CO-HOST | Make Money by Building Better Relationships Through Cigars, Conversation, and Community

Summary

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Travis Makes Money – Episode Summary

Episode: CO-HOST | Make Money by Building Better Relationships Through Cigars, Conversation, and Community
Date: June 11, 2026
Host: Travis Chappell
Guest/Co-host: Eric (Producer)

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Episode Overview

In this engaging, conversational episode, Travis Chappell and his producer Eric dive into how relationships and conversations around cigars can foster community, deepen connections, and even indirectly lead to making more money. While ranking and reviewing their favorite cigar lounges in Las Vegas, they share stories about personal and professional growth, why cigar lounges are special environments, and how building better relationships can be a key to expanding both personal fulfillment and financial opportunities.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. The Social Power of Cigar Lounges

• Cigars are about more than indulgence—they serve as connectors, bringing together people from various walks of life and often sparking memorable, sometimes serendipitous, conversations.
• Travis highlights networking and the informal but effective business and personal conversations that occur in these spaces.

  “A lot of some of my best conversations have been with friends over cigars... It’s a great, you know—dare I say—networking activity in some cases.” – Travis (07:00)

2. Las Vegas Cigar Lounge Culture

• The hosts build a pros & cons list of local lounges, offering an insider look at the best places to smoke, socialize, or get work done in Vegas.

Notable Lounges Discussed:

• Davidoff (Strip)

  • Pros: Upscale crowd, great outdoor area (views of the Strip), specialty cocktails, whiskey selection.
  • Cons: Outdoor seating is a double-edged sword (weather dependent); limited non-Davidoff humidor selection.

  • “The best thing about the Davidoff Lounge is their outdoor area. But that’s also … the worst thing … because they don’t have a lot of options sitting indoors.” – Travis (10:33)

  • Grade: Solid A; top rec for visitors. (16:35)

• Helios (Russell & 215)

  • Pros: Friendly staff (shoutout to Jesse), great for working (lots of plugs, long tables), welcoming owner.
  • Cons: Only serves cigars and basic drinks (water, Sprite), not much vibe or food.

  • “Helios is like the Starbucks of cigar lounges. But the reason I would rate them so high is because of Jesse … his recommendations are so good.” – Eric (19:07)

• En Fuego (Eastern)

  • Pros: Bright space, comfortable chairs, good for casual smoke, nice humidor.
  • Cons: Lacks table space (less ideal for laptops/work), no real food or drinks.

• Triple Crown (Town Square)

  • Pros: Centrally located, great cigar selection (including Foundation/Tabernacle), lively atmosphere, strong drinks, helpful staff.
  • Cons: No food menu.

  • “To me, it’s got everything I want, minus food… cocktails are great, humidor is stocked… S tier.” – Eric (22:15)

• Eight Lounge (Resorts World)

  • Pros: Upscale, similar to Davidoff; great cocktails, spacious, less smoky.
  • Cons: Too bar-centric, small humidor, can get incredibly busy; sometimes only outdoor seating available.
  • Notable moment: Travis and Jackie were once blocked by a Kevin Hart tequila launch party (25:54).

  • “…It was the first time I’d ever had to sit outside ... windiest day in Vegas.” – Travis (23:59)

• Smoke (SSM•K)

  • Pros: Best food (tapas), large and varied humidor, great for groups, good drink selection, relaxing.
  • Cons: Small portions on the tapas menu.

  • “Smoke is pretty, pretty goated to me … potentially my favorite humidor.” – Travis (27:45; 29:52)

3. Cigar Lounge Criteria & Humidor Rankings

• Eric and Travis compare humidors and experiences, noting how important staff expertise, cigar variety, and the overall environment are to their enjoyment and recommendations.
• Their humidor top picks: Triple Crown, Smoke, then Helios (30:18).

4. Cigars as Mood & Social Ritual

• The hosts reflect on how cigars can suit any mood, from celebration to contemplation, even supporting you through “badass” feelings of sadness.

  “Is there anything better than feeling depressed while you’re smoking a cigar?... this is like the most badass way to deal with your badass way to be depressed.” – Eric & Travis (32:06-33:00)

5. Generational Shifts and Social Vices

• Travis draws a humorous but pointed distinction between classic cigars and newer trends like vaping:

  “If I’m gonna smoke, it’s gonna be a cigar. It’s just… cooler. Sorry, Gen Z. It’s just cooler to smoke a cigar than it is to vape.” – Travis (33:18)

6. Fantasy Cigar Sessions: Who Would You Invite?

• The hosts dream up their top 3 people to share a cigar with.
  • Travis: Arnold Schwarzenegger (“looks awesome smoking a cigar... would like to have a conversation with him”), Joe Rogan, Theo Von.
  • Eric: Arnold tops his list, playfully joining Travis (“like smoking weed with Snoop Dogg”).

  • “Joe Rogan, Jesus and Arnold. That sounds like a JRE.” – Eric (34:22)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “There’s a reason that I like smoking cigars... it’s beyond just smoking. It’s about the conversation, being around people doing interesting things...” – Travis (06:53)
• “We should do a vice tier list.” – Eric (07:58)
• “To drink a glass of Cabernet with a good steak again would be... that would suck.” – Travis (08:43)
• “If I had to give up coffee or alcohol? Oh, alcohol. I would give up alcohol for coffee.” – Travis (09:48)
• “My only complaint was that there weren’t 30 [pigs in a blanket].” – Eric, on tapas at Smoke (28:10)
• “Cigars make everything more badass.” – Travis (33:05)
• “Money only solves your money problems, not your cigar problems... but it is easier to solve the rest of your problems when you've got money in the bank.” – Travis, closing (36:29)

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Key Takeaways

• Cigar lounges serve as more than relaxation—they build networks, community, and can spark productive business or life-changing connections.
• The “right” lounge depends on your mood, company, and goals (networking, working, relaxing, eating).
• Staff knowledge and the humidor selection elevate the experience.
• Even social vices, approached in moderation, can have connective value and enhance life.
• Money helps you gain access to these experiences, but it’s community and connection that bring true value.

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Cigar Lounge Review Timestamps

• Vegas Cigar Lounges List & Criteria: 02:59–06:29
• Pros & Cons: Davidoff Lounge: 10:16–16:19
• Helios: 17:12–19:58
• En Fuego: 20:07–21:41
• Triple Crown: 21:41–23:25
• Eight Lounge: 23:53–25:44
• Smoke: 27:45–33:08

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This episode perfectly blends lighthearted banter with real, practical lessons on the power of in-person conversation, community, and creating financial abundance through relationship-building. Whether you’re a cigar aficionado or just curious about growing your network and living a richer life (in all senses), Travis and Eric offer actionable wisdom—and a few laughs—along the way.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Travis]

Travis Makes Money podcast presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet. Just go to gohighlevel.com travis. What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Travis Makes Money podcast, where it's a mission to help you make more money on this episode of the show. My producer Eric is in studio. What's up, Eric?

[Eric]

Hey, Travis. I'm so glad to be here on the show, but you know where I would rather be right now?

[Travis]

Is it a cigar lounge?

[Eric]

That's right, Travis.

[Travis]

Wow.

[Eric]

No, so I. I was talking. I was talking to Travis here, believe it or not, right before we hit record. That'd be crazy if we didn't talk at all. And then we just. We just walk in silently and hit record.

[Travis]

I was talking to Travis in this setting where it's literally our job.

[Eric]

We've never spoken outside of this. We were talking about cigars.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

I don't know why I hit that. R. Cigars. Yeah. Anyway, we're talking about.

[Travis]

I'm not gonna make it.

[Eric]

I have a very niche joke about that.

[Travis]

It's okay.

[Eric]

Anyway, we were talking about cigars, and then we were talking about Vegas. We're talking about Vegas casinos, and then we were talking about cigar lounges in the Vegas area. And I think you and I have both been to enough cigar lounges a fair amount to know that Triple Crown is the best cigar lounge in Vegas. Right. No, I'm just kidding. We've been to enough cigar lounges to go kind of do a ranking of them or pros and cons list. I was gonna do a tier list, but I was telling you, like, Vegas cigar lounges are all awesome.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

And like, I don't think I've ever reasons. I don't think I've ever been to one that I would be like, oh, that's like F tier. Yeah, actually, there is one, but I won't name it on the show.

[Travis]

Oh, is there?

[Eric]

No, it wasn't F tier. I don't even know if I'll be able to find it.

[Travis]

But it's like C or D tier.

[Eric]

Yeah, but it's one. It's one of those ones that's like three chairs in the back of a smoke shop where they kind of have a lounge. We went there together, but I don't remember the name.

[Travis]

Ye.

[Eric]

I don't even know if I felt

[Travis]

more like a smoke shop where they

[Eric]

happen to have, like a staff area they'd let you sit in.

[Travis]

Right, Exactly.

[Eric]

And like that I would put it like a F tier, but I don't even remember.

[Travis]

Well, because there's so many other good options.

[Eric]

And it's not really a lounge.

[Travis]

Like, it's funny because where I'm from in the av, there's just. There's no options like that. So it's like if that existed there, I would probably go when I'm there,

[Eric]

but that would be the height of luxury.

[Travis]

They don't have any cigar lounges at all.

[Eric]

You're from Audio Video. Yeah, Audio Video Land. Anyway, no, in Lancaster, the lounge I'm describing would be like, the place luxury. Like, oh, hey, you in that sofa?

[Travis]

Yeah, here, it's mine to make reservations.

[Eric]

So. Okay, so let's make a list real quick. We could have done this before we hit record, but it's so much more fun to do it on the fly.

[Travis]

We'll do it live.

[Eric]

So we've been to a couple. Let's do Davidoff's. It's on the Strip.

[Travis]

Yep, Davidoff.

[Eric]

I mean, there's a couple Davidoffs, though. But there's. We're talking about the one on the Strip.

[Travis]

Yeah, right by Fashion Show Mall.

[Eric]

Where's the other one? There's one more. There's at least one. I thought there was. Anyway, Davidoff's on the Strip. We're going to do Helios, which is over in your neck of the woods. We're going to do En Fuego or Russell in 215.

[Travis]

And then en Fuego is in your neck of the woods, off of Eastern.

[Eric]

Well, let's not get too detailed about my neck of the woods.

[Travis]

I said a generic city where a million people live in Nevada.

[Eric]

Right. We're going to do Triple Crown, which is right in between our Necks of the woods. It is actually exactly in Town square, but don't let that influence your ranking. Town square. And then we're gonna do. What's the one called in eight Lounge? In the eight Lounge. In Resorts World. Resorts World, which I don't feel.

[Travis]

Oh, there's another one, though. I don't know if you've been to this one with me.

[Eric]

Oh, smoke. We gotta put smoke.

[Travis]

S, S, M, O, K with two dots. Yep. It always looks like a straight line.

[Eric]

Oh.

[Travis]

Cause that's how you know it's pronounced.

[Eric]

O. Oh, I was the first. I went. I was like, smock. I know. See the line?

[Travis]

Yeah. There's a line above, though, so. And then there's another one. Cigar box. Have you been to that one?

[Eric]

I think I have.

[Travis]

It's on. I think it's on Dean Martin. Like, right by the Strip.

[Eric]

Oh, let me look at a picture of it.

[Travis]

It's right across from Level 9 Studios.

[Eric]

What's funny is when we would go Shout out Scott. And Level nine, when we would go more. I don't think I've been here. If I have. It was once and I don't really remember.

[Travis]

I've been. I've only been there a couple of times. But it's more of a location thing. I liked the experience when I went. It's just more like if I'm going all the way to the Strip, I'm usually meeting somebody on the Strip. And then if I'm not, then I would rather just go somewhere that's closer. So.

[Eric]

So how do you want to do these? We'll leave that off because I don't. I can't speak to it.

[Travis]

Okay. And then there's. There's an honorable mention here that neither one of us have been to, but it's probably one of the more well known ones in Vegas. And I think it's the Monte Cristo Lounge in Caesars. But I have not been to that one because Caesars is like a small city.

[Eric]

I think I have been there.

[Travis]

Have you.

[Eric]

Hold on, let me look.

[Travis]

Yeah, I've never heard of that one.

[Eric]

I'm pretty sure I've been here, but I cannot speak.

[Travis]

I cannot speak to that one.

[Eric]

I have been here. I've. That's cool. I've been here. You haven't. I went. I went there. Yeah, I've been there.

[Travis]

Okay.

[Eric]

It's actually. That is a really nice lounge. I won't put it on the list, but really nice lounge.

[Travis]

I think I walked by it several times.

[Eric]

I could be wrong. That may have been the first place I ever had a tabernacle cigar.

[Travis]

Oh, really?

[Eric]

I could be wrong on that.

[Travis]

But now you're an addict.

[Eric]

I remember when I went. It was funny because I went to go meet with some pastors back in the day, and they were all like, don't post a picture of me.

[Travis]

That's hilarious.

[Eric]

It's so funny. And now I'm like, new episode, smoking cigar.

[Travis]

You know what? That came up on my timeline yesterday is like a memory.

[Eric]

Oh, you smoking. You're like, can you post a picture of me smoking a cigar?

[Travis]

Smoking a cigar with a glass of whiskey. And it was so taboo at the time.

[Eric]

You were nervous. You post it. You post it.

[Travis]

That guy commented, like, why don't you just send your degree back if you don't want it?

[Eric]

You're like, I used it to light this cigar. That'd be so cool.

[Travis]

Honestly, I don't know where it is.

[Eric]

All right, so we've got a list of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 cigar lounges. Do you want to rank these or do you want to just do pros and cons?

[Travis]

I think pros and cons is better because there's not any of them that I'm like, that one is the best one, because it just depends on what you want to get from the experience.

[Eric]

I would recommend. I would recommend.

[Travis]

I would recognize.

[Eric]

I would recommend Smithers. I would recommend any of these to anybody, depending on the situation. So that's pretty cool. And also, these are all the ones that we've both been to, and we're not leaving one off to be nice.

[Travis]

And there's a reason that I like smoking cigars, too. That's beyond just smoking. It's like, I genuinely feel a lot of some of my best conversations have been with friends over cigars.

[Eric]

You can just say me, dude, we talking.

[Travis]

Eric.

[Eric]

We're talking hardcore about Star wars for about.

[Travis]

That's true.

[Eric]

An hour and a half. That's true.

[Travis]

But, yeah, lots of, like, great business conversations. I just. I just like. I know it's not the healthiest thing for you.

[Eric]

I just feel like the most unhealthy thing for you.

[Travis]

It is not the most unhealthy thing for you, but it's not the healthiest thing. So it's weird to like. To say, like, oh, go smoke. Go smoke more cigars, but also go smoke more cigars. Like, just get around people where people are. And typically, the people in those places are also people that are, like, doing cool things or talking about cool things or interesting things. You know, it's less. It's less. It's less like, sit by yourself and smoke. It's more like you're in an environment with other people. It promotes conversation. It's great, you know, dare I say networking activity in some cases. So I like smoking a Good cigar.

[Eric]

We should do a vice tier list.

[Travis]

A vice tier list.

[Eric]

But seriously though, okay, if you could, if you had to give up one of these two things for the rest of your life, you can never touch this object again.

[Travis]

I know what you're going to say, and it's going to be difficult to choose.

[Eric]

You do?

[Travis]

You're going to say alcohol or cigars.

[Eric]

Yeah. If you had to give up alcohol or cigars for the rest of your life in any context, your reaction tells me you should probably give up alcohol, buddy. God, don't make me choose. Don't make me choose.

[Travis]

Well, it's tough because you can drink alcohol in a bunch of different contexts.

[Eric]

I know you've done them all. You can do it outside, inside, morning, night, afternoon, with friends, alone, but loaded

[Travis]

down in your basement to drink a glass of Cabernet with a good steak again would be. That would suck.

[Eric]

Yeah. Or a Guinness with a burger.

[Travis]

I, I, yeah, I think I would have to, I think I would have to give up cigars just because of how infrequently like I smoke maybe two times a month or something like that. And like I said, drinking is just like I can do that with friends at a bar and I can, or like I can be on the golf course and drink a few Michelob Ultras or I can drink a Guinness with a burger or some Cabernet with a steak or like a Old Fashioned after dinner. Like there's just so many different applications for them. So I feel like I'd probably would give up, give up cigars. I know that's not the answer you were looking.

[Eric]

Well, I'm just, I'm just asking. I would give up alcohol. Yeah, I could, honestly. And I was, when I was in South Carolina, I was smoking cigars at least once a day.

[Travis]

Oh really?

[Eric]

And I love it. Like to me, I could see being the old guy that's just sitting there with a cigar every morning. Like sitting with iced coffee in the morning with a coffee.

[Travis]

I was gonna say coffee, cigar. That does slap. I do like that.

[Eric]

If you had to give up coffee or alcohol.

[Travis]

Oh, alcohol. I would give up alcohol for coffee.

[Eric]

Let's get, okay, let's get into this. Anyway, anyway, so I was just clip farming for you really quick. Anyway, so let's start with Davidoff's because that's the sparkliest, shiniest, most badass one of them all. At least in theory.

[Travis]

I would say eight Lounge and Davidoff would be similar crowds, similar people.

[Eric]

We're gonna buddy. But we'll start with Davidoff. So tell me your pros and cons for Davidoffs.

[Travis]

So pros would be that they have this outdoor area to smoke.

[Eric]

And just for when I cut this up later, you should start by saying

[Travis]

the pro of smoking.

[Eric]

The best thing about Davidoffs is the

[Travis]

best thing about you're peek behind the curtain.

[Eric]

This is how the sausage is made, everybody.

[Travis]

The. The best thing about the Davidoff Lounge is their outdoor area. But that's also to me, the worst thing about the Davidoff Lounge because they don't have a lot of options sitting indoors. So like if it's busy and your only option is outdoors, then it's like, oh, well it. I just hope that it's good weather then because like there have been times where I've gone there and it's like windy as outside and there's no seating inside and you have to sit outside and it's like, okay, well this is like not as fun of an experience, but when it is nice weather, that would be a hundred percent my preferred one to go to because it's like right the right across from Wynn and Encore by Fashion show mall on the Strip. So like the views are really great, the atmosphere is really nice, and when it's nice weather out, it's really great. And then they have some like charcuterie options and like some small bites and stuff like that, which I enjoy when I'm smoking a cigar. They have great specialty cocktails, a really good whiskey selection. Their humidor is not as expansive because it's a Davidoff Lounge. So there's just a bunch of Davidoffs in there as well as Camacho, which is owned by Davidoff. Yeah, sort of like their, you know, you know, less luxury line. You know, I mean it's the Toyota to Davidoff's Lexus, but. But it's still a really good smoke. So yeah, the pro pros and cons to me are basically that like, outdoors great, but it can also be a con. Great specialty cocktails, great whiskey selection, good drinks, good bartenders. And then the humidor is lacking variety because it's adapted offline. This episode of the show is brought to you by Chime. Chime is changing the way that people bake. They offer the most rewarding fee banking that's built for you, not the 1% plus. Chime is rated five stars by USA Today for customer service. You get real human beings 24 7. You're not just switching banks. You're upgrading to America's number one choice for banking with a Chime checking account. Get 5% cash back on a Chime card in your category of choice like gas or groceries. Get savings that grow faster with their 3.75% APY, which is nine times higher than the national average. Plus you get premium travel perks like airport lounge access and 24. 7 travel concierge included with your Chime card. You can even get up to $500 of your pay when you say with my pay. Plus they also have Spot Me which lets you overdraft up to $200 fee free. My younger self would have absolutely benefited from this and I know it will benefit you as well. Chime is not just smarter banking. It is the most rewarding way to bank. So join the millions who are already banking fee free today. Head to chime.com travis that's chime.com travis only takes a few minutes to sign up.

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[Eric]

Yeah, I will say I love Camachos. And I feel like. I feel like Camachos is kind of like the, like, Red's Apple Ale of cigars. Like, I feel like a lot of people start. I feel like, well, maybe this is everybody I know. Red.

[Travis]

More like Blue Moon or something.

[Eric]

Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure. Yeah. I'm not saying it's not like an acid, but I'm saying acid feels like

[Travis]

Red's Apple Ale to me, where it's. It's flavored and it's.

[Eric]

That's fair. Yeah.

[Travis]

You know what I mean?

[Eric]

I. Well, I guess, too, a lot of people start with, like, cigarillos and stuff, but I'm saying, like, for people that are smoking, like, a proper cigar, I feel like most everyone that I've known, it's like Camachos, and I still sometimes will grab one once in a while, but I don't think I've had a Camacho.

[Travis]

And, like, I just don't see them at a lot of places, honestly. Like, they're not a lot of the humidors that I've been in recently.

[Eric]

I think. I think the last Camacho was.

[Travis]

It probably was at the Davidoff Lounge for me.

[Eric]

Maybe. Yeah, maybe two and a half years ago.

[Travis]

But. But that's why. That's why I like them a lot because, again, it's the Toyota to the Lexus. It's like, it's still a really good cigar. It's made by Davidoff. It's just that it has different packaging on it, so it's cheaper.

[Eric]

Okay. And I would say I agree with everything. The one thing I would say about Davidoff's that is like, the biggest con is the weather is like wind in Vegas. And we'll get to that with the eight Lounge. My experience at the eight Lounge. But there's nothing worse than.

[Travis]

Is that the one time you've gone there. Yeah.

[Eric]

Okay, so. But the worst thing about smoking a cigar outside is when it's windy because it messes up the burn. It's, like, hard to keep it lit, and that's so annoying. But Davidoff's is super high on my list for, like, Cocktails because their bar is really good.

[Travis]

Great old fashioned. Like any whiskey drink they will do very, very well with.

[Eric]

Yeah. So, okay, so Davidoff's, that's a good recommend. If you had to give them a grade, what would you give him? Like an A through? Just an A through F?

[Travis]

I mean I would give him an A. Like it's still a great, Like I would never feel bad about recommending that to somebody who's visiting Vegas. Like, oh yeah, go smoke cigar, Dab it off. Like, does not feel like a bad recommendation to me.

[Eric]

Should avoid grades again. I like all these too much. I feel like, like they're all A's in different fonts. There's like, and there's like maybe two that I would give like a B. But like I don't want to even.

[Travis]

But it's just, but it's not because the cigar lounge is bad. It's just because they don't have drinks or they don't have food or it's just cigars or something like that.

[Eric]

And I feel like I've met the owners of too many stipulos.

[Travis]

They're nice. Yeah, exactly. I want to support the small businesses and not tell you to just go to the corporate ones.

[Eric]

Okay, so let's talk Helios. This is in your neck of the woods. Yeah.

[Travis]

Helios Russell in 215. So if you stay at somewhere like Durango Casino, it's you know, two to five minute drive from there. I, I, this, I, I've gone here probably more than all the other ones. Just because it's two miles, three miles from my house, whatever, it's, it' to where I live. So I, I, I like going to that one. But also I like when the people that are there are just cool, interesting, fun people. They know a lot about cigars. They can kind of help you pick what you wanted, like give you recommendations to try new ones, things like that. And then so the guy that works there all the time, Jesse, really cool guy, become a friend over the years has recommended a bunch of different things that have been helpful with my cigar smoking. Even, even like the case that I hold my cigars in at home. Like he recommended that to me because I, I used to have this humidor and that was just a nightmare. It was just like I don't smoke often enough to have the upkeep required to like maintain this, to like have

[Eric]

an eyedropper of water and like check the temperature.

[Travis]

I'm no chemist, I just want to smoke a cigar without it being dry. So he's really cool. And then the owner of Helios is also a really cool guy who we ironically ran into at another cigar lounge in town.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Travis]

But he's a super cool guy. I run into him fairly often at Lifetime as well, working out and stuff. And just really cool small business owner. So shout out Helios. They do a really good job. But again, the cons, though, would be they don't have anything but cigars. Like, they have like a mini. A mini fridge with, like, water and Sprite or whatever.

[Eric]

And even around it, there's not a lot of restaurant. Like, one time I got, like, Mexican food, like, nearby. But it.

[Travis]

Yeah. Because you can bring in your own drinks and food if you want to.

[Eric]

Yeah. So I would say the Helios Cigar Lounge for me, if I'm going purely to work or if I'm going to meet, like, the times I've met with you to, like. And we both have our laptops and we're working. They have like a long, like, table in there.

[Travis]

Plugins.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

So, like, for me, like, Helios is like the Starbucks cigar lounges. But the reason I. I would rate them so high is because I'll resay that the reason I would rate them so high is because of Jesse. Because the recommendations he gives are so good.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

And sometimes I've been to cigar lounges and I'll tell them, like, oh, I love this, this and this, and they'll recommend something. I'm just like, why did you give me this? This doesn't feel right. And his recommendations have always been really, really good. So, yeah, I like it. My big con would be if I'm in the mood to chill out and I want to have something vibey little vibes. It's not gonna be my first choice. It's probably the most corporate ish feeling, which is also okay because I kind of like when I'm working there and everyone else is talking.

[Travis]

Yeah. Again, I like. I like sitting up at the table with my laptop, plugging in, smoking a cigar, and just busting out some work. And it's a really great environment to do that.

[Eric]

Yeah. Okay. In fuego. And what's funny is, so I always get en. Fuego and Helios cigar lounges mixed up in my mind. Because when we first would go a lot.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

It was always like, you want to go to yours or mine? And so I was always going to one of these two. And so in my brain, I'm always like, I'm going to go to Helios and then I'm like.

[Travis]

Because I used to live on that side of town, too, so In Fuego, I think, was the first one. We started going to a good amount because it was sort of like close to both of us. But it's similar to me. It's very similar to Helios. Just good vibes. You can bust out some work. Smoke cigar. It's a little bit brighter in there, which I like. But no drinks, no food.

[Eric]

They do have some candy and stuff. I've killed a Crunch bar in there before, I'm going to be honest. I think they have a nice humidor. And then my only humidity critique, which of all the critiques I could have. My only critique of Enfuego is that they don't have table space. And it drives me crazy when I'm working on a laptop where it's like, it's on my lap and it's just burning my thighs the whole time. It's like, no, I don't like this. But I used to get my hair cut right near there. And so I would literally just have a cigar before or after. And that was nice. And I stopped going because they botched my haircut last time. So I won't say the name. But anyway, so in Fuego, I'd put them in there. I would say my. The one thing I do like, though, is that their chairs are super comfortable. It's an easy place to sit. It's just not great for working. So again, I would go to Helios if I was going to be, like, typing up a page or something. Okay. Triple Crown, Town Square.

[Travis]

This is the new. This is the newest of the list. I've only been here a couple of times. You've been here more than a couple times?

[Eric]

Yeah. So I was. Yeah, I was looking at. For a cigar lounge, and I didn't want to go to En Fuego because there wasn't table space. And I wanted to write. And so I was, like, looking up cigar lounges, and I'd never heard of Triple Crown before. I think they came in, like, three years ago.

[Travis]

Yeah, I think they're a little bit newer than that even.

[Eric]

Yeah, like, they're very new.

[Travis]

Yeah. Pretty recent, though. Yeah.

[Eric]

And to me, like, it's got everything I want, minus food.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Like, literally, like, the actual humidor is stocked and it's stocked with foundation cigars. So I've got my tabernacles.

[Travis]

And John is helpful.

[Eric]

Very helpful. Yeah. The red meat lovers cigar was a recommendation from him. And so, like, I always catch myself Getting one to go to, like, take with me. The actual cocktails are great. Which is good. Yeah. I mean, I.

[Travis]

Good selection, good atmosphere.

[Eric]

And it's in between us, which is maybe the most important part.

[Travis]

It is. And because it's in Town Square, it's a little bit more lively and busy than a couple of other ones that are sort of like outside of that space where they're like in a random strip mall or something like that. This one is like, Town Square is a busy place. So it tends to be a little bit, again, more lively, but it's not.

[Eric]

So I like. I like working where it's noisy. So, like. But I don't. Like, there's some places in Vegas that try to do that. Yeah. And it's just loud.

[Travis]

Well, I was gonna say I like busy.

[Eric]

Yeah. Like, we went. We went on a Friday and there's someone singing. There's like.

[Travis]

But that was at like, like 10:00pm yeah.

[Eric]

But I'm saying we could have a conversation. I could still hear even with the live music.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

And I hate when you go somewhere and it's like, what do you do? What? And you're just sitting there.

[Travis]

Which is like the opposite of what you're supposed to be doing when you smoke a cigar.

[Eric]

Yeah. So for me, Triple Crown is S Tier. And one of the bartenders makes the best iced coffee ever.

[Travis]

That is. It was actually pretty.

[Eric]

And one of them makes a pretty mediocre one. But they're open about it, they're honest about it. All right. Eight Lounge Resorts World. I don't feel like I can really give an honest review.

[Travis]

This one is very Davidoff esque to me. To be fair, the one time that you went was not a good experience.

[Eric]

It was so windy because.

[Travis]

But that was the first time I'd ever had to sit outside. Like, I've probably been there like a half dozen times. And that was the first time where it was too busy inside because it's a massive lounge. Like. Like Davidoff is like, you sit outside because there's seven chairs inside. A lounge is huge.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Travis]

But the night that we happened to go, they were. They were just packed. So the only option was sitting outside. And it happened to be like one of the windiest days in Vegas.

[Eric]

Like, the heaters are for the whole year blowing out and I was worried my drink was going to blow away.

[Travis]

It was.

[Eric]

And it was a glass.

[Travis]

Like, legitimately, though, like, it was that. It was that windy. I was not the best experience for you. But I like the lounge, though. Overall, again, very Great. Like, really, really good cocktails. Really good old fashions. Great whiskey selection.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Travis]

Humidor is a little lacking.

[Eric]

If I had to give, like, a tier list of humidors, they would be like a D tier. Like, it's. It's very small. But again, I think more people are going there probably to drink and have a basic cigar. Like, it doesn't seem to be.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Cigar centric as much as bar centric, you know?

[Travis]

Yeah. Yeah. And it's touristy.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Travis]

You know, there's a lot of people that, like, I would guess that there's probably a lot of people that aren't crazy, like cigar smokers. It's just more like some person on the. Their group is like, let's go there. Because it's a bigger space. It feels less smoky when you're inside of it. So if you're not a cigar smoker and you're going with cigar smokers, it's. Yeah. A little bit easier to, like, spread out and not be bombarded with smoke if you don't like that. And then the cocktails are good enough where, like, Jackie and I have gone there together where she's, like, not in the mood to smoke, but she gets a drink and I get a drink and I smoke, and then we sit there and talk, you know, so. But.

[Eric]

But yeah, I want to go back when it's not tornado.

[Travis]

Is it literally super busy inside? Because the atmosphere inside is really nice.

[Eric]

Joanna told the devil that's.

[Travis]

Actually, we ran into Kevin Hart.

[Eric]

Oh, really?

[Travis]

Lounge?

[Eric]

Yeah, he.

[Travis]

He was doing, like, a. A launch for his Tequila company. And. And so, like, we. We went up there because we were going to go inside, and they're like, oh, it's. It's closed for a private event tonight. And we're like, oh, okay. And I saw the, like, Kevin Hart branding on it, and I just figured, like, oh, it's, you know, some random person's throwing, like, a launch party, probably doing a bunch of these across the country. And we go across the way to, like, find another bar to go to. And then all of a sudden, this entourage starts walking in, and there's a vortex in the middle of the entourage we couldn't see. And then one of the people steps out of the way. I was like, oh, it's Kevin Hart right there. So they actually went into eight Lounge to do the Tequila launch that night.

[Eric]

It was so windy that I just eventually gave up on my cigar and just crouched out. But I just need to bring up. Joanna made the dumbest joke because it was so Windy. She's like, oh, this must be from the wizard of Oz show at the Spher. I was like, leave those to me.

[Travis]

That's funny. That is a joke that you would make, though.

[Eric]

But then I think I was telling you the joke. And she's like, it's my joke. And I was like, I'm not trying to take credit for that. You got it. I'm just kidding. It was wonderful. It was a great joke. Arriva dirci. All right. Is that Italian?

[Travis]

I think so.

[Eric]

Ah, whatever.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Where is pteradelpha a miner? Don't miss the return of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. So what's next?

[Travis]

I feel liberated.

[Eric]

We're going to take this city back over medicated in an all new season. Now streaming only on Disney plus.

[Travis]

They're hunting us. It's time we started hunting them. I can work with them. This should be tons of fun.

[Eric]

Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. Now streaming only on Disney plus. Anyway, okay. Smoke.

[Travis]

Yeah, Smoke. Smoke is pretty, Pretty goated to me. I like smoke a lot.

[Eric]

The food at Smoke is actually crazy.

[Travis]

Yeah, they have some really great, like, like a sort of tapas menu.

[Eric]

The quantity could be more.

[Travis]

I was gonna say it's tapas. It's like you, you get little, like, small. I don't want shareables and stuff. You order three or four things, everybody kind of, kind of picks off it. But I've never gotten anything there that I was like, this is not dude,

[Eric]

though, when we went the last time and I got the pigs in a blanket.

[Travis]

Oh, yeah.

[Eric]

I, I, my only complaint was that there weren't 30. Cause I was literally like.

[Travis]

Well, she came back and was like, the kitchen's about to close. You want to put in another order?

[Eric]

I hate going out with you.

[Travis]

Wait, why?

[Eric]

That was so complete. No, I hate going out with you because. No, I hate going out with you because you're such a, like, you're too chill. So here. Okay, so here's what happens is, like, I'll go out with you to Smoke at Smoke, and they'll be like, kitchen's about to close. Do you want more food? And your response always is like, I don't know, man. Whatever you, what do you think? And then I have to be like,

[Travis]

he doesn't want anything because I don't want anything.

[Eric]

But you're always so, like, so, like, content, and I need you to, like, affirm that. I also want to get.

[Travis]

This sounds like a good thing, but I love.

[Eric]

No, but I'm saying, but like, Jackie. So if I'm out with Jackie and they're like, do you want more food? I know that I can look to her and she's like, hell, yeah, we do. And then we can eat more food. Same thing. When they're like, would you guys like a shot?

[Travis]

Okay.

[Eric]

Yes, I would.

[Travis]

Here's the thing, though. Now that you're on your weight loss

[Eric]

journey, okay, why are you throw that in my face?

[Travis]

You understand my vibe. But to be like, yeah, of course I want more pigs in a blanket,

[Eric]

but how many calories could possibly be in a pig's.

[Travis]

In a blanket? A lot. They're little calorie bombs.

[Eric]

I will say. No, I won't say. But anyway, I was just gonna say, though, I do sometimes I wish that you would just encourage more bad behavior.

[Travis]

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for being a good influence.

[Eric]

I was. Okay.

[Travis]

But anyway, smoke is great.

[Eric]

These are all great. Yes. Smoke is food.

[Travis]

Potentially my favorite humidor. Wow. Yeah, they have a really great selection, but that's also subjective because it just happens to be a lot of cigars that I like smoking and a lot of different types of them. So I don'. Feel like I. If I'm. If I'm. If I'm gonna go in for a second one, I don't feel like I have to get the same one that I just smoked. It's more like, oh, I can get that one or I can get this one, or I can go a longer smoke or a shorter smoke or a heavier smoke or a lighter smoke. I like their humidor.

[Eric]

I feel like if I'm going humidors, I'd say number one is Triple crown for me.

[Travis]

Okay.

[Eric]

I would say number two is smoke. I would say number three. Helios. Yeah, I'm gonna say Helios, but it's. But I don't know that it's because of the amount, but it's like the quality of everything. And I feel like the recommendations have always been good. I've never been recommended a bad cigar. I felt bad because I kind of did them dirty. But when I was at Triple Crown, I was smoking. I think I told you this. I was smoking a really heavy cigar. And then I was like, I'm gonna have a second smoke, but I wanna do another one that's that heavy. So I asked for a lighter cigar, which I never smoke light cigars. And then I got it, and I was smoking. I was like, this is exactly what

[Travis]

I asked for, but it's not good.

[Eric]

But why Did I get a light cigar? I should have smoked two and just been wheeled out of here. Because when you have a heavy cigar on a low calorie headache diet, it's crazy.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

You feel like you're off your feet.

[Travis]

That was like the one time that I almost threw up. Smoking a cigar was. I was fasting all day and I got this heavy maduro and started smoking it. And it was probably like, like a third of the way through the stick. And I was just like, oh, oh, God. Oh, no.

[Eric]

The only time I had to set

[Travis]

that thing down, I was probably like, legit. I probably didn't touch it for like 45 minutes.

[Eric]

The only time I ever. Don't look at the clock. Look at me. Don't look at the clock. We're gonna end this episode. The only time I've ever really almost thrown up. There was one time like that where I hadn't eaten a lot, but the first time I smoked. Cause I inhaled a little bit.

[Travis]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Eric]

And that. That one little thing is, like, disgusting.

[Travis]

Yeah. You should not inhale cigar smoke.

[Eric]

I will say, too. Last thing I'll say. Is there anything better than feeling depressed while you're smoking a cigar? So the other day you're saying that

[Travis]

cigars can fit the mood of whatever mood you're in.

[Eric]

Yeah, but just like, it feels so moody and nice.

[Travis]

That's what I'm saying, though.

[Eric]

Like, no. So when I feel that way, so.

[Travis]

Because I like it in every context, like, if I'm feeling depressed, it's sort of like a. Well, like smoking a cigar in the rain. You know what I mean? Like, that's. I love that. Like on the patio. It's raining outside.

[Eric]

It's hard to keep that lit, though. It's all wet anyway. No, we were.

[Travis]

It's also rain in Vegas when we

[Eric]

went out in my depression journey. We'll talk about that someday. It's been getting better. No, but when you left. When we went out to get cigars and you left to go hang out with your cooler friends. Yeah, I was depressed. I'm just kidding. Now. When you left, I invited. I just found my. You know, when you're by, you just go into. Just a bout of. Just like. I just feel sulky right now. I don't know why. So I was like, sitting there sipping my old fashioned, smoking my cigar, and I felt a little depressed. And then I, like, took a puff and I was like, this is cool.

[Travis]

This is like the most badass way

[Eric]

to deal with your badass way to be depressed. So, anyway, but I was gonna say that's a nice thing.

[Travis]

That's what I'm saying about cigars, though, is they make everything more badass.

[Eric]

They do? Yeah, they do.

[Travis]

I was talking to somebody the other day, and they were talking about how we're, like, getting older, you know, and talking about, like, all the Gen Z kids vaping.

[Eric]

No, that's not cool.

[Travis]

I just can't get on board for it, man. Like, I just. If I'm gonna smoke, it's gonna be a cigar. It's just. It's just cooler. Sorry, Gen Z. It's just cooler to smoke a cigar than it is to vape.

[Eric]

Last question. As we close out the episode, three people. If you could smoke a cigar with them, who would you pick?

[Travis]

Okay. Do they have to be, like, known cigar stalkers?

[Eric]

I would say.

[Travis]

Only downside. I would say a lot of people do it anymore.

[Eric]

I would say you have to pick people that, you know would be open to it. You can't be like, oh, Arnold Schwarzenegger,

[Travis]

okay, Just because he looks awesome smoking a cigar and he loves cigars, and I would like to have a conversation with him regardless of cigars were present. But it'd be even cooler to smoke a cigar with him.

[Eric]

That's one.

[Travis]

You're not gonna like this answer, but Joe Rogan. I'd love to smoke a cigar with Joe Rogan. I think that'd be awesome.

[Eric]

Would you like to smoke one with Brennan backwards?

[Travis]

Sure, but not in my top three. Backwards.

[Eric]

All right. Arnold, Arnold. Arnold Rogan, Joe. And you do the answer where it's like, who'd you want to have lunch with? You're like, jesus. That'd be kind of sick, actually.

[Travis]

It would be awesome.

[Eric]

Joe Rogan, Jesus and Arnold. That sounds like a Jerry.

[Travis]

We're going back.

[Eric]

No, no, no. It has to be someone I was

[Travis]

gonna say, because Winston Churchill would be at the top of that list for sure.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Travis]

Somebody who I actually could smoke with right now. I'd say Shaq, but I know he doesn't do cigars. He smokes hookah.

[Eric]

Have you been to the hookah lounge by.

[Travis]

I've not been to any hookah lounges here.

[Eric]

There's a good hookah lounge. I know.

[Travis]

I actually like hookah. I like smoking. It's fun. It was funny. Actually. We went when we were in Cancun for my 30th. They had a cigar lounge there, but not really any of the people that I was there with smoked cigars. So we just got hookah every night that we Were there and passed around. It was a lot of fun. Anyway, that's an aside. Third person. If I could smoke a cigar with them, I'm gonna go Theo Vaughn.

[Eric]

Does he smoke cigars?

[Travis]

I don't know.

[Eric]

He's about to.

[Travis]

But you said pick anybody, right?

[Eric]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Travis]

I would say Theo Vaughn.

[Eric]

Okay.

[Travis]

I think that'd be fun. That's my list.

[Eric]

Well, I don't want to give my top three right now because we're over, but you'd be one of them, so thanks for leaving me on the list.

[Travis]

That's how you know you're lying.

[Eric]

I would do Arnold. Arnold, to me, is just the one.

[Travis]

That's what I'm saying.

[Eric]

Like smoking a cigar with Arnold is like smoking weed with Snoop Dogg.

[Travis]

Exactly, exactly.

[Eric]

You know, or having a. Or drinking a beer with Bert Kreischer.

[Travis]

Yeah. Shotgunning a beer with Bert Kreischer.

[Eric]

No, I wouldn't want to drink with Bert Kreischer. I would wake up like a hangover movie.

[Travis]

Yeah, for. For sure. He. I would be out of my league anyway.

[Eric]

Okay, well, that's it. That's. There you go.

[Travis]

That's it. For the steps of the show. If you're in Vegas and you want to smoke cigars, those are the places that we would recommend checking out. Depending on what you want to do.

[Eric]

We should do a cigar crawl where we smoke. We smoke six cigars in a day.

[Travis]

Jeez.

[Eric]

We start.

[Travis]

I don't know if I can commit to that.

[Eric]

They're all.

[Travis]

You have to start.

[Eric]

Super. They're all tabernacles because you'd have to go.

[Travis]

You'd have to have, like, some time in between.

[Eric]

No, it's a six hour block. An hour raging headache. Yeah, I would puke.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Wait, next time you do a run, you smoke a cigar and then start going, oh, no. All right, anyway, that's it. Close this out.

[Travis]

Anyway, that's it for this episode of the show. Remember, money only solves your money problems, not your cigar problems. But it is easier. Easier to solve the rest of your problems. We got money in the bank, so let's solve that one first here on the Travis Makes Money podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Catch you next time. Peace.