Commentary on hookahs, smoke rings, and The Dream

Plenty of home poker games and gambling nights feature lots of cigars and cigarettes, but some games are spicing up things even further by adding hookahs into the action. Regardless of what you prefer to smoke in your hookah, having a pipe on hand can appeal to the smokers in the audience and also add a fun wrinkle and twist to the normal action, giving friends another reason to get out of the house and make it to your home poker game every week; check out GamblingPlanet for other options for fun gambling nights.

If you’re completely new to hookahs, you’ve got plenty of options when it comes to buying one, from modern options such as HoboHookahs to much more elaborate and expensive ones. Hookahs are water pipes that originated in India in the 16th century, quickly spreading throughout much of the Arab world. A social custom that is found in many cafes, hookahs include single and double hoses for day-to-day use as well as triple and quadruple hose pipes for parties and larger get-togethers. In many Middle eastern countries hookah cafes and bars can be found on nearly every street corner, with the majority of the population taking part.

Hookah bars have become increasingly popular in the US over the last decade as well, even in areas that have smoking bans (where tobacco-free herbal shisha is smoked instead in order to conform to anti-smoking laws). Many hookah bars in the US target younger crowds and college students, and the pipes are big-sellers with those same groups. The basic hookah pipe consists of a bowl, screen, hose, and water jar, but as is the case with other pipes the final product can take many different forms, from elaborate artistic pipes to basic functional one designed to just get the job done.

If you’re in Las Vegas for a gambling weekend and to play blackjack and other games, you can also drop into some popular hookah bars while there. Paymon’s Hookah Lounge is one of the most popular, which is attached to a cafe and provides a great atmosphere to relax and ejoy a hookah, with Moroccan and Middle Eastern art filling the walls. Cloud 9 is another popular hookah lounge in Vegas, along with Olive Mediterranean Grill and Hookah Bar and the Red Hookah Lounge on East Tropicana.

A question was posed:

So as some of you know I am preparing for my second born. So people have asked if I am going to do another hookah project for this one. For those that don’t remember. I made this hookah in honor of my little girl [pic in forum]. So I need suggestions for this one… a hookah to honor my ….. SON!

And this I thought was an interesting part to one of the answers:

A Hobohookah and a Eurorail Pass — from experience I can say that this is the best 18th birthday gift for the adventurous soul. Best investment I ever made for my oldest son – haven’t seen him in a couple of years but he’s done an Americorps stint and just left Australia for New Zealand. Begins an all-expenses paid University adventure in England in September. Just sayin’…

Glorious answer. I’ve never done the Euro Trip with a HoboHookah, but I surmise it would be pretty rad. It’s been a while since anyone here at the HQ has gone on that epic of a journey, but we sure love hearing about them from our HoboHero friends out there.

It’s the weekend. Make it a good one.

Well, the wait nearly killed us but your favorite hookah is back in stock and for sale.

Jose just got his:

…and here’s what he said:

I love it man! It is really awesome, my friends can’t believe it works so well.

This is pretty cool:

Here’s the full article on Chicago hookah bars.

Money quote:

“We’re not a bad seed,” said Delisi, 36, who opened the lounge after losing his job as an assistant vice president at a Morton Grove bank in 2008.

Definitely not bad seeds. I find hookah smokers are usually some of the cooler cats around, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Bonus link from the article: if you’re in the area, this might be a useful Chicago hookah bar review resource.