The Biggest Loser
March 27, 2025 at 07:56PMFor Slate, Luke Winkie profiles Matt Morrow, aka “Vegas Matt,” a man who bankrolls his gambling by broadcasting his every bet on YouTube—win or lose—for over 1 million followers. Is this harmless fun or an ongoing waste of money for the sake of views? You be the judge.
Vegas Matt was on the cusp of a remarkable achievement. In a matter of weeks, his YouTube channel would cross the million-subscriber mark—a metric that pairs nicely with the million or so people who follow his Instagram account, and the 685,000 on his TikTok. New videos appear daily, and they all follow the same format: First, Vegas Matt counts out a hefty wager in front of a blackjack table or a slot machine. Then, like so many gamblers, he simply tries his luck. The camera is framed to provide the illusion that the viewer is in the captain’s chair, preparing to immolate $3,000 on the altar of chance. Throughout all this, Vegas Matt displays no elite strategy, acumen, or gamesmanship. He does not claim to have an insider’s edge or an esoteric jackpot-juicing technique. No one watching his videos is going to pick up tips to improve their approach. But that’s the magic: He’s utterly relatable. One of the enduring axioms of the gambling world is that despite anyone’s best efforts, the house always wins. So, in the language of casinos, to be relatable is to eat shit, constantly, and nevertheless crawl back for more. For amateur gamblers like me, these videos are the closest we can get to the intoxicating precarity of a big bet without risking a dent to the checking account.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/03/27/the-biggest-loser/
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