Casinos are always looking for ways to drive customers to their products. To achieve this goal, casinos have started tapping influencers – people on social media platforms promoting their talents in particular areas – in a symbiotic relationship that works well for both parties. This weekend at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa is one of those weekends as several slot influencers and their fans have descended on the property for a weekend of fun and celebration.
Tired? Who’s Tired?
After a Thursday greeting from four of the top slot influencers in the game today – Francine ‘Lady Luck HQ’ Maric, Scott ‘The Big Jackpot’ Richter, Narek ‘NG Slot’ Gharibyan, and a flown in from Las Vegas Scott ‘Vegas Matt’ Morrow – kept up the shenanigans late into the morning and after a Friday tournament that saw a $100,000 prize pool handed out to the participants, you might have thought that the slots influencers and their fans were a bit tuckered out. This was HARDLY the case as, bright and early on Saturday (at least for casino people), the Big Show was ready to take place.
The game was a $300,000 slots tournament, with the eventual champion earning a $100,000 free-play credit from Seminole Hard Rock Tampa. If that weren’t enough, the top 250 players would be picking up a little free play action from the SHRT, with even 250th place earning $150 in free play credit. With that amount of money on the line, the four slot influencers would join their fellow slot aficionados, and some of the influencers’ friends would also come into the mix.
Joining in the fun and games was one of the top influencers in the casino world, Lorraine ‘Goddess of Slots’ Bencivengo-Ziff, who had been hanging around since the Thursday night birthday party for Maric. Joining in on the fun were Leana ‘MamaCipSlots’ Cipriano, Bobby ‘Bluff’ Rivas, Jon ‘JackpotJonny’ Sullivan, Reginald ‘reggiemush’ Holland, and Brandon ‘BluffinBranding’ Tanoue, who might have been late to the party but jumped into the slots tournament with aplomb.
Much like the Friday tournament, the Saturday event was played on the SpinFerno TournXtreme machine, but there was a slight twist. Unlike Friday’s play, this time the 36 machines around the Event Center would feature two rounds of play, with flights going off at 10-minute intervals over two and a half hours. After two rounds of play, the two scores of the participant would be added, and the champion would walk off with the trophy and a $100,000 free-play credit.
Nice for a few hours of work on a Saturday afternoon, don’t you think?
Bottom Line – It’s All for Fun
One of the major things emphasized over the three days of slot play was that the influencers AND the fans were there for the fun of the game. They were not there to become wealthy from what they were doing. They were there to enjoy the camaraderie of the game. That was something that I discussed with one of the fans, Deb, who was there to support her husband through the game.
Deb stated that her husband gets invited to the tournaments because “he does spend a lot on them!” But Deb also remarked that it was a form of entertainment for them to travel up and down the East Coast to different casinos and take part in the events. “He’s had some success,” she stated with a twinkle in her eye regarding her husband’s success.
All the influencers participated in at least the first round of the slots tournament, but Cipriano was among those who did particularly well. She mentioned that she has found her niche in the influencer community by playing lower stakes and racking up decent wins that she puts online. ‘MamaCipSlots’ also did not do too badly in the tournament, sticking around in the Top Ten of the final counts for much of the night.
As the day turned to night, however, the party had to come to a close. ‘Vegas Matt’ had to jump back on a helicopter to be ushered to the airport for a flight back to Las Vegas. ‘Lady Luck HQ’ enjoyed a weekend party with her friends and followers, and all the slot influencers were more than happy to meet their followers, pose for pictures, and share the thrill of the slots.
Who won the tournament? That wasn’t what really mattered. What mattered is that everyone, from the influencers to the fans, was there to have an enjoyable time, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino delivered that in offering a weekend that looked to take care of the guests and their experiences while encouraging the interactions with the influencers. In the end, everyone came out as a winner.