A MrBeast-style video led this YouTuber to become a casino spokesperson

Daniel Manachi was brainstorming innovative ideas for his YouTube channel when he thought of a way to bring a growing trend into the slot video niche.

“I thought it’d be great if I could walk around the casino and give people money and just gamble with them and they kept everything,” Manachi said, emulating the giveaway-style videos popularized by a top channel on the site, MrBeast.

Manachi was paying out of his own pocket, but he still had to ask for the casino’s permission to film. It took asking around at several places before he got a welcome at Rampart Casino in March.

He didn’t expect his video to become the basis for a partnership and marketing campaign. Manachi, known as the Vegas Low Roller on YouTube with about 290,000 subscribers, became a spokesperson for the locals casino in Summerlin with a campaign that launched this month. His likeness, catchphrases from videos and live group slot pull events are central to the “Vegas Low Roller Approved” print, TV and digital campaign running for roughly a year.

The partnership is part of the growing use of influencer marketing across all segments. The global influencer marketing industry reached $10.4 billion in 2021, and it’s expected to grow to $143.1 billion in 2030, at a compound annual growth rate of 33.4 percent, according to research firm Grand View Research.

The gaming industry is part of that growth. Social media-posting slot players with a large enough audience can be paid to post about hotels, casinos and iGaming brands. One has gotten so large that his likeness is the basis of a game.

Demographics align

Lorie Foerschler, vice president of slots and marketing strategy at Rampart Casino, said working with Manachi on the campaign is unique because his cross-promotion expands their advertising dollars beyond the Las Vegas Valley. They’re able to get the brand out to his viewers that are from across North America.

“We are a locals casino so as such, we don’t have a real far reach,” Foerschler said. “The ability to partner with him and get visibility from people out-of-market, people that don’t necessarily want the Strip experience, this gives them an opportunity and a reason to come try us.”

Manachi’s own audience was also an existing demographic that aligns with Rampart’s, she said.

“I was certainly convinced that (the audience) had to be an 18- to 25-year-old person sitting on their phone,” she said. “But there were our own players, well into their 60s, that knew him and watched him. Having that reach is pretty amazing, and cutting across the demographics is equally amazing.”

Rampart worked with Las Vegas-based advertising agency Geary Company to shoot the ads similar to Manachi’s videos. He asked real Rampart slot players questions about what they liked at Rampart — not unlike the conversations he had in his original videos online.

Foerschler said the casino will watch for increased word-of-mouth feedback as well as out-of-state inquiries, to measure the campaign’s effectiveness. They’ll also monitor how many people sign up for player’s cards after watching the campaign ads.

Manachi said the campaign is a big step for his burgeoning business on YouTube. He’s been making videos for 12 years but typically shies away from sponsored posts or other partnerships. This agreement, he said, still allows him to film content across the valley — though now he’s more supportive of Rampart — while getting his brand out further and pushing his personal boundaries.

“Back in the day, I never even showed myself on my channel and YouTube evolved to where they needed to see you and know you as a person,” he said. “That was a big adjustment for me because I was really heavy at the time and I didn’t like to leave the house much. So YouTube changed my whole life.”

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.