are.

[Host]

Holy crap. Yeah, that's cool, man. Well, dude, it's been awesome. Where can people find the industrial and find the pizza conference and find you.

[Josh]

Yeah, the industrial vegas.com or just type in the industrial event space. It'll pop up first thing. Vegaspizzafest.com come in November 15th and then that's. I interact with there. I'm on LinkedIn but happy to help with any resources that I possibly can.

[Host]

Awesome. Check them out, guys.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

I hope you guys are enjoying the show. Please don't forget to like and subscribe.

[Host]

It helps the show a lot with the algorithm. Thank you.