The Cigar Syndicate

In a just world, this would be a New York Times feature story - the Dave Portnoy Effect. I randomly came across a Portnoy pizza review and just so happened to be close by. So I made the trip to Ah-Beetz in Delray Beach, Florida. He had given it an 8.4, which is (apparently) an excellent score.  I don't follow Dave Portnoy. I don't consume Barstool's content, or even relate to the demographic it cultivates. I don't eat much pizza, except with my kids. I don't bet on sports, and generally think adult men who devote excessive hours to watching professional sports are wasting their time. But, as someone who follows the zeitgeist, I can objectively say Portnoy seems like a very good person: -> Earned his success; the free market seldom lies -> Took Cancel Culture head-on and won -> Raised ~$40 million for small businesses during COVID -> Called out fake news outlets like Business Insider long before Ackman buried them -> Personally donated and raised millions for great causes - law enforcement, first responders, animal shelters, etc. - as opposed to having a building named after himself at Harvard. The pizza at Ah-Beetz is excellent. Very much worth the trip. But more interesting is the Dave Portnoy effect. I asked the owner about the influence he's had on their business.  When Portnoy's review aired, Ah-Beetz was a single, small shop in a less-than-desirable strip mall not far from I-95, really far from the beach or what is generally considered a nice part of Palm Beach County. Overnight, there was a two-hour wait, a pop that has never receded (because the food is also great). And now, in less than a year, there are soon-to-be 4 locations and 70+ employees, an expansion that they attribute almost entirely to Portnoy. Revenue has increased more than 10x, or millions of dollars that are also attributable to Portnoy, for which he has not received/sought any attention or credit.  Portnoy has completely changed their lives. And this has probably happened countless times all over the country.  (Also, they said he was exceptionally kind and humble, and 100% sincere.) This is America.

Winston Churchill Limited Edition 2022 have arrived @TobaccoShop_NJ

Happy Birthday Bernie Mac 🙏🏾🙏🏾

Mandatory 48hrs quarantine when entering fight island but still no excuse to not keep sharpening @MALCOLM_X_MMA tools for July 18th @ufc

The face of Canadian MMA has a new home 🇨🇦 🏆 @GeorgesStPierre is set to enter the Modern Wing of the #UFCHoF. (B2YB @ToyoTires)

Piazzetta Trattoria in Toronto just donated 500 meals to North York General Hospital #Toronto #ourcommunityTO piazzetta.ca

Casa Loma now has a Scandinavian hygge lounge for the holidays @volvocarcanada #VolvoHolidayHygge #VolvoXC90 #T8 #Toronto #Sponsored

Yooo @Twitter ...I’m baccckk 😎😎 catching up on all the tweets I missed the past few months. Thankful for all the luv n support 🙏🏿

Wow, me encontré con el servicio al cliente de ladrones absolutos @Avianca, sé que la aerolínea está teniendo dificultades financieras, pero engañar y mentir a clientes leales es una vergüenza. Manténgase alejado de esta aerolínea en el futuro

Wow, came across absolute thieves @Avianca customer service today, I realize the airline is having financial difficulties but to cheat and lie to loyal customers is a disgrace. Stay away from this airline going forward

Scarborough represent!!!!

@BazookaJoeV @Costa_Klad gentlemen, why did you crop us out of this photo? Not cool, but I still respect it 💪#respect

Colombia’s line up looks good #POLCOL

@Costa_Klad We are working with legal counsel on that. Either way, this box will happily be shared with you #cigars

Shout out to @HoltsCigar for the quick delivery of this @alecbradley box sharing the name of @Costa_Klad high performance centre for athletes tempusperformance.com @BazookaJoeV @DaltonPompey @lavsav_ #tempus

Dwane Casey getting fired is BS man!

Amazing keynote given by @neiltyson and a great way to start the week @DellMatchPlay @DellTech "There is no greater education than one that is self-driven" #WGCDellmatchplay

Angel in the Khokhloma print tracksuit smoking with some of the crew. Photo taken by @YallFreddy4this #Cigars #BOTL

When people forget that I did more than just kick @glory_ws gph.is/2EQYqJX via @GIPHY

"Everyone predicted that Sonny Liston would destroy me. And he was scary. But it’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.” Today in 1964 #MuhammadAli shook up the world, defeating Liston to win the world heavyweight championship.