Gambling content creators are drawing big online audiences, and some Las Vegas casinos are easing limits on filming the floor

What happened

Gambling content creators who post big bets and jackpot wins on YouTube, Instagram and livestreams have become a growing presence on Las Vegas casino floors, Las Vegas Weekly reported. The feature says the content is aimed at younger audiences who may not have played in a real casino. It also says the trend is prompting operators to loosen long-standing restrictions on filming gaming floors.

One example the outlet described is a video by creator Bobby Rivas, known online as Bluff or Bluffin' Bob, filmed at the El Cortez Hotel & Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. In it, he hits a Grand Jackpot worth $45,380.54 on a high-limit slot machine. The video was posted 11 months ago and has drawn more than a million views, according to the report.

How a Downtown casino opened up to cameras

El Cortez started early

The 85-year-old El Cortez began allowing slot-machine filming in 2017 and approved a blackjack livestream a year later, Las Vegas Weekly reported. The outlet noted that much of the gaming industry had long viewed that kind of promotion with suspicion.

Adam Weisberg, the casino's vice president and general manager, told the outlet that creators offered a more personal kind of reach. "It was very quickly obvious that this was going to be important," he said. Weisberg also runs his own account, El Cortez Adam, which he said he started a year ago and which has 66,000 followers.

Why casinos were cautious

Las Vegas Weekly noted that welcoming cameras and phones to the gaming floor means rethinking an environment where privacy and discretion have been the norm. "Gambling is very serious business," Weisberg told the outlet. He added that dealers make mistakes, which creates apprehension about letting people record play.

Who is watching

Younger, mostly male audiences

Rivas told the outlet that at the time of the interview, 36.5% of his viewers were between 25 and 35. Nick Splawn, founder of the creator group On Tilt Boys, said 75% of his group's viewership is 18 to 45 years old and about 85% is male. Splawn said the group also aims to promote responsible gambling.

Rivas' videos also feature giveaways. Through a weekly series called Philanthropy Thursday, he has donated to nonprofits such as SafeNest, given cash to food-service workers and gifted a new car to a longtime El Cortez security guard, the outlet reported.

Beginner-focused videos

Not every creator centers on high stakes. Local musician Jesse Flores, who performs as Indie Florentino and posts as Indie Gambles, began playing casino games seriously about 18 months ago and builds his videos around tutorials for beginners, Las Vegas Weekly reported. Flores described making friends with other players and dealers at the table. "You don't really get that from sitting at home on your phone," he said.

Cautions and the tourism view

An expert's warning

Anthony Curtis, a former professional blackjack player and founder of the Las Vegas Advisor, told the outlet that a creator's popularity should not be confused with gambling expertise. "You're playing what's called a negative expectation game," he said. Curtis explained that over time players will lose, except for a few lucky ones.

LVCVA sees value in creators

Michael O'Brien, senior vice president of AI and enterprise performance at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said gaming is an iconic part of the destination and that resort partners showcase it through their own creator relationships. "The value of creator content lies in its authenticity and the trust audiences place in the people they follow," he told Las Vegas Weekly. Readers following the local casino business can also see our coverage of Nevada's September gaming win.

What to watch next

• Whether online interest in gambling videos turns into more casino visits, a question Las Vegas Weekly said operators are in a position to help answer.
• How casinos manage cameras and phones on gaming floors as operators loosen long-standing filming restrictions.
• Whether watching others win persuades younger viewers raised on viral videos to try gambling in person, a question the outlet raised.