Survivor fans are flooding South Florida, and the center of the action is Jungle Island, where the new Survivor Ultimate Café offers challenges, themed food and official merchandise.

Sophi Balerdi, a contestant from Season 49, said seeing the recreated challenges is surreal because they’re pulled straight from the show.

“There’s challenges that I actually did in Fiji,” Balerdi said. “This is the exact challenge that I won back in season 49, and it’s just so cool to see it all.”

A full Survivor‑style experience

The café is designed to immerse visitors in the Survivor world. The menu goes beyond basic survival food and leans into the show’s reward challenges, giving fans a literal taste of what contestants eat in Fiji. For many, it’s also a chance to test themselves under pressure.

“You’re under pressure for a million dollars, you’re competing against other people, and when your life is on the line in the game, it’s scary to do these challenges,” Balerdi said.

Just steps away, another Survivor‑style event drew crowds: a hidden immunity idol hunt offering a chance to win a spot at the live finale in Los Angeles.

Francois said hundreds of people had about an hour left to search as fans from across Florida followed clues through the park.

“That jungle… in the city named for an ocean is where I am,” Francois said. “And it’s where hundreds are channeling their inner Survivor.”

Fans travel hours for a chance to win

Among the first in line were fans who drove from the Jacksonville area, calling the trip a gamble they hoped would pay off.

“This whole trip is to make my wife happy, so everybody else can go home,” Brandon Hudspatch said.

His wife, Rebecca Hudspatch, said they recognized the location from the show.

“You drove down just for this,” she said. “How’d you know to be here though? I think it was on last season?”

And while the object of the search is an idol, fans aren’t chasing immunity — they’re chasing a prize: a trip to the live finale taping in Los Angeles.

“Even if you’re not a Survivor fan, who doesn’t like solving riddles and driving six hours to find an idol?” Bridget Powell said.

Jane and Peter Simpson said they’ve been all‑in since the beginning. “I’ve seen this from Day One.”

Former contestants meet fans

The Survivor Café experience also includes meet‑and‑greets with former contestants, including Dee Valladares, who won Survivor 45 and is set to appear in the upcoming Survivor 50 season. Valladares said watching Survivor is one thing, but living it is something else entirely.

“You’re going to war with your mind,” she said. “For me, that was very hard. You’re stepping outside from the gameplay itself, shivering and thinking to yourself, when is this going to end and it never does.”

Survivor veteran Troy “Troyzan” Robertson echoed that reality.

“It’s one thing to watch it and one thing to play. This doesn’t seem like the same thing,” he said.

Fans visiting the café will also find official merchandise, including Survivor bandanas and shirts. The Survivor Café officially opens tomorrow, and reservations are available online.

A Miami Beach legend known for running in the city’s streets every night is now in a fight to keep his home.

Robert “Raven” Kraft has run every single night, rain or shine, since Jan. 1, 1975. He has been honored and celebrated by the city, and even has a street named after him – but Kraft is now facing foreclosure after soaring condo fees.

“It’s a nightmare,” he told NBC6.

Kraft bought his condo on Ocean Drive back in 1988.

“This is my home, and I love being here,” he said.

For years, he said he and the other tenants paid about $400 a month in maintenance fees, but over the last few years, that price tag has changed.

It all started after his building was put under the control of a court-appointed special master tasked with completing repairs.

“Things went way up,” he said. “Now they want $78,000 assessments. They want like $18,000 for some kind of lawyer thing.”

Kraft said he paid more than $20,000 back in 2023, but the bills keep coming in.

“I have been wanting to pay. They ignore me, they don’t answer the phone, they don’t tell me how much I owe,” Kraft said.

Now he said he’s being warned to pay or lose his home.

“It’s been awful, they put a lien on my place, they put a foreclosure,” he said.

While Kraft isn’t asking for money, a GoFundMe page has been put together by the community in an effort to raise $50,000 to cover his legal costs in fighting the foreclosure.

“They’ve been so good to me,” he said. “Strangers are donating money. I’ve never owed money my whole life.”

Kraft said he’s using a lot of the money for lawyer fees, but in the meantime, he plans to come to the beach and run, where he finds peace and hope.

NBC6 reached out to the special master in charge of the HOA for a comment.

Hey, at least it wasn’t a blowout!

Facing off in their first of three straight against the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls fell short, 116-113. Unlike Wednesday night’s battle, where they let the Pacers find their rhythm late, the Bulls were the ones to claw back in. When a team is as well-coached as the Heat, however, finishing the job is extra difficult.

Back at it on Saturday in South Beach.

3 Takeaways

A Dumbfounding Shot Chart

If the Chicago Bulls were hungry for revenge, their stomachs certainly weren’t rumbling. The first half of action looked a lot like what we have recently grown used to in this matchup. While there was some initial back-and-forth thanks to surprising aggressiveness from Isaac Okoro and Jalen Smith, the Heat didn’t need long to gain control.

Their combination of speed and physicality slowly but surely started to take a toll on a Bulls team that played in Indianapolis 24 hours earlier. To be sure, Chicago would only face a 61-50 deficit heading into the halftime break, but the gap felt a whole lot bigger. They posted only 20 points in the second quarter alone on a 25.7 percent success rate.

Chicago’s inability to buy a bucket at the rim is what really jumped off the screen. They went a staggering 9-25 from inside the paint over the first two quarters, struggling to finish over the top of Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware. Far too many times, they settled for lower-percentage floaters right outside the restricted area.

Seriously, the shot chart is about as ugly as it gets …

To little surprise, the Heat had the opposite success against Chicago’s far weaker interior defense. They shot 14-18 in the paint and went 10-12 from the charity stripe. When the Heat started the night a perfect 6-6 from the field, you could tell this was going to be an uphill battle for the Bulls.

Miami Loves Mistakes

The Miami Heat came into the evening averaging the NBA’s fourth-most points off turnovers and in the fastbreak. It showed.

While the Heat faced their own struggles offensively as the game went on, their efficiency when earning extra possessions proved to be the difference-maker. They finished the night with 23 points scored off the Bulls’ 16 turnovers. Relatedly, entering with the highest PACE in the NBA, they were a +12 in the fastbreak points.

Arguably, no sequence described the night better than when the Bulls were down 106-100 with 5:38 to go. Pelle Larsson went down the floor and drained a three, forcing Billy Donovan to call a timeout. Frustration appeared to be boiling over for the Bulls, who looked both gassed and bothered with their own poor shooting.

Coming out of the timeout, Chicago immediately turned the ball over again. Nikola Jovic proceeded to shank a three-pointer, but the Bulls failed to capitalize again with a second consecutive turnover. A massive missed opportunity.

To be sure, the Bulls would still find themselves in a position to steal the game for reasons we will discuss in a moment, but that’s when the turnover monster reared its head again. Chicago forced a key stop down 112-109 with under 30 seconds to go. Now with a chance to go down the floor and tie the game, Coby White didn’t see Larsson underneath the rim, and the ball was poked away with ease. Miami may not have converted off this turnover, but they milked 18 more valuable seconds off the clock.

As we all know, Miami is one of the most well-coached teams in the NBA. The last thing you want to do is fork over too many extra chances or fail to hustle back in the open floor. Chicago did both too many times tonight.

Ayo Dosunmu Puts On His Cape

On life support for three quarters, Ayo Dosunmu single-handedly gave the Chicago Bulls a chance to steal the win.

After the Bulls’ initial turnover frenzy around the 5 minutes mark, Dosunmu put together an individual 7-0 run. He first nailed a tough reverse layup before draining a three from the corner. Then, he finished another bucket at the rim to suddenly cut the Miami lead to 110-107. This is when the absence of Davion Mitchell for Miami may have been felt the most. They simply didn’t have someone on the floor who could stay in front of the high-energy guard.

Fast forward to 10.1 seconds left, and Dosunmu was draining two clutch free throws to make it a 112-111 game. Following some free throw trading, the Bulls would ultimately watch Coby White come up short on a game-tying three-point attempt. Still, it was a remarkably impressive fourth quarter for Dosunmu, who finished with 15 of his 23 points in the frame and was all over the floor. If you’re a guard-needy team watching with the trade deadline approaching, what you’re willing to give up to bring Dosunmu in may have just gone up.

Chicago Bulls Player Grades

Ayo Dosunmu – A
Stats: 23 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST

He gave the Bulls a chance. Simple as that.

Kevin Huerter – B+
Stats: 15 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 2 BLK

Sometimes, you will look down and be caught off guard by Kevin Huerter’s balanced box score, but tonight wasn’t one of those nights. You were consistently aware of him when he was out there, whether it be behind the arc (4-9) or on the glass. You need to bring that extra gear when playing Miami, and he did that.

Matas Buzelis – B
Stats: 16 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK

Matas Buzelis was fighting on both ends and trying to match Miami’s physicality up front. While he only finished 6-15 from the field, tonight showed the mix of early aggressiveness and in-game adjusting that we want to see from the youngster. With shots not falling in the first half, he was a little more careful with his selection in the second half.

Jalen Smith – C+
Stats: 11 PTS, 5 REB

The Chicago Bulls hung around in the first quarter, in part, because of Jalen Smith’s shotmaking. He scored the team’s first three buckets of the night before later knocking down the three that knotted things up at 29 apiece. Nevertheless, by the end of the Bulls’ poor second quarter, the team announced that he would not return due to calf tightness. Not what you want to hear.

Coby White – C-
Stats: 14 PTS, 7 REB, 5 REB, 2 STL

Tonight was a tough one for Coby White, who shot 2-11 from the field and missed the potential game-tying bucket. He also turned the ball over a few times down the stretch. The good news: 8-10 from the charity stripe.