.jpg)
For a lot of people, going to the casino is just a bit of fun to be had every once in a while, but former Uber driver Brian Christopher hit the career jackpot by managing to make an entire business out of the pastime.
It was around a decade ago when Brian, who's originally from Canada, decided to move to California with the hope of pursuing a career in acting.
However, we all know that it's not as easy as landing an audition and becoming Hollywood's newest star, so Brian made extra money on the side by working as an Uber driver.
Advert
Speaking to UNILAD, Brian explained that he aimed to make $1,000 a month through Uber to help pay his and his husband's bills.
Fast forward to today, and Brian's now raking in around 10 times that much every day, and it's all thanks to a trip to Vegas.
Now don't start getting ahead of yourself - Brian hasn't managed to find a way to beat the system.
Instead, he began making his money after he came across some videos online of people gambling while he was searching for tips on the best places to go in Vegas.
Advert
"The first reaction that I had is probably the same as everyone gets - 'who the heck would watch that? Why would you watch someone else gamble? Why wouldn't you just gamble yourself?'," he recalled.
"But I got myself sucked into it somehow. And, you know, I just kept watching. It was really, really fun to watch. So I thought, 'what the heck, maybe I'll film some videos'."
Brian began to think about how he could make his videos stand out from the rest, and decided to set himself a challenge; whatever he made in one day driving Uber, he would gamble to try and double his money during a trip to Vegas.
Advert
"Many days, unfortunately, I would go down to $0 because it's hard to double your money... But other days I would I would double up or even more," Brian recalled.
He uploaded his videos to his acting YouTube channel over the course of a few days, thinking it was just going to be a 'bit of fun'.
But when he went back to the page, he realized he'd suddenly gone from 'a dozen or so subscribers', to more than 1,000 subscribers in one week.
Keen to keep his new fans entertained, Brian used some of the leftover footage from his trip to Vegas to post a few more videos, and before long he was invited to the YouTube Partner program, which allowed him to start making money off his videos.
Advert
"It started off as, you know, 30 cents this day and $1 the next day, $1.50, I'm like, 'cool. It's gonna keep on going up.' Right? You never know.
"So I just I decided... this is going somewhere. I have been an actor since I was 11, I've been following this dream. It's still my dream. But there's this new path in front of me right now... Let's just see where this takes me first... And it exploded."
Since he first began posting his videos, Brian has gone on to amass more than 1.7 million followers on social media.
Advert
People from across the globe wait keenly for Brian's posts which show him tackling slot machines, playing with both big and small amounts of cash, but all the while being transparent in the fact that you can easily lose it all.
"I'm very aware that problem gambling is a thing, and I did not want to have a part in that," Brian explained.
"I didn't want to show people that I always win... [I was] very transparent from the beginning, showing all my wins and all of my losses.
"If you go through each one of my videos, you will see that I'm losing a lot more than I'm winning."
For Brian, though, the experience of gambling is more about the 'journey' than the result.
To help ensure the game stays fun, he has a rule that he sticks by - the money he uses to gamble is for his 'entertainment only'.
"This is not a way to pay your bills. Treat it like you're going into a concert, pay your entry fee, leave without expecting any money back - but hey, sometimes you might get a little extra to go back with you. And that's pretty cool, too."
Brian does have a few tips to try and make sure you enjoy yourself while gambling, pointing out that 'if your hope is to win big, then you have to bet big most of the time'.
"If you have, say, $1,000 budget for the whole weekend in Vegas, maybe take $200 or $300 and try a little bigger bet if you want to attempt that.
"Otherwise, you want to make that last. Do the lower bets. That's where the fun is. It's less stressful as well. Stick with a 50 cent or $1 bets, just try and get those bonuses and get the big wins."
Sometimes Brian does get to take home some seriously impressive lumps of cash, with his highest-ever slot machine win amounting to $34,000.
To make the win even more special, it took place in a slots room in Vegas that actually has Brian's name on the door.
"It's the only smoke-free gambling area in downtown Vegas," he explained. "And it's got my name on it. I'm so proud to promote that and promote responsible gambling and smoke free gambling."
Smoke-free gambling isn't the only thing Brian has used his online presence to raise awareness for.
The YouTuber has also been awarded the Visibility Award from the Harvey Milk Foundation - an award which 'shocked' him because he wasn't going out of his way to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, he was simply being himself.
"From day one, I've always been open that I was a gay man and then I was married to a man," he explained. "I've never shied away from it. And I guess that's what's really helped."
Over time, Brian has realized the impact his openness has had on his fans, many of who have told him stories about how he changed their lives. On one occasion, a man told Brian that it was because of him he didn't 'disown' his own son when he came out as gay.
"You don't think that by playing a slot machine, you can affect people in that way. So by being open about who you are - literally just being yourself - that's what people are tuning in for. And you can change lives just by showing that love is love."
Looking ahead, Brian plans to continue his business by growing his YouTube channels, as well as working on more slot machines both in casinos and online, and generally 'see where else we can take this'.
He's looking forward to the journey, but he'll always love the place where it started: the casino.
"You feel the ups and the downs, the wins, the losses," he said. "We all hate the losses, but those comebacks are everything."
Please gamble responsibly. For help, support and advice about problem gambling, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline on 1-800-GAMBLER, 24/7.
Topics: LGBTQ, Social Media, Viral, YouTube, Money
Emily Brown