Calling all Slot Fanatics! Youtube is gaining new Slot Channels by the day that are entertaining viewers with exciting casino jackpots and lovable personalities behind the camera. Not only are these videos of slot play a trending topic, but so are cats. What happens when you combine these two trends? Well, you get the purrrrfect combination- Slot Cats! It was obvious that Comped Travel had to reach out to feature this dynamic duo and learn more!

Comped Travel’s Katie Vanpool interviews the Slot Cats, Fred and Heidi, to learn more about how they created this fun channel, hear stories about their favorite casino moments, and more. Be sure to check out their videos!

(0:00-0:16) Katie Vanpool: Hi everybody, its Katie from Comped Travel and URComped. I am here with The Slot Cats themself. Fred and Heidi, how are y’all doing today?

(0:16-0:19) Fred and Heidi Clemons: Hello. Hello.

(0:19-0:24) KV: Thanks so much for joining me. So you guys live in Las Vegas, correct?

(0:24-0:25) HC: Correct.

(0:25-0:33) KV: Awesome. So you guys are in the casinos all the time. Tell us a little bit about yourself. And your channel. And how you guys got started?

(0:33-2:27) HC: Okay. Well, we actually just celebrated our Third Year Anniversary of our channel on Sunday. I don’t know when this will air, but as of March, we had our three-year anniversary. And we got started. Basically, I was a… Had a career in the corporate world and Fred was at home. He’s disabled and so he was looking for some purpose. And we happen to meet Brian Christopher and participated in group pull with him. As we were driving home from Vegas, because we didn’t live in Vegas at that time. We lived in Southern California and we thought, “Hey…” Fred has a background in TV and film. And we should just record our slot play. Because we enjoy going the casino together. And that’s really how it came about. And on our drive home, it was like, “Next time we go. Let’s record what we do.” And.. Easy Peasy right? Then it’ll give you something to do at home. Record, edit our videos, and upload them onto YouTube. And we were total newbies to all of that and had no idea what it entailed. And we went from just kind of starting out and deciding we were going to just do it for fun. And drop one or two videos a week or so. And to our second week Fred was like, “We need to get more content cause we’re going to drop a video every single day.“ But that is pretty much how it went. And then once we were able to, we started Live Streaming. So currently our channel, we’d drop eight videos a week. So seven days a week. Twice on Sunday. And we go live three times a week. So it’s quite a lot of content. Quite a lot of out there being in the casinos. And playing slots for everybody.

(2:27-2:48) KV: That’s awesome. That is a lot of content. And so I… You mentioned it’s March. I forgot to mention we are filming this on St. Patrick’s Day. So that’s why we’ve got… I’ve got my green on. They’ve got their green background. Another thing I wanted to ask is where did the name Slot Cats come from?

(2:48-4:10) FHC: Well, one of the things that Fred and I also enjoy is we enjoy our music. Especially we are into jazz music. So as we were driving home from that trip after seeing Brian, we were kind of like, “You know, how can we incorporate the two things we love, well three things really. Because we love cats, we rescue cats and love our cats. And we both have them and then we love music and in particular jazz music. So I was like, Jazzy cats, Cool cats. Cool cats. Something in that reign and Fred was like, “Well we have to have slots in the name because it’s a slot channel. So we’re like, Okay, Slot Cats. And that’s really how it came about. And it’s kind of funny because everybody says, “Oh what a great marketing campaign you have. You have… Heidi wears cat ears in the casino.” And also I think, we didn’t plan any of this. It just evolved. Just don’t tell anybody. We end all of our videos, we say “Meow for now” at the end of our videos. Or our live streams if people are hanging out with us. We’re like “Hey, what do we say and the end of our videos and everybody’s like, meow for now.” Or we say things like, “Bonus right meow” And It’s a lot of fun.

(4:10-4:24) KV: That’s awesome and it gives you guys so many more opportunities for good cat puns and all sorts of things. They’re endless when it comes to cats. I feel like, you guys picked a good animal.

(4:24-4:25) HC: Thank you.

(4:25-4:35) KV: Out of all the times in the casino, you guys record, you put out so much content. What is one of your favorite best or most memorable jackpot stories?

(4:35-5:17) FHC: Well I know we have different ones. We do. You tell yours. So mine is… So we are not we’re not high rollers by any means. I love to play Bingo. I like to go play bingo at the casino. That’s what I love to do. And I was meeting one of our patrons, one of our cool cats for Bingo. And I didn’t see him in the bingo hall. So I turn around I sat at the nearest machine to the bingo hall. And I put in twenty dollars. And I put in a second twenty dollars, Which was some of my best Bingo money, so I was a little nervous and on eighty-eight cents. I won over twenty thousand dollars right before the bingo.

(5:17-5:22) KV: That’s insane. That’s amazing though.

(5:22-6:08) FHC: It was bananas, right? That’s another word. I use a lot is bananas, but it wasn’t… It was one of those things where I was just trying to meet somebody to play Bingo. And I didn’t want to miss him going to the bingo hall. And again, And so … I sat down at the closest machine to the bingo hall. And then I come to find out after I screamed. When I won the jackpot, he was actually in the bingo hall and I just didn’t see him. So it was like… So it was meant to be. Meant to be, right? And so anyways, it was just a totally incredible experience. I hope everybody that watches that video on our channel, really felt the same kind of shock and excitement that I felt. Well, mine has to do with… Are you familiar with the wager saver?

(6:08-6:11) KV: Yes, just a little bit.

(6:11-6:41) FHC: Okay. We played through a couple hundred dollars. We were up and we were playing this one machine. And we were a little short at the end of it for one final spin. So we did the wager saver. We got it. And it had a wheel, right? It had a wheel on it and we got the one coin. And the one coin was for the mega jackpot and we won the mega jackpot on a wager saver bet. Yep, over six thousand dollars on a wager saver.

(6:41-6:42) KV: Wow.

(6:42-7:10) FHC: We were completely shocked. Yeah. I was like, “What just happened?” And Fred kept saying, “It was a wager saver.” Like we didn’t even bet the full amount. You never win on saver wager usually. And we won the mega jackpot on the entire machine. But I guess both of our stories. It just shows you, there’s a fine-line between coincidence and fate, right? Pretty amazing.

(7:10-7:21) KV: That is so cool. Do you guys maybe just from wins or style of play. Do you guys have a favorite slot game that you enjoy playing maybe more often than others?

(7:21-9:10) FHC: The winning one? A winning one. So I really love playing brand new games. And it’s funny that you say that this week because this week we have five new slot machines that just got released from Scientific Games on our Channel this Week. And they’re all bananas. If we find out there’s a new slot machine in town where there. So I’ve always loved the Dancing Drum Series, Dancing Drums. Dancing Drums Explosion. Will now the brand-new Dancing Drums Prosperity is out. And that one is bananas. It’s takes the best of all of them. And it’s just a crazy game. And then, they have new Zeus Games. They have a new Ultimate Fire Link Power 4. I mean their arsenal is huge and we love playing those games. I also just recently found a brand new Cashman Bingo Game, which I got a handpay on. Choose your favorite. I don’t have a favorite… But the Cashman Bingo Game I was like, “This game was meant for me.” Because I was originally a bingo player and turn slot enthusiasts. And this game is you win the bonus is bingo. Basically you make a line of bingo. And if you can make it through the free space, you also have a wheel which everyone that watches our channel knows. I love the Wheel games. So it was really great to play it and we had some of our cool cats with us. And first time playing it I got handpay. And it was crazy. It was the… I went out of my comfort zone. I was max betting and it was awesome. So pretty great. Yeah.

(9:10-9:27) KV: I love that. And I love… I’m with you. I like the Wheel games too. They’re always… I don’t know. It’s something about watching it spin and gets you excited. But do you guys have any maybe strategies, traditions, or routines that you use while playing?

(9:27-10:36) FHC: I mean, I think that, we we’re happy. We’re happy to break even. We’re happy to make a little bit of profit because let’s face it. The casinos are in business, to win and the advantages is always to the house. So, if we start with a hundred dollars on a slot machine on a slot play and we can double that to two-hundred. We definitely will cash out. And find what did we say, Fred? “Another winning slot machine” We find another winning slot machine. Well even before we had our slot channel though, we always had this ritual. If you would be getting out of the car and go to casino I would say, “Let’s win big. Let’s win fast.” And go home. And let’s go home. And that’s really what we always try to do is know that the machines are programed really to take that profit back. So, at the end of the day if you’re making… If you’re doubling the ticket. Or making a little bit of profit here and there. It all adds up at the end of the day. So we cash out and find another winning slot machine. And then at the end of our trip we we cash in all our tickets and go home. So it’s kind of our strategy. Yeah.

(10:36-10:43) KV: Well, switching gears a little bit. Can you tell us what happens on Cat Crawl Fridays and Tacocat Tuesdays?

(10:43-12:54) FHC: It’s a secret though. You can’t tell anyone. Okay, Our live stream on Tuesday is called Tacocat Tuesday. Because we were traveling to the state of Washington. And one of our viewers gifted us because Fred always talks about tacos. He’s the big eater and always talks about tacos. And eating tacos. So one of our viewers came to Angel Of The Winds Casino to meet us and he gifted us with a Tacocat. It’s actually a thing. So there’s a whole… There’s a lot of aficionados of this Tacocat. And we had no idea by exploiting kittens in anyways. So this is a bigger version than what I carry in the casino. I carry a much smaller one, but he’s like our good luck charm. And so we renamed our Tuesday livestreams to be Tacocat Tuesday and then our Cat Crawls on Friday. So we about a year and a half ago we moved to Las Vegas. And Las Vegas is a destination. It’s a vibe, right? Just like on URComped when you go on a cruise you’re going to a destination, right? So a lot of our viewers, especially during the quarantine were like, “Can you get out and about in Vegas and kind of show us what’s happening in Vegas.” So it’s kind of how our cat crawls started. We would gamble a little bit, walk around show people Vegas, especially with the shutdown. And now the reopening of everything to see how Vegas is coming back to life. So that’s kind of what we do on Fridays. And then we have members of our group that we call it… They call themselves “Cool Cats”. And then sometimes they’ll join us there may or may not be alcohol involved. We go out on Fremont Street. We go out on The Strip. We like to show attractions around Vegas like Container Park. Oh, I ziplined one Friday night. I went ziplining at the Linq Promenade. Just different things you can do around Vegas. You can gamble a little. And you can have a great time. Vegas is a vibe and it’s a great destination.

(12:54-13:23) KV: And that’s like like The Travelers Paradise just watching you guys. They kind of get to live vicariously through you guys. And get to make notes of what they want to do for their next Vegas trip. So you guys hop around to all these different casinos. Do you guys have any favorite casinos? What are those and what sets those apart from maybe casinos you don’t visit as frequently?

(13:23-16:07) FHC: Well, one of the brand new casinos here in Las Vegas is called Circa. And it’s downtown and it’s incredible. It is incredible and we love playing at Circa. We love going there again. It’s a Vibe. I mean, the music is loud. There’s a lot of people. I love the energy. The energy. The biggest sports book you’ve ever seen. The longest bar you’ve ever seen. And it’s just incredible. And they have great food. And now we haven’t been out to the Swim Stadium yet because it’s still cold in Vegas. Even though that pool is like heated ninety degrees. Yes. We haven’t been out there yet. But we will definitely go there and we love Circa. We just love that whole vibe. I’d say for a strip Casino… What’s your favorite strip Casino? I’m going to say Circa has probably taken over a majority of that. But I’d probably have to say on The Strip. You got me. You got caught me off guard. I’m sorry. So I would say before COVID, I would have said… And I know it’s life before and after, right? But we used to when we traveled on to the California. We love traveling to The Cosmopolitan. Again, a really great casino. A lot of people. A great vibe. Beautiful rooms Just a really cool place to be. And they have really great slot machines. They get all the newest ones. So if you’re a slot enthusiast that’s really where you want to go. And right now I am really loving the Wynn. I’ll have to agree with that. Yeah. That’s really… Is that really the Strip, yeah? Yeah. It’s kind of on the north end of the Strip. And very classy, a great casino… And all the new changes with COVID and everything. It really set the standard in my opinion as far as safety and setting the standard for the rest. Yeah. Everybody else to follow… Yeah. I would say that and then just as a locals casino because again, we have a lot of choices here in Vegas. We love playing at Green Valley Ranch. That is for a locals Casino. It could be on the Strip and Red Rock. GVR is a beautiful Casino. It has fantastic restaurants, oh my gosh. And so many to choose from. Like you cannot be hungry there because there’s a lot of choices. And next time you’re in town. We’ll take you out to Mexican food their best margarita. Yes.

(16:07-16:12) KV: You’re speaking my language.

(16:12-16:26) FHC: But yeah, so they have great restaurants. And of course, they have bingo. And they have a beautiful pool of resort-style pool there. And so from a local standpoint, we love Green Valley Ranch as well.

(16:26-16:48) KV: I mean you guys are just making me really want to take a Las Vegas trip this weekend. Forget Fort Lauderdale. I need to go to Vegas again. So you guys go to so many casinos you play a lot. I’m sure you guys have experienced having a casino host other than having URComped work with you guys. But what in your opinion makes a great Casino Host?

(16:48– 17:59) FHC: It takes very little to make us happy. If they just come by and say, “Hi, glad you’re here.” Just that a personal touch. Yeah. That’s a very minimal. And it’s always a bonus and say, “Oh here’s a comp for dinner or here’s you know…” We go for a staycation and they say, “Oh look, Happy Birthday or whatever…” It’s just those little things that go a long way with us. And we love to include that kind of content on our channel too. So when you watch our channel, you’ll see us eating at restaurants. You’ll get to see the food that we order. Or like for my birthday. We have a really great host at the Cosmopolitan. And she ordered me the cutest little kitty cat cake you’ve ever seen… We had a lot of friends over for my birthday party and had a really good time. So just little things like that. Just remembering your birthday, or you’re in town and say, “Hey” They saw that I’m on the floor and they come out and say hi or whatever. That’s that’s really what we like. The little little bits of attention that we get is always really nice.

(17:59-18:04) KV: I love that. She got.. What did you say? I’m sorry.

(18:04-18:09) FC: I said, if you’re watching Rebecca, we love you.

(18:09-18:22) KV: So when you guys are not in the casino switching gears again, what do you guys do? Do you guys have any hobbies? Or things outside of the casino other than playing slots and creating these amazing videos?

(18:22-19:09) FHC: You’re very kind. Thank you. We both have a… Some people know this about us, we’ve known each other since high school. So when we graduated five years ago, I mean, I know that doesn’t go very far back. Anyway, we’ve known each other since high school. So we enjoy the same music. So music is a big part of our lives. And just relaxing and hanging out together. Yeah. And you know again, there’s a lot more to Vegas than just casinos. And so we just like going out and finding those things whether it’s like going to Red Rock Canyon. Or Container Park or some of the other things. We just like discovering in Las Vegas. There’s a lot to it than just hanging out in a casino all day.

(19:09-19:22) KV: I like that. You guys are travelers. You like to experience new things. That’s always exciting. So what’s next for slot cats? What do you guys have coming up that we should be looking forward to?

(19:22-20:40) FHC: Well, we have our annual test… We do. For our patreon group, our cool cats. We host events for them once a year. Just privately for them. And so, that’s going to be in June for us. So we’re super-duper excited. We’re going to host that again at Circa in downtown. And maybe have some events over at the Plaza Downtown right next door. And we’re working right now is pretty pretty hush-hush, but we’re working with URComped on cat cruises. Yes, come cruise with the cats. We’re super excited about that. We actually had one scheduled for last year that had to be cancelled. And so we’re looking forward to that as you as you mentioned. So one of the things that Fred and I always done in our life together is we’ve always traveled. And that’s one of the things that we love. So being able to travel and include slots and our community is just a win-win for everybody. So we’re super duper excited to partner with you guys and do these cruises. Oh, yeah. I definitely see Alaska in our future. Yeah and probably the Caribbean. Yeah, probably the Caribbean for Fall. Yes, more details will follow, right?

(20:40-20:48) KV: Right, just a tease right now. So where can our viewers find more of the Slot Cats?

(20:48-21:13) FHC: Of course, we have our YouTube Channel. That’s where you’re going to find us every single day. It’s called The Slot Cats on YouTube. You can just search that. And you’ll find us. We’re also Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, as The Slot Cats. We post links to all of our videos. Links to all of our live streams and all those channels. The website, www.theslotcats.com And we have a website with merch. So yes.

(21:13-21:17) KV: Can they get cat ears on your website too?

(21:17-21:24) FHC: Right now currently, No. They’re sold out… Normally we can. Right now we can’t…

(21:24– 21:27) KV: Those are a hot commodity.

21:27-21:35) FHC: If you’re a patreon in our cool cats group there’s certain levels they get cat ears. So, absolutely. Yeah.

(21:35-21:51) KV: Awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for taking the time to speak with me. And let us know a little bit more about your channel. And about you guys. And your lives. I found it super interesting. And I’m really excited to working with you guys further on your Slots Cat Cruise.

(21:51-22:00) FC: We appreciate this and can’t thank you enough. You guys are taking great care of us in the past and we look forward to cruising in the future here, right?

(22:00-22:05) HC: Yeah.