Lido Loop Podcast
Lido Loop is a podcast dedicated to the joy of cruising, theme parks and travel. Hosted by Jack and Jesse, these two blend travel insight, industry news and personal stories to inspire your next adventure.
Lido Loop Podcast
The Lido Loop: Casino Rules and Etiquette
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This week on the Lido Loop Podcast, Jack and Jesse are diving into the latest news from the worlds of cruising, theme parks, travel, and casinos.
In cruise news, a brand-new cruise line could be headed to Galveston, Carnival’s new loyalty program is getting ready to roll out, and Philadelphia is officially getting a permanent cruise port.
Over in the theme park world, Dollywood experiences unusually high-ticket demand and website issues following the passing of Dolly Parton. Plus, we have construction updates from Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe, Six Flags is moving its headquarters from Charlotte back to Arlington, and Six Flags St. Louis officially gets a new name.
In travel news, American Airlines is adding seven new international routes, while Frontier passengers may soon be paying more.
Finally, in casino news, Vegas Matt gets kicked out of a casino, which leads us into our latest discussion: Casino Etiquette. What behavior is completely acceptable at a casino, what is annoying but understandable, and what will immediately send you straight to Casino Jail? We talk about everything from watching other people play and asking for advice to celebrating a big win and occasionally taking your time. We also discuss some of the more annoying habits, including ignoring blackjack basic strategy, casino superstitions, believing in “hot” machines, and talking loudly. And then there are the things you simply should never do—touching someone else’s chips or machine, blaming another player for your loss, harassing casino employees, sitting at a table without playing, or trying to save half the casino for your friends.
Join us for another week of cruise news, theme park updates, travel stories, casino chaos, and plenty of opinions along the way.
Welcome aboard the Lido Loop!
Welcome to this week's episode of the Leto Loop. I'm your host, Jack McCraw. With me as always, my good friend, Jesse Barboza, who has not been kicked out of a casino yet.
SPEAKER_01Have you? Uh, not yet. Unfortunately, they welcomed me in the casino because I've been donating them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you're we're part of the reason why the casino is open. And, you know, I kind of bring up that topic because apparently, this is a little almost a year ago, a famous YouTuber, Vegas Matt, who you and I are both a big fan of, it got reported that he got kicked out of the Venetian. And it kind of made me think, like, well, what did he do? Was he counting cards? Was he doing something stupid? Apparently, all he was doing was just winning, and maybe the attention that he was drawing while he was playing slots, which you know that's what he's famous for, was causing too much commotion. So they asked him to leave after he won. I I think the number was like a $40,000, you know, max pay or something like that. I thought it was like $400,000. I think it might have been. I think I might have misread it. But yeah, so he won $400,000 and they told him to leave. Now, casinos have kicked people out for winning money all the time, especially at the table games. If you're I mean, look at Dana White, he's been banned from multiple casinos for being too good of a blackjack player, and there are other professionals that have been banned. But you're playing slots, that's just randomly generated numbers. Like, trust me, he has not found the golden algorithm to win at slots, right? Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01I mean, everyone knows Vegas Matt. And if you actually look at his wins, every single year he loses more money than he wins. It's it's been statistically, honestly, everyone that in the long run they're gonna lose more money in slots and wins. It's just how it works.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's dumb luck. And another thing I kind of wanted to bring up was that he brings notoriety and fans to the casino. Look at the El Cortez. He has a deal in place with the El Cortez, and that is, I think that is more popular now because of him, and because he's always there doing like five thousand dollar hands of blackjack, but you know, the Venetian wants to do its own thing and says, no, we don't need that here to put I mean, you're basically saying no to free publicity. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I uh what what makes me surprised is the fact is that how why are we just now knowing this? Like, did he not want to like cause trouble? Uh, that's probably what because I know Vegas Matt, he doesn't really like to cause trouble.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he even said, like, in that interview that he did with the Las Vegas Journal Review, who did a great story on this, by the way, it came to light this week, and that's a reason why we are talking about it, like a 10-month-old story. And it sounds like he didn't want to talk about it. He just say, like, hey, this is what happened, is what it is, I'll take my business elsewhere. Which, you know, good on him. That's very professional of him. And moving over to the cruise news, Jesse, what's the latest and greatest in that area?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so uh there's apparently a new cruise line that is coming to Galveston, Texas, and uh Carnival New Loyalty Program is about to roll out starting the first of September, and Philadelphia finally opens its permanent cruise port.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we can't wait to bring down everything from the new cruise line coming to Galveston, which I know you and I are very excited about, and have, let's just say, mixed emotions as well. So in the theme park side of things, Dollywood mourns the passing of one of its, you know, heads and creative fine founders, Dolly Parton. And it is now a lot harder to get tickets. We'll tell you about that. Universal construction updates for both Islands Adventure and Epic Universe are underway, and Six Lags has a spattering of news that will be both good and bad. And we'll also break down some latest and greatest in travel news, including American Airlines adding new flights, frontier pricing increasing, and of course, Jessica and I are going to break down what you should and shouldn't do at the casino. That and much more on this week's episode of The Lido Loop. So, for those of you new to the show, welcome. We are the Lido Loop where we like to talk about all things cruising, theme parks, casinos, travel, and just any other aspect to help make your vacation better. And we always like to start the show with the cruise news. Now, there is a brand new cruise line coming to Galveston. Jesse, you and I have talked about this brand new cruise line. It's not really much of a shocker, but tell the audience what that new cruise line is going to be.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so uh Margaritaville at sea is actually officially coming to Galveston. Uh, this is definitely the biggest announcement that Margaritaville at sea has made in since the beach comer. The reason I think this is really big is because this is definitely gonna help with competition. And with more competition, Jack, what do you think that that means? Lower prices, baby. Exactly. Because as of right now, the cheap the only cheaper cruise options in Galveston is MSC is definitely probably the cheapest right now, and then it would be Carnival. So with Margaretaville, it's gonna fill the cheapest cruise line slot, and then it'd be MSE, which means Carnival's probably gonna look at it and be like, hey, we probably need to lower our prices. I'm sure Royal will lower the prices. I'm sure more of the luxury ones like Disney, they're definitely not gonna lower the prices because that's a uh in a way it's really like a different clientele.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I would compare it to back when Spirit was around, when Spirit would go to an airport, every other airline would lower their prices to try to compete with the rock bottom price of Spirit. Now, Margaritaville has been notoriously cheap in having very good deals. So, you know, for first-time cruisers, that's a great way to get into cruising, is go to a margaritaville. And then you would can go to a different one. But I think you are spot on when you say, you know, having them come into the Galveston market will cause the other brands to, you know, want to lower their prices to compete with Margaritaville.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so they're apparently gonna officially start of October 2027. Uh, they're gonna offer weekly sellings. They're gonna apparently gonna start on Friday, so it's gonna be like a Friday to Friday selling, I'm guessing. And they're saying it's pretty much the normal Caribbean and Central America destination, so I'm guessing it's probably gonna be like Costa Maya, uh Kozumel, I'm sure, and then probably Rootan. That's that's the most you know, basic ones that we, you know, the I figure. Uh is primary going to be coming out cruise terminal 28. It says Terminal 25 will also be used for some sellings. Uh the the official ship hasn't been announced yet, but there's a definitely rumor speculation because on the website the the beach comer has sellings through September and it doesn't show anything past October. So my guess is that when they announce the official ship, they're gonna fill in those you know October on dates so people can start booking it. So if I had to put money on it, I definitely put beachcomer coming out. And yeah, you are a gambling man, so I would take your word on that. And that's actually like their newest ship. So that'd be really good for Galliston. That'd be their their biggest ship, too, that Margaritaville has to offer. And I man, me and you both haven't sold Margaritaville, but we definitely it's definitely we've been talking about it for at least a year or so about trying it.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah, we have it pretty much since we started this podcast. And I know that there's one that goes out of Miami and there's one that goes out of Tampa. You know, we have had friends that have gone on Margaritaville that have had mixed results, and there are YouTube videos out there, some saying it was the worst, you know, cruise they've ever been on, but some saying it was pretty fun, actually. It's definitely not a luxury cruise line, but it was something I'm very interested in trying out in 2027 when it finally comes to Galveston. Uh, is there any more details in regards to how long they're going to be in Galveston or any sort of criteria they need to make to stay here?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so the uh the initial agreement is for 13 months with an option for two additional five-year extensions. Um, so to continue, to continue, Margaritaville must hit a pasture movement target of bringing 200,000 pasture movements during the initial term. When I looked at the pasture movement, that means embarkation and deep embarkation. So it's really like 100,000 people have to get on a ship and then off the ship. I don't know why they do embark. I don't know why they split up.
SPEAKER_00I mean, there are sometimes people don't come back or they're they're left on, you know, Cosmeel without a passport. Are they just not counting that?
SPEAKER_01I I'm guessing, yeah. But I mean, honestly, throughout the whole year, maybe what 10 people, right? If that, you know, sometimes it's zero.
SPEAKER_00Um you and I were kind of talking off-air about this, and these ships hold about 4,000 people. So I think you were doing the math, and you said it's they need at least to be half filled for all their sailings for that 13 months, correct?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, correct. And almost every single cruise line in Galveston is at least 75% filled up. And I guarantee during the summer, Margaritaville is gonna have all their sellings sell like be sold out during the the you know the busy month, the summer months. So I don't think Galvest I mean, I don't think Margaritaville is gonna have any issue meeting that criteria.
SPEAKER_00And also I think that if they do market themselves as a cheaper brand and more fan affordable vacation destination, I think more people are gonna be willing to try it, similar to how people here in Galveston are you doing with MSC.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, correct. And there's actually a little bit other Margaritaville news too. It's not really cruising related, but it is still with Margaritaville. Apparently, in Galveston, they're also building a $700 million Margarita Beach resort. Uh, I don't want to talk about too much, but they're apparently gonna have 278 cottages. Uh, it's like a resort. Uh, they're gonna have four restaurants, entertainment, approximately a two and a half acre water park, and they're gonna be spending 780, 700 to 800 million dollars to develop this. I definitely think that this is definitely one thing they're gonna be pushing. They might even like do some type of deal, like, hey, get on on the collar cottage for the night before and then go to you know the ship. Yeah, that's how you bundle deals right there. I think Disney actually does do stuff like that too for their uh when you go to Orlando. Um, so I mean I I'm I don't see why Margaritaville shouldn't do the same thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean I think that's definitely a worthwhile venture. I mean, Margaritaville already is prevalent here in the Houston area with their resort over in Lake Conroe, and I know that there have been talks about expanding more and more, and you know, they have Margarita Margaritaville resorts all over the country. So Galveston makes perfect sense because, like we say, it is the one of the highest growing cruise uh terminals in the country, if not it is, and the fourth biggest in the country right now. Exactly. So, I mean, it's just a untapped market that Margaritaville is essentially going to just have another say in, in addition to their Florida markets, and maybe even a new cruise terminal that they might go to, but there's one that's opening full time, Jesse. Tell us which port that is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so the port of Philadelphia is actually finally open, and this is kind of crazy because Norwegian actually has been going here the past four months, and I know we kind of talked about this probably maybe two months ago on the podcast. But so Norwegian, they've been having to have people check in at a local hotel and then they bus them all the way to the cruise terminal. I guarantee you, Norwegian's losing money on that, or the port's losing, someone's paying for those buses, it's not free. I'm sure the passengers aren't liking that either. Everyone knows it's definitely a lot more easier going to the port and then going through the new you know terminal that's there.
SPEAKER_00Um I would hope that hotel is at least close to the port of Philadelphia because Philadelphia traffic is especially during rush hour, that'd be pretty bad.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, absolutely. It's uh yeah, it is pretty close to it, but it's still like not walking distance, that's why they still have to bust them over to it. But I didn't realize this until I was actually like reading the articles that it's actually like super close to the Philadelphia International Airport. Um, so I mean that is definitely I guess nice. You fly in, you just you know take an Uber over to the terminal.
SPEAKER_00I mean, considering from the cruise terminals that we've gone out of, like Galveston, the closest one hobby is 45 minutes an hour, right? Yeah, and Bush is like an hour to an hour and a half away, and Orlando was about the same. Well, maybe more like an hour away, but still.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, but this facility is actually it was a $66 million um facility. Norwegian has committed 41 annual sellings from Philadelphia under its long-term agreement with Philiport. That's the name of the cruise terminal. It is it has uh Norwegian Jewel, which is gonna be doing Bermuda Bermuda cruises through September 26. Then they have Norwegian Pearl from 2026 through 2028. And then summer of 2028, Norwegian Gym is gonna do seven-day Bermuda Bermuda cruises. So I don't know to me as of right now, it's just saying Norwegian, but I mean Norwegian doesn't actually own this port, so I can definitely see other cruise lines if they're they're probably seeing how well Norwegian does and kind of feeling around to see if other cruise lines would participate in this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you would yeah, you would think that Philadelphia, I believe it's the fifth or sixth most populated city in the country, would be able to support a you know cruise port. And considering, you know, Tampa, Miami, and you know, other places like that have significantly less populations, but there are more I guess better accessibility to go to cruise and more people are traveling there anyway for cruises. You know, LA, one of the most populous cities, and you know, also the closer proximity to New York City, so that way they have two options and more cruise ports to go out of, whether if you want to drive to Philly or drive to New York. So either way, I I see it working, and I see just you know, I'm sure that there is a big demographic of people that live closer to Philadelphia than New York that would like to go on a cruise and don't want to drive all the way to New York, wouldn't you agree?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I definitely agree. I think that the reason is that Philadelphia, of course, gets a lot colder than Florida and and Galveston. So I figure that a lot of they wouldn't get a lot of packed cruises during the winter months. So I'm guessing that that's probably why that they're not committing that that's why they're not big ports, because everyone knows that if you want to cruise, the number one spot is of course be Florida. And then now is pretty much the second is going to be now Galveston.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, as a native Houstonian, I do love seeing the Galveston ports, you know, continuously growing, especially, you know, a lot of carnival ships do sail out of Galveston and kind of keeping the carnival theme going is they've actually laid out a brand new loyalty program. Why don't you tell us a little bit what that's about, Jesse?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we've I know we've been talking about this loyalty program because it was a rewards program and now it's a loyalty program, kind of more like an airlines loyalty. Um whether you like it or not, it's uh it's about to September 1st is the official kickoff date. Um I actually did the math because if you have their credit card and all that, I would actually technically be platinum after a certain amount of time, which would be really good. That I'm saying I'm gold right now, so I would actually be a step above what I'm normally am. Um but for me, for me personally, it benefits. I have understand that if you are part of the program, the only way you benefit from this program is if you take a ton of Carnival cruises or you have their Carnival Master Card and actually do I actually do both. I I cruise the Carnival a lot and I also have their MasterCard. So those points will go towards your loyalty program and it would help you out. Um me personally, I still don't like the program because you have to have to consistently spend money in order to, you know, be in the program. Because if say I don't cruise for two years, I would have to start all over from the beginning if I don't decide not to do carnival for two years.
SPEAKER_00It's a pay-to-play program, essentially. It's very, very similar to what MGM Caesars do when you are a rewards member at any sort of casino. The more money you spend, the more benefits and perks you get. They also have the MasterCard as well. And you know, it kind of sucks because I mean you just pay to get higher statuses. I mean, I guess it does pay off eventually once the higher and higher you go. But from what it used to be, it it it it does kind of suck with for lack of a better term.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so if if you want to ask us, you know, like how the rewards program works and all that, I don't think there's one person out there that actually knows because it is so confusing. I looked at the website, but apparently starting September 5th, I think it is, you can actually start seeing like the points you're at and the rewards and the stars you get. So you can kind of see gauge where you're at with the actual program and you can kind of determine like what you need to do to achieve the next status. So hopefully going forward, we're we're gonna have more news. We can actually talk about this. Um, but as right now, it's just buckle up and get ready for the new rewards program.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think it's gonna be the wild, wild west for a little bit, and you know, eventually it will make a lot of sense. But anytime you transition over from something that's been you're accustomed to doing to something brand new, there's just gonna be some, you know, let's let's say some rough waters ahead, pun intended.
SPEAKER_01So, Jack, that pretty much covers all of our cruise news. So we're now got some theme park news, and yeah, everyone knows the big story, Dolly Parton passed away.
SPEAKER_00So, how was it like at the park? So the reaction at the park was very somber because I mean Dolly, even though she wasn't the original like person that helped open the park, she was heavily invested and heavily involved in the planning of the park and making it what it is today. Uh the so the park is actually owned by the Hershen family, who also owns you know places like Silver Dollar City in Missouri as well. But once Dolly became an investor and once she became you know a almost a spokesperson for the park, they renamed it to Dollywood. And you know, like Dolly, I believe it's like Dolly's church is actually incorporated into the park. There's like you you cannot go to the park without noticing something of Dolly Partons. And what caused what why this you know story is also out there, not only because you know we were saddened by her loss, but also a lot of people are now wanting to go to Dollywood to pay their respects to her. So their servers actually crashed on August 25th after an enormous wave of fans flooded the official site following you know the announcement of her passing. And you know, I'm I'm guilty, I'm one of them because I was that is a park that I've always wanted to go to as well. It's beautiful, it's right in the Smoky Mountains. It is like a little, I mean, it is out of the way to get to because it's not next to a major airport if you don't consider you know Knoxville a major one. Uh so thousands of visitors rushed online to look for tickets and information, and there was uh the website kept saying a normally high volume error message. So ticket purchases and normal website functions resume shortly after, but definitely a lot of people are going to Dolly to pay their respects for her and as they should.
SPEAKER_01So, Jack, do you think that they're gonna keep the name Dollywood at least for a little while to kind of you know help with sales? Do you think they might end up changing it?
SPEAKER_00Uh they have Dollywood chairman, I blank on his name, did come out and say that Dollywood will never close. And even though that they lost their visionary person behind the park, uh Dollywood will remain timeless. So I think that yes, to honor her, they will keep it as Dollywood, especially because she like like I said earlier, she is such a mainstay in that park. It would it would almost be disrespectful to her memory if they were to you know remove that element of it. And I think she is such an iconic person, not only just in the country music and industry industry, but as a celebrity, that I think her her vision could be timeless. Like it's I mean it's kind of hard to find that comparison to in the theme park side of things, but regardless of if she's here or not, her legacy will continue to live on in the parks. And other park news happening. Jesse, we finally got some new construction updates over at Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe. So we kind of talked about this a little bit. The Lost Continent has now been completely demolished. And the it's the area in between, you know, for those of you that don't know, the wizarding world of Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss Land. So the demolition work continues within the Lost Continent, Islands of Adventure, removing Poseidon's Fury Attraction, the former Sinbad stunt show, and now looks like to be heading the nearby Poseidon's Treasures gift shop building as well. So it's still a work in progress, and they're just clearing this land to build something. Now, Jesse, we've talked about it before. The rumor still is Pokemon. Um there's also like it could be one piece. I mean, how are you feeling on these sort of like intellectual property replacements for the Lost Continent?
SPEAKER_01It's just really weird that they haven't officially announced, they're tearing something down, they officially haven't announced what they're getting like replaced by. You know, up is you would think that they I mean, I'm sure they know, but like why not release it to the public, you know, to get more people excited.
SPEAKER_00I think that it's because it's so far away, they want to start building hype a little bit. Now Universal is also guilty of this where they don't announce attractions until they actually start seeing like groundwork go up. So during COVID, they they were building the Velocicoaster. They didn't announce, they were already cleared out a bunch of stuff. They already were building the roller coaster, and they didn't make an announcement until maybe like a year before it actually opened. You know, the roller coaster was already built, and they're like, nope, uh nothing's coming here. Was it like before the theming element you think? Yeah, I think so, because I think they already had in mind what kind of coaster that they were gonna have, that Intamin model. So they built that first, and then they built, you know, the foliage and the velociraptors and the enclosure afterwards, after they announced that uh the announcement. So same with kind of what they did with Hagrid's, it took them a while to announce it. They closed Dueling Dragons, and then for a year they were just doing sight work, and then they built they announced that oh, Hagrid's magical creature motorbike adventure is coming. That's such a long name for a ride. So, you know, I'm looking forward to that. And then other news is that they're still clearing land in the epic universe side of things, so they're expanding over in the dark universe, which you and I I think are hoping that it's gonna have some dark rides. Because, like we say, when it rains over at Epic Universe, there's not much you can do.
SPEAKER_01Not it just rains, even if it's hot too, right? Because there's not a lot of outside waiting and dark rides, they're nice because they're indoors. Is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's two dark rides there. There's you know, the Mario Kart ride, which eh, and then the second one is that here is the Harry Potter ride, which is similar to I would say similar is a is a good word to the one that they have at Islands of Adventure, where you're kind of on that moving, you know. Broomstick. Yeah, let's just call it that. Let's just it's so hard to explain over an audio. But yeah, so the construction will continue to update through Universal, and as of right now, rides like Jurassic Park, River Adventure are still closed, they're not opening until November, and it looks like that they're now starting to you know lay the groundwork and build up the roller coaster of the Fast and Furious ride going to Universal Studios.
SPEAKER_01So that kind of covers all the universal news. So you do have some stories about Six Flags, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Yes. So I have three quick hits right here. The first one is that Six Flags officially is relocating their headquarters from Charlotte, North Carolina, back to Arlington, Texas. Now, little backstory when the Cedar Fair Six Park or Six Flags Parks merger happened, they moved all the corporate offices from Six Flags in Arlington to Charlotte because that's where Cedar Fairs was. Now, they moved full-time back to Arlington and they announced it because they said it would be a lot closer to other parks, which makes sense. Because Charlotte, you know, even though Carolyns is right there, the next closest park, I believe, is in Virginia, compared to where Carolyn's is located. Whereas if it's in Arlington, you have six flags over Texas, then you know, a few hours down the road you have Schlitterbahn, you have, you know, B.S. Texas, Hurricane Harbor, Frontier City, and Oklahoma City. So you're a little bit more centrally located. And I'm sure that Texas has given them some tax breaks as well, considering that they were there before. So, and this is just, you know, fun fact is me being a baseball nerd, Jesse. Their offices are now actually going to be in the old Globe Live field, now Choctaw Stadium, where the Rangers used to play. So you're saying headquarters is pretty much right next door to Six Flags Park. Correct, yes. I mean, it makes sense because Six Flags Over Texas is the original Six Flags Park. So it makes sense that the company's headquarters would be there too. And then one of the other original parks, Six Flags St. Louis, is now being who was actually sold to Premier Park, excuse me, Chanted Parks earlier this year, along with others, including Michigan's Adventure, Valley Fair, so on and so forth, has now been officially renamed from Six Flags St. Louis to Mid-America Adventure. Now, the little history behind that is Six Flags St. Louis used to be Six Flags Mid-America. So it's kind of bringing that name back, but also full circle. Yep, exactly. And you know, it it's interesting. I bring it up because you know, we do like the Schlitterbahn here in Galveston, and it kind of makes me wonder what if they'll keep the Schlitterbond name or is that now owned by Six Flags, and they could be something else, maybe even you know, Enchanted Water Park Galveston. Oh, maybe Margaritaville could buy it. Margaritaville Water Park Galveston. Hey, you got a million-dollar idea right there. I I think so. I think, hey, Margaritaville, invest in Schlitterbahn and say Jimmy Buffett's water Margaritaville or something along those lines. But there is a little bit more of a serious story I do want to bring up, and it's about X2, which is a pretty high-intense coaster located in Magic Mountain in the greater Los Angeles area. It has now been shut down due to multiple riders suffering essentially brain and back injuries. So on July 5th, a rider was found unconscious riding X2, and you know, they did an investigation, they couldn't find anything. On July 5th through 11th, back-to-back brain injury cases, including a 40-year-old guest, suffered a brain uh compression requiring immediately immediate uh emergency surgery. Six days later, a 25-year-old guest collapsed after exiting the ride. And this all goes back based on what happened in 2022 when a 22-year-old died from catastrophic uh uh subdural hematoma. So sorry if I mispronounced that, but essentially a brain injury after riding X2. Now you've ridden Batman at Fiesa, Texas, it's flips you constantly. Imagine that, but double the size and double the length. It's X2 is a pretty intense ride. I I even like a roller coaster enthusiast, I wouldn't have done it before these you know lawsuits and you know incidents occurred. So as of right now, it is closed until further notice, and then um I'm definitely not riding that ride. What about you, Jesse? Oh yeah, definitely not. Um but this is kind of weird because this isn't a new coaster. Yeah, so X2 actually opened as just regular X on January 12th, 22 2002, and then had a major update where it became X2 in 2008. Now it has been you know updated here and there since, but yeah, no, this coaster is more like more than 20 years old, so it's weird that it's just now happening, and I think that the what they're gonna do is investigate it and maybe make the ride a little bit more tame, maybe reduce the spinning because it is a pretty high, you know, intense roller coaster.
SPEAKER_01So I definitely think that it might be because you know the coaster is getting a little older, so it's definitely getting more rough. Uh, I don't know, what do you think?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think most roller coaster service lives are between 25 to 30 years, and with the way that you know things have been going with this particular ride, I think it's best in it's in Magic Mountain's best interest to just remove it, replace it with something bigger, better, that people don't have to associate these injuries and issues with going forward. And that'll do it for the theme park news. Now, we do kind of have a little bit of travel news that we want to get into, including American Airlines has now added seven new international destinations, mostly out of the East Coast, but it goes as so. Philadelphia to Porto, which is in Portugal, Philadelphia to Vienna, Austria, Philadelphia to Reykjavich, Iceland, Charlotte to Barcelona, Spain, New York to Amsterdam, New York to Nice. I I don't know if I'm mispronouncing it. It's spelled N-I-C-E. I think Nice. Nice, France. That's my bad English right there, and Chicago to Tokyo. So it's good that American is going more a little bit more international, and I think that they see that this is where a lot of the money is now made and these longer trap travels, wouldn't you agree?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, absolutely. Uh I mean, the more variety, definitely the better. Do you think that they're taking over any of the Spear Airlines ports?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I would say Philadelphia for sure, because they have three new flights just out of Philadelphia alone, maybe a little bit of New York as well. I mean, they're certainly doing a better job than Frontier is, which we'll get to them here in a little bit. Uh I mean, the new budget airline hasn't fully come back yet after Spirit, you know, no longer is with us. Now, I don't know what this means for domestic flights, but you know, adding more international flights is a good sign of growth for American Airlines for sure. And, you know, we did kind of tease Frontier, so I'll go ahead and bring it up now. So their prices fluctuate, and you know, you and I have noticed that when we look at flights over the weekend, they tend to be a little bit higher because maybe that's when people are looking for flights more. But right now, and this is kind of more of a Houston-centric story, but I believe it will take place all over the country. The cost to go to Orlando has essentially quadrupled with a frontier flight. So I was looking to go to Orlando in sometime in October, maybe go to Epic Universe or Busch Gardens. And we were initially going to pay around $80 to go from Houston to Orlando with Flying Frontier. Now, the cheapest flight is around $234, and that's throughout the rest of the year. Now, I understand that travel does slow after major holidays, so maybe after Labor Day, people are less likely to look, so the prices will go down and they kind of fluctuate with the holidays. But I've never seen prices this high to go to Orlando. Maybe it's just an issue that they're having right now, and you know, spirit is gone, so it's you know, gone are the days of a $50 flight to Orlando or Miami or wherever. So it is causing me a little concern because it's gonna cost a little bit more to go to Orlando, and if that's the case, I probably wouldn't even go. Wouldn't you agree?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. I think the definitely I think that Frontier definitely are starting to realize that hey, we don't be it have to be as cheap as you know as we used to be, because of course spirits out of the out of the game now. So as long as they're still cheaper than everyone else, they're definitely gonna be the first one to get booked. I guarantee most people look at price, is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Yes, and let's just say for a hypothetical, you're wanting to go from Houston to Orlando, and United's $300 something dollars, Americans three to three hundred something dollars, Southwest is a little over $250. Frontier, oh well, all we have to do is do $234. We're still cheaper than all the other brands that we mentioned, and you know, we'll still get you from point A to point B, but as cheap as possible. But that's just saying cheap as possible compared to everyone else, not you know, the bare fare where they charge you for every literally everything else, which they're still gonna do. Like you're still gonna pay $234 for your flight, but still have to, if you want an extra bag, you have to pay for that. If you want to choose your seat, pay for that, food in a plane, pay for that. So, I mean, it's pretty good business model to be in right now. And I understand with the rising cost of jet fuel, flying is gonna be more expensive. There's just no ifs, ands, or buts about it. But, you know, I I kind of sound like, God, things were better in the past when spirit was around. But, you know, it is definitely cause for concern if that is gonna be the norm that Frontier runs under. And I do believe that there are gonna be some flights that will be cheaper. Because I'm even like when I was looking at my Dollywood trip, like you can fly to Knoxville, Tennessee for a little over a hundred dollars if you go on the right days. And I think that's gonna be something you're just gonna have to look at, and prices will fluctuate, but right now, if you're looking as of August 30th, in frontier flights have gone up significantly. Dude, with these rising flight costs, I might just have to go on cruises more for gambling trips instead of going to Vegas. It's it's it's cheaper now. Oh yeah. I've been saying this for years, Jack, right? Yeah, really. It's like, yeah, you mean all your food is paid for, you only have to pay a certain amount, and you know, you get a week-long trip of a week-long gambling trip. Well, I mean, if you look at it like that, you're probably gonna lose a lot more money. Not if we keep doing the Maddie method, which you know we'll bring up here in a little bit, but kind of one of the main topics that we wanted to talk about today was casino etiquette, whether this is on a cruise ship or at your local casino, or if you go to like Vegas or Atlantic City, it there are certain things that you should and shouldn't do, and this is kind of in response to what happened with Vegas map that we talked about earlier, where he won what was it, $400,000 and he was kicked out of the Venetian. Now, you and I have personally never been kicked out of a casino. I mean, as if as I'm aware of yet. Uh I I hope I do get kicked out one day. I hope we win so much that you know we go on here and we tell you our secrets and we make a tell all book. But we kind of compiled a list together of things that are acceptable, annoying, but understandable, and what they call casino jail when it comes to things you should and shouldn't do at the casino. So we'll go ahead and start with the stuff that you know, hey, you'd probably think you shouldn't do, but it's actually okay. And this is what we call the acceptable one. So watching someone play Jesse. Now, I did this with Craps because Craps is, for lack of a better term, a more complicated game to play. It definitely seems fun. Everyone seems like they're having a blast over there. Yeah, I see more fun at the craps table than I do at the blackjack, you know, poker tables. Like it it's a party atmosphere, and you know, you meet some great people over there too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. Uh, and I definitely I'm a big person about watching people play. I always watch when y'all you know y'all on the slots, or Maddie's on the slots, or maybe my brother are on the slots. It's always fun watching them and being excited for them when they win too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and another thing that you know is okay is asking for advice. Now, this kind of goes back to my crap story was you know, there was there are people around that like, hey, what should I do? You're kind of watching them, you know, they put their numbers on six and eight, those are the most common numbers, and there's a pass and don't pass line. Now, I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty of what you should and shouldn't do at the craps table because that's a whole nother conversation for another day. But, you know, you kind of watch them play and you ask them, hey, what should I do here? Or a better example will be at the blackjack table. More oftentimes than not, you're playing with someone who has played before, and you could also ask the dealer, like, should I hit here?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, honestly, yeah. They uh in a weird way, you might think that they want you to lose, but in all reality, they kind of want you to win because they can tip you. Exactly. Because honestly, the all you gotta ask them is, hey, what would the book say? And then they'll they'll tell you exactly, oh, you should hit, split, or you know, stay.
SPEAKER_00Now, if you're asking that on every single hand, I'm sure that would get a little annoying and repetitive, but let's say you know you have a situation where you have two eights and they have a six and a card face down, you know, you normally should split that and then hit both hands. But you know, you are more than welcome to ask the dealer for any sort of advice or even like your neighbor around you. Because I mean, at the end of the day, the people around you want to win too. And if they see you hit and that would force a dealer's hand to lose, that's better for the whole table. Uh, how about celebrating a big win? Now, I've been that guy where I've won 20 bucks and I'm like, yeah, I won twenty dollars. I'm sure that gets annoying to people that are down like thousands of dollars right next to me. Like, some dude is celebrating a $20 win. But you know what? A win's a win. You can celebrate it.
SPEAKER_01And I do, I do when I think we were at LaBurge when we saw that one lady won like $10,000, and I and that was like freaking crazy. She was freaking out.
SPEAKER_00I I would say like, yeah, I would too. I would run around, I would pull a Vegas mat and run around the casino if I won $10,000. Shoot, I'd do that for a hundred dollars. No, okay, just uh fun little off topic. What is the most money you've ever won on a slot machine?
SPEAKER_01It was on actually Huff and Puff. I know everyone hates that because they feel like they don't win, but I won like $450, almost $500 on I think Maddie's on the same, like on the same boat as you.
SPEAKER_00It was around four to five hundred dollars and she was down to like her literal last dollar. Yeah. Like I think she was about to like get you know your brother's ATM card and put more in because she knew it was a heater and it was coming. But yeah, if you win even a little bit of money, it's okay to pump your fist and go, woo-hoo, because you're winning money. Uh and this is kind of the last thing that people might think is not great but is acceptable, is taking your time. Now, I I would say this more so in slots. Like if you're just there for the free drinks, spin a little bit, people watch, watch other people play. Just don't sit on the machine and not play. Because if you have money in there, I mean like you can spend as much time as you want there. Uh another thing, uh, so I don't know if they do this on cruises, Jesse. Do you get free drinks on cruises if you're gambling, or you still have to go to the bar and use like your dr you know your drink pass?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you don't get free drinks on on the ship.
SPEAKER_00Because technically you already do if you have the drink package.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, exactly. And they do have a bartender that goes around, but usually it's like one person for the whole casino, so it's honestly a lot easier to go to the actual casino bar if it has it on the ship. Um, but unfortunately, you don't get free drinks. But uh yeah, because that is a one way of getting free drinks is taking your time on the slots and you know, every minute, you know, pushing the 50 cent bet. Yeah, you put it.
SPEAKER_00You get those free drinks. Yeah, you put $100 in and you can get, you know, your Jack and Cokes with, you know, a whole lot of Jack and or a whole lot of Coke and not a whole lot of Jack. Uh in yeah, certain hotels and and especially in Vegas are a little better at this. Like when I went to Circus Circus, uh, they were like actually that's the one good thing I'll say about Circus Circus is like they had some of the fastest responses ever for gambling. Now I it was really slow when I went, so that might be the reason why. But you know, other casinos, especially like the Bellagio Caesars Palace, I'm sure that they're they're time, they're very slow, and that's you're gonna spend you know a thousand dollars by the time you get back for your you know twenty dollar drink, if twenty dollars. So now let's go ahead and get into the annoying but understandable. So playing blackjack differently than the basic strategy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, because I definitely see these people who never played before and they're like, Oh, you know, they're split uh you know, they're splitting and like they're splitting fives against a a jack or something, yeah, exactly. And like, don't split why would you split five?
SPEAKER_00You already got ten, you know, or or they're split uh you know, tens or you know I think splitting tens is probably the biggest sign that you are not accustomed to being a blackjack player, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. Uh and then and then especially people hate it too when you hit when you shouldn't be hitting, and then you take their card, especially you're like, that's what I needed. Like I was gonna hit and I was gonna get that card, and they get real mad. I see that all the time.
SPEAKER_00That that happened to me in Louisiana once, and you know, he's like, You're lucky we're paying at a minimum table, and like, oh my god, I really made that guy mad. Because I think I had like a 15 and then I hit because and he it was a 10, and so of course I busted. So everyone was I was like, Why are they mad at me? I'm the one who busted.
SPEAKER_01Because you you messed the whole deck up, apparently, to them.
SPEAKER_00Now, here's the yeah, so if you're gonna play blackjack, you know, practice a little bit at home first, or you know, be with people around you that know how to play.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, there's definitely some apps that we play that actually will tell you, it'll give you tips like oh, you should hit here or shouldn't hit here.
SPEAKER_00No, I can't wait to see when Maddie will finally go to the blackjack table. She watches us play more than anyone in this world. I think she's just too shy to talk. So so I think that's why. I mean, you don't have to, you can just have to use your fingers. It's like hit, stay, and split. Now, what about doubling down? Those are the fun ones.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that yeah, definitely. When you split and then you double down.
SPEAKER_00Those are goodness. We can do a whole YouTube channel on that, dude. We could be just like Vegas Matt 2.0. So here's another one that's I I'm I don't know if I agree with this, but it's being superstitious. So like it's a certain chair. Like, I know people who play blackjack, if they don't want to sit on the ends because they feel like they get the worst hands, or like certain machines are good luck versus bad luck. With slot machines, it's randomly number generated. It could be Buffalo, it could be Dragon Link, it could be literally, you know, a cat and mouse one, but you're either gonna win or you're not. Like, I don't think there's any sort of superstition involved.
SPEAKER_01I think this kind of counts as a stupid superstition is like hitting the screen, you know, like like trying to get trying to get those blocks in certain slots so you have to hit it. And I've seen some people pretty much almost like beat the crap out of the machine, like they're hitting with full fists, they're getting they're they're trying to like KO somebody.
SPEAKER_00I I mean it's so funny to see people like crash out when it comes to like how they're not winning at these uh you know certain slot machines. I've even seen people, yeah, like you said, hit it at the top of their hand, hit the screen, like just like they're upset with the machine. I mean, I tap it, I'll like right there, right there. But I think that's a superstitious thing I do, or I think I was just having fun with it. Um, how about believing in hot machines? Now, this is definitely a Matty method, like oh yeah, the machine's hot, you gotta keep going, keep going. After you already put $300 in, it's gonna hit, it's gonna hit. Yeah, and then you get a $30 bonus.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, honestly, it kind of goes back to the superstition too, in a in a weird way, because uh is it hot? No, it doesn't honestly it's all gonna be the same, you know. No matter every spin is you know statistically the exact same each spin. So it's not like you're gonna lose w one spin and win another. You know, they're all gonna be the same spin. And believing the machine is hot. Is is just a another superstition, is that right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, essentially. There was even videos made of, you know, there's certain ones where you have to fill the screen up and then you hit the jackpot. Yeah, like the firecracker. Yeah, exactly. Or the fish bowl, or I can't even think of some other ones, but yeah, like when you play goldfish and the ki fish keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I mean, there's the fish could be like bigger than the gold the the the bowl itself. Yeah. And then there's you play the one next to you where the fish are, you know, no bigger than an inch big, and you spin twice and the fish pop the bowls, and the other ones haven't, or the pigs. The pigs are my least favorite ones where they keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger and they just don't burst.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. A lot of people think that that they're if they're close to bursting, that means like you know, you don't want to win. Honestly, that doesn't mean anything, but technically, statistically, you are more likely to win just because it hasn't won in a while. So, like doing the numbers, like if you won, say statistically one out of a thousand times, you're you're more likely gonna win.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so if you're going to the casino thinking you're gonna hit a hot machine, your chances of going into a dead machine and winning are the exact same as going to a quote hot machine. So, yeah, I gotta lose logic people. The last one I'll kind of hit on talking a lot. I mean, people are drunk at a casino, people are having fun. Yeah, like I feel like To me, it don't bother me, honestly. It's like, yeah, I mean, unless someone is being abnormally obnoxious and like messing with other people that they're trying to play, like, dude, let them have fun. Yeah, you're in a c you're essentially at an adult arcade. Now, here's the ones that are the definite no-go. So I'm gonna combine a little bit together for time's sake. So touching someone else's chips and touching someone else's machine. I've never touched someone else's chips. Like I've already feel like that's like a Yeah, uh, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01I know it's not included in here yet, but touching someone's cards too. Oh or your own cards. A lot of times, most casinos don't even want you to touch their cards. Some casinos will allow it, like, but those are usually the high rolling ones where they're gonna throw the deck out anyways.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean we mentioned Vegas Matt again. When he plays baccarat, he you know, he flips the card and bends it so slowly for the dramatic reveal. Like that does bother me a lot. But I mean, hey, that's kind of tweet their own. I I think at the baccarat table, you are able to touch them, but yeah, even at the blackjack table, I don't think you're allowed to touch them. No, you're not. I think poker you can because you you're trying to like if it's especially if it's a poker where it's like you're looking at your cards and facing another, not just going against a dealer. Um, you know, blaming another person for someone's loss, we kind of hinted at that over when we were talking about blackjack. I mean, I understand the frustration aspects of that, but that person is just there to have fun too, you know. So yeah, should they have known how to play before going to the table? Yeah, but how are you gonna learn without experience, you know? So it's more so just don't be a bad person. Don't be that guy at the casino. Uh harassing this is a big one, harassing dealers and cocktail servers. You know, I I've been there where the, you know, you already spend hundreds of dollars and you still haven't gotten your drink. I mean, there's only so much the cocktail waitresses can do. And the dealer, it's not the dealer's fault you're losing. Let's let's just call it what it is. It might seem like it because the dealer will always get 21 or will always just somehow have the right card to you know put you over. It's so rigged, as what Maddie says. Yeah, that's that's that's the other Maddie method. See, that's why she won't play the tables. Um, yeah, I mean it kind of goes back to just don't be that guy. Like your your chances of losing at the casino are significantly higher than actually winning anything. I think if you go to the casino expecting to make money, that's when you know you have a problem. Because at the end of the day, it's you can that possibility is there, but if you bank it on it, it's not gonna go out well for you. Like more oftentimes than not. Okay, so uh here is the two big ones, Jesse. How about uh sitting at a table and not playing? I think that works for just not just table, but slots too. Yeah, if you're just sitting at the machine and just not like on your phone, like what are you doing? Like go sit at the bar. Like dude, so this one is you know kind of specific to me. It LaBurge and Lake Charles, I know this is super local, I do apologize, but uh, they only have so many Dragon Link casinos or Dragon Link machines, and they're always filled because they only have like 12 in the entire casino. And more oftentimes than not, there's a chair turned around, or you know, someone's just you know on their phone, they're just holding it for someone else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we did we did actually say it was acceptable watching someone play, and that's fine as long as you're not taking up a chair. Is that correct?
SPEAKER_00Yes, absolutely. Like stand over their shoulder and watch, or bring a chair or something, just sit next to a machine, especially if it's a hot one like you know, Dragon Link. And kind of the final one, and this it's funny that we always bring this up on when we talk about cruise etiquette, but it's works the casino too, is saving half the casino with or saving something with personal belongings. So turning the chair backwards or putting like a napkin or something or something on there to say, Hey, I'm still here. Like that could only work for so long. And I wish that more people would implement the NCL method where they put a sticker on there and come back and say, Hey, it's for someone else.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I agree. Yeah, I because I've definitely seen chairs like the the same you're going to the restroom is you're pushing the chair up, like up against the slot machine. I've seen it there for over an hour though.
SPEAKER_00It's like hey man, when you gotta go, you gotta go. But I mean, at some point the machine has to turn back. Uh, I had a friend whose you know, mother played a lot of slot machines, and she would have one of her sons sit just sit in the chair and come back. I feel like that's better. I mean, that goes back to the don't sit in the slot machine and hold it for someone else. But I do some of these people, I feel like they wear diapers whenever they're on slot machines.
SPEAKER_01I I think that might be another superstition thing, kind of like we talked about. Is that right? Yeah, it's like you can't go to the bathroom before the machine pays out. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I'm sure if you put a thousand dollars, you might eventually win a couple bucks. I think so too. And that'll do it for this week's episode of the Leader Loop. We hope that you are taking our casino tips and tricks and what to do, what not to do to heart. And we want to hear from your casino experiences. If you had a good one, had a bad one, leave us a comment on YouTube. You can always message us where you get the podcast, and you can get the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, wherever you get your podcast. We also have the Facebook page. Leave us a comment, let us know how you did the casino or any other vacation aspect. I'm Jack. That's Jesse, and we will see you on the Leto Deck or on a Margaritaville ship going out of Galveston.