#BecauseMiami: Publicly Financed Stadiums on Strawberry Fields

Summary

Summary of Episode #BecauseMiami: Publicly Financed Stadiums on Strawberry Fields

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz dives deep into the contentious issue of publicly financed sports stadiums in Miami, unpacking the complex interplay between sports franchises, local governments, and taxpayers. Hosted by Dan Le Batard and Stugotz, alongside co-hosts Paulie and guest David Sampson, the episode critically examines past and current stadium deals, their economic implications, and the broader trend of sports welfare in Florida.

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1. Introduction to Miami's Stadium Struggles

The episode kicks off with a spirited discussion about Miami's capability to host major sporting events. Billy Corben raises concerns about whether Miami is prepared for the 2028 Summer Olympics, questioning the city's infrastructure and governance:

Billy Corben [04:02]: "I think the greatest trick that Miami ever pulled... is that this is somehow a competent, well-run city or state with good actors and good governance and nothing could be further from the truth."

Co-hosts Paulie and Roy Bellamy join in, humorously speculating on the chaos that hosting the Olympics might bring, highlighting Miami's ongoing challenges with traffic, infrastructure, and public transit.

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2. The Legacy of Public Funding for Stadiums

The conversation shifts to the historical context of publicly financed stadiums in Miami, particularly focusing on Marlins Park. Pam Bondi, a recurring voice in the discussion, and Paulie analyze the economic outcomes of these deals:

Pam Bondi [29:27]: "These districts are created all over the country in order to capture what people say is but for revenue. It's about what people are doing to the public."

Billy Corben criticizes the financial burdens placed on taxpayers, referencing the Marlins Park deal as a blueprint for future sports welfare agreements:

Billy Corben [27:34]: "It accomplished nothing that was promised... All it accomplished was, on the backs of broke ass Miami taxpayers, made his ex-stepfather and the owner of the Miami Marlins, Chef Laurie, a billionaire."

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3. Current and Upcoming Stadium Deals in Florida

Guest David Sampson, a former president of the Florida Marlins, provides insider insights into the top three sports welfare deals in Florida for 2025. He discusses the increasing trend of leveraging public funds to subsidize privately owned stadiums, emphasizing the minimal returns for the community:

David Sampson [28:48]: "The teams now want control of everything around their ballpark and they want all the revenue that comes with it."

Sampson highlights the Orlando Magic Arena and the Inter Miami deal as prime examples of how public subsidies are being exploited to benefit wealthy team owners, often at the expense of taxpayers.

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4. The Inter Miami Controversy

A significant portion of the episode centers on the Inter Miami deal, branded as "Miami Live." Sampson and the hosts dissect the intricacies of the 99-year lease agreement, revealing how it serves the interests of the Moss brothers and developers rather than the Miami community:

Billy Corben [40:06]: "This was a corruption act. This was a robbery that we witnessed all happen on live television."

Pam Bondi counters by defending the necessity of public-private partnerships, arguing that private investment is crucial for urban development:

Pam Bondi [35:18]: "Communities have sports teams, communities have facilities. Not everything is meant to be for profit."

The debate underscores a fundamental divide: whether such deals can ever truly benefit the public or are inherently exploitative.

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5. Anecdotes and Personal Stories

Interspersed with the heavy discussions are personal anecdotes that add levity and relatability to the conversation. Billy Corben recounts a memorable New Year's Eve experience involving wildlife encounters near a gaming casino, while Paulie shares her adventures in the Cuban gambling scene. These stories serve to humanize the broader economic and political debates, illustrating the real-world impact of Miami's stadium policies on everyday life.

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6. The Role of Media and Political Figures

The episode also critiques the involvement of media personalities and political figures in perpetuating or challenging the status quo. Scott Maxwell, a metro columnist for the Orlando Sentinel, joins the conversation to discuss Pam Bondi's tenure as Attorney General, highlighting her controversial handling of cases like Trump University fraud:

Scott Maxwell [54:51]: "She promised Geraldo she'd investigate, but she did absolutely nothing."

This segment underscores the interplay between media narratives, political promises, and public accountability.

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7. Conclusion: The Future of Sports Welfare in Miami

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reflect on the broader implications of Miami's publicly financed stadiums. They express skepticism about the sustainability and transparency of such deals, questioning whether the benefits truly trickle down to the community or remain concentrated among affluent team owners.

Pam Bondi [49:31]: "These projects are necessary for us to make as much money as we can and to screw you, Billy, as much as we possibly can."

The episode concludes with a call for greater scrutiny and reevaluation of how sports franchises negotiate with public entities, advocating for deals that offer genuine community benefits rather than serving as financial windfalls for the elite.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Billy Corben [04:02]: "The greatest trick that Miami ever pulled... is that this is somehow a competent, well-run city."

• Pam Bondi [29:27]: "These districts are created all over the country in order to capture what people say is but for revenue."

• David Sampson [28:48]: "The teams now want control of everything around their ballpark and they want all the revenue that comes with it."

• Scott Maxwell [54:51]: "She promised Geraldo she'd investigate, but she did absolutely nothing."

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Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a critical examination of Miami's reliance on public funds to support its sports infrastructure. Through rigorous debate, personal stories, and expert insights, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz sheds light on the often opaque agreements that shape the city's economic landscape. Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the true cost of sports welfare and consider the long-term ramifications for Miami's taxpayers and community development.

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Note: The timestamps correspond to the transcript provided and are meant to reference specific moments within the episode for further exploration.

Transcript

[Billy Corben]

You're listening to Giraffe Kings Network.

[Stugotz]

Stugach. I want to tell you a story. I'm serious here. My wife and my two daughters, they begged me to buy a peloton. So I bought a peloton and then I watched that peloton sit in my office and stare at me. So you know what I did one day? I looked at it and so I decided to get off my ass and I jumped on the peloton because no one else was using it and I paid for it. I mean, so why not? Then I realized eventually that they bought it for me. And I got to tell you, way more challenging than I could have ever imagined. Peloton coaches are walking the walk. I love the coaches. I do the Grateful Dead one. It's fantastic. They have a sub three hour marathon runner, military trained athlete, a former college basketball player, and so many other well rounded coaches on their team. All this experience really shows in their classes, which are never short of challenging, especially for me. So I jumped on it that first time. It was challenging, more challenging than I thought. And then I wanted to beat the bike and so I kept jumping on it. And I absolutely love it. I mean I'm the only one who uses it, but again, they got it for me. I mean I had no idea. That's a little passive aggressive that you think. Find your push, Find your power with [e-mail].

[Paola Barros]

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[David Sampson]

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[Paola Barros]

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[Billy Corben]

Affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois I'm wondering if you think that the Trump administration should seriously look at moving the Olympics to a red city where you know things are going to be run properly. Like a city in Florida, maybe Miami. Or maybe Dallas in Texas. Or maybe a city.

[Stugotz]

Only in the Banana Republic, baby.

[Billy Corben]

Only in Miami. I mean, what's that line from the Usual Suspects? The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. I think the greatest trick that Miami ever pulled, or that Florida has ever pulled is that this is somehow a competent, well run city or state with good actors and good governance and nothing could be further from the truth.

[Roy Bellamy]

I mean, there's a lot of bad.

[Paulie]

Actors and they're all moving here. Excited.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah. The whole show wouldn't exist if this place were the kind of place that you'd want to hold the 2028 Summer Olympics, which is supposed to be held in Los Angeles, which of course is plagued now by a biblical tragedy. I just want to throw out there for a moment. We are joined today by my co host, Paola Barros, Paula Barros, AKA Paulie.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's a great segue, Paulie.

[Billy Corben]

Great Miami New Times best comedian. And speaking of Miami disasters, let's. But, but enough about Paulie's bangs. The.

[Paulie]

Which by the way. Right, right. They're great.

[Billy Corben]

They are there. And so Paulie was Miami New times best comedian, 2024.

[Paulie]

Yeah. You should have heard me on the countdown. I was like, for New Year's Eve, I was like, three, two, one. I'm no longer Miami's best comedian. I was so sad.

[Billy Corben]

So Paulie is a comedian, a voiceover artist. She's the host of Amy's Cold Case Files podcast, the Karen podcast for Wondery, and the producer and one of the hosts of the Sacred Scandal True crime podcast.

[Roy Bellamy]

Those all sound very serious.

[Paulie]

They're all murder. It's all very deathy. And I, yeah, I am involved in all of that.

[Billy Corben]

And she's also the voice of all the women on Spanish South Park.

[Paulie]

All the women.

[Billy Corben]

Most of the women on Spanish South Park. Right. You do all the dubbing.

[Paulie]

You just got it right, which is great. Every time a host introduced me in comedy. Here they go. And welcome the voice of the Simpsons. They never get it right. So thank you for getting the south park.

[Billy Corben]

Right. Who are some of the characters on south park that you voice en espanol?

[Paulie]

I do the fat goth girl. Can you still say fat?

[Billy Corben]

Okay, hang on, let me check.

[Roy Bellamy]

We can say that.

[Paulie]

We can say that now. Yes. And I'm thick. So, like, it's my. My people. So I do the fat. I do the fat goth girl. She's amazing. I do the. The new girlfriend of Mr. Mackie, mkay. M'kay. You know that guy, mkay?

[Billy Corben]

Yeah, but it's not MK in espanoles.

[Paulie]

And this is a girl. She's a woman. And I also do, like, the really ultra feminist vice principal, strong woman, Mujere Fuerte. So I have really fun ladies and some little girls and stuff. But I love South Park. They need to put out some new episodes.

[Billy Corben]

She also hosts Tuesdays at the Greystone Hotel. South Beach Comedy Night, Thursdays at the Arlo Hotel in Wynwood. Both free.

[Paulie]

Both free.

[Billy Corben]

Both hosted by.

[Paulie]

You find her curated.

[Billy Corben]

Curated on the IG machine at. Paulie P A U L E Y Me. Paulie me.

[Paulie]

And follow me.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah, absolutely. So here's the question. Miami, are we ready for the 2028 Summer Olympics?

[Roy Bellamy]

Are we ready for the World Cup?

[Billy Corben]

What would that be like?

[Paulie]

I love that. I think we need new. New categories would be introduced for sure. Like the sports of Miami, right? Like jet. Jet skiing. Was that in the Olympics?

[Billy Corben]

But like fully automatic, like. Like jet skiing, like combined with. With like riflery. Right. There'd be like AK47s and be like water world is what is basically what it is.

[Roy Bellamy]

Catching of roosters.

[Billy Corben]

They cockfighting.

[Paulie]

That's good. Fishing off of like, like places you're not supposed to fish off of.

[Billy Corben]

Cockfighting. And also chickens fighting as well.

[Paulie]

And no categories.

[Billy Corben]

No, but I'm just talking about infrastructurally and governmentally. What would this be like? I feel like it would be a epic fiasco.

[Paulie]

Oh yeah, we have a ballet. Like, don't they have ballets and stuff at the beginning?

[Billy Corben]

Like they couldn't even do Copa America at one venue at one stadium without. We're. Miami is the first place that innovated a soccer riot before the game. We're the first place that ever did that. So we're on the cutting edge. But how big of a disaster do you honest do you think that that would be?

[Roy Bellamy]

Very big?

[Paulie]

Very, very big, Large disaster.

[Billy Corben]

Billy, if you put garbage in, you're going to get garbage out.

[Paulie]

Why don't you run it though? Why don't you like offer to produce it?

[Roy Bellamy]

They wanted them to chair the DNC down here.

[Billy Corben]

No, she means that. She means the summer Olympic. The 228 summer.

[Paulie]

Yeah, bro.

[Billy Corben]

Would be such a shit show.

[Paulie]

I'd see you do it.

[Billy Corben]

Like, like just the total collapse of infrastructure. The total collapse of buildings. The like buildings. People being. The lack of public transit, the inability of people to get from one place to another. What are they do, throw everybody out of Liberty City to. To build single purpose stadiums?

[Paulie]

No, they need to do it in Homestead. That would be. That would be the idea. To do it like an open field. Like summer cool home.

[Roy Bellamy]

Build it on Strawberry Fields.

[Billy Corben]

I'd like to nominate. I'd like to nominate Homestead. The Homestead.

[Paulie]

Homestead Olympics.

[Roy Bellamy]

Florida City.

[Billy Corben]

But irregardless, that would be how this would go anyway. They would call it Miami and it would. And it would literally take place Everywhere except for Miami. Miami Gardens, Homestead, Miami Lakes, Doral.

[Paulie]

They have like a 290th street, like a 311th street in Miami.

[Billy Corben]

I don't. I don't know anything about.

[Paulie]

Don't you think at some point they should. They were like, let's just make this a different state. Like, change the name of the county.

[Billy Corben]

If you think about it, to get from one end of the county to the other with no traffic would still probably take like an hour, hour and a half, like, just to get from one. It's got to be one of the biggest counties in the country, except for Monroe, which is the longest because. Because it's just the chain of islands. Remember, it goes all the way down the Keys. It's also the narrowest county.

[Paulie]

The Keys Olympics would be great.

[Billy Corben]

Monroe County Summer Olympics track and field.

[Roy Bellamy]

Will definitely be in sight.

[Paulie]

Key West.

[Billy Corben]

Holy shit.

[Paulie]

Oh, yeah. Running over the Seven Mile Bridge.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, absolutely. And rafting to Cuba.

[Paulie]

We can say that now.

[Billy Corben]

There we go.

[Paulie]

Yeah. Because you're Cuban now.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

So.

[Paulie]

Oh, and you're Republican now, right?

[Billy Corben]

Hang on, hang. I got. I got it. You're goddamn right, meatball. So here's a story for New Year's that we did not get to last week.

[Paulie]

Hey, how come we're not hearing any.

[Scott Maxwell]

Songs in English and it's only span?

[Billy Corben]

The president of the Biscayne Neighborhoods association says he and other Miami residents are disappointed. The Bayfront Park New Year's Eve celebration featured exclusively Spanish speaking performers.

[Scott Maxwell]

I think city of Miami inclusion should play a role in anything that we.

[Billy Corben]

Do that involves taxpayer dollars. The press release ahead of the event promoted it as the largest Hispanic New Year celebration in the United States. Paulie, I'm just going to kick this right to you. I'm going to throw to you.

[Paulie]

I'm a Hispanic, so I can say that now, but I love that now. I need that. My ringtone. No. What else did they expect in Miami? I think it's wonderful. What do they, like, would they want, like, Billy Ray Cyrus? Like, what else did they want to play there? I mean, country would have been cool. I get it. But we don't really.

[Billy Corben]

Well, actually, the single largest, like, biggest growing fan base for country music in America is. Yeah. Is Latinos.

[Roy Bellamy]

Of course it is.

[Paulie]

I think. I think, you know, it's a very Miami. I think it's fine. I'm not. I think people are complaining for no reason, for sure. What do you think?

[Billy Corben]

Well, I think that diversity is our strength, but diversity.

[Paulie]

But I'm sure there were. But I'M sure there was somebody from every Hispanic country representing diversity.

[Billy Corben]

Listen, I think if we want to have a conversation in this country, which we seem to want to have now more than ever post election, about what it means to be an American and who should stay and who should go, we have to have a conversation about our priorities and our values and what does it mean to be American? Do we speak, I feel, American? Do we speak the same language? Are we bilingual? Are we. What are, like, what are the standards going to be for what it means to be an American? That's all. That's all I'm saying.

[Paulie]

No, the language thing is out. I don't think it's the language anymore. We can't just have a country that just speaks one language. I don't think many countries do that.

[Billy Corben]

But what is the mandate, though, as a result of this past election, as a result of what the new immigration policy is going to be? What I'm saying is, is there not a mandate for some new prioritization of Americanism, if you will? There seems to be a lot of people who think that there is some kind of litmus test for what it means to be masculine or what it means to be American or what? And I'm saying a lot of people. Back in 1980, there was a Holocaust survivor by the name of Emmy Shaffer. She had fled Germany during World War II, made it to the United States. I think she spoke like three or four different languages. She spoke Yiddish and German and Russian and maybe Polish. And. But she came here to America and having been saved effectively by America during the Holocaust, she assimilated, she learned another language, she learned English so she could be American and be successful here in this country. And the Miami Dade County Commission, then the Metro Dade or Dade County Commission, passed a bilingual ordinance where they said that everything in county government now is going to be bilingual. So this is 79. So they had to hire translators. They had to make sure that all of the literature and paperwork in the county and that all county offices could interact with both English language people and Spanish language people. Well, Emmy Schaeffer claims that she went into a county office one day to get a service in 1979ish and couldn't find anyone who spoke English. Oh, and she decided that she was going to take some action on this.

[Stugotz]

Anti bilingualism leader Emmy Schaefer led a sparse band of supporters through the streets.

[Billy Corben]

Of downtown Miami this afternoon.

[Paulie]

What I have to accomplish to get the message to our local, state and.

[Billy Corben]

Federal government, 94% of all American people.

[Pam Bondi]

Throughout the United States speak only English. A majority of these people would oppose.

[Billy Corben]

The situation as it exists here.

[Paulie]

Yet they cannot all be classified as bigots.

[Stugotz]

Representatives from several Latin organizations gathered at.

[Billy Corben]

The Torch of Friendship for a counter protest.

[Scott Maxwell]

Selling of hate is very easy.

[Billy Corben]

Selling of love is very difficult. So we suggest that she stops polarization of her counter. What she did was, is she got a petition drive together, it got signed and they put on the ballot later that year, November of 1980, an English only ordinance that Dade county was only going. We're going to have one language that no more money would be spent on translations, on attempting to communicate with this ever growing population in our community, which would later become the minority majority and the Miami accent. And then the West Kendall. I speak fluent West Kendall.

[Paulie]

Really trying to speak English like I speak English really well, but like, I don't even know like, why. Super well, super well.

[Billy Corben]

Super good, bro.

[Paulie]

I think that's what we have to work on first. Like people's accents, like, honestly, like, let's get the English right and then we can make it that rule.

[Billy Corben]

So what happens? So we have Republican candidate for president that year who is a former B movie actor, a kind of left of center Republican governor of California who is running for president as a Republican, Ronald Reagan. And he was one of the first candidates to come down to Miami and really campaign to the kind of hardline anti communist Cuban community down here. Brigade 2506, you know, the Bay of Pigs veterans. And he was running on a campaign, a platform, a slogan of let's make America great again. And what happens? We elect Ronald Reagan president and Dade county passes that English only ordinance in November of 1980. So there is a part of me that sees sort of a return to that sense of perhaps you would call it hate or exclusion. But is that the way the pendulum is swinging?

[Paulie]

It limits us, it limits the country. Just, you know, it should be mandatory to know both. No, but then you have to throw in the Creole. You have to give it to the Creole.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, now wait a second. Are you complaining that you'd also have to do Creole as well?

[Paulie]

Yeah, because we allow Spanish and we also have to do the Creole.

[Billy Corben]

But we do that. Look at our ballots. Our ballots. Our ballots tend to be very long because they're in three languages, I'd say. Shouldn't they be?

[Paulie]

Every single voicemail is like, para espanol, marque, dos. You know, it's like for real, like it's.

[Billy Corben]

Wait, but is, is that a problem or is that how it should be.

[Paulie]

I mean, it's great for my mom. Like, you know what I mean? She. She came here in 19, you know, 85, and never tried. Like, never tried. She had the books, like, Ingles or whatever the. But, like, they were. Never opened. My father gave to her. Never opened, didn't try. She was like, I just don't. I won't have. I won't have friends. She didn't care. She was just like, I have my daughters. I don't know anything.

[Billy Corben]

Miami is an extraordinary place in that way. It's one of the few places in the United States where you can come. Never learn English. In fact, even the signage, the people you deal with or work with on a daily basis, the menus, the billboards, you'll never have to learn English. And you can have a perfectly successful, happy, wonderful life.

[Paulie]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Billy Corben]

Or you get deported.

[Paulie]

And that.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, they saved that for black people.

[Paulie]

Yeah. You know what word that they like? I go to Miccosukee often to go gamble there. Miccosukee Casino. I don't know if you guys have ever been there. My degenerate play is my favorite thing.

[Billy Corben]

Out on Chrome.

[Paulie]

Yeah, Chrome.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, my God.

[Paulie]

That's where the Olympics should be. Oh, my God.

[Billy Corben]

Just slash and burn the Everglades and build a stadium there. I know somebody who would agree with that. He's going to be on the show shortly.

[Paulie]

But, yeah, no, gambling is a big thing now, so it's fine. It's okay. It's okay for me to gamble now, openly.

[Billy Corben]

I think gambling is great. But you go out to Miccosukee, you are dedicated. You are committed to losing your money.

[Paulie]

No, no, no. It pays out well. But anyway, those people over there do not speak a lick of English. Like, it's mostly Cuban people gambling a lot and not speaking English. But they know the words that benefit them. Like, when they win, they'll be like, catch out. And that means cash out. So they know, like, the words, you know, yak, but, you know, like, they know the yak, but yak, but yakpot. Sorry to scream, but it's just so funny that they've only learned the. I'm trying to think of other words, and they'll come to me if that's. But they learn enough just to, like, get what they need, which I love.

[Billy Corben]

Do they ever recognize you? Your voice, I mean.

[Paulie]

Oh, my voice? Oh, yeah. Cause I did the Miccosukee ads for a long, long time before the pandemic.

[Billy Corben]

Well, you had to pay off your gambling debt somehow. They were Gonna break your legs, maybe.

[Paulie]

I was on a losing streak, and I had just lost, like, 400 bucks for real that day. And I was like, let me see if they have, like, a media, like, an office of, like, something. And so I started looking around or whatever. I asked, and I got to an office, and I was like, hi, I am Paula. I was like, the person that does your ads right now on tv. Like, sounds really bad. Like, really, like, kind of like, let's go to Sunset Place. Like, what are we doing? Like, that girl. And I was like, and I can give you, like, a really good bilingual read and blah, blah, blah, blah. I got the job. I got the job.

[Billy Corben]

Are you serious?

[Paulie]

So Miccosukee by.

[Billy Corben]

Basically at. By willpower.

[Paulie]

So they would pay me money and debt, and then that's gambling debt. The money that I would be allowed to gamble would be my Miccosukee checks. I would just bring them back, and then that was my gambling budget. My own vo. Don't tell them.

[Billy Corben]

That's very responsible, actually. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah, it is.

[Billy Corben]

I'm very impressed.

[Roy Bellamy]

Paying them back and everything. It's not, like, free talent right there.

[Paulie]

Yeah, exactly. Give it right back.

[Billy Corben]

You're right. Have you ever been out there? I went out there a lot of years ago. They had, like, a 999 surf and turf. It's amazing at the restaurant in the middle of the. Like that island in the middle of the casino. It's 30 now by inflation. But the. Sorry was. It was like a Roy bobblehead. It was a Roy bobblehead I just saw there in the. In the.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm going to miss that on Monday.

[Billy Corben]

No. No, you're not. All the grocery prices are going to come down immediately come Monday. It'll be all right. I think it's fascinating out there because it's like. Yeah. Cause, like, the Seminoles got all the good. They bought the most American brand, Hard Rock. They have, like, the sexy building and, like, a good location right there off the turnpike and everything. But the Miccosukee are like, no, we're good out here. We're good. We're gonna stay out here in the.

[Paulie]

Evergreen, be humble and be chill. And that building hasn't. It hasn't been renovated in, like, 50, 60 years. The carpets are old and amazing. Like, it smells like. Dude, it is.

[Billy Corben]

What does it smell like?

[Paulie]

It like.

[Roy Bellamy]

It smells like 1937.

[Paulie]

Yeah, like the 60s in Vegas. It's like.

[Billy Corben]

It's.

[Paulie]

But it's only Cuban, so it's, like, very Native American mixed with Cubans. And it's just a world of its own. It's my favorite place in the world.

[Roy Bellamy]

Cigars is my favorite.

[Paulie]

Let's go after this.

[Billy Corben]

20 years ago, we should. 20 years ago, I went out there for a Tyson fight, and they had like, this dome, this, like, off to the side. Do you remember this giant building?

[Paulie]

Yes, absolutely.

[Billy Corben]

Instead of building an addition, they just put up this weird giant, like, temporary.

[Paulie]

They had a bunch of wrestling there. A bunch of like. Yeah, yeah. And boxing.

[Billy Corben]

And they had free. So come watch the Tyson fight for free. It was like a pay per view fight. I can't remember the fight because this night was so crazy. I just remember how crazy the night was.

[Roy Bellamy]

It was a short fight, probably.

[Billy Corben]

It was a short fight. And we started. Took longer to get there. We start going west on Tamiami Trail. On Coyote on A Street.

[Paulie]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

And then it was bumper to bumper traffic. I know the development has increased westbound, but, like, there was a time when there was nothing out there. I mean, nothing out there. And so we hit bumper to bumper traffic, and everybody's just now pulling over to the side of the road and just leaving their car and walking. But you're walking next to the gators in the Everglades, next to this creepy canal in pitch black. And so I'm like, I don't know that I want to park here. So we kept rolling and rolling and we finally said, ah, it like, we gave up. We pulled over, we parked, and we start walking. We start following this crowd, and there's just a line of people. You were walking in the swamp. And then there's just this. In the middle of the darkness, right there at the corner of Chrome and Kyoto and Tammy Mitchell, there's just all of a sudden this building.

[Paulie]

The casino.

[Billy Corben]

The casino.

[Paulie]

It says gaming, and it doesn't say casino. It just says Miccosukee. Miccosukee Gaming. I don't know if it's like a legal thing, but that they couldn't call it a casino, because they can't. It's like with bingo. Every machine is also with bingo. It's like they have a license for bingo.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah. It's a certain class of games, like, class. Right. That you can't. They have. You have to. The machines have to be programmed to play against each other rather than the house. It's very complicated. But we're just walking down this line of people, and my buddy Dave, I'll never forget this, because we're walking next to the swamp. There's a road to the left, and there is Just Everglades.

[Paulie]

It's alligators. Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

And so sawgrass. So Dave goes. As we're just walking along, there's, like, women and children. There's this line of people trying to walk their way to this. Yes. Walk their way.

[Roy Bellamy]

Women and children going to the Tyson.

[Billy Corben]

Pure degeneracy. And so. And so all of a sudden, Dave, brushing next to the Everglades, goes, oh, shit. And throws himself into the bushes as if he had gotten pulled in there by some swamp creature. And this woman goes. And I'm like. And we're all. And I didn't know he was gonna do it.

[Paulie]

Like, oh, shit.

[Billy Corben]

And then. And then Dave just, like, jumps out, like. Just kidding. This woman was sobbing. This child was, like, gonna run out into the street and get hit by. It was pretty funny. Then we.

[Roy Bellamy]

Pretty funny.

[Billy Corben]

Then we was pretty funny.

[Paulie]

Go, Dave, bro.

[Billy Corben]

Then we get. Long story even longer. We finally cross the street because we, like, parked by the gas station. That's the.

[Paulie]

I know. The gas.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah. Like, the southeast corner of that intersection.

[Paulie]

Pretty bomb. They have, like, all kinds of Native American, like, souvenirs.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah. Like gator jerky. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

You parked at the gas station?

[Billy Corben]

I bought a manatee skin belt there. It's pretty amazing. We parked at the gas station.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's old.

[Billy Corben]

No, everybody was doing it. Everybody was just pulling over wherever they could at the cigarette trailer or whatever. And then. And then walking.

[Paulie]

That are really cheap over there, guys.

[Billy Corben]

Really?

[Paulie]

You need cigarettes in 20, 25 still, like, buy it wholesale.

[Billy Corben]

It gives you that sexy south park voice, I've noticed. So. So we. So we finally get to the edge of the parking lot, and we look up and at those tall lights, there's what I can only describe as flying cats. Like these bats.

[Roy Bellamy]

The Batster.

[Billy Corben]

We didn't know what they were, but we're like. We're like, what the hell is that up there? These giant insects with wings flying. They were palmetto bugs, but they were, like, the size of my head. And they're flying. And then we look down and there's piles of dead palmetto bugs all over the parking lot. And everybody. So imagine we're all in this weird single file kind of line in the Everglades. And all of a sudden we disperse because everybody's trying to avoid these piles of palmetto bugs. And we're all. This was like, out of Jurassic park, this play. It was unbelievable.

[Paulie]

It is a great story.

[Billy Corben]

And we all just like. Everybody just. Can you imagine the shot overhead? We all just suddenly, like, disperse and people going left and Right. And just trying to avoid. But I've never seen. And everybody's looking up too, because we're scared that these things are dying and then falling. It was like locust out of the sky. I don't, I don't know.

[Paulie]

I love Miccosukee guys. If you have probably cocaine, go support Miccosukee.

[Stugotz]

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[Billy Corben]

Our next guest needs no introduction. I'll do it anyway. Fans of the show, fans of Miami sports will recognize him and his name will send a chill down your spine. He is the former president of the Florida turned Miami Marlins and less than two decades ago he was responsible for negotiating with the city of Miami, the county of Miami Dade, and for a brief time anyway, the state of Florida, in an effort to get public funds to build him and his ownership group of the Marlins a private stadium. Effectively what I would call the worst at the time, the worst sports welfare deal in the history of the country. A deal that accomplished nothing that was promised, did not revitalize Little Havana economically. It did not change the attendance phase of the team, which is still in competition for the bottom two of the worst attendance in Major League Baseball. Of course, for our neighbors to the north, Tampa is usually right there in contention. All it accomplished was on the backs of broke ass Miami taxpayers, made his ex stepfather and the owner of the Miami Marlins, Chef Lauria, a billionaire.

[Roy Bellamy]

You know, usually when you introduce guests, you usually give glowing praise. You know.

[Billy Corben]

I think that is, I think he's erect. Hearing all of that. I think that that was like a stadium. That was, that was.

[Paulie]

He doesn't look erect.

[Pam Bondi]

That was, that was 65 inches strong right now.

[Billy Corben]

That is, that is, that is him fully erect. He is a shalala and a half.

[Paulie]

High right now, he is getting pale.

[Billy Corben]

So this deal was so bad, the publicity surrounding it so negative and scandalous, it was believed that it might be the last sports welfare deal of all time. The exact opposite turned out to be true. Like a cancer metastasizing throughout the country. We have spent untold billions of dollars annually on subsidizing or outright financing professional stadiums for every conceivable sport, professional and amateur, at this point that you could possibly imagine. And mostly these owners are billionaires. So we are providing welfare effectively for billionaires. And David Sampson is joining us to talk about the top three, in no particular order, Florida sports welfare deals to watch in 2025. Welcome, David. Hey.

[Pam Bondi]

With that introduction, I almost walked off the set. But I think that the most important thing, Billy, is that back in the day when you were trying to stop the deal from happening and of course you couldn't, you really did think it was the worst deal of all time. And I said to you, and I remember this clear as day, that if you think this is going to be the last sports financing deal, then you need to get back into a hole from which you came. Because we're just getting started, baby. And what's happened over the last 15 years is just a continuation of what happened, Billy. I didn't invent the playbook. I played by the playbook. And the playbook is now being used by people all over the country.

[Billy Corben]

And to be fair, your play was for a stadium and a parking structure that I think was ultimately cost taxpayers what, 6,700 million sticker price and will over the course of the long haul. The financing, the interest cost over 2 billion with a B dollars. Yours was not what we are seeing every single day in this country now, which is a straight up real estate play. That's what's happening in Orlando. That's the first one here, is that they want an entire city block, I think adjacent or across the street from the Orlando Magic Arena. I can never. It's the Kia Center. I can never keep up with. It was Amway before that. I can never keep up. So I'll just say the Orlando Magic Arena. And more importantly, they want it declared a community development district. If ever there was a misnomer, kind of like a public private partnership, a community, very common.

[Pam Bondi]

Billy, come on.

[Billy Corben]

What?

[Pam Bondi]

Don't mislead your audience. These districts are created all over the country in order to capture what people say is but for revenue. And I always laugh because I would put the two T's in the but for revenue, because that's about what people are doing to the public. But what a but for revenue is Florida. Dad joke 1T. What can I tell you? Not have access to the dad has access.

[Roy Bellamy]

I have access.

[Billy Corben]

I don't, I don't have. I don't know. But I say but for. But enough about Andrew Gillum.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm not touching that one.

[Pam Bondi]

I will not.

[Billy Corben]

Andrew. What? You're not.

[Paulie]

I don't know who that is.

[Billy Corben]

That's the best reaction. He's under the desk. Okay, okay. But for.

[Pam Bondi]

Let me just explain, Billy. What but for revenue is, is that were it not for a stadium, were it not for the team being in that stadium arena, then any sort of that are driven around that, any sort of revenue that, that the state would get or a city would get or a county from a restaurant, from a museum, from a shirt that's bought that is only happening because of the team being there. And what teams do is they say, listen, of course it's absolute horse hockey. We all argue it. It's page 12 of the playbook. And what we say is let's draw a line. And inside that line, we're going to keep all the revenue and whatever taxes are collected, give them back to us. And we will use that to bond out money, meaning we can borrow money by having this as a way to pay the money back. And then what we say is, dear Commissioner, but for our team, no one would be buying a shirt, eating at a restaurant or doing anything in this area. Therefore you won't be missing anything. That's the argument that owners are making. And secondly, they all make it a real estate play because I was a rookie wanting just a ballpark and parking. I should have. And I tried to get control over the retail at Marlins park and around Marlins park with the structures and at the west side of the building. And I didn't make it a deal breaker and I should have. My bad. The fact of the matter is the teams now want control of everything around their ballpark and they want all the revenue that comes with it.

[Billy Corben]

So the DeVos family, the Amway heirs, multi billionaires, own the Orlando Magic. And what they're looking for here and will likely get, they always do. They want to use tax free debt to pay for a $44 million privately owned parking garage and other infrastructure. That's the federal tax break I think that they want on top of a 42 and a half million dollar package of city funded tax break breaks and grants. And it comes just a few months after Orlando City hall pressured the greater Orange county government into putting another $226 million of county taxpayer money into the Kia center, which is, quote, unquote, city owned, as is Marlins Park. But it's built just for the Magic, and it's owned by the Magic. And effectively and operated by the Magic, they keep most, if not all of the revenue generated there. Why should we be giving hundreds of millions of dollars to billionaires to basically fix their office? So they're privately owned stadiums.

[Pam Bondi]

Let me just correct you first. Marlins park is owned by the county.

[Paulie]

Yes.

[Pam Bondi]

And the reason why you have a public entity own an arena or ballpark is so you don't have to pay property taxes. And when a arena is privately owned, like Joe Robbie, that forces the owner of that team or the occupant of that building to pay property taxes. And no one wants to do that. And so that's very common that you have buildings. It's not just Miami. It's all over the country. You've got communities that own the buildings where the private enterprise is being held.

[Billy Corben]

But owned on paper only, people owned on paper paper only because it doesn't mean anything that we own it revenue wise. Right? Yeah.

[Pam Bondi]

You have no power, no control. You have no nothing. That's always what we wanted for Miami. We didn't want Miami to be involved in any way because we felt they were incompetent. We didn't want them to build anything because we felt they didn't know how to build it. And if they did, it would be over budget. We didn't want Miami to be involved with any part. It was bad enough that we let them build the garages and we had to be on top of that at all times. And so what you see with deals now around the country is teams taking ownership of all of it. And you're seeing it in Miami now at Mel Reese, where Inter Miami is trying to build a city. At Mel Reese, what you're seeing is a family who is going to benefit greatly from that and what you hope is a community that will as well.

[Paulie]

While I have you here, can I shoot my comedy special at the Marlins Stadium?

[Billy Corben]

No, it's.

[Roy Bellamy]

Well, he's not involved with the team anymore.

[Billy Corben]

So you understand.

[Pam Bondi]

I've been gone for seven years.

[Paulie]

I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, what I wanted to know is like, so you, you can have other events in these stadiums, like Shakira have a concert there.

[Billy Corben]

Absolutely. I went to a monster truck.

[Paulie]

But you said they keep the profits. So, like, does that mean that the stadium does keep the profits?

[Billy Corben]

Yes, the owner, the team which operates profits of the.

[Paulie]

Of someone else's concert.

[Billy Corben]

Not only. No, no, no, of course there is. If it's being rented or there's some rev share with.

[Paulie]

They get a.

[Billy Corben]

Then what I'm saying is the city or the county doesn't get shit. All right, Is the problem who quote unquote owns the venue? The owners of the. The building.

[Paulie]

Right.

[Billy Corben]

Like I said, in name only or on paper get no benefit from those events. And in fact, even worse, I don't know what. What your deal was, David, at Marlins park, but I know at the American Airlines arena or FTX arena, whatever the hell it's called across the street here, the Miami Heat Arena. Okay, whatever you say.

[Paulie]

I've ever been to the.

[Billy Corben]

In that arena, the county, in addition to getting almost $0 annually in revenue from once again an arena they own, the county pays. The Miami Heat pays them millions of dollars every year to quote, unquote, manage as a management fee.

[Paulie]

Why. Why is the county being so beta. Like, why are they. Sorry, we can say that now.

[Billy Corben]

Right? So. So, David, did you guys get paid to. To quote, manage a management fee to run our ballpark?

[Pam Bondi]

No, it's two different ways. The reason why that happens at the Triple A, which I don't think we call. What do you call it? The Casey now, Roy? No, I don't know.

[Billy Corben]

What.

[Roy Bellamy]

Not. Not at all. Not at all.

[Pam Bondi]

So it's just called the center?

[Roy Bellamy]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

FTX, Miami Coin Arena. Bang Brothers. Bang Brothers Center, BBC.

[Roy Bellamy]

That lasted about 18 months.

[Billy Corben]

And by the way, if it lasts 18 months, you should talk to a doctor. You should definitely call. Call your doctor if it lasts longer than it takes.

[Pam Bondi]

God, you've had so many erection jokes in one show.

[Billy Corben]

I'm so excited to see you.

[Paulie]

Something he did perk up a lot, so.

[Pam Bondi]

In any case. Case I am pale and not for the reason I'd like to be. It's the lighting in the studio publicly. Exactly. It certainly is not. This talk of stadiums and financing, while you think that would get me going, that's actually not what gets me going these days.

[Paulie]

What gets you?

[Pam Bondi]

In any case. Oh, oh, Just the red light of the camera.

[Paulie]

Okay. That gets you going. Oh, okay.

[Pam Bondi]

Yeah. The countdown in my ear. Three, two, one.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, yeah. His. His. His nipples are gonna tear right through that leopard print shirt or whatever the hell that. Whatever the hell that is. I. I bet. Can you give me. Hang on, Paulie. Can you. Can you give us a Spanish. A Spanish countdown in that purr in that South Park Purr.

[Paulie]

Tres. Dos. Uno.

[Billy Corben]

Thank you.

[Pam Bondi]

Oh, my God.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's. That's pretty good, man.

[Billy Corben]

So good.

[Pam Bondi]

Can I get that taped and use that to start every show I do? We've never met, actually, until now.

[Paulie]

Nice to meet you, man. What's up?

[Billy Corben]

Sorry to interrupt this, like, speed dating session or whatever the hell is happening here right now. Yeah. All right. You were, I think.

[Pam Bondi]

Let me get back and tell you why. Very quickly these deals come together. In the case of Marlins park, you had the public actually contribute money toward construction. In other deals, you've got the public that doesn't give money toward construction, but they give money in other ways. Like with the Dolphins, where Stephen Ross gets a sum of money from the county for hosting marquee events and for attracting marquee events to Miami Gardens. In the heats example, they got money on an annual basis to manage the stadium, which they then go to a bank and say, look, we are getting this money every year from the county, therefore, can we borrow the money needed to construct the AAA or to do the things that we're doing as part of our business and will pay you back from this guaranteed revenue stream from the public. So there's in New York, they built Yankee and Met Stadium with private money. Except they didn't. They got all the public money they could have ever wanted. Billions of dollars. It just didn't become a big deal. And it's called the payment in lieu of taxes. A pilot payment is a payment that a team makes, not taxes to the taxpayers and to the community. It's actually a payment to repay borrowed money, in theory.

[Paulie]

Oh, wow.

[Pam Bondi]

And so my point is there are many different ways that owners do it. All with the intent of contributing as little as possible in order to maximize their ability to make profit annually and to increase the value of their team.

[Billy Corben]

Before we go, David, we have to talk about what you brought up in passing a moment ago. Because one of these sports welfare deals to watch in 2025, the one we were promised they would not seek any public subsidies on, is of course the ultimate boondoggle, which is Mel Reese. The Inter Miami real estate hustle on 99 year no bid below market value lease on the largest, the single largest piece of green space owned by city of Miami taxpayers. It was the largest piece of actually contiguous real estate, period, owned by the taxpayers. Just this week, David, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez gave his mercifully final state of the city address and he chose to do it at the so called Miami Freedom Park. And this is what he said about negotiating this deal. This was like birthing a child, this deal. It's moments like these that often go unseen. Having to work on my birthday from 10pm to 2am negotiating what I believe to be the best sports deal in America. Such a deal, good deal, that not only do I challenge anyone to find me a better deal, I'd actually like to know if there is one. A lot to test determine that.

[Pam Bondi]

Oh my God.

[Paulie]

Did you say working on my birthday?

[Billy Corben]

Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

He's a narcissist. So birthing a dress.

[Billy Corben]

Let's. Let's set aside for a second the fact that this guy is effectively and allegedly an unregistered lobbyist for the same people. He was negotiating. He was literally on the same side physically on the same side of the table as them. His law firm represented ends mls. Like this was very much like. This is the left hand negotiating with the right hand. The poor guy was up all night on his birthday, by the way, getting paid millions of dollars for it. I just.

[Paulie]

That's impressive for a bro dude. Like, he's such a bro dude and like he's a. That's impressive. There's so much power. Dang.

[Pam Bondi]

So it's funny you say that because he actually has no power. He tried to run for president and realized quickly that he is not even a big fish in a small pond. And that speech to me is laughable because the deal he did with the Moss brothers is one of the most pro team deals that exists in the country. The ability to develop that land the way the masses are going to do it. They don't give a flying rat's ass about the soccer part of the deal. They care about the real estate, the development, the hotel, all the different ways that they will get annual, monthly, weekly and daily revenue. Inter Miami is like a side note. David. David Beckham is collecting money based on his team's value going up. Lionel Messi will be gone and the masses will be there controlling this land for generations. And Suarez stands up congratulate himself.

[Billy Corben]

I'm embarrassed. Mr. Mayor, you're brilliant. You were super smart. So just where did he go to high school?

[Paulie]

Did he go to Columbia? He looks like a Columbus.

[Billy Corben]

He got.

[Paulie]

Okay.

[Billy Corben]

He got apparently kicked out of Berlin. He got kicked out? He got kicked. I think. I think he wound up at Columbus. I'm not sure, but. But how do you get. He was the mayor's son and he got kicked out of blen. I don't know how you do that, but I'd love to know. Practice last relevant Last August, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis handed out $8 million in a state grant to pay for a new road serving Miami Freedom Park. Then Moss Brothers got another $3 million state grant that Florida's Republican controlled legislature kind of hid into this year's budget to also pay for more. There was no big ceremony for that with the oversized check. They just snuck that in. This is in addition to more than $300 million in local subsidies, okay, that are supporting the development. That includes over $70 million for site prep and infrastructure, including cleaning up environmental contamination, which I imagine there'll also be some federal subsidies for that as well as there usually is with these former super fund sites. And get this, here's something they negotiated because they need tenants right on this real estate hustle in this mall and this office park. And also, by the way, there's gonna be a soccer stadium. I don't know if you heard, but the first tenant is going to be the city of Miami because Francis, quote unquote, negotiated a $250 million city administration building. So he's basically gonna be moving the city government there. So guess what? The city of Miami is now going to be a tenant paying rent, pay on their own property. What kind of a deal is that?

[Paulie]

That's not a deal. That's crazy.

[Billy Corben]

What kind of a deal to go ahead and give a 99 year lease to these and then say, okay, now we're gonna lease it back? I mean, it's like I said, it's the left hand negotiating with the right hand. This was a, in my opinion, a corrupt act. This was a, a robbery that we witnessed all happen on live television.

[Pam Bondi]

This is my favorite deal that's ever existed in Florida, the inter Miami deal. And the reason why is that no longer can people talk about Marlins park as some sort of terrible, worst deal. That's great, because when you have a frame of reference like what Moss has done to Miami perspective, that's it. I am off the hook.

[Stugotz]

Hook.

[Pam Bondi]

Permanently.

[Roy Bellamy]

Congratulations.

[Billy Corben]

Okay, so, so, so, Roy, you should ask me, you know, ask me if I think that the Marlins park deal is the worst sports welfare deal in the history of sports.

[Roy Bellamy]

Now, Billy, do you believe that the Marlins park deal is the worst sports deal in the history of the United States of America?

[Billy Corben]

Fortunately, I have a translator here so all of our listeners can understand this in English. No, no, thank you. That is, that is an Espanol as well. That is everyone. That is. No, I don't, I don't think it. And, but David, you, you didn't take exceptions to me repeatedly Referring to these arrangements as sports welfare deals. I wonder if, if you have a different view on it or if I.

[Pam Bondi]

Don'T know how much time you have. But you've always been on the wrong side of this because you've always believed that it's just sports owners who do this. But in fact, these sort of tax incentives are used all over by all industries, including the industry you're in. You and I have had this debate and I'm happy to have it again. And I love that you choose to be this sort of disruptor, but you do it without facts. And the facts are that communities have sports teams, communities have facilities. Not everything is meant to be for profit. And you need the private sector to spend their intellectual capital and also their blood and sweat equity to do certain projects. And you have to make it worth their while. That's the role of the government. And I never felt one ounce of guilt for what we did to bring baseball to Miami. And look, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have Miami Live.

[Billy Corben]

Congratulations. Oh my God. Well, okay, before we go Miami Live, the. What do you think about. I don't know that it's such a bad thing, but we might be on the, on the opposite sides of this.

[Pam Bondi]

There's no chance it succeeds. It's what we've dreamt about. We wanted urban sprawl to hit Little Havana. We wanted there to be some sort of development around Marlins park to make it a year round destination. And it's failed.

[Paulie]

Make it a casino.

[Pam Bondi]

My first five years, I'd love it. And it's failed in the seven years since.

[Paulie]

Make it a casino.

[Pam Bondi]

Maybe this will be it.

[Billy Corben]

Miami Live is a development, one on the west side of the building where they're going to build like this. I make a sort of a shopping mall restaurant.

[Pam Bondi]

No, that's not right. What is it, Billy? It's in the west plaza. Maybe they could use the lot just to the west where you don't need parking because they don't have enough fans.

[Billy Corben]

Right.

[Pam Bondi]

But what you have to do is you have to park, put something there that people want to go to on non game days. Because God knows on game days there are enough people to make it profitable. And it's very unlikely that people will come to that neighborhood on any day to engage in what, quote unquote, Miami Live offers. I hope it works for Miami's sake, but I do not see a path to economic prosperity.

[Billy Corben]

Well, it's not a mall. It's like kind of like restaurants. Ar what the hell Is it. It's much smaller than I thought it was going to be. The footprint, it would be tiny if it's just in the.

[Paulie]

In the, like, Gulf Stream.

[Pam Bondi]

Way smaller than you think.

[Billy Corben]

Yeah. And the most frustrating thing about it is, though, that the people behind Miami Live are part of these things all over the country. So it's a. It's a company from out of state that's supposed to curate a Miami experience for Miamians in Little Havana. My concern is that that inauthenticity is not going to, well, make it, like.

[Paulie]

Put like horse races or something like that to bring cockfights.

[Billy Corben]

That's the only way you could sell out Marlins park is. Is the Savannah Bananas dog Ra Cockfights. You can believe me, Sampson would have done it if he could have done it.

[Pam Bondi]

If I thought there are profit and cocks and fighting, I would do it.

[Billy Corben]

Of course, in terms of the government bringing value to these teams, they certainly do. As I mentioned earlier, it took your ownership group from multimillionaires to billionaires, and you sold the team for over $1 billion on the back of the taxpayers investment. And the Orlando Magic, they have more than tripled the value of that team over the past 10 years to an estimated 3.2 billion. And inter Miami, which is one of North America's newest pro sports franchises, is already worth more than a billion dollars, according to Forbes valuations. And of course, the Rays, always in contention with the Marlins for the lowest attendance in Major League Baseball. They now want another billion dollars for a new ballpark. And their value over the past decade is now $1.3 billion. So I'm not exactly sure who this is supposed to benefit, but we know it sure as hell is benefiting the billionaires. David, will you come back to talk about the Rays? Because the Rays are about to outdo you again, too.

[Pam Bondi]

I'm getting outdone. Left, right, and center. I'm like the old record holder. And I. And I don't say this with any sort of anger, angst, or regret. I'm happy that people have continued to blaze the trail that we started and that we continued because these projects are necessary for us to make as much money as we can and to screw you, Billy, as much as we possibly can, which, frankly, is our only goal. We didn't even care about winning baseball games. We said, let's really screw Billy Corbin.

[Billy Corben]

What is Dax, are you tracking all.

[Scott Maxwell]

Our cars on Carvana value tracker on all our devices? Yes, Kristen, yes, I am.

[Paulie]

Well, I've been looking for my phone.

[Scott Maxwell]

For in Dax's domain, we see all. So we always know what our cars are worth.

[Paulie]

All of them?

[David Sampson]

All of them.

[Scott Maxwell]

Value surge trucks up 3.9%.

[Paulie]

That's a great offer.

[Scott Maxwell]

I know. Sell.

[Paulie]

Sell.

[Scott Maxwell]

Track your car's value with Carvana value tracker today.

[Stugotz]

Billy.

[David Sampson]

Yes?

[Stugotz]

You know what we've been talking about all season long?

[David Sampson]

Smirnoff. Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

How'd you guess?

[David Sampson]

I knew it. I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

You are. They are the official sponsor of the Dan LeBatard show with Stugot. So you already know that. It's an official vodka partner of the NFL. And end Super Bowl 59. We're gonna be there.

[David Sampson]

Oh, yes. I can't believe we're by 59 already. Yeah, time flies.

[Stugotz]

It does.

[Paulie]

Yes.

[David Sampson]

We're old.

[Stugotz]

I'm old.

[David Sampson]

Hey, you know what, Stu? Guys, I was thinking.

[Stugotz]

Yes.

[David Sampson]

Since football season's winding down, super bowl is coming up. Super Bowl 59. We've been celebrating football all year. I have an idea.

[Stugotz]

What?

[David Sampson]

Let's do a toast.

[Stugotz]

Okay. Oh, wow.

[David Sampson]

To football.

[Stugotz]

Really?

[David Sampson]

Yeah. Me and you. Let's toast football.

[Stugotz]

So, just a toast. So we're. We're. We're raising our glasses of Smirnoff Vodka.

[David Sampson]

Glasses up. Yeah. All right.

[Stugotz]

And we are toasting to football.

[David Sampson]

To football.

[Stugotz]

To football, everyone. What we love about Smirnoff is that you can get the world's number one vodka without breaking the bank. This feeling is what the good folks over at Smirnoff call. Billy, you want to take a stab at this?

[David Sampson]

Yes. Smirnoff Straw or.

[Stugotz]

Nailed it.

[David Sampson]

I told you. I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

And right now, Smirnoff has partnered with Complex. Like letting fans get their hands on some amazing items handpicked by celebrities, including NFL legend and super bowl champion Vernon Davis, for the unbelievable price of $12.99. Just like a bottle of Smirnoff. So head on over to smirnoffdrops.com to check out upcoming drops. And check out. Oh, Billy. You want to take a guess again?

[David Sampson]

These Smirnoff Straw or items. Oh, look at us. What's the website?

[Stugotz]

It is Smirnoff Dropped Smirnoff. We do game days. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer and may vary by state. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.

[Billy Corben]

Do you have any doubts that Joe.

[Scott Maxwell]

Biden had the majority of votes, electoral.

[Billy Corben]

Votes, necessary to be elected president in 2020.

[Donald Trump]

You know, Senator, all I can tell you as a prosecutor is from my firsthand experience, and I accept the results. I accept, of course, that Joe Biden is President of the United States. But what I can tell you is what I saw firsthand when I went to Pennsylvania as an advocate for the campaign. I was an advocate for the campaign, and I was on the ground in Pennsylvania, and I saw many things there. But do I accept the results? Of course I do. Do I agree with what happened? And I saw so much. You know, no one from either side of the aisle should want there to be any issues with election integrity.

[Billy Corben]

Okay, let's, let's, let's go ahead. We can go ahead and. Stop it. Stop it. There is anybody.

[Donald Trump]

Elections.

[Billy Corben]

That is. That is Florida woman, former state Attorney General Pam Bondi.

[Roy Bellamy]

It's a yes or no question, Roy.

[Billy Corben]

It's a lot more complicated than that, clearly. And she is, of course, President Trump's nominee for United States Attorney General, there at her Senate confirmation committee, being asked about the outcome of the 2020 election, which she fought tooth and nail against on behalf of her client. As anybody knows, a good prosecutor who has to rely on evidence and facts, quote, I saw many things there, end quote. That's, of course, the. That's, of course, what any, any good investigator or detective or prosecutor is looking to rely on. The. The true standard of evidence. Evidence I saw. I saw, by the way, on my way here today, I saw many things.

[Paulie]

I did.

[Billy Corben]

Scott Maxwell is the metro columnist for the Orlando Sentinel who has written some sensational columns about Pam Bondi and her rise to MAGA stardom. And, in fact, I've met Pam Bondi in Tallahassee when she was Attorney General. I kind of liked her, to be perfectly honest, at the time. And Scott Maxwell, you were a bit of a fan as well early on, I recall. I think you actually coming to her defense during the early parts of her career. Tell us a little bit about that and have you come around. And how'd your girl Pam perform? My girl?

[Scott Maxwell]

Yeah, yeah. Fan might be a little bit of a strong word, but you are absolutely right that I was somewhat sympathetic to her original campaign. When she came on the scene to run for Attorney General, she was actually sort of theoretically the moderate in the race, and she was being attacked by right wingers who thought she was unqualified for, among other reasons, being divorced and not having children. So.

[Billy Corben]

Wow.

[Scott Maxwell]

They didn't think she lived up to the family values and I was, you know, I wrote a couple pieces, you know, what the hell's wrong with you? And they. And they went after her for petty things like that. But as you mentioned, I got to know her a little bit to the extent that even when she was on her campaign, during the campaign and struggling a bit, she was prepping for a national appearance on Fox News. And she called me to help her prep for her appearance, which I would not normally have done, except it was about a crusade of wrongful convictions. I was willing to talk to anybody who would listen. Pam Bondi swore she wanted to be prepped so that if she got elected Attorney general, she could right these wrongs and open new investigations. That's not how it panned out.

[Billy Corben]

What was this story, incidentally?

[Scott Maxwell]

There. It's a complicated one, but there's a string of convictions in Brevard County. Whenever the cops were sure that somebody had done something wrong, and I say, sure, they believe somebody had done something wrong, and they couldn't prove it. They brought in this dog handler and this dog handler and his magical dog, which would be able to allegedly trace scents through water, through rivers, across streets years later. And then they would use this dog handler's testimony to convict people. Anyway, DNA ultimately proved. Proved that the guy was full of baloney. A judge called the dog, and he couldn't, like, pick out a ham bone from a.

[Roy Bellamy]

You know, they got a bloodhound in court.

[Scott Maxwell]

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

[Paulie]

Need to see this footage.

[Scott Maxwell]

So the dog. The dog got exposed for being a fraud. The dog handler and the dog got.

[Billy Corben]

Exposed for being a fraud.

[Scott Maxwell]

That DNA proved that two of these guys were wrongfully convicted, but the dog handler helped convict, like, 12 people. So I was one of a lot of people that said, hey, maybe we should look at all these cases. Back in those days. This was in, like, 2010. Geraldo was actually, you know, the Fox News host. He was big on this case, as I think anybody was saying, we need to investigate this. He invited Pam on the show, and the. Basically, you could tell the setup here, it was like, if Pam Bondi promised to investigate these cases, she was going to get Geraldo's endorsement and a lot of fawning coverage from Fox News, but she didn't know crap about the story. So she called to ask me, and I said, well, you know what? If you're going to vow, it's not to help your campaign, but if you're going to vow to pursue justice, I'll help get you briefed. I did. She promised Geraldo she'd Investigate. She promised me. She promised all the Fox viewers, and she did absolutely none of that.

[Roy Bellamy]

I'm assuming this is a bloodhound. All right, so did this bloodhound.

[Scott Maxwell]

That's racist German shepherd.

[Roy Bellamy]

That's racist German Shepherd. That's racist German shepherd. Perjure. It's a himself.

[Scott Maxwell]

Oh, for sure, Totally.

[Billy Corben]

I'll say that that cross examination was rough.

[Scott Maxwell]

Dad jokes.

[Billy Corben]

All right, so. So, Scott. So. So needless to say, she. She broke a campaign promise to really do what it is that she, I feel like promised at the hearing this week she would do, which was follow the law, was to do the right thing and to. To investigate, you know, wrongdoing and follow the evidence wherever it may lead. And to that end, could you maybe refresh people's recollection about the Trump University fraud investigation?

[Scott Maxwell]

Absolutely, absolutely. And first of all, I think one thing that a lot of people may not realize is Trump University, in case they do not know, is not an actual university. It's a university. In the same way like Burger King is actual royalty. It is. It is not. Trump University was basically.

[Billy Corben]

It's where Dr. Pepper went to medical school, basically.

[Scott Maxwell]

That's right.

[Pam Bondi]

That is MD in fact.

[Billy Corben]

In fact, that German shepherd is a professor at Trump University.

[Scott Maxwell]

Touche. Yeah. So Trump University was like, you Pay, I forget, 5,000, 10,000, whatever bucks is, and you learn how to get rich. And people who came through this, you will be shocked to learn a lot of them said they paid a bunch of money and did not, in fact, get rich. And a number of them said they did not gain anything from paying all this money. So basically, to cut a long story short, people filed complaints. They said they were defrauded. And they did so in two states, mainly one was in Florida and one was in New York. In New York, the Attorney General went after it, gangbusters pursued it, quickly turned up evidence that they proved they believed it was a fraud and netted a $25 million settlement for the people who were defrauded here in Florida, where Pam Bondi was Attorney General, that did not happen. Instead, what happened was the Trump foundation cut Pam Bondi a check for $25,000 three days after we wrote that her office was considering whether to investigate Trump University.

[Paulie]

Whoa.

[Scott Maxwell]

And then she did nothing. Absolutely nothing, did not investigate at all. And the folks in Florida got nothing.

[Billy Corben]

After which Donald Trump threw her a fundraiser, I believe, at Mar a Lago.

[Scott Maxwell]

Well, yes, he did. And by the way, Pam loves fundraisers because one of my other favorite stories for her is this woman, like, wants to Kill everybody. Like, executions are her thing. That's her jam. She gets her rocks off on executions. Except for there was one time during her tenure where one execution that had been long awaited got postponed, and nobody could figure out, like, what they've been waiting family, 15 years for this thing. Turned out Pam had a scheduling conflict. She'd scheduled a fundraiser for herself on the same night as the execution. So she called the governor and asked if he could postpone the killing so that she could have her party. And then they get back home.

[Paulie]

Girl is shameless.

[Billy Corben]

You have to remember this. This Florida woman is only there because Donald Trump's first choice, Matt Gaetz, pulled out. Gracias, Matt Gates. So that is why we are here.

[Paulie]

Gracias, Matt Gates. I said that in Spanish.

[Billy Corben]

And, Scott, what do you think? I mean, listen, there's no reason to believe she's not going to get confirmed. She is most likely going to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

[Paulie]

Really?

[Billy Corben]

Remarkable. Yeah, I don't. I don't really see what. I only see a path to victory there for her.

[Paulie]

She looks like she has a lot of work done. She should be Surgeon General. Wait.

[Billy Corben]

Oh, shit. Oh, my gosh.

[Roy Bellamy]

She's not even blonde.

[Scott Maxwell]

So she's probably more qualified to be Surgeon General than this state's Surgeon General. But what is this?

[Billy Corben]

Yeah. What is this going to look like? What is.

[Scott Maxwell]

I see her sailing. In fact, one of the best things that probably could have happened to Pam Bondi was Matt Gaetz. I mean, next to Matt Gaetz, she looks like Clarence freaking Darrow. She's almost like the most skilled attorney in the history of the United States. But this is not an honest person, and I can say I don't throw that accusation out lightly. I mean, the reason she's there, as you may remember, she said before she wanted Donald Trump to prosecute the prosecutors. She has already clearly said what she wants to do as Attorney General. And then when asked by these senators if she prejudged any of these things, she said no. Well, I don't know whether you were lying before or you were lying now. Actually, I do have a pretty good feeling for which time you were. But those are two completely different things. And that is why she's being nominated, because she vowed to prosecute the prosecutors.

[Billy Corben]

Find Scott Maxwell on the app formerly known as Twitter at Scott Underscore Maxwell. Read his columns. They are a blast of. They're a breath of fresh air and a lot of fun.

[Paulie]

Yeah. And like, I don't know anything about politics. I Understand that that article was very easy read. It was just perfect for the lay woman.

[Billy Corben]

Easy read.

[Paulie]

Easy read.

[Billy Corben]

Easy read.

[Paulie]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

For a woman who lays. Or what?

[Paulie]

What is. I lay around a lot. Yeah. Okay.

[Scott Maxwell]

You are my audience.

[Billy Corben]

This Scott Maxwell. Thank you so much, Paulie. Thank you so much. Follow her on the Instagram machine at Pauly. P A U L E Y Me. Poly me.

[Paulie]

Poly me. Follow me, guys, please. I'm very lonely.

[Billy Corben]

Cocaine's what? Yeah, sure thing. Hey, you saw that car yet? Yeah, sold it to Carvana. Oh, I thought you were selling to that guy.

[Stugotz]

The guy who wanted to pay me.

[Billy Corben]

In foreign currency, no interest, over 36 months. Yeah.

[Roy Bellamy]

No.

[Pam Bondi]

Carvana gave me an offer in minutes, picked it up and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient.

[Billy Corben]

Just like that.

[Stugotz]

Yeah.

[Billy Corben]

No hassle?

[Roy Bellamy]

None.

[Billy Corben]

That is super convenient. Sell your car to Carvana and swap hassle for convenience.

[Paulie]

Pickup fees may apply.

[Stugotz]

Billy.

[David Sampson]

Yes.

[Stugotz]

You know what we've been talking about all season long?

[David Sampson]

Smirnoff.

[Stugotz]

Yeah. How'd you guess?

[David Sampson]

I knew it. I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

You are. They are the official sponsor of the Dan lepentard Show with two Gods. So you already know that. It's an official vodka partner of the NFL. And Super Bowl 59. We're gonna be there.

[David Sampson]

Oh, yes. I can't believe we're by 59 already. Yeah, time flies.

[Stugotz]

It does.

[Paulie]

Yes.

[David Sampson]

We're old.

[Stugotz]

I'm old.

[David Sampson]

Hey, you know what I was thinking?

[Stugotz]

Yes.

[David Sampson]

Since football season's winding down, Super Bowl's coming up. Super Bowl 59. We've been celebrating football all year. I have an idea.

[Stugotz]

What?

[David Sampson]

Let's do a toast.

[Stugotz]

Okay. Oh, wow.

[David Sampson]

To football.

[Stugotz]

Really?

[David Sampson]

Yeah. Me and you. Let's toast football.

[Stugotz]

So, just a toast.

[Billy Corben]

So we're.

[Stugotz]

We're raising our glasses up.

[David Sampson]

Yeah.

[Stugotz]

All right. And we are toasting. To football.

[David Sampson]

To football.

[Stugotz]

To football, everyone. What we love about Smirnoff is that you can get the world's number one vodka without breaking the bank. This feeling is what the good folks over at Smirnoff call. Billy, you want to take a stab at this?

[David Sampson]

Yes. Smirnoff Strawdinary.

[Billy Corben]

Nailed it.

[David Sampson]

I told you I'm a good guesser.

[Stugotz]

Oh, my God. And right now, Smirnoff has partnered with Complex, letting fans get their hands on some amazing items handpicked by celebrities including NFL legend and super bowl champion Vernon Davis, for the unbelievable price of $12.99. Just like a bottle of Smirnoff. So head on over to smirnoffdrops.com to check out upcoming drops. And check out. Oh, Bill, you want to take a guess again?

[David Sampson]

These Smirnoff Straw items. Look at us. What's the website?

[Stugotz]

It is Smirnoff drop.com Smirnoff we do game days. Please drink responsibly. Smirnoff number 21 vodka distilled from grain, 40% alcohol by volume. The Smirnoff Company, New York, New York. Pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer and may vary by state. Please do not share with anyone under legal drinking age.