My Favorite Dodgers Employee - Mike Choi

You won the Rookie of the Year. Now did that involve breaking your arm and suddenly being able to throw one hundred mile an hour fastball?

Cash show.

Cosh shot to show. All right, welcome to another toss show. Let's do roll call Eddie, President Dylan Here, Pete. You went to get lunch, went to get lunch. A ride? John, Yo, John's here? Oh, how you feeling John?

I'm here John.

He just underwent first of all every week. Uh, you have to ask John, like, how you doing? And then you have to be you need to block out thirty minutes because something horrible has happened. He does something like so cursed. Yeah, he some weird stuff happens to his body anyway. Yeah, I saw him there day. I was like, why are you dressed like that? And he's like like what And it just the way he was walking. He's just stiff and he's like, Oh, I just had an

Correct, Oh yeah, nothing down there.

Then how many days later did you find out that you had a bunch of righteous kidney stones?

Two days later?

Did you pass the kidney stone or you just knew that you had them.

I thought something was wrong. I had to go to the er.

I thought you thought something with your visectomy had gone haywire. Turns out you just had kidney stones.

Yeah. So basically I went to the er. They're like peeing this cup and it was like chai masala. It was very red and gross, and they're like.

Oh, you're urine was bloody.

Oh it's covered in blood.

This is not newsworthy. This is just this is a normal day in John's life. Is normal.

I mean, it's an abnormal day. It never happened to my entire life.

Shell maybe this hasn't, but there's always something, something crazy is going on.

Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

That is true. That is true, and it's all part of this plan. Now, because of the kidney stone, you are probably pushing aggressively and one of your testicles, what did it do?

It?

Tors it?

Tors Now, how do you spell torst?

It's like horse with a D at the end, but the t or the.

That's not just somebody that can't spell. You can ever be Oh, it's like horse, but there's a D at the end and then there's no h and and what do you do to unthorst a ball.

It had been like this for weeks after the vasectomy. When I went to out of town, we were staying at a hotel. We're up visiting Tarika's family.

I mean, I feel like you can't tell the story that you just say your wife, because as soon as you say Tarika, we're gonna have to spend forty five minutes explaining that that's a name.

Yeah, okay, So I married someone with an ethnic background who has a name that's not American. Yes, my wife.

So anyways, I mean, I still can't wrap my head around it. At first, I learned the word thorst and Tarika so she called her rother.

He took me to the er. What's his name? Why?

Why?

What's her brother's name? That's a good question, Eddie Adam Adam? Oh?

Oh?

So ethnic?

It's please I don't.

I don't want to get in trouble with with the Qoran right now. Yeah, So they diagnosed you immediately that your ball had twisted.

So they took me in and did an ultrasound. They're like, hey, your testicle's upside down and twisted.

And how do you know if a ball is upside down or not?

That's that's what the ultrasound is.

Was it actually on top of your penis?

No? No, no, it was it was in the top.

Wait were the beans on the franks?

This does sound like something about Mary. It's just everybody coming in to like get a look at your ball. Exactly, Holy shit.

They called in the specialist.

Well, sure he wants to see it.

He described that he'd have to cut open my scrotum and untwist the ball, remove it if it was dead, and then sutured me back up. I freaked out. He's like every second counts, and then he left for an hour.

Why would you freak out? It's like not cancer, who gives it?

I didn't know about testosterone levels.

Sex cares. You know, much more productive you'd be if you would knock it off chasing Terika around the place.

Right, Frank Thomas still takes pills, he gets plenty.

Tee Doug flutie. Yeah, he's still he's still pounding out. All he does is like a simple smoothie every morning, and he's horned up and ready to go, ready to breed. Hold on, let me ask a serious question that's gonna sound ridiculous. Could have you successfully jacked off during this moment. Never if I would have sent in like I'm talking a ten thousand dollars horre. I'm telling you, she couldn't

Twenty thousand dollars, fifty thousand like, keep going, they.

Would, They couldn't get you aroused.

Walking was excrucia.

I get she's not walking my scenario.

You're saying you couldn't have gotten a boner.

No, no way, huh, no way.

I've never been in that kind of pain.

The kidney stone was the worst pain. I'd take kidney stone every day for a month. Over two hours of this all.

Right, anyway, So he on twisted, he cut your ball open, and it wasn't dead.

Wasn't dead. I woke up. I had both my balls.

He didn't take any of it out. He said they're fine, he said they're great. So you made the whole thing up.

Yeah, it's all a big lie. None of this happened.

Well, how come it wasn't dead.

I don't know, man, I'm glad it wasn't.

I don't understand why you were so attached to this testicle.

You take one of your balls right now.

If they had it cut open, I'd say take them both out while you're there. What do they do? I'm fifty years old. I have no idea what my balls. I know that I don't want them to get kicked or cut out, and I'd love it if they weren't there. Speaking of balls, today's guest specializes in basket and bass balls. Enjoy cast Sha. My guest today has three or four part time jobs. He works for both LA's number one baseball team and it's number two basketball team. He's also

Hey, how are you?

Thanks?

That was that was great? That was beautiful.

I don't do uh the the cannon?

I wish I Have you ever fired a T shirt cannon?

Hire?

Not not yet. They haven't in trusted me with the T shirt. Ever fired a T shirt?

No? No, but that's on my bucket list.

Okay, first question, Yes, do you believe in ghosts?

Generally?

No, but I have had a couple of different instances that would prove otherwise. But one might just have been a case of sleep paralysis and the other one might have been just like an old lady with catlike reflexes.

Give me the second story. I want to know about the old lady of the cat like.

Well, this is just like a couple of years ago in Sherman Oaks. I'm walking down the street. There's an old lady walking kind of a little bit closer than I would like her to walk. You know, I look a couple of different times behind, and then the last time I look, she is like she's completely on and like, you know, there there were apartment complexes on the opposite side of the street.

But again so she might have just lived there.

Yeah, but again, this lady's like eighty or ninety for her to have Like for the amount of times I looked back to like kind of size her up.

You was a slow walker?

No, no, no, no, general no, no, I'm actually I'm a very fast, fast walker. Again, like the third time I looked back, like I'm not, it's still like I get.

Goosebumps, thing like she was completely gone.

I mean, you're not a little man. Why are you so scared of an old woman? I wasn't scared of like over your shoulder or something. Yeah, yeah, well she.

Kind of gave me the creeps and now, like I said, then the third time completely vanished.

Man, that's a ghost. You were born in Korea and then moved to Chicago.

Yeah, born in Korea until I was two. The reason we moved over eventually, my dad was getting his master's at the University of Mississippi, So that was kind of odd that he chose Mississippi.

Of hall place, beautiful place I've never been.

You've never done the Bible Belt.

No, I'm very, very scared of of of going east of what wait, what is the Bible Belt.

Technically, well, it's it's I'm I'm going to say it's Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Uh, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia. I might as well throw Missouri in there.

Yeah, all of those. I'm kind of a part of the belt.

Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana.

Oklahoma's part of that because I think, okay.

They're they're like, you know, like the buckle there pretty much the Bible Belt. You haven't been to any of those places?

No, No, actually I have, I've been to I was Oh, this is probably why I never wanted to go back, because uh, I went to Myrtle Beach for uhrle.

Fucking Yeah, that's a good spring break.

Yeah yeah, no, not not for me, not for me.

Did you watch Magic Mike two?

No? No, that was about Myrtle Beach? Was that said in Myrtle Beaches?

No? For me, I felt very awkward. I felt very othered when I was.

In the South.

Yeah, and and so yeah, that kind of left the sour taste in my mouth. So I've I've never been east of of Illinois or Indiana pretty much ever since.

You go back to Chicago about once a year, twice a year. You know.

I have a two year old now, so we don't travel as much obviously in these last couple of years. So I know you have a couple of kids. Is your your daughter's two wish too?

Yeah, she's too.

Yeah, my mine just turned to last money. So that's us.

For having children, to just say no to other people's plans.

Yeah.

She is kind of a built in excuse or at the very least leaving early.

Pretend that's why I leave early at a Dodgers game, I'm like, I got kids.

Wait, what time do you normally arrive?

I try to miss the national anthem because I don't like to take my hat off. Okay, that's one.

Okay, then what's that that's respectful?

Thank you?

Yeah?

Yeah, yeah, and then I I definitely leave. The second take me out to the ballgame is sung?

Okay, make it seven.

And then some people say, oh, that's not good. Well, the games don't matter if you're gonna if you're gonna play a under nay games, then then me leaving after the seventh inning of one game shouldn't affect things.

No, I totally agree.

But the thing that's crazy, so now that we've had like the pitch clock these last couple of years, so you know, the games are yeah, like two and a half hours, you know typically, so we still have fans who I won't arrive until like they get there like at the fifth, sixth inning, and it's kind of like

By the way, I get free tickets, do you yes?

Do you? Uh huh?

You know. I don't ask a lot. I asked usually once a year. I want to go, and I like to go before it gets boiling hot. By the way, in Chicago, yes, were you You weren't a Dodgers fan.

No, I was really a white Sox fan.

So it's been are looking the camera right now and say fuck the Cubs out?

Oh?

Easily fucked the Cubs? No? No, wait, but let me rephrase.

I will never root against the Cubs are any team from Chicago.

So I want everyone to do well. Okay, but push comes to shove. Yeah, I'm a white Sox fan for sure.

Explain to people because you were in a show business for a.

Bin, Yeah, I post production.

I mean, I guess technically accounts as show business, but it's not.

You're working on television.

Yeah, it's not the glamorous side of the business, that's for sure. You know you're stuck in a dark room.

And there's what you went there because it was they paid more than the other side. Well, the dark rooms pay more.

You know.

I was a post production corninator before making this this uh this sports switch with a couple of post supervisor and associate producer credits.

Well, you worked on the sing Off and I was a fan of that show. Real Nick was the host. It was on like only it was on a short run, like right before the Christmas holiday, and I always thought this was a great show. The singing was wonderful.

That show has disappeared, well, you know, it actually like I don't know, if you're familiar with group Pentatonics, they're kind of like, are you kidding me? Yeah?

Yeah, I only listened to them during the holidays, but.

But yeah, yeah, I mean they came from the show, so it really hit like that bubble when like it's weird to say when a cappella singing got huge, oh yeah, but it kind of hit that little hit that bubble. So because that was right around the time what was that movie.

With with the Cups?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but yeah, that was right around in that era, so it was like there was just this zeitgeist of a cappella singing going on, and I feel like we were on the forefront of that.

So I know the show was good. And what's his name? I was always liked Sean from Boys to Men?

Yeah, yeah, I was a For me, that was extra special because I was a huge Boys and Men fan grown up, so then you know, being able to interact with them as a judge that was like, that was kind of surreal.

So what made you want to transition from a career in the entertainment industry to sports?

Ultimately, I was so burnt out from working in the entertainment industry. I knew I wanted to change, get a change in kind of pursue something different. I mean, as a kid, everybody, I mean, who doesn't love sports growing up as a kid, right, so.

I know a few people. We get a name for him, but we're not supposed to say it in this day and age.

But yeah, a huge sports fan growing up, you know. So fast forward to after COVID, it was like, oh, maybe that's something I want to pursue.

Right, Talk about how the conversation went when you told your wife you were going to quit a steady, decent pay job to start over as a Dodger usher.

No, it went well. So no, honestly, no, no.

Right when I was making this decision, we were either just engaged or just you know, prior to getting engaged. And on top of that, we were talking about starting a family. Were kind of in that process and also wanting to buy a house because we wanted a family. All credit to my wife, she was supportive right from get go. She's like, if this is what you want, if this is what's going to make you happy, you know, let's let's.

Let's do it.

The usher thing was right around that time, the Dodgers have posted like an open house interview for their usher staff and showed up to this interview, and it is like one of those cattle call interviews.

Is like literally like speed dating.

Yes.

And so the first lady if you look.

Around at the other people that were doing this and going, oh my goodness, yeah, because you know, it's significantly younger or significantly older, yeah.

Oh yeah, yeah yeah.

And on top of it, like you know, there were kids showing up just wearing T shirts and I'm not joining like T shirts and sweats. I'm like, in my mind, like what is this world I'm getting into where it's like, you know, I was in a tie, I was, you know, like it's like, yes, the interview, even though it's an open house, it's an interview. And so the first lady sees my resume and she's just like, are you sure you want to be an usher? I'm like, I just want to get my foot in the door. You know,

Of our ushers, but you know it's not much better. But are you interested in joining our fan services team?

And so interviewed with our fan services manager pretty much got hired on the spot. And I don't know if you're familiar with that department, but where that team is basically the team that's like man's the help desk, so we're there to like kind of answer questions about percep policies so forth, where like Dodger dogs are throughout the stadium.

Uh?

And people can be mean there.

Oh yeah, Like one time it was Father's Day we were giving out bucket ats. First forty thousand people were getting Father's Day bucket ats. So I'm at one of the stations, and invariably when we run out of these bucket hats, people come to our stations to yell at us why don't you guys have enough bucket ats. And this was the first time, and in any aspect of my life, that I've ever had somebody say, do you

I'm not gonna argue with you. I think I think he deserves a bucket hat. Come on, Dodgers do the right things.

But because I don't feel like cousin at a certain point.

Cousin's bad.

Yeah. Yeah.

For those who may not fully grasp what happens during live sporting events, please describe what a typical shift looks like for you.

So.

I'm under the marketing promotions department. My team specifically takes care of If it's not baseball, we're taking care of every other aspect of entertainment that happens. The national anthem, the DJ, the bobbleheads, any of our video games up on the scoreboard, any of our video hits.

We get to the game.

Roughly three hours before we show up for our briefing. We find out because every game we're assigned to a different they're called activations, and that we were typically done around the seventh eighth inning.

Why do people care so much about bobbleheads?

I think a lot of people care about them because they know they do well on the resell market.

So they're just collecting them to resell them.

Yeah, how much do they resell before?

How much could they resell them?

I mean the show a Bobblehead that came out last year, there was like a variant where it was like it was gold. I don't know if they actually sold for it, but they were going on like eBay for like five six, seven thousand dollars.

Are you personally responsible when we see some unfortunate son of a bitch on the kiss cam get friend zoned in front of tens of thousands of people.

My team with them, be responsible that we haven't actually done the kiss cam probably like in three or four years.

Blow people's mind and let people know that because everybody will argue this, but the Dodgers are the ones that invented the kiss cam.

That I couldn't confirm that either way, so you would know more about that than I would.

I mean they invented the kiss camp.

That they were they were the team they did, which is great, I mean because I'm sure it brought on tons of lawsuits. It's the only time legally you were allowed to make a move on someone sitting next to you, whether they want it or not. I think it holds up in court. Do people complain about the nets going the whole way down the baseline? Because I love it.

You do. I think it's awful.

I'm team safety on that one. I I zone out often. What are the odds? I mean, you may to send you some videos.

I mean, it's happened, But like when you talk about hundred and sixty two games for thirty teams, like that's past.

You're on the wrong side of this one. They're not gonna get rid of these.

No they won't. They won't.

But I'm just saying, like seeing that, like it's it's crazy, Like I like, okay.

Okay, by the way, the helmet full of ice cream, first of all, it melts within eight seconds. Yeah, and it's just it's an ungodly amount of food.

It's uh, well, yeah, I I don't the weird thing to I know they saw them as souvenir items, but like everyone always, what do you do with that?

Helmet fits my daughter's head perfectly. But then where do you when do you wash it out?

Like I didn't. I just kind of I just kind of little wipe it and there you go.

Wait during the during the games.

I did. I don't trust myself catching a pop fly over.

The net, but those aren't protected.

That won't better than hitting her head, I guess right.

All right, yeah, how does your son six? Have you had them? Do the kids take the field? That's my department. Are you familiar with.

I'm familiar with this. This is this is pre game.

Yeah, well so it's literally the very last thing we do before first pitch. Do we randomly select eight kids. That's actually one of my most favorite things that we do as a part of my team. We pick these eight kids, they get assigned a player, and literally right when the Dodgers take the field, we send them out, they go out to their assigned player, they get a baseball sign. I think it's like one of the coolest things we do because I don't think.

Well, doesn't seem random If you're saying that I can shoehorn my kid in.

Well no, no, no, I mean we it's a mixture of pre selected kids and then typically so it's eight and then some VIP kids, Uh well yeah, yeah we could, we can make that happen for you.

But also we do genuinely because there's usually.

Three or four spots that we have to fill game day of so we'll go out, we'll kind of scope the kids and see kids that are like, hey, these look like they're like really you know, big Dodger fans, and so parents always think we're trying to sell them something, which is always like, oh no, no, no, I'm not trying to sell you.

I just want to take your kid away from you for a little bit.

No, give them like a once in a lifetime opportunity. That's nice.

So yeah, that's wonderful. No, I don't want my kid to do that. Uh, stay away from my kid. Who's given the best first pitch you've ever seen?

We had a minute your horse up here last season who threw out the first the bottom of the so it did this thing where it was it was pretty funny. It was like with its nose like inching the ball for to its home plate.

So that was cool. I don't know if that's the best, but that was.

The Do you remember the worst first pitch?

We haven't had terrible ones because you know, they all get a chance to warm up, be sufficiently warm up before they actually have to go out there. And on top of it, they don't have to throw from the mound. You can throw just like you can't go onto the rubber, but like you can throw from.

That affect my ball?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

My favorite first pitch is Bill Murray was in Chicago where he threw the first Oh really made me laugh.

That's pretty funny.

He like looked over her shoulder and then just whipped it at first. They had to have planned that, right, I don't know. There was nobody there the ball.

There was no joke.

Your promo team is called the Blue Crew. Yeah, I got some I got some ideas for what you guys should do.

Like wait, well, like what I can pass? I can pass them along?

Good?

Okay? How about this backwards bases night backwards basis? Yes, you're flip flopping first and third. They're going to run the opposite way around. I think I think it'd be fun for everybody.

I mean, it sounds like a Savannah bananas kind of thing.

I'm just baseball. Every stadium is a different size. There's walls that are different, So knock it off. You're allowed to run backwards one night.

The whole game or just like a whole game. Okay, because they did find one inning, I don't know.

I'll settle for one.

Crazy.

They did kind of float I mean to that, like I think the league kind of floated out that idea, like the Golden Ball or something like that, Like if I don't think it's ever going to happen, but it's like if you hit a home run when it's the Golden Ball, it's for like five runs or something.

I don't like that. I got another promotion idea for the Dodgers game. Ready for this. This is something I will volunteer. We'll make it taste well because we've blown it out of proportion with security. Securities is the most important thing. Yes, but streakers on the field. We don't need to destroy them. We don't need to tack them. I get it that we don't want to, but the fans love it. So here's my pitch. It's it's not produced, but celebrity streakers.

Oh my god. Okay, wait, but so they would get naked? Yeah?

Ish, maybe maybe maybe maybe we just have like a little dong slingshot on whatever. Uh, but but we run. The security is allowed to tackle me. But but I'm gonna go for it. And and no one's getting arrested. Everybody's gonna cheer. I'm gonna try to juke and and and we'll see how long it can.

Last between you pitched.

That's celebrity streaker. I think people would love it. I'm okay with getting laid out, really, yes, Like I'm I'm just saying I don't want the consequences of now I have to go to jail. I don't want to be like my arms broken. No, they can take me down, they can lay me out.

We have one of our ball girls famously, like a year or two ago, who she like a fan, was on the field and was about to hop over and she kind of like helped take them down because they're part of our team as well, our greater team. So that was kind of a cool moment for her.

Where do you park?

Oh, we get to park on lot too, so it's like not the it's one section over from the stadium, so it's pretty good parking.

I love the Dodgers and I moved to Los Angeles in the late nineties and I hated every team, and I was like, and I love sports. Hey, I'm from South Florida, so I was like, I'm not going to cheer for these teams. But I was like, I have to pick one team locally here that I adopt, and it was the Dodgers, mainly because I liked Vince Scully. I was like, oh, I listen to him. And then it's just the most beautiful stadium. It just holds up.

Well, I have a couple of hacks, so Stadium Way, as long as you get there in time where their spot's open, you can park for free on Stadium Way, and it's not much more than a three or four minute extra walk than if you're parking a lot one or two. And then are you familiar with like LAT fourteen?

Not by number, but I get it.

So if you're looking at Dodger Stadium going up Vin Scully, it's the outdoor lot, so not inside the stadium, but just to the right. So that lot costs like maybe five six bucks and you can part there for the game, and again.

It's only like in to save five or six bucks.

Well, but the best thing about parking on these areas, so it's not it's not that like you're saving money, which you are, but it's more so getting out because.

It's it's the v's the worst. That's true, that's true. You have a different hack game, I got.

A different hack. Yeah, I got a different hack. My hack is I don't care how much it cost, and I'm going to leave before the game end.

But does it depend on like if it's a close game, will you stay or are you just out the children with me?

Yeah? Yeah, when's the last time you stayed through the end.

Of the game.

I didn't stay. But when I grew up as a kid, my dad would bring me to Saint Louis Cardinal games in Missouri. He never stayed. We were always like.

A family tradition. But then what if like that? But then I.

Guess I don't even know what the end is, Like you're listen to it on the radio when you drive home. That's that's how I know sporting events.

And last two an answer for the radio.

But are there ever any instances where you're like, oh my god, I miss I wish I would have stayed because I missed that last show. I hit a grand slam to win a game.

You won the Rookie of the Year. Now, did that involve breaking your arm and suddenly being able to throw one hundred mile an hour fastball.

Yeah, that's a cub's reference, So I don't. I don't.

I would refuse to talk about that, but no, no, it was uh yeah, it was a pretty big honor. And again it's just this whole thing. I like any anything I do, I I hope that I put my best foot forward and try to make a good impression.

By the way, this proves what I've always thought, hiring is the worst part of every job, and the people that work for you, for the most part, it's not their dream job. Therefore they're awful at it. And it definitely feels like it's magnified as I get older and look at younger generations that they're But like, if you're if you're just a hard worker and a good worker, you're gonna you're gonna just do well. I how quickly did you get through this one season of the shit Job?

Yeah?

I knew pretty early on that. Yeah, that fan service is as grateful as I am for getting that position that that was I was not going to be their long term.

You also worked for the Clippers. Yes, the stadium is beautiful.

Oh, it's amazing. It's amazing. I mean it's been winning all sorts of awards for like being like innovative and technology, all the technologies that have you.

Have you been to a game now? No, you should go. You should go.

Are you doing the exact same thing at the Clippers games that you do in baseball?

There no fairly similar.

I'm under the sales department team basically, So basically for the Clippers, they sell experiences.

You can play on the court before the game. Yeah, what does that cost?

Honestly, it's not that much.

I feel like after you buy your actual ticket package, it might be like an extra like ten to twenty dollars ahead.

Can I hang on the rim?

No?

We actually have a strict no dunking policy. We've kicked people out for trying.

To Guys, are monsters hanging on all game long? You think I'm going to affect the rim with my one to eighty five?

Wait? Can you can you dunk?

Are you?

Can you tell I can definitely hang on a rim. I don't know that I you can still jump, like, yeah, well I'm six four.

Wow, that impressive.

If I was on an NBA team, they called me.

Have you when's the last time yesterday?

Wait?

Really?

Well I got a goal in my yard and I touched it every day.

Yeah, okay, Well we would have to kick you out if you.

If you hung on it. Yeah, if I paid the extra twenty dollars ahead, yeah yeah yeah. Have you ever been close enough to smell James Harden's beard?

No, But we have this activation, so it's very much similar to like kids take the fail. It's called anthem buddies. So every game we line them up and they're standing in front of the players, but James specifically make sure he's off to the side. So there's definitely been different occasions where like, as we're shuffling the kids off, he's definitely given me several dirty looks throughout the course of the.

Kind of season.

Why, I think he's just you know, he wants to get into the zone for the game, so he doesn't want any distractions and so forth, a child touching him no, So I mean he's definitely off to the side like you you if you ever watch a game, he'll like, you'll see all the players and all the kids.

Ran in front him and he's like six feet off to the side from that.

Beard gets head like this. I always feel like it's because of the beard. Are you going to be involved in the twenty twenty eight games here, Now, that's.

A good question. I think they just didn't. They just announce a couple of weeks ago that Dodger Standing would be a venue. So I'm assumed, well, oh, that'd be fun if I'm still with the team. Hopefully I am in some capacity or another. But yeah, yeah, that would be amazing. Same thing. I think into it Dome is probably going to be a venue for some events as well, So yeah, I mean, we have the All Star Game coming next year, so that'll be cool to into a Dome. So that'll be fun.

All Star Basketball game. Yeah, that one's barely something kind of a that's a notch above the in season playoff game or what.

No, no, no, no, no, I mean it's the only thing the NBA has gotten completely right is the playing the playing game. That's fun. That's a lot of fun.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that worked. What about you ever interested in football.

I enjoy gambling on football. So now we're speaking my yeah, yeah, yeah, So for instance, for both baseball and basketball, I'm sure it's for all sports. You can't gamble on that sport if you're working for the sport, at least knowingly.

So that's why you won't work for football.

Well no, no, not football is my No, I don't have a I mean, I guess I am Asian, so I have a little bit of a gambling problem.

But is that the stereotype that is spot on?

No? Yeah, right, this is like I feel like a GENI always people.

I've been in casinos my entire working career, so I'm I'm very aware, like I always poker or anything I'll bet on sports. I love it, and I always assume that that Asians right, right or wrong? No more about whatever we're about to bet on.

Yeah, are you a more of a blackshut guy or a poker guy?

Back in the day, I used to play at the Hustler casino.

Constantly lost a lot of money there, lost a lot of money.

But did you get free donuts at six am?

Six?

No? I wasn't that much of a you. You would used to.

Play until until the donut cart came around. There was a donut cuts at six am to reward us for staying all night. It was a good time. Larry Flint would roll up in his gold No, yes he did. Wait, I saw him playing with phil Ivy every night, all of them.

Yeah.

Is having a wife and kid holding you back from achieving your dreams?

No?

No, not all because a lot of.

People in these sports jobs just jump around the country constantly.

You're right, you're right.

So I know that that's one reality that's not going to be for me. Having my daughter being married, that actually gives me a more of a push and drive to do better and kind of be there to, you know, support my family.

So you also have a blog that explores the hidden sides of California. Now, I hate leave my house, but if I wanted to blow my kid's minds, is there something that I should definitely mean be doing with them.

The thing is for me, like, they don't have to be necessarily like these grandiose things. They can be, but they also can be small things. You're probably aware with that, like every September where they do the waves of flags out on the Pepperdine front, lawn. I mean, I think that's something a lot of people aren't aware that they do to memorialize the people that lost their lives.

But I have photos of my kids in there, and we always try to find, you know, like one or two flags from different countries so the kids can name those.

Yeah.

So for me, like I'm Korean, as we kind of spoke about a little bit earlier, and so there is one Korean flat flat because there was one Korean national who lost his life.

Do you flyd the flag? Does it take you a while? It's not easy?

It's well, I for me because you know, I know what, I know what the flag looks like, and I can kind of yeah, I.

Know what flag looks like.

You're not that special.

Are you familiar with the Malibu Hindu Temple. It's like this beautifully white ornate temple on Los Versions Canyon that's like just before you kind of get to the tunnel if you're going out to the ocean, right, it's beautiful and it's you know, you can visit it.

If we're not Hindu.

No, no, yeah, I mean they welcome all, you know, and then I mean, because you know, they want they want donations, so I'll anybody with a you don't have to donate.

Do you go to the Santa Monica Children's Museum?

Oh? Is that the one that's in the bottom of the.

Pier in the laza. Yeah, that little plaza on the third street.

At the end of it. Okay, now I'm not familiar. Here's the hack.

You have to become a member, okay, because they let like one hour in the morning before they let the general public come in, and all the toys are arranged nicely everywhere, and all the all the things that the internet, and but then once once they let the riff raff in, you just got to grab your kid and run.

It's like a tornado. Oh how much is the membership?

I think it's a donation, you know, whatever you want.

Other than the early access. Would you recommend it or.

I recommend it because you're donating if it's like a children's museum.

So it's a good thing to two year olds like my two year old, the best time.

Of her life.

There's all kinds of things. Does she have to climb? She has?

You know, she's starting to really be self sufficient, I own, but she hasn't really started. She loves bubbles.

I mean they have a they have a bubble machine that you can make literally a bubble the size of this room.

No, yes, oh, like we're the magicians that can kind of get inside it. Well that's type of thing.

This thing you just you crank this thing and it opens up the thing and then you start blowing into it. And this huge wall is a bubble and you start blowing. And the people that work there, they got they get really good with you know, it's like somebody working a kiosk in a mall with a boomerang.

They know how to use it. But I love bubbles.

I mean that that's but what's funny is the reason I say that is because like I think they're fantastic. But also I think like anytime you go to a bubble show, not a bubble.

Show, well are you talking about a bubble show.

It's like it looks weird if just adults go. I feel like that's something where you only have kids. Because we my now wife, we went to there was like this bubble magician who did a show kind of in the Long Beach area, So like I was excited for that. Yeah, we got tickets and then of course it's all little kids and then here's like, you know, two adults without any kids watching the Bubble Show.

So that was that was awesome.

That's pizza in La And don't pick any place that does deep dish, just normal, normal pizza.

Oh I've got one for you, Hail Mary Pizza in Atwater Village.

Okay, I don't know, I don't haven't been there.

They do.

It's it's basically New York style. It's a sour dough crust. They kind of do some crazy toppings. If you get a pie there and don't and don't enjoy it, I will pay for that pie.

No, no, no, no no, I will love it.

All right.

Well, I don't know why we haven't discussed this yet, but you were on the prices, right. You got to play Planko. You spun the wheel, you hit a dollar to beat someone who had spun ninety five cents prior. No, no, just to lose in the showcase.

No yeah, yeah, so I so even more impressive though Plinko.

How much cash did you win in Planko?

I won almost sixty thousand in Plinko.

Did you have a strategy on Planko?

Who has a strategy on Plinko's completely.

If you said it here, it's going to go in this region. I don't know, but it's all study.

It's what's the from like Jurassic Park in chaos theory, right, like you can't even if you put it in the same spot, it's not going to go the exact same path.

Because of all the right.

So anyways, I got all six or seven coins from guessing all the the the items right, and so it was the fiftieth anniversary special TOOS because typically.

And how were you there?

It's been a dream of mine to be on prices right since like I moved out to La like I've actually there was one time we stood in line. Dream We stood in line in front of Television City one time and.

A group of you and you had T shirts on.

Yeah yeah, And it turned out they weren't filming that day, so we had like stood out for like a couple hours until security comes out and he was like you got because we were like first in line, so we were like, we're getting There wasn't a line.

No, we were the first in line. So we were all so like stoked. Find security comes out. I was like, we're not taping.

I'm telling you there wasn't a line that day. I was right from the end. You called your name, you hug and kiss everybody.

Yeah, my wife gives me grief because I'm high fiving all my friends and I totally forget to like high five and acknowledge my wife as I'm going down. It was like, I feel bad about that. I really truly feel bad.

But then yeah, I went down to contestants, rowe what was the item that you had a bit on?

So it was a gold necklace, which we still have today. It was like valued at the time.

It was a I think it was about ten thousand dollars.

What'd you bid on that necklace?

So I bid Usually it's not a.

Ten thousand dollars.

Again, it was because it was the fiftieth anniversary, so.

Everything was, man, everything was elevating.

It got it.

So my only strategy was whatever bid that I thought, you know, there's only I think like one or two people.

I was just going to bid a dollar higher or go look.

At this whole move got it. So I did and just fuck those people up.

And again we all were bidding like I haven't seen I haven't watched it two thousand, not even like yeah, So and then so when like you know, Drew announces that it was like ten thousands of everyone was shocked, go up on stage. Then they reveal the first game that's.

Plink Out, and I'm like, that's such a winner.

That like dream come true for top of it, because that's that's the game you want.

It's the only game that you just want cash.

And again, you know, there's no there's no strategy, you just drop.

You got to win all the coins.

But yeah, yeah, and I got all those you know, high, er lower, I got all those, right, I'm just trying to go random. But for the one that I got the fifty thousand dollars on after five, everyone's like, why didn't you keep dropping.

It in the same spot. But then again, I'm like, I don't think that it works like that. For Plinko, it was nice. It was nice.

Ten thousand dollars, necklace, sixty thousand Plinko, everything else a free roll. Now let's get to the big wheel.

Yeah, so this was amazing. This was amazing. So I can't remember if it was the first or second woman, but the one woman lands on the dollar. So right then I'm like I'm done, you know, I am done.

Right.

So the first one I think I spind like sixty five.

Uh huh, do you eyeball where the forty five is? Or no?

No, because you can't go the wheel it's it's heavy.

So you got you got to forty five. You have to do a little spin off with her. Yeah, so you've got one thousand dollars for that?

Yes?

Is that right?

Or one hundred dollars a.

Thousand thousand, one thous thousand yea, yeah, yeah, okay.

Then and then so then then we go to a playoffs, So it doesn't so I just I had to get a dollar just to go.

To a playoffs.

Huh right, this is unbelievd.

So then she spends and she spun it was low. So basically like any decent spin I'm going to move on.

So I don't remember.

But now you're the showcase showed on, you're the lead guy. You pass on the first showcase showed exactly, no matter what exactly, you don't even see it. Well, that wasn't.

My My only strategy was if there's a boat, I'm passing because it's like I've heard horror stories of it. Do you own a boat? I don't know? Awful to own it really yeah, just like the.

Storage and cleaning and all that clean and I don't store it.

Well. I've always heard that, like it's awful to own.

Everyone's the best day for a boat owners the day they buy and the day they sell whatever.

So first, the big prize of the first batch of prizes for that first showcase, it's a boat.

So I'm like, I'm passing, I'm passing.

And I wish you had a boat right now to just driving around.

L oh my god, it would have been awful.

But then the second one there's a brand new BMW s u V a trip to South Africa.

I don't like these trips. Yeah, what I don't believe. Don't buy it. Their trips are all weird.

Wait, it's a trip to South Africa that first class air that I don't know, but I think you can, like let's say, let's say if it's coach, I'm sure you could, right, Okay, you must be able to do because at least for the cars, I think I heard that, like if you want a car, you can you can basically upgrade to whatever other model once you're because you you're basically going to the dealership. Okay, whatever, the inship.

I didn't know this.

I'm almost positive that that's true.

But did you like the BMW that they hem?

Oh my god, yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah. So I was so stoked.

What'd you bid?

This is where the strategy bit me in the buck, because obviously you don't want to overbid, right.

Because then you're you're just how did she do on her bid?

Here's the thing.

The only reason I feel good. She was like maybe like three to hundred dollars off.

So in hindsight, it didn't matter what I've been unless I need Yeah, it didn't matter. Yeah, I way underbid it because I think I think I bid somewhere in like the mid forty thousands, and then the package the was like fifty five thousand, so I was I was way off.

You don't get to talk to the models at all? No, No, did you get to hug any of them a little bit?

No? I kind I wanted to hug the one. There's the one Australian guy. So he's kind of like.

No, no, he's like like he's like a one man. He was, he's like a fan favorite. He's like really like yeah, he's like yeah. So like I was definitely you know, like when when when I was up.

This has gone downhill since Bob Barker left.

Yeah, I mean I never even seen this guy.

But all right, so he met the Australian.

Yeah no I didn't. I wish I had, but I didn't.

But you did prices right here in America. Would you do squid games in in South Korea?

I don't. I mean, is that like, that's not real?

What I've heard rumlins that there is some truth to the squid games where you would potentially die. Yeah, well it doesn't even seem potential. It's like you're definitely gonna oh yeah, yeah, it's like only one person gets a win.

It's like big odds.

That's a tough sell. But I love children's games. Gifts. Everybody's on the show gets gifts. Yes, oh man, it's just stuff I find around my house. You're gonna love this. By the way, first, recently I potty trained my daughter. So these are do you use Cotier? They're the best diapers in the world.

We get Costco diapers.

You're you're you're gonna blow your daughters kind These things are amazing. You got you a couple of hundred of these. Oh, they're so good.

This is amazing.

We just potty trained.

This is amazing.

These are the pant use the pant uh yeah, but don't let her sleep in the pull ups to use the red Okay, get that off my desk.

This is this is what? This is size four then? Right?

Yeah?

Yeah, yeah, I think the right size shell.

If she's not a four yet, she will be Wait is your two year old and pull ups yet?

My two year old's potty train. That's why I'm giving you the diapers.

Here's two year olds already.

She's two six, two and a half, so it's it's not a competition. Okay, my kids learned things at different rates.

No, that's no, but two still pretty early.

I'll be honest. She's fully now. That's why I'm giving you the diapers. She started at one for No, she still she likes you.

This is amazing.

This is a nice sleepsack. We don't need it anymore.

Wait, this is huge. No, No, it's not huge. No, it's it's kind of moist.

No, it's nice, it's moist. Whatever washing it. Here's some cute.

Boots from her. Wait this this is is this? It's a two year old?

If it doesn't fit her today, it'll fitter. Wait waitcause these are they don't work for her anymore? Oh so these are pre worn, Yes, the pre warn you're not getting anything for for that, isn't you. I don't like this anymore in my house. My wife like this, you bring anywhere for her?

Oh my god, that's adorable.

But it also has straps so that you can hook it too, like you can bring into a restaurant and put it on and it can be their booster. It's a lot nicer than a restaurant one. But I told my wife, I'm like, we're done. She doesn't use it anymore.

She thank you. No, this is amazing some of it?

Is there a trade for that?

Oh I forgot, I'll grab I'll send you the tray.

I'll send you. There's a tray.

Here's some sweaters and some dresses. My god, look at this, one, says Paris. So it's so cute. She'll love it. A bunch of dresses.

This is amazing. No, no, I no, no, this is I will whole hardly. We will whole hardly.

Here's a dog that poops. Okay, whatever, show some got our big coloring book? My god, get this dog off my nesk.

This is amazing.

This has never been used. I don't think or maybe it's just a huge blanket for picnics. But uh, like when you go to the parks, but it's too big. My wife's like, why do you do it's so big?

Is there?

No?

I always feel like you want a bigger.

That's what I thought. But now it's too big. Like my wife's like, we're taking up half the park.

That's amazing.

Well, now you've got a big blanket.

I don't know how I'm going to take this all. We'll get you something, okay.

Cats, here's a cat and only hat.

Wait is that a cat?

Yeah, it's a cat. It's got whiskers like a whatever. Why where's the sun shades? I don't need those? I hate those things. You ever use those on your car?

We do? These are kind of old?

Yeah?

Throw them?

Wait I brought where were they? I brought you? Kiss because I don't want anything. No, well, it's it's also for your man, for your kids.

As hold on, let me see what you you brought me from Nords? From rack?

No, No, that's just the bag all right. Well it's funny that you mentioned Vin because this is a.

Vin bobblehead, Vin boble that's not bad.

That's for you. That's for you, like n this is for your son a Mookie Bets bobblehead.

He doesn't like Mookie?

How does he not like Mooky Bets?

Okay, he likes me.

And then that's for your daughter. Little Dodger. Hello, Kitty Plush.

I'm not even that wasn't even for you. I always have my Dodger cat.

I got a lot of hats. I got a lot of hats.

I know.

I'm just letting you know that I actually am a Dodger fan.

But but you don't. You don't put it on it all than this.

I'm not gonna wear a hat during the interview. Yeah, but then why is it because because I wore it here? Oh I don't live here. Okay, okay, thank you very much.

Welcome. Yeah, yeah is it?

By the way, let me tell you, at a complaint about Dodger Stadium, you could do better to put more uh toy type things in the gift shop. You'd make a killing. There's nothing the dumb Dodger dog that's like a gross shade of pink or the rally monkey. There's like three things that are you.

Have you gone to the top Dex store, Like the top Dex stores.

Are going to the top. I go to the entrance the store right on the entrance way and the outfield on the right there when you yeah, yeah yeah, Mike, thanks for being on the show.

I appreciate it.

Pasha, well to thank Mike for being on the show. And I look FOURD to throwing out that first pitch. Got some plugs here tossshowstore dot com. Come check us out, check out our dates adding a show I believe in Monterey. I'm gonna do the free plug now, but not without free plug music. Carl, go ahead, lovely all right. This week's free plug is for the Beverly Hills Horseshoe Club in beautiful Beverly Hills, Florida. Huh interesting Beverly Hills, Florida.

I have.

I have a horseshoe pit up in Tahoe, and I like to throw the shoes around. First of all, very dangerous heavy, they're heavy. Now, I know, if you get a ringer, is that three points? That's how we play the farthest away from the stick that you can. Is it called a stick or post whatever. It's only the width of one horseshoe. Anything past that doesn't count at all. So you get one point for that and three points for a ringer. And what are you supposed to play to?

Yes, I thought twenty one.

Twenty one is what you're supposed to play to.

Yeah, I don't know what you're supposed to know.

I've never done it. They hold a full schedule of sanctioned tournaments on the second Saturday of the month. Is that coming up? You figure that out? Look at a calendar. I don't know when you're listening to this. They also conduct handicap leagues. I don't do we say handicap.

It probably shouldn't. That's out from their website.

That's from their website. They should update their website. They have handicap leagues at nine am, not nine am. You know long it takes them to get up and get do all the things to get out the door.

It quite a bit.

Well you know what I meant.

No, No, I get it.

That's I think it should be, like they should get a nice afternoon. I guess in Florida, though, you don't want to be too late in the day. Or maybe they're talking about amateur horseshoe pitchers, like what's their handicap? I don't I don't get it. Well, anyway, this is the Beverly Hills Horseshoe Club in Beverly Hills, Florida. Yeah, sounds like a good time. See you next week.