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Brian Christopher is the leading casino gaming influencer in the United States. Named by CDC Gaming Reports as one of most important folks in all of gaming, Brian has deep relationships with millions of casino enthusiasts in the US and beyond through award-winning content, dedicated community building, and unmatched experiential Events.
A respected innovator in the industry, he has designed and branded the BCSlots at Plaza gaming area in Downtown Las Vegas, as well as his very own Brian Christopher’s Pop’N Pays MORE slot machine manufactured by Gaming Arts. Winner of Slot Collaboration of the Year at the CasinoBeats Game Developer Awards, the game is now featured in land-based casinos across the United States, online on Chumba Casino, and at sea. In partnership with Carnival Cruise Line, BCSlots Cruises offer themed sailings complete with his signature player events on board.
Brian is the proud recipient of the Streamer of the Year Award presented by SBC, the Media Visibility Award presented by the Harvey Milk Foundation, and the Voices for Smokefree Air Award presented by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. He has been a Featured Speaker at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), Indian Gaming Association (IGA), EGR US Power Summit and AGS GameON, and is the Host of the annual EKG Slot Awards Show in Las Vegas.
Brian recently took the time to speak with Pride Business about how he conquered the world of gaming.
What made you start playing the slots?
I’ve always played slots since I was legal. I always enjoyed it. In terms of doing it for a YouTube channel, I never had plans to do that. It just happened. I moved to LA to further my acting career and when I was there, I went to Vegas for the first time. I looked on YouTube to find out where to go and where to play and I found some gambling videos. I thought to myself ‘who would watch these?’, but hours later I was still watching them. I thought maybe I could do a few videos for fun and throw them on my acting channel because I was a filmmaker and actor and thought I could add some more flare. I made three videos and I was done. I was never going to post more again, but there was demand. People asked when the next video came out. It all happened fast. I spent my entire life acting and now I was putting it on hold for something else. I had no plans at all to do anything like this. Years later, we have over 1.7 million YouTube subscribers.
When did you determine this could turn into a business?
After about a month or two. I started making a few dollars a day and it kept growing. I could see making a profit eventually. Around the two-month mark, I realized I can grow this a lot further.
In the early days, how did you market your business?
100% YouTube. I had a Facebook page which was my acting page as well, but I didn’t post a ton of these videos on Facebook until 2020. Now I use TikTok and Instagram for short-form videos. I also use Kick for live streaming.
Tell us about BCSlots at Plaza
About 3 years ago, Plaza approached me and asked if I would be interested in having a little space in their casino where I could have a few of my favorite machines. It was around 24 machines in the beginning. In 2021, I announced I was going to promote smoke-free casinos only, so they built a smoke-free expansion to their casino because they didn’t want to lose me. It has its own entrance and has about 70 slot machines.
Who is your target audience?
It’s pretty wide. We have 20-year-olds and 90-year-olds. It targets not only people who like to gamble but people who want a good thrill. Some people have never been in a casino before. YouTube viewers seem to be older females, while Facebook skews younger males. It the opposite of what everyone thinks.
How do you identify the perfect slot machine?
The thing is that you can win on every slot and you can lose on every slot. Whatever brings you a thrill or excitement is the perfect slot. Most games now are digital and have tons of sounds and lights. I play machines that I think fans will want to see and play. We also have our own slot machine and people love to see those as well.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To be yourself. A lot of channels don’t realize that. Don’t pretend you’re someone else. People are looking for variety and the best place to find variety is in your personality.
For more information on Brian Christopher, please visit https://www.bcslots.com/ or www.FliptheSwitch.com
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