Slot Hopper might be diminutive in stature, but she towers over the slots world with one of the most successful YouTube channels in a rapidly expanding segment.
The Slot Hopper channel is closing in on 100,000 subscribers with tens of millions of views and a growing empire of social media channels including the new Travel Hopper Chic that focuses on travel around the USA.
You’ll often find Slot Hopper, AKA Natalie, playing old-school three-reel gems (while wearing a fabulous outfit) but she also plays some of the newer games like Huff N’ Puff and Dragon Link.
Slot Hopper gave SlotsFan her first official interview (done by the incomparable NJ Slot Guy) earlier this year. The normally private influencer gave viewers a look behind the scenes at what it’s like running a successful slots channel on YouTube.
The following is a condensed section of an interview with Slot Hopper that took place earlier this year. It has been edited for clarity and brevity. The complete video is available at the end of the article.
NJ Slot Guy: Tell me how this started for you.
Slot Hopper: So it was 2020. We just had a baby. But COVID hit. And David [Slot Hopper’s partner] owned a construction company. And people wouldn’t let him go into their houses. So his work just kind of went, and we needed something to do. So he’s like, “Let’s go record at Hard Rock.” I’m like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
We didn’t have permission. So we went to make our first video. We like to gamble. We’ve always played old-school slots. Always. Old-school three-reels. Hit jackpots. But the first video, Dave had to hold the camera right behind me. I sat at the machine. He sneakily hit record. And I think we played—what the heck did it? Top Dollar.
NJ Slot Guy: This is a good memory. I couldn’t tell you the first machine I played.
Slot Hopper: I was so dang nervous, even though it wasn’t live. I didn’t know how to do anything. He didn’t know how to do anything. So I googled everything.
NJ Slot Guy: No way.
Slot Hopper: Yeah. Good stuff like “How do I edit? How do I upgrade?” Great stuff. So our oldest son started the YouTube channel. He created it for me. And it just evolved. And that’s it. I made so many mistakes. I still make mistakes.
NJ Slot Guy: Yeah, we all do every single day, which makes us better as creators as we move on. You see yourself as a creator now and what you were back in 2020, and you’re like, “What the hell were they doing?”
Slot Hopper: I do that all the time.
NJ Slot Guy: Same here. I meet up with all you creators and I go, “What am I doing? Everybody’s got real stuff going on.”
Slot Hopper: I’m so critical of myself. And sometimes, I don’t upload a video for like two days because I got to think about it.
NJ Slot Guy: Let’s talk about your new travel channel: Travel Hopper Chick.
Slot Hopper: So being a slot creator, streaming slots is very stressful. At first, it was super exciting, but to get clicks, you got to be able to place the bets. You got to be able to produce the wins. You can’t always lose. You can’t always win.
And the highs and lows are like a roller coaster. It’s never just cool. It is way up or way the heck down. Those highs and lows are very hard to keep up with mentally and physically.
NJ Slot Guy: So now what happens when you start a travel channel on top of it now? You have now doubled your work, if not added more.
Slot Hopper: Yeah, but it’s an escape. There are so many creators now. I felt like I needed a second channel to help Slot Hopper.
NJ Slot Guy: What is your biggest win?
Slot Hopper: Dave and I had so much fun at Hollywood Hard Rock before it was Guitar Hotel. That was our place. So we used to go in—I mean, we were low rollers. We’d go hit up the Wheel of Fortune, like $3 to spend, $5 to spend, go in with like 100 bucks and hit like $800. We’re like, “Oh, my gosh. This is huge.”
Slot Hopper: And one day, Dave was like, “Well, let’s go in the high-limit room.” I was like, “Oh, no. I don’t go in there.”
NJ Slot Guy: Yeah, I don’t go there.
Slot Hopper: Okay. Well, we should have never gone in there. That’s it. That was it. We were done.
Slot Hopper: So we went in there. You know what I played? Do you remember the original Top Dollar? He was mechanical, and you could see him. Anyway, I won $10,000.
NJ Slot Guy: Nice.
Slot Hopper: The next day I won another $10,000 on the same machine.
NJ Slot Guy: No way.
Slot Hopper: I still had my winnings, the other $10,000. And David had won, and we were up to like $23,000 or something. I’m like, “You know what? Let’s go play this.” I think it was a $10 or $25 machine—I think it was a $10 machine. It was the 2X, 3X, 4X (Hot Stuff) machine.
NJ Slot Guy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. The old school.
Slot Hopper: Yes. I’m like, “Okay, I’m gonna play this.” Well, I’m betting one credit, right? Okay. I get a little deep in it and I’m like, crap. I’m probably in it for $5,000 and I’ve got 30 bucks left in the game. And I’m livid.
So I smash the max bet and it hits. Like $36K. Yeah. That was my biggest win. That was off-camera though.
NJ Slot Guy: What advice would you give a new creator coming in?
Slot Hopper: You’ve got to pace yourself. If you go for max and go over your budget, you’re not going to make it.
People email me all the time asking how to do it. You kind of have to figure it out for yourself but you have to have a goal. You have to have an audience you’re targeting. You need to pace yourself. And you DEFINITELY cannot have a gambling addiction. You’ll never make it. You gotta know when to go home.
NJ Slot Guy: How do you feel about online casinos?
Slot Hopper: I think that there are pros and cons, just like with everything. And everything has to be done in moderation.
But what I have enjoyed about it is they’re not like a land-based casino. You can spin at 0.20 SC and win huge. Like Dave plays. I play when I’m creating, but not really so much because I just need a break from it. But yeah, he plays it a lot. He wins. He’s probably won over 10K. It is a different process, but it’s still real. Everything that’s different is a scam, right? Remember when Bitcoin was a scam?
NJ Slot Guy: Yeah, exactly. I have cashed out real money from Bitcoin and Ethereum and stuff like that. Real as can be to me. I had a comment the other day, “I lost 10K. It’s such a scam.” Well, that’s actually your own fault. Why are you risking so much? Moderation. Moderation, like you’re saying. If you go to the land-based casino and you lose 10K, is it a scam?
Slot Hopper: Actually, your odds are better, not worse. There is still platform risk. Play responsibly because you know you got to.
NJ Slot Guy: What is your goal, you would say, and your mission for Slot Hopper as well as Travel Hopper Chick?
Slot Hopper: Just to succeed. Take care of my family. That’s it, right? That’s all you want to do. I just want to get through the month, buy groceries. I feel like they go up $50 every time I go in the dang store. And medication goes up. Our oldest son is a type 1 diabetic, so he can’t go without. Two kids in college. So everything’s expensive.
NJ Slot Guy: You’re not sitting here, just you and Dave traveling the world with no responsibility…
Slot Hopper: That’s the thing. People want to have an image. And I don’t want to taint that image because you know when I watch TV, I want to escape too. Of course. I want to see an image. I don’t want to see your personal life. You can leave your drama at home. That’s another reason why I always try to portray happiness. I’ve shed enough tears. When I’m on camera, I want to laugh. I want to spread the joy.
I don’t want to share too much of myself because I’m normal. I’m a person. I have bills. I don’t have a money tree at home. We both work our butts off.
Be sure to check out Slot Hopper’s YouTube channel. You can also follow her progress in our SlotsFan rankings by visiting her Streamer Profile.
Here’s the complete interview Slot Hopper did with NJ Slot Guy:
