Joe Rogan Experience #1072 - Joey Diaz

Joey Diaz 0:00 ... the story. (laughs) Save the story.

Joe Rogan 0:01 Did not show up, so I'm flying him out after Luke Rockhold-

Joey Diaz 0:04 Are we live? Okay.

Joe Rogan 0:04 I'm gonna do a podcast with him with subtitles in Spanish, then I'm bringing him up here on Friday and we're gonna-

Joey Diaz 0:09 What? Really?

Joe Rogan 0:10 Yeah. I'm, I got a company to do it for me in Spanish with subtitles. And then I'm gonna bring him up here on Friday and we're gonna have a three-way about Cuba.

Joey Diaz 0:19 Whoa.

Joe Rogan 0:19 And what it was like to wrestle and the whole thing, if you don't mind.

Joey Diaz 0:22 Whoa.

Joe Rogan 0:22 I don't know if you'd mind. So I'll do mine about subtitles just in Español.

Joey Diaz 0:27 Okay.

Joe Rogan 0:27 Cómo hablan de Cuba, cómo tú te criaste. So, no, we will not clash with you.

Joey Diaz 0:32 Dude, the three-

Joe Rogan 0:33 You, y-

Joey Diaz 0:33 ... of us together would be the greatest podcast ever.

Joe Rogan 0:35 You, you, yeah, 'cause I can interpret and you would be, would be, uh, it would be, uh, real MMA. You could really talk-

Joey Diaz 0:42 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 0:42 ... about underhooks and-

Joey Diaz 0:43 Dude.

Joe Rogan 0:43 ... Russia and-

Joey Diaz 0:44 That's a fantastic idea.

Joe Rogan 0:46 ... early training in Cuba and where they shipped them, 'cause they ship you off when you're a young kid.

Joey Diaz 0:50 They do?

Joe Rogan 0:51 That's what a lot of people don't know. Yeah, they look at you and then they go, uh, "Pelotero." You don't have a choice. They look at you and they go, "Tú vas a luchadero," and that's it. Nah, they, they take you at a certain age and they, or they either send you to Nicaragua or Russia and you train. And that's why a lot of Cubans are judokas, because they go to Russia and learn judo.

Joey Diaz 1:15 Wow.

Joe Rogan 1:16 So he's gonna tell you how they shipped him off with... And, and they don't just tell your mom like, "We're taking him tomorrow."

Joey Diaz 1:22 That's a r- It's always been interesting to me because the Cubans and the Russians in particular were always thought of, of as being very technical. S- really the Russians. Russians are super technical. That was what, uh, a lot of people attributed George St-Pierre's success in wrestling. You know, George didn't wrestle in college or in high school, uh, but he trained with a bunch of Russian nationals in Montreal, and apparently phenomenal wrestlers. They have this incredible wrestling program. Like, when you see, when you see Nurmagomedov, the way he mauls people inside the octagon-

Joe Rogan 1:52 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 1:52 ... like what in the fuck? Like that is like a, a perfect example of that like style of super hard, super technical wrestling. They're so good at it. There's so many. Do you see... You know, you see Lomachenko used to be a wrestler?

Joe Rogan 2:07 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 2:07 There's a video of Lo- Lomachenko, looks like he's doing Sambo. It looks like he's got a, like a gi on and it's him and some other cat, and he's like 11 years old or something like that. So his father put him in everything. His father made him... You know who Lomachenko is, right?

Joe Rogan 2:21 Yes, yes, yeah.

Joey Diaz 2:22 One of the best boxers ever, like literally one of the most technically beautiful to watch boxers that's ever lived. But this guy used to wrestle too, like his da... This is, uh... I don't think this is it, is it?

Jamie Vernon 2:33 Yes, that was him.

Joey Diaz 2:34 This is him? Okay. Is this him wrestling with somebody? Yeah, this is one now-

Jamie Vernon 2:40 Oh.

Joey Diaz 2:40 ... where he can still do this shit. This is like pretty recent, like he showed some of his wrestling moves. But the other one was him when he was a little boy. Like, he's really technical, man. He, he knows how to wrestle. This is legit. Like when you see the way he's moving his body, he's not faking that. He's done that a bunch of times.

Jamie Vernon 2:57 Here's a good one.

Joey Diaz 2:57 And yeah, this is a, this is one when he's a little kid, man. (laughs) It's crazy. It says Greco-Roman wrestling, but they're wearing a gi, so I'm not exactly sure what it is. But he gets his kid and, uh, gets behind him and sends him for a ride. So he was, he's always been an amazing athlete. Like in every... I think there's, there's something to that. There's something to... His father had an idea. It's a crazy idea. His father took him out of boxing and put him in a dance for like several years. So, uh, a Ukrainian traditional dance style, apparently. They were talking about it on one of those HBO shows. For like four year... I think it was the HBO show. But for four years, I think, he just danced. You imagine that? His father's like, "You wanna learn how to box? You gotta dance." And now nobody's got footwork. Y- have you ever seen him, Joey?

Joe Rogan 3:46 Yes.

Joey Diaz 3:46 Have you seen like his highlight reel?

Joe Rogan 3:48 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Joey Diaz 3:48 He's insane.

Joe Rogan 3:49 It's insane, but-

Joey Diaz 3:49 It's insane. Jamie, pull up a Lomachenko highlight reel.

Joe Rogan 3:52 ... it's funny you say that 'cause my daughter goes to ballet and 80% of the class is Russian. So I was thinking about it yesterday, I was watching the movements, the last pirouette movement and I'm like, "Jesus Christ, if people did ballet, could you..." And I was thinking of the GSP, like you know me-

Joey Diaz 4:08 Right.

Joe Rogan 4:08 ... I'm like, "GSP probably fucking does ballet."

Joey Diaz 4:11 Uh, uh-

Joe Rogan 4:12 Like, you know what I'm saying?

Joey Diaz 4:12 ... yeah, he would.

Joe Rogan 4:13 Like, that's what people do-

Joey Diaz 4:13 It'll be good for you.

Joe Rogan 4:14 ... it's great footwork.

Joey Diaz 4:16 This guy is the wizard of footwork. It's crazy because he's like right in front of you, but he's one step ahead of you at every turn. Like he knows what you're gonna do right while you're doing it.

Joe Rogan 4:26 Wow.

Joey Diaz 4:26 He's moving in a way that you can't move. He's in front of you and then he's not. It's crazy. Like, he's the, one of the most technical boxers I've ever seen. And, uh, it just... An amazing stylistic achievement, like what he can do with his body. His style's totally unique. I mean, everybody... A lot of guys have done it. A lot of guys have moved in and out. A lot of guys have done it, but he's doing it at such a high level, such a high level that it makes people confused. Guys quit in their corner. They're like, "What in the fuck?" And I really think a lot of it probably had to do with his father's cross-training and particularly with the dance. I mean, think about how effortlessly he goes, like steps around guys. I mean, he's got some incredible control of his feet, but it makes sense that, like, you would learn how to move your feet in a specific way the way you weren't, the way you were learned how to move your hands in a specific way, right? Like, think about a guy like Floyd Mayweather, right? His hand combinations with his upper body, they're so precise, it's like da, da, da, da, right? But with his legs, is he as precise? Is he as precise moving with his legs as he is with his hands or is 60% or 70% or 80%? Lomachenko is probably por- perfectly proportioned for his style, with his ability to move but altha- also his ability to box and hit you well. He's got both things going on at the same time with next level angles.

Joe Rogan 5:52 So that's why I was saying to you-

Joey Diaz 5:54 Fuck.

Joe Rogan 5:54 ... when you're young in Cuba, they pick you. It's not like you wake up and go, "I wanna be a wrestler." No, they look at you and go, "You look like you could g- go, go wrestle." And like...What I was hearing back from them in the early '70s was like, they just took you away from your family. They, uh-

Joey Diaz 6:11 Right.

Joe Rogan 6:12 ... and that was part of your training. You know, you're, then they put you in the Ɣoደ, and now you know, where you train them like their army.

Joey Diaz 6:18 D, have you talked to Yoel about this?

Joe Rogan 6:20 Toned.

Joey Diaz 6:20 Yoel?

Joe Rogan 6:21 Yeah. Like, no, we've discussed what this thing is. I already have graphics on the podcast.

Joey Diaz 6:26 Whoa.

Joe Rogan 6:26 So I figured that I put 'em up and we'll do a podcast in Spanish with fucking subtitles, like an English film, like a, like a Fellini movie, whatever, one of those movies people think are unique. Okay-

Joey Diaz 6:37 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 6:37 ... here you have it.

Joey Diaz 6:38 That would be genius.

Joe Rogan 6:38 Because his s- his English is too rough for me.

Joey Diaz 6:41 Right.

Joe Rogan 6:41 And I know what he's trying to say, and the frustration in his face.

Joey Diaz 6:45 He's trying to say, "I love you!"

Joe Rogan 6:47 He's sh- w- I love you i-

Joey Diaz 6:48 Michael Bisping.

Joe Rogan 6:49 So now he did a tape the other day of him in Cuba waiting for Bisping in Cuba.

Joey Diaz 6:54 Oh, no. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 6:54 He went to Cuba-

Joey Diaz 6:55 Bisping went to Cuba?

Joe Rogan 6:56 No. Y- Romero's back.

Joey Diaz 6:59 Right.

Joe Rogan 6:59 See if you can find it.

Joey Diaz 6:59 He's in Cuba, but what is the...

Joe Rogan 7:01 See if you can find it.

Joey Diaz 7:02 Michael Bisping!

Joe Rogan 7:03 Oh, it's, uh, it's, he's- he's nuts.

Joey Diaz 7:05 I love you!

Joe Rogan 7:05 He's nuts. He's nuts.

Joey Diaz 7:07 Well, he's fighting Rockhold now.

Joe Rogan 7:08 W- which is a tremendous fight on the 10th, right?

Joey Diaz 7:10 That's a crazy fight.

Joe Rogan 7:11 That's a crazy fight.

Joey Diaz 7:12 A very good fight. It's a very good fight. Rockhold, when he's on is super dangerous. You know, when r- Rockhold made one slip-up against Bisping, but, you know, fair play to Bisping. He, he came into that fight regardless of where anybody ranked him, you know, like how, how, how they felt his chances were. He came in swinging. He had like, I think he had like 11 days' notice, something like that. What was, how many, how many days' notice did Michael Bisping get when he fought Luke Rockhold? I wanna say it was something crazy low. It wasn't much time.

Joe Rogan 7:41 You know, Luke Lock, R- Luke Rockhold is very-

Joey Diaz 7:44 He's a beast.

Joe Rogan 7:45 ... very good.

Joey Diaz 7:45 He's a beast.

Joe Rogan 7:46 Very, very good.

Joey Diaz 7:47 His top game is insane.

Joe Rogan 7:48 I think when, let me tell you something, I think when he fought Michael Bisping, I'm not gonna lie to you, I think his focus was a little off maybe too, in a way. I think he was dating rock stars and hanging out in Hollywood. I think he's not dating whatever anymore, and now he's just fucking, you know-

Joey Diaz 8:02 Focused.

Joe Rogan 8:02 ... when he beat, uh, Branch he looked great.

Joey Diaz 8:05 Yes.

Joe Rogan 8:05 But his jujitsu's great.

Joey Diaz 8:06 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 8:07 He has great kicks, he's great with his hands, his movement. Him against Yoel is gonna be interesting.

Joey Diaz 8:12 Oh, it's... He's got vicious kicks, man.

Joe Rogan 8:14 Now, he's four and he's won, right? So Luke Rockhold is number one at 185 right now?

Joey Diaz 8:21 I believe so. Yeah. I think he's the number one contender.

Joe Rogan 8:23 And then Jo- and then Yoel is four.

Joey Diaz 8:23 Is he four?

Joe Rogan 8:24 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 8:24 Yeah. It's a great fight.

Joe Rogan 8:25 And then, and then you got Jacare's back in the mix.

Joey Diaz 8:27 Ooh, Jacare with Derek Brunson.

Joe Rogan 8:29 After the head kick. You know what's crazy? Like I always say to you, like, uh, w- I don't f- mean to pronounce his name wrong, Ndengeyo, right? Like, when he fought Stipe. Well-

Joey Diaz 8:37 Ngannou.

Joe Rogan 8:38 ... Ngannou, when he fought my man, immigrant mentality like a motherfucker. Yeah, he hits hard and all that stuff like that, but now that dude's still gonna be more dangerous now. He's gonna fucking take that loss and come back-

Joey Diaz 8:50 Oh, yeah, man. He's-

Joe Rogan 8:51 ... a fucking machine.

Joey Diaz 8:52 Dude, you gotta think how crazy it is that he went from being a guy who was homeless to five years later fighting for the heavyweight title. This is like a total amount of training, five years of MMA training, fighting for the heavyweight title, and he's the favorite. He's the favorite over a guy who's already defended it twice. I mean, it's crazy. That's how talented he is. That's how terrifying he is. That's how special he is. But a, a loss like that to a guy like that, like to a real champ like Stipe, it- that lets you realize where the top of the game is. There's another, there's a few more things to learn. There's a lot more days to get in in training. But that guy's just begun. He's just begun.

Joe Rogan 9:34 Yeah, he's just begun.

Joey Diaz 9:35 Five years ago he didn't know shit.

Joe Rogan 9:37 No, no, he's just-

Joey Diaz 9:37 He's way better now than he was two fights ago. Yeah, I see the difference. I see the difference in the way he moves. When he fought Overeem it was sin- significantly different than when I saw him in his first and second fights. His first and second fights he was very good. He's ve- but, just insanely strong. He would hit guys with these combinations, and clean technique too, man. He's like, he's not just a physically strong guy, he's also very smart, because he's learning to do everything mechanically very good. It's not like a guy who's only been striking for like three or four years, so they look a little tight and weird, but they can, if the land they got a lot of power. No, man, everything is clean. Like-

Joe Rogan 10:17 Well, I guess that's them digging those trenches, Jack.

Joey Diaz 10:19 Oh, dude.

Joe Rogan 10:20 All that type of work gets you tough, but he's-

Joey Diaz 10:22 But he's, he's just a special athlete.

Joe Rogan 10:24 No, no, no.

Joey Diaz 10:24 And if he keeps going, man, I mean, sh- boy, that guy learning more... To think about how little you learn in five years. Most of these guys have way more time in, way more time in wrestling, way more time in kickboxing. The average guy, by the time he gets to the UFC, I would like to know what the number is, of like how many years of training and competing they have, but it's gotta be more than two. (laughs) Like, he was, he was like right in the UFC and smashing people. It's, he has an amazing story, man. It's an amazing story. And for a lot of people, the way it ended is a good lesson for martial artists. It's a good lesson. See, what, even if you're a Ngannou fan, you're bummed out that he lost, I appreciate that, I'm a Ngannou fan, fan too, but I'm more of a fan of mixed martial arts. I, I'm, I'm a fan of an honest, f- like, ext- like I wanna, I wanna know what it is. Like what, what is this? Like what's this, what's this contest right here? What's, what's actually going on here? And what's going on here is phenomenal athletic talent, massive potential, like a super alpha athlete, versus one of the toughest guys ever, who's been in the game longer, who knows more. He's wrestled, he's been fighting way more, he's been in the trenches way more times, he's had to dig deep, he knows what it's like to be really hurt and tired in a fight.

Joe Rogan 11:48 See, I appreciate the strategy of like how do you go into fighting a guy, like-

Joey Diaz 11:52 Perfect strategy.

Joe Rogan 11:53 ... it was like Rocky against Mr. T.

Joey Diaz 11:55 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 11:55 That's what exactly it was like. So it was like heart and fucking a little smart, stay away from that punch. It had to be... And I, I, I haven't watched the full fight, you know, I was working that night, I'm, I'm on the fucking stage. But what I-

Joey Diaz 12:08 My brother, getting hit by Francis Ngannou-

Joe Rogan 12:10 No.

Joey Diaz 12:10 ... with MMA gloves-

Joe Rogan 12:11 Yeah, it's a nightmare.

Joey Diaz 12:12 ... is the worst thing that can happen to a person.

Joe Rogan 12:14 No, it's a nightmare. (laughs)

Joey Diaz 12:14 ... he's terrifying. And Stipe got cracked multiple times in that fight. It's not like he didn't get hit. He got cracked. But he had made up his mind he was going nowhere. He knew what to do, he'd been there before. That's an, that's an incredible lesson just for the overall s- the, the sport, for the, for mixed martial arts in general. And the lesson is, like, he figured out ... Like, he had, like, the craziest end of video game character ever, right? Ngannou's like the big, like the big boss in a video game. They're like, "Fuck, I gotta play, I gotta play against this guy?" That's Ngannou. And Stipe figured out how to beat him being 20 plus pounds lighter than him, in a way, you know, way less intimidating in, in terms of his physical presence, although Stipe's pretty fucking intimidating. But Ngannou's so intimidating. He's so next level. 265 natural, giant, crazy frame. You look at him and go, "Whoa!"

Joe Rogan 13:12 When Stipe ... When you're next to Stipe, that's when you realize-

Joey Diaz 13:14 It's a big fella.

Joe Rogan 13:14 ... how big he is.

Joey Diaz 13:15 It's a big fella.

Joe Rogan 13:15 On TV, it don't look that big. When you're next to him, you're like, "This guy's a big fuck."

Joey Diaz 13:19 He's a big fuck, but he's-

Joe Rogan 13:20 Watch when he walks around now.

Joey Diaz 13:21 His asset is his mind though, Joe.

Joe Rogan 13:23 Yes, yes, I told you-

Joey Diaz 13:24 It's his mind.

Joe Rogan 13:24 ... Don, come on, Don.

Joey Diaz 13:25 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 13:25 I've been telling you for 20 fucking years, bro.

Joey Diaz 13:27 That immigrant mentality. We talked about the Wikipedia page.

Joe Rogan 13:29 Don, I told you, immigrant mentality with American ingenuity.

Joey Diaz 13:31 Tell them about the Wiki media page. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 13:32 Listen, American ingenuity is fucking brilliant. And with the immigrant mentality mixed-

Joey Diaz 13:38 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 13:38 Like, let's say you're still an American, but your dad coulda called you Steve. No, he can still call him Stipe Miocic to remember where the fuck you came from. You understand me?

Joey Diaz 13:48 Ooh.

Joe Rogan 13:48 His father came ... That's really weird.

Joey Diaz 13:50 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 13:50 Like, the other night, you know what was on? I almost called you, Joe. I hate calling you. I almost called you to go, "When was the last time you watched Bronx Tale?"

Joey Diaz 13:58 Oh, you know what? I-

Joe Rogan 13:59 It's been on all week.

Joey Diaz 14:01 I watched it a year ago.

Joe Rogan 14:02 When he fucking finds them with the guns, and he starts smacking-

Joey Diaz 14:06 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 14:06 ... the kids in the neighborhood. I used to remember people's parents smacking kids in the neighborhood.

Joey Diaz 14:12 Wow.

Joe Rogan 14:13 Like, people's parents coming, going, "What the fuck are you guys doing? Get the fuck home."

Joey Diaz 14:16 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 14:17 And like one kid got a kick to the stomach, and the father punched the other kid. And nobody said dick.

Joey Diaz 14:23 Nobody said dick. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 14:24 Dick!

Joey Diaz 14:24 No.

Joe Rogan 14:25 Like, I'm watching this Bro- And with the biker scene. When was the last ... Like, I haven't watched Bronx Tale in 20 years. It's on AMC at 6:30 at night.

Joey Diaz 14:33 Right, when they lock the door-

Joe Rogan 14:33 Bro.

Joey Diaz 14:33 ... and now you can't leave.

Joe Rogan 14:34 He's eating and shit.

Joey Diaz 14:36 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 14:36 And all of a sudden, he hears the bikes and shit, and he walks over. "Oh, okay, nice," like a gentleman. "Yeah, all right, no problem. One beer." And all of a sudden they do a thing, and he walks up to the guy, "I gotta leave." "No, now you can't leave." And Calogero, like that guy named his son Calogero.

Joey Diaz 14:53 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 14:53 Who would do something like that? That means just you want your son to have the immigrant mentality. But when they throw that beating on the bikers. That's a true story, bro.

Joey Diaz 15:02 Is it?

Joe Rogan 15:02 That's a true, true story. I wa- Listen, in the '60s, you couldn't have long hair and walk around the Bronx. It just wasn't accepted.

Joey Diaz 15:11 Really?

Joe Rogan 15:11 Yeah, yeah. Tha- that hippie shit? Tha- tha- that didn't happen in the Bronx in 1965.

Joey Diaz 15:16 So what did they do? (laughs) What if, like, a hippie was walking through the Bronx?

Joe Rogan 15:19 They called you dirty hair. They insulted you. They called you a bunch of shit, and then they threw a beating on you.

Joey Diaz 15:26 Wow.

Joe Rogan 15:26 And it's hysterical because that scene is so accurate, because after the adults threw a beating on you, then the neighborhood kids chased you. Like, the young kids with sticks. And that's what we'd do.

Joey Diaz 15:37 Wow.

Joe Rogan 15:38 You know? Like, the little guys would chase you and fu- Once you were beat up and they took all your money, it's a classic scene.

Joey Diaz 15:45 Hmm.

Joe Rogan 15:46 I was thinking about that. I'm like, actually, I gotta call Joe and ask him when the last time... Look at this. Look how bad to the bone that ... Whether he stole it, Joe, whether he stole the scene or ... Look at this. "You gotta leave." Um, your man is telling us you gotta leave. Why not just tell them, Sonny?

Jamie Vernon 16:05 The only problem is, your man here says we're not properly dressed. Like our money ain't green.

Joey Diaz 16:09 "Like our money ain't green."

Jamie Vernon 16:10 Two bits, that's it. That's it, we'll be on our way. We ain't looking for trouble.

Joey Diaz 16:16 Gotta be careful for you two.

Jamie Vernon 16:18 I appreciate it. No problem. Right.

Joe Rogan 16:21 Listen to th-

Joey Diaz 16:22 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 16:22 How cool this come together sound, Doug.

Joey Diaz 16:23 He got them around, right?

Joe Rogan 16:25 Yeah.

Jamie Vernon 16:26 We got some booze down here. Nice cold ones. Cut him some. Hit 'em up. Got a nice selection.

Joe Rogan 16:29 Oh, this is a great scene, Joey.

Joey Diaz 16:30 This is a great song, Doug.

Jamie Vernon 16:32 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 16:32 I forgot about this scene.

Jamie Vernon 16:33 This is a great scene.

Joey Diaz 16:33 It's a perfect song, right?

Joe Rogan 16:34 Perfect song. When he walks in, it starts from the beginning. (singing) Watch this.

Jamie Vernon 16:40 All right, brothers. If I may, a toast. To our hosts. In the name of the Father, the Son-

Joey Diaz 16:46 Is this gonna get us kicked off of YouTube?

Joe Rogan 16:47 No, no, no, no, no. As long as we talk over it, we're good.

Joey Diaz 16:50 Oh, okay.

Jamie Vernon 16:50 Trying to be careful here.

Joe Rogan 16:51 We're not really

Narrator 16:51 ... we keep talking.

Joey Diaz 16:52 Okay. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 16:54 This is it, right here.

Joey Diaz 16:55 Yeah.

Jamie Vernon 16:56 Oh, you again, huh?

Joey Diaz 16:58 Uh-oh.

Jamie Vernon 16:58 Very nice. Now youse gotta leave. I'll tell you when the fuck we leave, all right? Get the fuck away from here.

Narrator 17:04 (laughs)

Jamie Vernon 17:08 Go watch the fights, men. Come on. What's going on here? Come on. Get outta here.

Joey Diaz 17:16 Here it is. Shuts the door.

Jamie Vernon 17:18 We'll laugh after a few years. This shit will light some bitch.

Joey Diaz 17:22 Uh-oh.

Jamie Vernon 17:26 Now youse can't leave.

Narrator 17:28 I will never forget the look on their faces, all eight of them. Their faces dropped. All their courage and strength was drained right from their bodies. They had a reputation for breaking up bars, but they knew that instant they made a fatal mistake. This time they walked into the wrong bar.

Jamie Vernon 17:48 Come on, motherfuckers! Come on you scrappy motherfucking cunts. Come on. Fuck yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:53 Ah! This is real Joe Rogan.

Jamie Vernon 17:55 Fuck yeah.

Joe Rogan 17:55 This was 1968 on fucking Jerome Avenue. (laughs)

Jamie Vernon 18:01 Fuck yeah.

Joey Diaz 18:01 Holy shit. So this is a true story? Jesus Christ.

18:10 God shall never ... Let 'em break your heart.

18:11 This scene is fucking brutal.

Joe Rogan 18:13 This is it. This was when this was allowed.

Joey Diaz 18:16 And stand by me all the while.

18:24 ... happiness with a hot rum and cinnamon buns.

Joe Rogan 18:29 This is craziness, bro. This was, this was the Bronx in '68, '69.

Joey Diaz 18:34 Fuck.

Joe Rogan 18:35 And the neighborhood, you know, like the neighborhood would tell you, "Hurry up, the cops are ..." The people on the third floor would tell you. "We could see the cops from the third floor. We could see the bulls coming down the street." You're like, the whole neighborhood was in on it.

Joey Diaz 18:47 You know what's interesting to me? Like, this is all from immigrants, right?

Joe Rogan 18:51 Yes.

Joey Diaz 18:51 It's all our-

Joe Rogan 18:52 This is, this was what the, they had to do-

Joey Diaz 18:55 ... our ancestors.

Joe Rogan 18:55 ... because if not ... But this also movie is about him dating a Black girl.

Joey Diaz 18:59 Right.

Joe Rogan 18:59 And what that meant at the s- I forgot how good this movie was.

Joey Diaz 19:02 That's right. That's right.

Joe Rogan 19:03 This movie's brilliant.

Joey Diaz 19:04 Yeah. Shout out to Frankie Renzulli.

Joe Rogan 19:06 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 19:07 Um, this movie's a genius movie.

Joe Rogan 19:10 Look at this. Watch my car. You know-

Joey Diaz 19:11 Chazz Palminteri's great in this fucking movie.

Joe Rogan 19:13 Thi- thi- this is it. This was it.

Joey Diaz 19:15 He's great.

Joe Rogan 19:15 This was it.

Joey Diaz 19:16 I forgot how good this is.

Joe Rogan 19:17 Now, see the young guys? Now, that's us, right? We're seeing what's going on.

Joey Diaz 19:21 (laughs) This is-

Joe Rogan 19:21 Now you take this guy and we would fuck him up though. (laughs)

Joey Diaz 19:27 Ugh, it's crazy.

Joe Rogan 19:28 By that time-

Joey Diaz 19:28 This is like Animals.

Joe Rogan 19:29 Yeah, this is it.

Joey Diaz 19:29 I mean, if you really stop and think about it. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 19:30 This is it. This is how you were raised.

Joey Diaz 19:32 Italian immigrants, Spanish immigrants.

Joe Rogan 19:34 Oh my God, crazy. This is crazy.

Joey Diaz 19:36 Crazy. When you think about they're one generation removed from people who came off a boat.

Joe Rogan 19:41 Let me tell you what the other side of this. Here, here's the other side. Like all right, uh, the big thing was as we were, we came to move here, remember there w- he would come to the store, Frank Starr. Mike Starr was your friend?

Joey Diaz 19:53 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 19:53 And he would come to the store and there was a big rumor that Chazz stole these stories from him and put this together and there was like this little war going on, but not really.

Joey Diaz 20:02 From Frankie Renzulli, yeah.

Joe Rogan 20:03 From Frankie Renzulli. The other gentleman, there was somebody else that was his roommate.

Joey Diaz 20:06 Oh, okay.

Joe Rogan 20:06 That turned out to be somebody very big. And, uh, but there's a story one time that a biker dude owed Gravano money and Gravano was hitting him. And he fell off the sidewalk and broke his leg. So Gravano one night went out and fucking did something like this, something like with 20 guys, they beat up eight bikers or something.

Joey Diaz 20:26 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 20:26 I don't, I don't know how true it was. But I still remember being five. Like if I could think ... I- if you could put, hit me with truth serum, I, I could go back to being 1968, 1969 in the Bronx. My daughter's five. And my mother would send me from the dry cleaner that she owned to the corner where there was an Italian place that had slices and Italian ice and shit like that.

Joey Diaz 20:50 Right.

Joe Rogan 20:51 Like I was allowed to walk to the corner at Marcy's age. On Tremont Avenue. Like I think about, I was looking at my daughter (laughs) when I was watching Bronx and I'm going, "How d- how different has time changed?" Like I was allowed to go to the liquor store with a note and get my mother Marlboro Reds and bring them back in that neighborhood. We didn't live there. My mother just had a dry cleaner and up there was bookie, numbers joint. That's why we had the dry cleaner. We were partners on the dry cleaner. You didn't know that.

Joey Diaz 21:20 No.

Joe Rogan 21:20 That's why I got scars on my face. I got bit by a German Shepherd as a kid. Those three, by one of the eyes, that's what we did. When we came from Cuba, I lived in 205 West 88th Street. And after my father died, my mother had a dry cleaner. And that's where we were up. We were up in Jerome Avenue, in Tremont, in Grand Concourse. And we had a dry cleaner. And every, every weekend I would go up there and I would sit there with the fucking ... I learned how to dry clean. And had Black Mike. Black Mike was the guy that ironed everything, but he made the best spaghetti in the Bronx.

Joey Diaz 21:54 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 21:54 So even Italians came to eat Black Mike's spaghetti.

Joey Diaz 21:57 Really?

Joe Rogan 21:58 Yeah, this was, uh ... I knew all that shit when I was a kid. Because when you have a numbers operation, uh, you have to keep moving it around.

Joey Diaz 22:08 Right.

Joe Rogan 22:09 The cops can't. So you have to, every three or four weeks, you have to move it around.

Joey Diaz 22:12 Explain the numbers to people who don't know what that means.

Joe Rogan 22:14 The numbers is, uh, the parimutuel. It's, uh, the last three numbers are the parimutuel of the track, which is the amount the track made for the day. So if the track made $686,482, the number for the day is 482. And it comes out as the Brooklyn number. So there's three numbers a day. There's Brooklyn, the Bronx and New Jersey. But what happened was, that was a big business until the '80s, till the lotto came out. Then the lotto cut that in half. But before that, that was all put in d- little different, little different immigrant neighborhoods all over New York City because as immigrants, we all w- want hope.

Joey Diaz 22:58 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 22:58 You know, we want that money to get that refrigerator and the stove and shit like that. It's such a weird, uh, thing that they would gamble. Just $2 a day. Remember, $2 a day wins you $1000.

Joey Diaz 23:10 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 23:11 I could do a lot in 1975 with $1000 with two kids.

Joey Diaz 23:15 My grandmother was obsessed with the numbers.

Joe Rogan 23:17 Yeah, every, uh, you know-

Joey Diaz 23:18 She was obsessed. And she would always have like a, um, number in her head that she thought it was gonna be. And it was like one off or something like that. It was like these stories she would tell you.

Joe Rogan 23:27 What would you say to her?

Joey Diaz 23:28 Psh, what could I say? I was like five. (laughs) I just remember it very distinctly. My grandmother went to jail for running numbers.

Joe Rogan 23:38 In New Jersey.

Joey Diaz 23:38 She, she wouldn't, she wouldn't rat them out, so they put her in jail. And so she made sweaters, gave sweaters to the guards.

Joe Rogan 23:45 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 23:45 Mrs. D, she's the nicest lady.

Joe Rogan 23:47 How did you feel that your grandmother had done time? What did you think?

Joey Diaz 23:51 We didn't find out until I was probably like ... I, I wonder when I found out. I think maybe I found out in my teenage years. And I was like, "What?"

Joe Rogan 23:58 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 23:59 "What the fuck?" Like people would go to see her, like, "Where's ... " uh, I don't want to say my grandma's name out of respect. But people would say, you know, "Where is she?" And she ... oh, she went to visit her, her cousin or she went to see her aunt. And she was, you know, she was in the pokey for like six months.

Joe Rogan 24:16 I forgot-

Joey Diaz 24:17 I forget how much time it was, but every time we would go over there, there was like some new excuse. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 24:19 See, in New Jersey they put you ... in, in New Jersey, they put you in jail for gambling. In New York City, they don't.... they give you a ticket. You know, they would give you, like, a ticket and shit in those days. I don't know what it's like now. There's fucking, they'll throw you in jail for weed now in New York City. I don't fucking know.

Joey Diaz 24:35 My grandmother was one of the few people I've ever known where I legitimately thought they had intuition. She has weird intuition. She would do things. It was real weird, like when my mother was a, a kid, there was a rainstorm. It was like a real bad rainstorm. And for whatever reason, my grandmother decided to wake my mother up, take her out of her bed, and bring her downstairs. Some, some crazy hunch that she had. The ceilings collapsed, like right above the bed where my mom was sleeping. So like pieces of, you know, it wasn't a lot, it was just chunks of plaster, but like, you know, three or four pretty significant pieces of plaster fell off of the ceiling. It was... Rain came through it, the whole deal, like the ceiling gave out. Somehow or another she had this idea in her head, and it could be because she knew that the ceiling was fucked up and she knew it was raining hard, it was probably gonna give in anyway, or she might've had intuition. My fa- everyone was always convinced it was intuition. Everyone was always convinced like she was just a little bit psychic. It was always weird. (laughs) It was always weird around there.

Joe Rogan 25:38 Well, because she-

Joey Diaz 25:39 She had a monkey. Did I tell you about her monkey?

Joe Rogan 25:40 No.

Joey Diaz 25:41 She had a monkey, Chi Chi.

Joe Rogan 25:41 In New Jersey?

Joey Diaz 25:42 Yes. In Newark, New Jersey, she had a monkey named Chi Chi. And Chi Chi would bite everybody but my grandma. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 25:48 (laughs)

25:50 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 25:50 This... My grandfather made her keep the monkey in the attic. Yo, my grandma was crazy. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 25:56 (laughs)

25:58 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 25:58 She had a monkey, it would open up packages of gum and chew gum.

Joe Rogan 26:00 Do you know how or where the fuck she got it from?

26:03 Jesus Christ.

Joey Diaz 26:03 She bought it. She bought a monkey. Yo, I'm telling you, my grandma was crazy.

Joe Rogan 26:06 Listen, Italian people had butches in those days, and they'd get you anything.

Joey Diaz 26:10 (laughs) She-

Joe Rogan 26:10 Alligator, pigeon.

Joey Diaz 26:12 She kept a monkey in the house, man. Do you understand how crazy that is?

Joe Rogan 26:15 Do you remember the monkey?

Joey Diaz 26:16 I had a monkey. Yes! Chi Chi, the monkey's name was Chi Chi.

Joe Rogan 26:18 Did he bite you?

Joey Diaz 26:19 No, he never bit me, but he bit my sister. He bit my sister. Yeah, Chi Chi would fuck you up. I think he bit my sister. I think he tried to bite my sister. I think it was one of those things. Think he might've bit my cousin. (laughs) Someone in our family got bit.

Joe Rogan 26:35 What, what, where was she from though?

Joey Diaz 26:36 That fucker... I never touched him. I couldn't even get close.

Joe Rogan 26:38 Was that the Irish side or the Italian side?

Joey Diaz 26:40 No, the Italian side.

Joe Rogan 26:40 Yeah, them nuts, dog.

Joey Diaz 26:41 She was crazy.

Joe Rogan 26:42 And once you give... No disrespect.

Joey Diaz 26:44 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 26:44 But once you give those lunatics that option-

Joey Diaz 26:47 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 26:47 ... that they do have intuition, you're done.

Joey Diaz 26:50 (laughs) Yes.

Joe Rogan 26:50 You're fucking done. They start giving you the fish eyes.

Joey Diaz 26:54 Dude.

Joe Rogan 26:54 Don't do shit.

Joey Diaz 26:55 I-

Joe Rogan 26:55 You gotta listen to them.

Joey Diaz 26:56 Her cooking was from another planet. It was from another planet. It was like pure immigrant cooking, like the pasta, the lasagna. You'd just sit there and go, "Holy shit, just perfect. Just knew exactly what's supposed to be in there." She'd bake her own, like, uh, she would make her own m- m- m- macaroni, she'd make her own ravioli, she would stuff her own ravioli. She'd be out there rolling and flattening out flour and shit. Throwing the flour on top of it, flattening it out. She was a wizard.

Joe Rogan 27:31 Dog, you should get a monkey, call it Chi Chi.

Joey Diaz 27:33 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 27:33 You just gotta respect the little monkey and keep it here, dog, out of respect for grandma.

Joey Diaz 27:37 My grandma was a special lady. She was powerful.

Joe Rogan 27:39 Yeah, once you give those... Like I... Listen, when I was a kid, man, I went to my buddy's judo school. I didn't join, I just went down there to see what it was like. And it was hidden in Union City. It was on 7th Street. But I knew that my stepdad played cards on 9th Street on Wednesdays.

Joey Diaz 27:57 Wow.

Joe Rogan 27:58 Okay? I knew my stepdad played cards down there. They played baccarat, okay? And they'd gamble in this little club. And I had to be maybe 10, but because I grew up how I grew up, when, with the numbers, I always had my eyes out as a kid. When I went to judo that night at the end, I got on the bus to go back and I noticed unmarked police cars. And I went home that night, and look, bro, you know me, dog, Get Christie Love used to be a show on ABC about a Black chick that knew martial arts that tried to capitalize on it with her sister. And she was good-looking with an Afro and she was a cop, and she'd come in and do karate moves. So on Wednesday nights at nine or ten o'clock, you caught me at home watching Get Christie Love. And I'll never forget that my stepdad was leaving that night, and for some reason, I go, "Are you gonna play baccarat tonight?" And he looked at me, he was getting dressed, a suit on. He had like the Billy Bat suit on and shit.

Joey Diaz 28:51 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 28:51 Like, you're gonna play cards with five men. Why are you getting dressed to the nines?

Joey Diaz 28:56 Right.

Joe Rogan 28:56 And I said to him, I said, "Hey, man, today I went down there to go to Martin's judo school and I saw a bunch of unmarked cars down there. If I was you, I wouldn't go out to that." And he fucking just looked at me. He said, "I love you," and he walked down the stairs. He got in the car, started it, opened the garage, bro, and 10 minutes later I heard the car turn off. And the garage closed and he came up and he goes, "I think you're right." And he made sundaes for me and him. And the next morning, that card place had got raided. So now, they would listen to me when I was in town.

Joey Diaz 29:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 29:29 (laughs)

29:29 I had these fucking morons under my spell, right?

29:33 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 29:34 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 29:34 But you want me to tell you what else I did, Joe Rogan?

Joey Diaz 29:36 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 29:36 Like, this is me and... Like, me and my stepdad had this weird relation. I got to an age where I wanted my mother for myself. You know what the feeling is, Joe Rogan.

Joey Diaz 29:45 Right.

Joe Rogan 29:45 We've all gone through it when you lose a dad and your mom remarries. There comes a, a day that he's not gonna tell you what's going on anymore, and, "You know what? I just want you to know that I, I'm, I'm the motherfucker that runs this joint. You might be sleeping with my mom, but I run this motherfucker." So once I gave him that advice, like it really... For a while there, him and I would go on a float. I kept stealing his coins from his San-

Joey Diaz 30:10 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 30:10 He had this San Lazzaro thing, and that was everything to him. So he had this big bottle of like Scotch that was empty and he would put silver dollars in there and I would steal them.

Joey Diaz 30:21 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 30:21 And from time to time, (laughs) he would come home and go, "That bottle's looking light. Somebody's stealing my..." I k- I destroyed-

Joey Diaz 30:28 Oh.

Joe Rogan 30:28 ... his mind for years.

Joey Diaz 30:29 (sobs)

Joe Rogan 30:29 Because he was a very particular man.So, he had different bundles of money. I gotta tell you something, I respect him today because I saw him get out of the joint and I saw what he did with bookmaking, and how he became partners on a butcher shop.

Joey Diaz 30:44 Oh, he started businesses?

Joe Rogan 30:45 He started different businesses. So, uh, after I saved his... that night with the Baccarat, he would listen to me. And then one day, I went and I be- I signed up for bitty basketball in Union City, and they used to give... You know like now if you sign your kid up, you gotta pay $80 and-

Joey Diaz 31:01 Right.

Joe Rogan 31:01 In those days, you just show up with an address.

Joey Diaz 31:04 Right.

Joe Rogan 31:04 And they gave you a T-shirt, they put you on the team, and they gave me a number. And it said like Union City Department of Recreation, and it was a purple shirt. My number was 57. I walked in the house and he goes, "What do you got there?" And I go, "Oh, I joined the basketball thing." And he goes, "What number is it?" He goes, "57." Cubans, again, are very superstitious. 57. He goes, "Put a number on that." And he picked up the phone, and I go, "Five." He called some guy and he goes, "Give me 557 for $10." Guess what happened, Joe Rogan?

Joey Diaz 31:34 What happened?

Joe Rogan 31:34 The number came up.

Joey Diaz 31:35 Ooh.

Joe Rogan 31:36 Now, I really had him under my spell, right?

Joey Diaz 31:38 Get the fuck outta here.

Joe Rogan 31:39 Listen, I had this motherfucker at the age of 12-

Joey Diaz 31:42 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:42 ... so he would listen to me and shit. (laughs)

Joey Diaz 31:45 How old was the guy?

Joe Rogan 31:47 My stepfather Juan at the time was 47.

Joey Diaz 31:51 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 31:51 Did not drink.

Joey Diaz 31:51 Can you imagine?

Joe Rogan 31:52 Did not drink, did not do drugs, carried a straight razor, Joe Rogan.

Joey Diaz 31:56 A straight razor to cut people with?

Joe Rogan 31:57 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 31:58 Ooh.

Joe Rogan 31:58 And a sci- he used to cut... he used to wear carpenter pants with the straight razor. At this di- at this point-

Joey Diaz 32:03 Jesus.

Joe Rogan 32:03 ... the guy had money. He would have a gold chain. He'd wear a Chinese T-shirt, which a lot of people do not know what it is. Tha- that's what real pimps wear. They're silk, handmade shirts from China that you wear, and they have three little buttons. But when you're a real motherfucking spic, you cut those buttons and you get your initials, and you put them in gold with diamonds in it. That's how spics ran in those days.

Joey Diaz 32:26 Whoa.

Joe Rogan 32:29 (coughs) And, uh, once I had him there, Joe Rogan, I had him. He trusted me. He trusted my eyes. So one night we're in Union City and I fucking went somewhere, and on the walk back, there's a place called Pastore Music and it was next to the New Moon Chinese restaurant, and I saw a bunch of unmarked cars. And I'll never forget that I went back to the bar and then he go... and I told him, I said, "Dog, I saw three unmar-" Like, I had him.

Joey Diaz 32:54 Right.

Joe Rogan 32:54 And I go, "I seen, I seen three unmarked cars up the corner." He was very always scared of the phone. Even though he was a bookmaker, he never used the phone, Joe Rogan. Never used the phone, and he would never have a conversation close to a phone.

Joey Diaz 33:09 Wow.

Joe Rogan 33:09 This is because he always felt... He did not like phones. He did everything like a pigeon. His-

Joey Diaz 33:14 Wow.

Joe Rogan 33:15 He would write the numbers on a little piece of paper, real small, and fold them up and put them in his hat. And if he ever saw cops, he would just eat the piece of fucking paper. (laughs)

Joey Diaz 33:25 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:25 He didn't give a fuck. He always had the-

Joey Diaz 33:28 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:28 ... piece of paper somewhere close.

Joey Diaz 33:30 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 33:30 Sometimes he would put it in his ring. This motherfucker was a savage, dog.

Joey Diaz 33:33 Oh, my God.

Joe Rogan 33:35 So, that night the cops were gonna jump on us on the bar, but it was for a drug thing. It wasn't for him. But when I went back, I told him, "Listen, the cops are up the corner." And me and him, he grabbed me by the hand, and him and I walked from 29th and Bergenline to 58th and Bergenline down to Hudson, telling different bar owners that there was gonna be a raid. Like, that's how untrustworthy he was of phones.

Joey Diaz 33:59 Wow.

Joe Rogan 33:59 And by the time we got back to the bar, we got raided. And there was a dude in there, his name was Monina, right? Monina is those, uh, those crazy Cubans that are Abakuá. Monina means good man, like you're my bro.

Joey Diaz 34:14 Abakuá?

Joe Rogan 34:14 Yeah, they're Abakuá. They're the ones that-

Joey Diaz 34:16 What does that mean?

Joe Rogan 34:16 They don't eat pussy and-

Joey Diaz 34:17 Oh.

Joe Rogan 34:18 (laughs) They don't eat pussy and they fucking... You can't fuck around with animals because of Saint Lazarus and all that shit.

Joey Diaz 34:24 Oh, they have a very specific religion?

Joe Rogan 34:25 Yeah, they have. They're men-... It's a manhood. They were longshoremen in Cuba.

Joey Diaz 34:29 Wow.

Joe Rogan 34:30 And they maintain order.

Joey Diaz 34:32 Really?

Joe Rogan 34:32 So, if you fuck up, they come over and fuck you up. (laughs) They were... But, m-... He had a wig. I'll never forget this. The guy Monina had a wig and the cops were there, and they threw him... And I'm like 12, dog. I'm up against the wall.

Joey Diaz 34:44 Right.

Joe Rogan 34:44 They're searching me through, they're searching my stepdad. They got my mom, and they went to Monina and they searched him. And the cop looked at his wig and he goes, (snaps fingers) "Check the wig." And they pulled the wig off and he had a little aluminum foil with cocaine-

Joey Diaz 34:56 (laughs) This is-

Joe Rogan 34:59 ... stuck straight to his head. (laughs)

Joey Diaz 35:01 (laughs) Oh. Oh.

Joe Rogan 35:02 Oh, my God, Joe Rogan.

Joey Diaz 35:03 Oh, my God. That's hilarious.

Joe Rogan 35:04 That whole bookmaking numbers world is fucking nuts that I grew up in. I love it still. I love it. I wonder what it's like now there's no business in it.

Joey Diaz 35:13 Well, it's unfortunate because you think about how many bets are placed.

Joe Rogan 35:17 Oh, Jesus Christ.

Joey Diaz 35:18 I mean-

Joe Rogan 35:19 There's so much money out there.

Joey Diaz 35:20 There's so much money out there. People love to gamble. Fucking games, when games are on, people love to gamble.

Joe Rogan 35:27 What do you think is spent this weekend, Jamie? Gi-... Come on, Jamie, you-

Joey Diaz 35:30 But here's my question, Joey. Like, why is that a problem? Like, what, what... what i- what's helping us by letting them regulate that shit? Like, why? Why does that ha- why do you have to have a license to gamble? Why?

Joe Rogan 35:43 (sighs) .

Joey Diaz 35:43 You know, if you think someone's not paying their taxes and you can prove it, is it because it's money, it's cash that's being thrown around mostly? Like what... why is it an issue? The government's go-... not getting their piece?

Joe Rogan 35:55 (sighs) .

Joey Diaz 35:57 It seems ridiculous that grown adults could tell other grown adults they can't gamble, but you can here, but you can't there.

Joe Rogan 36:03 Well, gambling is one of those things-

Joey Diaz 36:05 (sighs) .

Joe Rogan 36:05 ... like legalization of marijuana, like legalization of fucking, uh, cocaine.

Joey Diaz 36:10 It's-

Joe Rogan 36:10 Like legalization of anything, bro. You know what? There's gonna be fucking winners and there's gonna be fucking losers, my friends.

Joey Diaz 36:17 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 36:17 Two years ago, Connecticut did a, did an expose on 60 Minutes about women who have just lost their fucking minds gambling-

Joey Diaz 36:27 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:27 ... at Mohegan Sun-

Joey Diaz 36:29 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 36:29 ... because they installed... No, no disrespect to Mohegan Sun, the casino industries. They installed these type of slot machines that could just fuck with your mind.

Joey Diaz 36:40 What?

Joe Rogan 36:40 So, these women were going down there and losing fucking mortgages, houses, you know? I-

Joey Diaz 36:47 Sounds like a John Waters movie.

Joe Rogan 36:49 D- dog-

Joey Diaz 36:49 Doesn't it?

Joe Rogan 36:50 Dog, it was just something that... Listen, the biggest-

Joey Diaz 36:53 But that's crazy. They-

Joe Rogan 36:53 Listen, listen. Let, let's get, let's get something outta the way here.

Joey Diaz 36:56 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 36:56 The biggest, uh, percentage of degenerate gamblers are usually women.

Joey Diaz 37:01 Really?

Joe Rogan 37:01 Let's look this fucking percentage up here.

Joey Diaz 37:03 Wow.

Joe Rogan 37:03 Women go fucking deep.

Joey Diaz 37:05 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 37:06 It's a fucking hole. They don't give a fuck about nothing. They, they fucking play cards. Women fucking bang it out.

Joey Diaz 37:14 Wow.

Joe Rogan 37:15 And they bang it out while you're at work, Joe Rogan, while I'm at work. They start with a horse, then they go to this ... You know, those little tours they do in, in Jersey. What do you think they ... You know, when Atlantic City was Atlantic City, you went to Union City, right? You paid $15 to get on a bus. They gave you a coupon book, and when you get to Atlantic City, they give you $15 in quarters back. So, they're basically driving you to fucking gamble and drive back.

Joey Diaz 37:41 Wow.

Joe Rogan 37:42 I believe in gambling. I believe in making a living. I believe that it's an itch, it's an illness, whatever. But when you're losing your house, there's got ... That's where I want to know where ... That's where it bothers me.

Joey Diaz 37:56 Right.

Joe Rogan 37:56 It's just like cocaine. It's just like, um, drug abuse. It's just like the opiate problem. It's just like any fucking thing else. It can fucking ... You and I both know people who have lost their fucking lives gambling, okay? You've seen people in pool halls. You see how they get, Joe Rogan.

Joey Diaz 38:13 Man.

Joe Rogan 38:13 There's no difference in the drug addict and the gambling addict, not at all.

Joey Diaz 38:17 No difference?

Joe Rogan 38:17 No difference.

Joey Diaz 38:19 They're ... It's just as scary, too, because they're conscious. It's like if you see the drug addict, you see him, he's shooting up or whatever it is, and you see him fainting. You go, "Oh, that poor bastard." But when you see a guy who's fully in the grips of gambling, trying to figure out how to make, get his money back, and he's all jazzed up with adrenaline, he doesn't understand why.

Joe Rogan 38:37 See, there's gamblers like Michael Jordan, then there's gamblers like Joey Diaz. There's gamblers who have the means to gamble, and that is a fucking killer also.

Joey Diaz 38:46 Like a Michael Jordan.

Joe Rogan 38:47 Like a Michael Jordan.

Joey Diaz 38:48 Right.

Joe Rogan 38:48 And I'm not saying nothing bad about Michael Jordan.

Joey Diaz 38:50 He loves to gamble.

Joe Rogan 38:50 These are just accusations that you hear, that he even bets on his own one-on-one basketball games.

Joey Diaz 38:56 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 38:56 Like, he was very, uh, he was very, uh, competitive.

Joey Diaz 39:00 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:00 But now, how Joey Diaz was doing it, not how people-

Joey Diaz 39:04 (gasps) Charles Barkley lost nearly $30 million gambling, it says.

Joe Rogan 39:08 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 39:09 (gasps) Jesus, Charles.

Joe Rogan 39:11 Uh, uh, Joey D-

Joey Diaz 39:12 Damn. How much money is Charles Barkley asking?

Joe Rogan 39:14 How many, how many people did you grow up with that were like Joey Diaz, that did not have the means, that were 19 years old-

Joey Diaz 39:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 39:22 ... okay? And one night, they put a 10-time bet in on a fucking Knick game and they won $50. When you're 19, $50 is a lot of fucking money.

Joey Diaz 39:29 That's a lot of fucking money.

Joe Rogan 39:30 So, now you think you got the world by the ball. So, you do it again on Friday, Saturday. And now you enter this world, Joe Rogan, that gets dark. It's, it's, uh ... Instead of the, uh, drug addiction or the alcohol addiction, every morning you wake up like, "Is today my lucky day?" It's like the people who go to the 7-Eleven every day and you're trying to just get a pack of rolling papers. You- you're just in a rush. You just left jiu-jitsu, you just want rolling papers and water. And there's a guy in front of you, and he's telling, "You give me three 68s, four 64s." And this poor fucking whatever gives him 20 lottery tickets, and it's $118. This is what this guy's doing every day, seven fucking days a week, my friend. And he bite ... He might be winning $200 a fucking week, but every week, he's getting deeper and deeper into a fucking hole. Because in your mind, you think your- today's your lucky day, and it's never your lucky ... I was in that hole when I was 19, dog, and I saw a friend lose $80,000 when you're 18 years old, and he had to get three jobs. And I never really fucked with that again. I learned that addiction, that shit left my world early. You know who's a degenerate loser gambler?

Joey Diaz 40:41 Who?

Joe Rogan 40:41 John Gotti.

Joey Diaz 40:42 (gasps)

Joe Rogan 40:43 He won it because they brag.

Joey Diaz 40:45 Right.

Joe Rogan 40:46 That's their conversation.

Joey Diaz 40:47 How much they made, how much they lost.

Joe Rogan 40:48 "Dude, you have no fuck ... Get away from me. You have no fucking idea. If I had fucking Michigan and the hook, I would've made $30,000." They lose $80,000, $90,000, $200,000 a weekend.

Joey Diaz 41:01 (exhales) .

Joe Rogan 41:02 The, the system is designed to bury the degenerate gambler. Like, from, from August 15th-

Joey Diaz 41:11 Look at this. Uh, "John Gotti's secret obsession that waged 600 bets in Scrabble and a $3,000 monopoly buy-in."

Joe Rogan 41:22 You have no idea, guys. The degenerates are-

Joey Diaz 41:25 That's why I gamble and everything.

Joe Rogan 41:25 For like eight ... For like seven months, I played this fucking ugly game, Joe, that I would start. I knew the action. I knew that you had to bet on Monday nights and try to win. And you know what? I lost every week. And all these people who sell you information? Listen, Arch Litza played the fucking game and lost. Pete Rose bet and lost. Even Michael Jordan bet and lost.

Joey Diaz 41:49 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 41:50 There's rumors that that's why he was asked to play baseball for a few years, because it was a cover-up. Again, I did not write this. This is just things I hear on the road. Everybody has a fucking ... But bro, gambling grabs you fucking weird, bro.

Joey Diaz 42:05 Weird.

Joe Rogan 42:06 And it grabbed me for a long time. I kept thinking that was the day, and I kept betting 40 times.

Joey Diaz 42:11 What's up, Jamie?

Joe Rogan 42:14 If they had a problem playing Scrabble, they would call up the Parker Brothers hotline like mobsters would to dispute the rules and have them explain to them what was going on.

42:21 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 42:23 (laughs)

42:23 What's the fucking rule?

Joe Rogan 42:26 Lamenia is a word. Stamenia is a word, Joe. Stamenia is not a word. Stamenia is a word. Wiki- wiki- wiki dude, he told me. I saw ... Stamenia. That's why they would get into arguments about garbage man-

Joey Diaz 42:42 Spelling and shit, what's a real word.

Joe Rogan 42:43 Yeah, garbage man, cafe, you know, uh ...

Joey Diaz 42:48 Oh, my God.

Joe Rogan 42:48 Bro, no, gambling is a fucking nightmare. And once you get caught in the web, and you ... And Joe Rogan shuts me down, then I start putting bets with Jamie.... and then pretty soon I start fucking dipping into accounts. And pretty soon, now you're done. Now you get forced into a bad hand.

Joey Diaz 43:08 I told you that I was a backer on the road for a while with my friend, Johnny B. When I started making money doing standup, I'd put together a little bankroll and me and him would go places and gamble. And, uh, he would win or lose. You know, sometimes he'd win, sometimes he'd lose, but it was just, uh, being in action. It was fun. You know, that kind of gambling. Like I was never good enough to like play those guys, but I could play like people that were like my level and you'd bet like $20 or maybe if you want to get crazy you'd bet like $50. I never bet like a lot of money gambling on pool, but it makes you think more. It makes you play like way more serious. It's good for your game. And if you can have a friendly sparring partner that you play like friendly games, like maybe a- a race to seven for $20. So it's cost you probably in any city pool halls. I don't know what the rate is per hour, but they got to be like at least $20 an hour.

Joe Rogan 44:00 All right. Once and for all-

Joey Diaz 44:01 (clears throat)

Joe Rogan 44:01 ... once and for all, I want you to break it down for me. (sighs) I walk into a pool hall with Jamie.

Joey Diaz 44:09 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 44:09 I got 10Gs cash in my pocket. Jamie's my main man. How do I exactly make money? And why is it that the people in the room pass money around and how does that money get dispersed?

Joey Diaz 44:22 Oh, it's real simple. Everybody puts ... Like you put in, I'm in for 100-

Joe Rogan 44:26 Jamie's my boy.

Joey Diaz 44:27 ... 20 matches. It depends (snaps fingers) on who's putting it together because they might decide to just pool in all their money, like everybody put in on one side, pool in money and, you know, and- and back this guy. Or they might be betting on the side, they might not even be playing the game. There's always side bets. Side bets are probably more, like if you had a bet, if you had a, like a big pool game, right? In a ... There used to be a place called, uh, what- what is it? West End Billiards, I think, in New Jersey. West End. I think it was called w- ... See if you find West End Billiards. It was a world-famous pool hall. We would take the drive from, um, from New York to go down to New Jersey to this famous pool hall that would have these like serious high-level professionals play there. And real high-level hustlers from all over the country would go there for big money games. You could go there and watch people play for $5,000, $10,000. I mean, the best in the world would be there all the time. I got to play against some of the best in the world. They killed me, but I got to play againem- against them.

Joe Rogan 45:28 Like real good guys, now-

Joey Diaz 45:30 I just enter the tournament.

Joe Rogan 45:31 Okay. Okay, okay.

Joey Diaz 45:31 Say if you and I- if you and I are in the tournament and you are, uh, Efren Reyes, like the greatest of all time, or Earl Strickland or Johnny Archer, and I'm just Joe Rogan. I- I barely could play. It doesn't matter. I put my money up, I enter the tournament, I can play against you.

Joe Rogan 45:46 No.

Joey Diaz 45:46 Unless it's a huge, huge like where you have to get invited.

Joe Rogan 45:49 So now does Joey Diaz come on the side and go, "Listen, I'm putting 3:1 odds on this."

Joey Diaz 45:53 Sure, some people definitely do.

Joe Rogan 45:55 Okay. So that's-

Joey Diaz 45:55 Definitely do.

Joe Rogan 45:55 ... a side... That's a side bet.

Joey Diaz 45:57 Yes.

Joe Rogan 45:57 Okay.

Joey Diaz 45:57 Side bets all over the place.

Joe Rogan 45:58 I don't know how the pool hall-

Joey Diaz 45:59 "I got 100 bucks on Archer." You know, "Oh, you'd never seen this Diaz kid play. I got 100 on Diaz." And d- dudes will go, "I'll take that, I'll take that." And then you just work it out. And everybody works it out. But when ... Sometimes guys will get together and back somebody too. Like say if the- you got like a friend that's a really good player and this guy's coming in from out of town and he wants to take a crack at him. And go, well, he wants to play $100 sets. Okay, and then you have to think, how many barrels do we have? You pool all your money together. Okay, we got four barrels. That means if he wants to play sets, we can lose four times. So you have to be able to lose a couple, gain a couple. Like if you're gonna really play a guy out, these guys would play 10, 12 hours. They would keep going back and forth and back and forth. It's- it's a- it's crazy. Like I've seen guys and you would see them the next day, they'd still be playing. You'd go there in the morning, they'd be playing all through the night. I don't know what the fuck they were on. Most likely some sort of amphetamines. That was a big thing in the pool world for a while. Guys would just break each other with gambling. It would just ... It would be about who quits. It wouldn't be about who won. It's very rarely about like-

Joe Rogan 47:00 And like-

Joey Diaz 47:00 ... you know, like you would- you would be- you would be frowned upon highly if you left on top. Say if you're ahead by $500 and you want to quit me and I- you ... And I'm still ready- ready to keep playing, I still got more money, man. Let me win my money back. If you just walked away, "Nope, I've got what I wanted. I'm going to leave now." Like that would be ... You'd- you'd be what's called bad action.

Joe Rogan 47:22 What about guys, "I got two kids, I got to get up at 7:00 and go bring them to school."

Joey Diaz 47:25 Shouldn't be out in the pool hall, motherfucker. With two kids you're not playing that kind of pool. There ain't nobody with two kids playing that level pool in pool halls, like gambling and hustling.

Joe Rogan 47:32 Because a pool hall-

Joey Diaz 47:33 Maybe now there are. There's actually a few guys. I take that back. There's a few guys with kids that, uh, are top of the food chain.

Joe Rogan 47:39 There's a pool hall a mile from my house, whenever I get ... Whenever I go into Hollywood now, I can't do Laurel Canyon no more, so I got to go the long way.

Joey Diaz 47:46 (clears throat)

Joe Rogan 47:47 And I get off on Victory just to see it fucking always filled with degenerates. (smacks lips) I'm petrified to pull in there. There were some-

Joey Diaz 47:54 Those places were home to me. (clears throat)

Joe Rogan 47:56 You know which one I'm talking about, right? Next to the strip club.

Joey Diaz 47:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 47:59 Is that a good one?

Joey Diaz 48:00 Is that s- is that on, um-

Joe Rogan 48:00 Victory.

Joey Diaz 48:01 ... Victory?

Joe Rogan 48:01 Right when you exit there. There's a strip club right next to a pool hall.

Joey Diaz 48:05 Well, I know the only good one in this area... Well, I shouldn't say the only good one. The only good one I know of is House of Billiards in Sherman Oaks, like this area.

Joe Rogan 48:13 Have you- have you been in this-

Joey Diaz 48:14 That place is great.

Joe Rogan 48:14 You've been on the 101. Have you seen what that place, uh, is? The one you took me there a couple times to eat. We did comedy there. Remember Hollywood Billiards? You took me there-

Joey Diaz 48:24 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:24 ... on Hollywood Boulevard?

Joey Diaz 48:25 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 48:26 It's fucking building.

Joey Diaz 48:28 What is it now?

Joe Rogan 48:29 Go there next time.

Joey Diaz 48:30 What does it look like?

Joe Rogan 48:31 I don't... Joe, next time I- I drove by and I was like, "Oh my God, that used to be..."

Joey Diaz 48:36 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 48:36 We did comedy there.

Joey Diaz 48:37 Dude, we did comedy there.

Joe Rogan 48:38 Joe took me there to eat there with Ari a couple times.

Joey Diaz 48:40 We played pool there a bunch of times.

Joe Rogan 48:42 A bunch of times.

Joey Diaz 48:42 A bunch of times. That place was great.

Joe Rogan 48:44 It's fucking done. That whole area-

Joey Diaz 48:46 Ah, that sucks.

Joe Rogan 48:46 ... is completely different.

Joey Diaz 48:47 That's where I met Crazy Max Eberle.

Joe Rogan 48:50 Really?

Joey Diaz 48:51 That's ... Yeah, that- that dude can play some fucking pool.

Joe Rogan 48:53 Whoo. So when you play Max Eberle-

Joey Diaz 48:55 (clears throat)

Joe Rogan 48:55 ... how much do I have to put up, guys? Do I put up 101?

Joey Diaz 48:57 Yeah, I would get tortured. You would have to bet like that I would go to ... You're never gonna bet on me-... like a guy like Max Eberle, he's top of the food chain as far as his technique and delivery. (coughs) He could win a world championship tournament, like legitimately. He's that good. I have no chance. (laughs) Like if, if we play 12 games, I might win a couple. I might get lucky and win a few. Maybe I'll win four. He's gonna win way more. He's gonna get to 12 for sure, quicker. It'd be a terrible bet. The bet would be how many games do I get to. That would be the bet. If you say, uh, "You'll never get past three." 'Cause a guy like Max Eberle can run 10 racks in a row, and I'm not exaggerating. I've seen him do it. Blam! Breaks, runs 10 racks in a row, but to the point where you're sitting there... He did it in Vegas. We were all hanging out. Uh, I think it was... Man, was it Ari? (smacks lips) I forget who came with me. I forget who-

Joe Rogan 49:47 I thought you had- you guys were going to the Italian place?

Joey Diaz 49:49 Yes. That place is amazing and-

Joe Rogan 49:51 It's done. It's done, right?

Joey Diaz 49:51 ... that's where exactly where Max- Max was playing. He, he would break and run out on guys and they would just get frustrated. They'd be like, "What the fuck, man?" They just ge- didn't get to shoot. We watched him. He was gambling some guy and when the, uh, set was over, the guy was just pissed off 'cause Max just wouldn't miss. It was crazy, just watching. (coughs) He's playing a guy that really just wanted to take a chance and play like a top of the food chain guy and he gambled with him. But just watching the difference between a kid who can play a little pool, who's pretty good, versus a world championship caliber pool player. They're so precise. Like his technique is so clean and his angles are perfect and he's just effor- effortlessly moving the cue ball on the table to where he wants it. He sees clusters and problems way in advance and breaks them up. It's so high level. That's my boy. That's Max Eberle. He taught me how to play pool. Uh, not that I didn't already play it before h- I met him, but he taught me how to play it way better, way better. He made my game, um, way more, uh, technical. He was explaining things that I was just guessing before, and he was explaining what was wrong with my approach and like what was the, what's- what's a better way to do it. He's a wizard when it comes to technique.

Joe Rogan 51:04 Now, he can make a living going from pool hall to pool hall or no way 'cause he's that good?

Joey Diaz 51:08 Well, he's an artist too, fortunately for Max. He, uh, he makes pretty cool artwork like, um, a lot... You've seen, some of it is probably on his Instagram page.

Joe Rogan 51:16 I thought he did pool cues or something.

Joey Diaz 51:17 No, no, no. No, Max-

Joe Rogan 51:18 Who's that friend that does pool cues? Who does pool cues? Somebody along the way I h- said he makes like fucking eight G pool cues-

Joey Diaz 51:26 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 51:26 ... ivory.

Joey Diaz 51:27 Eric Crisp. That's my boy Eric from Sugartree.

Joe Rogan 51:30 There you go. Somewhere, somebody.

Joey Diaz 51:32 That's what I play with. I play with his cue. His cue is, uh, he's a wizard, man. He's a guy who's like really into like the grains of woods. He's really into like patterns and he thinks of w- like to him, wood is like mesmerizing. He finds like the most beautiful pieces of wood and com- combines them together, and they have to have a certain harmonic frequency. Like he drops them on a cef- cement floor just like dink, dink. Like he wants to hear a certain sound from the wood, otherwise he won't use it. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 52:01 (laughs)

Joey Diaz 52:01 He's like finding logs on the side of the highway and shit and recognizing some weird hardwood that no one's ever used before and he cuts it up and makes a cue out of it. He's a wizard. Like his cues are fr- and he- he doesn't give a fuck. He makes as many as he wants. He will... You know? Sometimes he don't make them for a while. Makes them for his friends. Won't let me pay for one. I have to, I have to pay for everything just to not feel terrible. He's like the nicest guy ever. Plays some fucking pool too.

Joe Rogan 52:30 So I don't even know when this podcast started and-

Joey Diaz 52:33 It's on.

Joe Rogan 52:33 ... when it begins.

Joey Diaz 52:34 It's happening.

Joe Rogan 52:34 But it's funny, before we started, we were talking about, uh, yeah, 4.8 billion-

Joey Diaz 52:39 Oh my god.

Joe Rogan 52:39 ... for the Super Bowl.

52:41 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 52:41 3% will happen in Nevada.

Joe Rogan 52:42 That's it.

Joey Diaz 52:43 Only 3%. So is most of it online?

Joe Rogan 52:46 Online...

Joey Diaz 52:46 What was that Chris Christie thing you pulled up earlier, Jamey?

Joe Rogan 52:48 Listen, G, online and banks.

Joey Diaz 52:51 Banks.

Joe Rogan 52:52 There's still people who are like, uh, you know, they have, they got a ton of loot.

Joey Diaz 52:57 Chris Christie goes to the Supreme Court on sports betting. Is he trying to get sports betting legalized?

Joe Rogan 53:02 Yeah, so they- they passed something in New Jersey I think in 2011 to allow betting in sports, but it's still only allowed in Vegas because of the, whatever law there is, you know?

Joey Diaz 53:10 I'm back on your team, Crisp.

Joe Rogan 53:12 Yeah.

Joey Diaz 53:12 All right?

Joe Rogan 53:12 So he has a Supreme Court case going.

Joey Diaz 53:13 He might have a few problems, but we all do. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 53:15 There's 17 states also with him on this. I think they wanna do it and they're just-

53:18 No, they want it... So he won? He opposed it? Or he's got-

53:22 They want it again. They want betting again because they have an NHL team in Vegas, and that's always been like the, the logic is that you, there'll be some issue, whatever. You can't be betting where there's sports being played-

53:30 Right.

53:30 ... because someone will throw the game.

Joey Diaz 53:32 Everybody should be able to bet, every city. She'll do whatever you want. You're a-

Joe Rogan 53:35 As long as they tax you-

Joey Diaz 53:37 ... you're an adult.

Joe Rogan 53:38 ... you're a... What the fuck are you gonna do, man?

Joey Diaz 53:39 Exactly, you're an adult.

Joe Rogan 53:39 What the fuck you gonna do?

Joey Diaz 53:40 And these games though that you... I'm fascinated by these games you see are hypnotizing ladies into going crazy and losing all their, their money.

Joe Rogan 53:46 There was a ga- uh, 60 Minutes did a whole show about it.

Joey Diaz 53:49 Did a whole piece on it?

Joe Rogan 53:51 A whole piece on these games that are like laser-ish.

Joey Diaz 53:53 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 53:54 You know, and people were actually... But the percentage was higher amongst women because of its, uh ... (imitates video game sounds)

Joey Diaz 54:03 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 54:03 So, so let me explain something to you.

Joey Diaz 54:05 Because of its (imitates video game sounds) .

Joe Rogan 54:06 You know, it's just, uh, it's like video games-

Joey Diaz 54:09 Right.

Joe Rogan 54:09 ... only gambling. It's very fucking, uh...

Joey Diaz 54:13 So addictive like a video game-

Joe Rogan 54:14 Yes.

Joey Diaz 54:14 But also gambling?

Joe Rogan 54:15 Very gambling.

Joey Diaz 54:16 Oh.

Joe Rogan 54:16 So that's what their beef was, to remove these type of games because I'm telling you, since I was a kid, I always... I... First off, I lived with my mother. She had a lot of problems. She had a lot of great issues, but she was a degenerate gambler on baseball. Between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets, they killed her.

Joey Diaz 54:40 Oh.

Joe Rogan 54:41 They killed her. And I saw the, the decline. I saw what it did. I saw a person watch two baseball games at the same time. Remember in those days you didn't have split screen and-

Joey Diaz 54:52 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 54:52 ... DirecTV. So if you were Puerto Rican, you took one TV and you put it on top of the other TV and you got fucking NBC and you had cable when it came with the cord.... remember when-

Joey Diaz 55:04 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 55:05 ... HBO still had the cord to the fucking thing?

Joey Diaz 55:08 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 55:08 And it was a thing with a box that you pressed and you switched three levels? In those days maybe, there was no... And they... And there was no ABA package or NBA package.

Joey Diaz 55:19 Right.

Joe Rogan 55:19 You got like one other game. So we would pray that it would be the Boston Red Sox. And she would watch both fucking games and gamble at the same time.

Joey Diaz 55:27 Whew.

Joe Rogan 55:27 Not, not even that, the numbers. If she had a dream about a goat-

Joey Diaz 55:31 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 55:32 ... bam. If she had a dream about going back to Cuba, bam.

Joey Diaz 55:35 That sounds so much like my family.

Joe Rogan 55:37 If she had a dr- if she had a dream about, um, seeing her daughter, bam, it was a number.

Joey Diaz 55:43 (laughs) That's funny.

Joe Rogan 55:43 They would call her. They would call her at a quarter to three because she had all that... All those contacts.

Joey Diaz 55:49 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 55:49 So that was that gambling. Then there was the... Then there was the track addiction, which started at, uh, Aqueduct in the afternoon. If the sun was shining, that was an excuse to go to Aqueduct for my mother. "Let me go to Aqueduct. I'll see you at 3:00 after school." And she'd be there at 3:00, but the whole time she'd be scratching because the Meadowlands started at 8:00.

Joey Diaz 56:12 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 56:12 So if she knew she could catch the Meadowlands at 8:00... So guess what happens then if you lose the 8:00 Meadowlands?

Joey Diaz 56:18 What?

Joe Rogan 56:18 You haul your ass to Yonkers with the death of death.

Joey Diaz 56:23 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 56:23 This is where you go to... Before you go to a pool hall and sell your blood, you go to Yonkers Raceway.

Joey Diaz 56:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 56:29 Do you understand me? Have you ever been to Yonkers Raceway?

Joey Diaz 56:32 I've heard of it. I know where.

Joe Rogan 56:33 Yeah. You leave there at a quarter to 1:00, where do you think you're going? You're either going to sell your soul or give your blood so you can go shoot pool because you're saving the day. You cannot go home a loser.

Joey Diaz 56:45 Right. Right.

Joe Rogan 56:45 And there's all-day gambling.

Joey Diaz 56:47 Oh my God.

Joe Rogan 56:48 So that was her thing. So I also grew up in an Italian family that the mother was... But yo, it was like a fucking act. It was like an act. She had three kids. They were tremendous kids. I knew the husband. He worked for a big corporation. They drove a nice car. They went to church. But on Saturdays, when I'd go over there, they... I would always go, "Where's your mom?" And they'd go, "Oh, mom plays cards with the, with the Rogans and the..." and this name. But once I got older one day somebody said to me, "Doug, be careful when you go over there." "Why?" "They might shoot that lady in the head." She owes like 600,000. I mean...

Joey Diaz 57:30 (gasps)

Joe Rogan 57:31 And when I was a kid, I was like 13 and somebody came to me. They said, "Be careful when you go over there because the mom's a little bit on the..."

Joey Diaz 57:37 Oh my God.

Joe Rogan 57:37 "Those card games..."

Joey Diaz 57:40 Oh.

Joe Rogan 57:40 And then as I got older-

Joey Diaz 57:41 Imagine being scared for your life from a card game. Imagine being scared for your life.

Joe Rogan 57:45 Well, it was a different game.

Joey Diaz 57:47 Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 57:47 You know, that's how they suck you in. So a lot of the people... Now, I also grew up with men degenerate gamblers.

Joey Diaz 57:52 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 57:52 But I know all the symptoms. I know the itch. This, this thing on 60 Minutes just spoke about this addiction with, uh, a computer thing with women. That was it. That was really interesting. But I know how it fucking creeps up on you.

58:09 It was on a couple years ago. It's called Slot Machines: The Big Gamble.

Joey Diaz 58:12 Oh, so it's just slot machines in general? Like they have the-

Joe Rogan 58:16 These type of slot machines.

Joey Diaz 58:16 ... these computer ones?

Joe Rogan 58:17 Yes.

Joey Diaz 58:18 They have an effect on women in, in particular? Maybe man the fuck up, ladies. How about that?

Joe Rogan 58:25 No, Doug.

Joey Diaz 58:26 Here's my take on this whole gambling thing. Like remember horse betting in New York, like you'd go to the horse... You, you'd go to-

Joe Rogan 58:31 Off-track betting.

Joey Diaz 58:32 Yeah. It was right there.

Joe Rogan 58:33 Right there.

Joey Diaz 58:33 Right there.

Joe Rogan 58:33 They, they, they made that for a reason.

Joey Diaz 58:35 Yeah. It's... I mean, they're just trying to make it legal. This is legal. Come on, this is legal.

Joe Rogan 58:39 It's not legal. It's to take a piece, Joe Rogan.

Joey Diaz 58:42 Yeah. Know what I'm saying? Yeah.

Joe Rogan 58:42 They want their piece. Have you been to a medical marijuana store recently?

Joey Diaz 58:46 No, I haven't.

Joe Rogan 58:47 Okay.

Joey Diaz 58:47 What are they like?

Joe Rogan 58:48 If it's $60, your tab is now $76.

Joey Diaz 58:52 Because of taxes?

Joe Rogan 58:53 It's $16 in taxes if you buy something for $60.

Joey Diaz 58:57 The thing about weed though is it goes so far. Think about how much like $100 worth of weed goes. You could be on the moon for three days. For three days you could be on the moon. With the proper edibles? Get $100 worth of the proper edibles? How much do you think you can handle? How many jumbos do you think you could handle?

Joe Rogan 59:19 It's after, man.

Joey Diaz 59:19 You ever have a jumbo? What do they have? Like...

Joe Rogan 59:22 Just depends on... I think 100 to 200 or something like that.

Joey Diaz 59:24 Yeah. Dude, I've fucked up and ate a half a jumbo once. My... I felt my cells. I felt all the cells in my bones. I felt like where the tendons connected on my spine. Like, it's like... You could get fucking blasted on... And it'll last you 12 hours. And then take the other half, that's another 12 hours.

Joe Rogan 59:45 Now are the taxes higher in Las Vegas, Jamie, than they are here for weed?

59:49 Oh, it's 35% here I think.

Joey Diaz 59:50 How much?

Joe Rogan 59:51 35 and a half, something, something-

59:52 And what's it in Vegas?

59:53 It's high, but it depends on if it's regular or medical.

59:55 Bro, they changed, they changed the motherfucking game, Doug.

Joey Diaz 59:57 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 59:57 Like there's no more Stars of Death.

Joey Diaz 1:00:00 That's so silly.

Joe Rogan 1:00:00 There, there's no more Hello Tushys. The TKOs? I bought the final fucking... I got a cartel.

1:00:06 Mm.

1:00:07 I'm like Pablo Escobar.

Joey Diaz 1:00:08 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:08 I got a fucking cache of... The ones I ate this morning, those Hello... The TKOs?

Joey Diaz 1:00:13 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:00:14 Yeah, you can't find them, but I got a cartel.

Joey Diaz 1:00:16 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:16 I got a leg-... I'm a... They, they've become like Cuban cigars.

Joey Diaz 1:00:19 Oh my God.

Joe Rogan 1:00:20 They're like Cuban cigars now.

Joey Diaz 1:00:22 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:22 So some people are just gonna keep going.

Joey Diaz 1:00:24 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:25 There's no more... Like I tell people, there's no more Stars, but they is stars.

Joey Diaz 1:00:29 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:29 You know, there is... But there ain't...

Joey Diaz 1:00:31 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:31 Like people are going fucking bananas now 'cause now you got...

Joey Diaz 1:00:35 Oh, yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:00:35 You gotta see the w-... Like I only go to w- two weed stores. (coughs) But I go to one that's by the book and I go to one that they just said, "You know what? We're like Stipe Miocic. We don't give a fuck." This is immigrant mentality. "We open at 6:00, we close at 10:00. We give away free bagels if you come at 6:00."

Joey Diaz 1:00:54 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:55 ... and you gotta see it. They're rocking-

Joey Diaz 1:00:56 (coughs)

Joe Rogan 1:00:56 ... and rolling.

Joey Diaz 1:00:57 Wow.

Joe Rogan 1:00:57 And they're gonna sell those 200 milligram stars-

Joey Diaz 1:01:00 (gasps)

Joe Rogan 1:01:00 ... till people go down the fucking end-

Joey Diaz 1:01:03 Wow.

Joe Rogan 1:01:03 ... or the DEA comes in and shuts 'em down. They don't give a fuck. There's two... Like, if you're on Ventura Boulevard, you gotta be really cool 'cause you're done.

Joey Diaz 1:01:11 I don't think there's anything wrong with having a limit on the number-

Joe Rogan 1:01:14 (sighs)

Joey Diaz 1:01:14 ... of milligrams if that's gonna keep it legal. It's... And that's also probably-

Joe Rogan 1:01:18 No. They just-

Joey Diaz 1:01:18 ... for the black market.

Joe Rogan 1:01:18 They just created a black market. The people that are jumping up and down.

Joey Diaz 1:01:21 They did. They created a black market.

Joe Rogan 1:01:22 That's it. You know how much it cost? You know how much it's gonna cost the stars at that dude to stay open?

Joey Diaz 1:01:27 How much?

Joe Rogan 1:01:27 A half a mil.

Joey Diaz 1:01:28 Oh, my God.

Joe Rogan 1:01:29 Because it's 70 grand just for the license, cheap money. They take that p- they take that paper upfront.

Joey Diaz 1:01:35 Ooh.

Joe Rogan 1:01:35 They're like Led Zeppelin. They're like Peter Grant in 1975.

Joey Diaz 1:01:38 But look, the economy is gonna improve and they're still gonna kill it.

Joe Rogan 1:01:40 Oh, no, no.

Joey Diaz 1:01:41 Even with all that.

Joe Rogan 1:01:42 The economy is gonna improve-

Joey Diaz 1:01:43 Economy is gonna go crazy.

Joe Rogan 1:01:43 ... but I'll tell you what, how much are they gonna take right off the top?

Joey Diaz 1:01:46 They're gonna take it.

Joe Rogan 1:01:46 'Cause they're banging.

Joey Diaz 1:01:47 Take it half.

Joe Rogan 1:01:47 They, they looked at Colorado's thing and said-

Joey Diaz 1:01:49 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:01:50 ... "Listen, we're coming in with steroids. We're coming in with THT. Forget what they're doing."

Joey Diaz 1:01:54 Mm-hmm.

Joe Rogan 1:01:54 "Listen to what we're doing. Just to set shop now, we don't care if you've been in business or not. Just to set up shop (snaps fingers) , we gotta get a piece of the action."

Joey Diaz 1:02:03 But here's the thing.

Joe Rogan 1:02:03 Okay, now listen.

Joey Diaz 1:02:03 It would be fine if they just... i- if they worked deals out with banks and made it easy and acceptable for these guys to-

Joe Rogan 1:02:10 Oh, it's gonna be acceptable now.

Joey Diaz 1:02:11 ... put the... But it's... Right. In a lot of places, it wasn't. They were dealing in cash. They hired, especially in Colorado in the early days, they had to hire a lot of, like, spec ops guy. I love saying spec ops, like I know what the fuck I'm talking about. Just sounds cool. Um, they, they would hire, like, former SEALs and shit, and then they would have to carry the w- the, uh, the money to the bank 'cause everybody knew there was, like, giant sums of cash. So it made it very dangerous. They weren't allowing them to use banks, or credit cards rather. They weren't allowing them to, you know, sell weed with credit cards, but they were selling weed and credit cards in, uh, LA medical-

Joe Rogan 1:02:46 The Ho-

Joey Diaz 1:02:46 ... in the '90s.

Joe Rogan 1:02:47 The HoT Store, when you turned me on to my license, the HoT Store at the time, which they're not there no more, that dude, at the height of it, was walking out of there every day with 25 gram by himself-

Joey Diaz 1:03:01 (chuckles)

Joe Rogan 1:03:01 ... and his wife.

Joey Diaz 1:03:02 Wow. That's dangerous.

Joe Rogan 1:03:04 He was a... But you know what? He was just dumb as fuck. When the DEA came, he had half that cash in a safe right then and there. They just swooped on it.

Joey Diaz 1:03:12 I knew a guy who got shot. He was a really nice guy, and he used to work at the Inglewood Wellness Center, and, uh, this was the early days of, um, the medical legalization. It was like ... (exhales) I wanna say it's, like, somewhere around 2- '99, somewhere, somewhere in that range, 2000, '99. And, um, he apparently was coming out with a big bag of cash and someone shot him right in the stomach (clicks tongue) .

Joe Rogan 1:03:36 They-

Joey Diaz 1:03:36 Took his, took his money.

Joe Rogan 1:03:36 They, they, they didn't take, they didn't take care of themselves.

Joey Diaz 1:03:38 Took all the cash. There was nothing they could do.

Joe Rogan 1:03:39 You gotta hire people.

Joey Diaz 1:03:40 Yeah. You gotta hire people.

Joe Rogan 1:03:41 You gotta hire people. You know, I see am- I see amateur mistakes constantly.

Joey Diaz 1:03:46 Yeah, I saw this, Jamie.

Joe Rogan 1:03:48 I see amateur mistakes constantly. For example, the store I'm talking about, he lost, he lost everything, Joe Rogan. You want me to tell you why he lost everything? He would... Any weed he got, this guy was an exotic guy himself. Like he was ahead. When you're ahead, you love when somebody brings you... So he bought as much as he could.

Joey Diaz 1:04:09 I love that expression, ahead.

Joe Rogan 1:04:11 He was ahead.

Joey Diaz 1:04:12 Nobody uses that anymore.

Joe Rogan 1:04:12 They don't use that anymore.

Joey Diaz 1:04:13 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:04:13 So what he would do is when you walked into this place, he would have 60 weeds on the wall, and he kept all his weed on the property. When the feds came, it was like stealing. He had everything there. Everything was there wide in the open. You have to have an apartment and you have to have an amou- an amount. Six ounces is all you should have of one weed. If, if Jamie comes in and he wants eight ounces, give me 10 minutes. I got a pigeon that'll bring it over here in five minutes. He's right across the street, man. I got a little apartment with some stash there. You have a couple safes. You have to... If, if the cops ain't gonna let you deposit it, you gotta be fucking creative. If you read all these guys' stories, the hardest... And Joe Rogan, you ready for this expression? The hardest thing is what to do with all the cash. Think about that problem, Joe Rogan. I'm serious. Now-

Joey Diaz 1:05:07 It's a real problem.

Joe Rogan 1:05:09 No, no, think about this room filled with hundred dollar... What was the movie I just watched? Oh.

Joey Diaz 1:05:13 Escobar?

Joe Rogan 1:05:14 Oh, no, no, no, no, no. I just... On a plane. You got... When you're on a plane and Tom Cruise is on, you gotta give him the benefit of the doubt.

Joey Diaz 1:05:20 Holy-

Joe Rogan 1:05:21 I got an edible in me, I watched the Barry Seal thing.

Joey Diaz 1:05:24 How was it?

Joe Rogan 1:05:25 It's not an Academy Award winner, but it's very interesting when we're just burying money, Joe Rogan. Four million a shot. Like me and you are-

Joey Diaz 1:05:34 (sighs)

Joe Rogan 1:05:34 ... in the yard, like, burying money, like a suitcase with hundred dollar bills falling out of it-

Joey Diaz 1:05:40 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:05:40 ... and you don't give a Frenchman's fuck.

Joey Diaz 1:05:43 I always wanted to know this. Snopes this. Did Barry Seal die with George Bush's phone number in his pocket? That's what they always said. And he died, they shot him on the way to the trial with George Bush's phone number in his pocket.

Joe Rogan 1:05:55 Bro, he was top-notch, that guy. He had it all.

Joey Diaz 1:05:59 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:05:59 He's seen it. Bro, he took pictures-

Joey Diaz 1:06:01 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:06:01 ... of them loading a fucking plane in Nicaragua with Escobar and the top aide in Nicaragua.

Joey Diaz 1:06:11 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:06:11 They had him by the fucking balls. No matter what, how you... That took balls.

Joey Diaz 1:06:15 Fuck, yeah, it did.

Joe Rogan 1:06:16 They fucked him in the ass. They told him that they wouldn't release the pictures.

Joey Diaz 1:06:20 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:06:20 Then they released the pictures which was douche, and that's why the guy got shot.

Joey Diaz 1:06:23 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:06:23 That's fucked up. They should have taken him and hidden him. He's fucking-

Joey Diaz 1:06:26 It's interesting though, they assassinated that guy. That's a 100% assassination in connection to some sort of illegal government-

Joe Rogan 1:06:35 It was a fucking collab. What illegal? What are you talking about? That was Escobar-

Joey Diaz 1:06:39 Yeah, but-

Joe Rogan 1:06:40 ... that sent the bird, the message.

Joey Diaz 1:06:41 They had a deal where Barry Seals could land though, right? Like it wasn't part of the thing was with the people on the ground.

Joe Rogan 1:06:46 Right, on the ground.

Joey Diaz 1:06:47 That was in Mean, Arkansas, right?

Joe Rogan 1:06:48 Now, but, but here's the problem. This is where Eddie Bravo comes in.

Joey Diaz 1:06:52 Right.

Joe Rogan 1:06:52 They were landing in those Everglades, and don't quote me on this.

Joey Diaz 1:06:56 Right.

Joe Rogan 1:06:56 Eddie broke it down for me and somebody else broke it down for me, to be honest with you.... and they were allowing that on your boy's clock, Clinton's clock.

Joey Diaz 1:07:05 Clinton. That's-

Joe Rogan 1:07:06 That's the, and Netflix-

Joey Diaz 1:07:07 ... that's the theory.

Joe Rogan 1:07:08 ... the whole thing.

Joey Diaz 1:07:09 That's the theory.

Joe Rogan 1:07:09 That's when Joey Diaz drops out.

Joey Diaz 1:07:10 Right.

Joe Rogan 1:07:11 I don't know nothing about that.

Joey Diaz 1:07:11 Well, let me tell you the truth, 'cause the truth is fascinating. The truth is, two boys were murdered, and, uh, the, uh, coroner, the official report they gave to the parents was, uh, that they had fallen asleep on the train tracks. So, uh, the parents pay for some sort of an autopsy and it's revealed that the, uh, kid had been stabbed, uh, one of them had been stabbed. And then they find out that around that same area was where those guys would drop their drugs before they landed. They would parachute down their drugs. They would, they would like... And they would land, and these guys, they would have drop points where they would put their shit and then someone else would come by and pick it up on the ground.

Joe Rogan 1:07:52 Yeah, yeah, coordinates.

Joey Diaz 1:07:52 Right. And these kids apparently saw something they weren't supposed to see, so they fucking murdered these kids with knives. And then the coroner was all in on it, so they had to conduct some sort of independent... So that is what got this whole Barry Seals thing going. It was this lady trying to figure out... This, uh, parents trying to figure out what happened to their kids.

Joe Rogan 1:08:12 You know, Joe Rogan-

Joey Diaz 1:08:12 It's a fucking crazy story.

Joe Rogan 1:08:13 You have to imagine, okay, that these guys were getting, you know, let's just draw a number. I, I, I mean I'm just an idiot, but let's just draw a number. They were probably getting $4,000 per kilo. What would they put on those planes? And they were sending five of those planes over a day, and dropping them into Louisiana. This is... When I... Listen, I told you a thousand times on the podcast. In '83, they found a bear dead next to a duffle bag filled with cocaine in Aspen, Colorado in the mountains.

Joey Diaz 1:08:48 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:08:49 Because they were dropping the fucking coke in the mountains-

Joey Diaz 1:08:52 The bear ate the coke. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:08:53 And the bear ate the coke and he fucking ODed, his heart blew up.

Joey Diaz 1:08:57 (gasps) Oh, what does it say? Oh, okay. Barry Seal, "Seal had organized a sting operation where he managed to get photographs of Pablo Escobar helping Nicaraguan soldiers to load 1,200 kilos of cocaine onto a C-123 military plane." (laughs) "Soon afterwards, Reagan went on television with a photograph to denounce Sandinistas as drug smuggling corrupting..."

Joe Rogan 1:09:18 That's how much he was getting for that fucking load.

Joey Diaz 1:09:21 4,800,000 for one load.

Joe Rogan 1:09:22 And he was... For one fucking load. Now here's the tricky thing.

Joey Diaz 1:09:25 God damn. (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:09:25 Here's what, here's what really pisses me the fuck off. That I see Narcos and I see everything, but now this is your Uncle Joey talking to you, Joe Rogan.

Joey Diaz 1:09:36 Please show me the good side of Pablo Escobar.

Joe Rogan 1:09:38 Okay. No, no, no. I'm not gonna... No, no, there's no good side to Pablo Escobar. This ain't Harvey Weinstein.

Joey Diaz 1:09:42 (laughs)

Joe Rogan 1:09:43 This is a story that we have never brought up, but you have to assume, okay? You, you see all these shows and the whole fucking thing, and they were in bed for sure with Nicaragua.

Joey Diaz 1:09:57 Yeah.

Joe Rogan 1:09:57 Now, who else was in bed with Nicaragua at the time?

Joey Diaz 1:09:59 Let me ask you this.

Joe Rogan 1:10:00 Go ahead.

Joey Diaz 1:10:01 Do you think that it is the actual CIA or is it people-

Joe Rogan 1:10:07 I, I, I-

Joey Diaz 1:10:07 Or if it... When it was... Let's not even say CIA. DEA, FBI, made a bunch of fucking letters, put them together. Is it the actual organization, whichever one it is, that's bringing it in? Are they complicit or are there just cowboys? See, the theory has always been that there's been these few cowboys, corrupt guys, maybe they get too close to drug deals, too c- close to the drug deal, and then sometimes they get seduced. Like, 'cause there's many, many stories of underco- undercover cops getting seduced by the actual lifestyle of being a criminal. Young kids that probably did a little crime themselves here or there. They see some cops doing some dirty shit, they see some gu- you know, there was that thing that came out about... Was it Baltimore? What, what, what is the city where cops had, it came out in trial they had kept toy guns on them to plant at the scene of a, of a crime? Like, if they just decided to shoot somebody-

Joe Rogan 1:10:55 Okay, this is the municipal.

Joey Diaz 1:10:56 ... they'd plant a fucking toy gun.

Joe Rogan 1:10:57 We're talking in a big picture, in a big world picture, as an intelligent individual as you are, the plan- it was plain and simple. The CIA wanted a piece of their action and the DEA was tricked into going down there to really control the war. You can't be this... And I- I'm not saying you, as an American, you can't be this dumb.

Joey Diaz 1:11:18 So what, what