Where do you go to find infectious personalities with unbelievable casino jackpots? Youtube Slot Channels! Comped Travel has been on the hunt for up and coming Slot Channel Stars with fantastic energy to feature. Slot Queen on Youtube recently hit 40K subscribers and has been a lot of gaming enthusiast’s go-to for entertainment.

Comped Travel’s Katie Vanpool interviews Danielle, the Slot Queen herself, to learn more about how her channel was created, her most memorable jackpot, favorite casinos, and what is next for the Slot Queen channel. Be sure to check out her videos!

Full Transcript Below:

(0:00-0:21) Katie Vanpool: Hi everybody its Katie with URComped and Comped Travel. I am here with Danielle Aragon. The slot Queen herself. I love your channel so much and I’m so happy you are here. How are you doing today?

(0:21-0:24) Danielle Aragon: Thank you. I’m excited to be here. I’m doing good.

(0:24-0:25) KV: Awesome.

(0:25-0:27) DA: It’s beautiful in California which really helps.

(0:27-0:43) KV: I am really excited because your slot channel has been up-and-coming. You’ve got a continuous number of growing subscribers. And I wanted to know, how did you get started in creating this Slot Channel?

(0:43-2:18) DA: Truthfully and most of my subscribers know this story. It was a family-type challenge. I had found slot channels on YouTube and had been watching them. YouTube was pretty new to me. And I also was going to the casino and my husband was at home with our 3 sons. So a lot of times I would record my videos. My bonuses and just send them to him. And one day at the dinner table he said, “Have you ever thought about doing this?” I’m like, “No. I haven’t.” And my sons were sitting at the table and they know that I’m the mom that will do this. And so my sons were like, “No, Mom. Nope. Nope. Nope.”
And it was like, I was 41. It was almost 3 years ago. And they said, “Mom, you’re 40. You can’t have a YouTube channel.” And I was like, “Well. I could if I wanted to.” My husband and I just thought it would be fun to mess with them a little bit. And put together a video and upload it. Which we had no idea what we were doing. So we did that and it drove our kids crazy. But we actually really enjoyed it. And from there… It just turned into something amazing. And like a new journey for my husband and I. I had to learn editing. I had to learn YouTube. And I had to learn a million things. But that’s how it actually got started was my kids said, “Mom you cannot do this.” And I was like, “Oh yes, I can.”

(2:18-2:28) KV: That’s so awesome. I love that. You just shoved it in their face. Like, “Look. This is what your mom’s doing. Living the dream.”

(2:28-2:52) DA: They’re teenagers. So at first they were like, “My mom is not a YouTuber.” And I was like, “What number of subscribers do I need to get to to make me an official YouTuber?” But now, they all… One of my son’s build the merch. One of my son’s has helped with my website. They’ve all kind of partake in it. So it’s been really neat…

(2:52-3:13) KV: That’s so cool. And that’s so special to have your family involved too. It sets it apart from just like, a job or a thing you have to do. But I wanted to ask you, what’s your favorite or best jackpot story or one that’s just the most memorable to you?

(3:13-4:51) DA: I have two. One is on Outback Bucks Mighty Cash on a low bet. Because I’m known for being a lower better or lower roller. That’s changing a little bit lately. But I was betting a $1.40, which is a really decent lower bet that many people can afford and do. And I hit over a $5,000 jackpot. And just the way that it broke down with being a repeat feature. I was in shock. It really… I didn’t believe it until it popped up on the screen. And my husband happens to have a second camera going. I was looking at him like, “No way. No way.” And then that’s my favorite jackpot story. But also Sir Mix-a-Lot and I know I’m dating myself a little bit here. But the rapper, the music artists. Sir Mix-a-Lot unveiled his new slot machine at one of our locals and had a meet and greet. So I went up to my local and got in the line for the meet-and-greet with Sir Mix-a-Lot. And quickly like introduce myself. And said, “Hey. I would love to shoot a YouTube video with you on your new slot machine.” Never thinking that would happen. And it did happen. And he was hilarious. He was amazing. I thought I would have a minute or two with him. And he shot an entire 10 or 12-minute video with me on his brand new slot machine. And it was really funny. Because I’m a little bit like tamer than he is. And it was one of my favorite moments ever.

(4:51-5:08) KV: That’s so exciting. And I’m a hip-hop fan too. And so that’s it’s really cool that you got to do that. So I’m a little jealous. But that’s really fun. And that’s so cool to have that energy with you in the casino, in your home.

(5:08-5:36) DA: It was very unexpected. I had to wait around for a couple of hours with a meet-and-greet to be over. And then he just said, “Hey. Where’s that YouTuber?” And I was like, “Let’s do it.” And it was just like… I had to turn on the camera and just go. So it was very raw which is what my channel is known for. And it was just very like, “We’re doing this thing.” And it was really funny. So it was great.

(5:36-5:40) KV: That is so cool. And did you like his game?

(5:40-5:41) DA: I did.

(5:41-5:51) KV: That’s awesome. So out of all of the casino games and slots that you played which one is your favorite?

(5:51-6:47) DA: Invaders Return from the Planet Moolah with the cows is what I’ve been known for a couple of years now. I love the Unicow. My husband got me custom-made Unicow shoes for my birthday. And for my birthday in Las Vegas when we hosted an event, I decided to chase the Unicow Live on YouTube
and caught it which was just… The Unicow’s the best symbol. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with that. But it was pretty miraculous to catch that thing live. So that’s been my favorite slot for a couple years. But lately the new Bag Game Fu Dai Lian Lian Panda and Dragon is my new… Move over Moolah I have a new favorite. So that is currently… And now if now my subscribers are calling me “The Bag Lady.” Which is okay. I’ll take it.

(6:47-7:11) KV: Went really well. That’s awesome. So I am curious. So you mentioned earlier that your channel is known for you doing more not doing the max bet and doing more low bets that are affordable. So I wanted to ask you, other than that do you have a certain strategy that you use when playing the slots?

(7:11-9:11) DA: I do. For the most part, I do. I always try and start with my free play and see what I can turn my free play into. And I always look for the advantage machines which are the machines that have a certain advantage left behind, unfortunately, by players that may not know that they left an advantage behind. And there’s a lot of those machines at my local. And so I always kind of look to see if anybody’s left that behind. And you can usually convert that to some pretty good ones. But I also like to teach my subscribers about advantage play. So I’ve taught them… I’ve done videos on it. I’ve done live streams about when you go into a casino, if you want to be a smarter gambler there are really things you can do. And looking for advantage machines is one of them.
So I’ve taught them how to look for these machines. But besides that, if I had a winning night, I will go for it more. So before my bets were definitely in the lower end. And if I had a winning night, I’ve decided I’m going to be risky and I’m just going to go for it. So that’s part of my strategy. And then also when Corona was going on and the casinos were closed, I saved a lot of my budget. And so when the casinos open back up I was able to up my budget and become more of a mid player which is… I had some really good wins. And then I’ve turned those into… If I’m having a winning night, I’ll definitely go for it a little bit.
But my channel is funny. And people just know that one video they might open it up and it might be a min bet video. And another the next day it might be a $12.50 bet video. It’s because I don’t fall into a box. I just post what I’m actually doing and playing and how my casino nights go.

(9:11-10:07) KV: That’s awesome. And I love that your channel is diverse and that’s something that stuck out to me was the fact that you’ve got these affordable bets that everyday people can make. And then you’ve got… You also play on the larger side when you’re feeling lucky which… You’re very relatable which a lot of your viewers and a lot of our viewers will appreciate. And so I wanted to bring up and ask you because we loved hearing about new casinos
and properties. And our viewers love hearing about places where there’s loose slots, there’s excitement. I wanted to ask you, what are things that sets your favorite casinos apart from others? And if you feel like mentioning some of your favorite casinos, I’d love to hear them.

(10:07-11:43) DA: Okay. I have some favorite casinos. As far as local goes, my favorite casino definitely is probably Jackson. I have 4 locals within the same amount of distance from me just different directions. And for me, they’ve been the luckiest casino for me. So that’s where I’m definitely gonna play. And also the biggest thing is if somebody allows recording. If they allow you to record your play and work with you as a YouTuber. And/or allow you to live stream. I will definitely bring my business there. Because that’s really important for me to be able to record my play. So Jackson, I’ve always had the best luck. And it just turned into home. All of the waiters and waitresses know me. And all the security. And as soon as we walk in, it’s just like a very… I just feel like home. If it’s empty and I can, I might put my feet up right next to my little slot and play. And so that’s my local favorite for sure. Hard Rock. I’ve moved a lot of my play over there. And I’ve been getting used to them. They’re fairly new. And then in Reno, which is only about two and a half hours from me. We go up there pretty often. I definitely love starting to play at Baldini’s which is a local to Reno. So it’s not a tourist attraction. And I love the fact that they’re trying to reach out to their locals with really cool comps, really fun things. Not big touristy things. So I’ve had a lot of luck there. And I really feel at home there too.

(11:43-12:26) KV: That’s so special. Just a… Because you spend so much time in a casino. It makes a difference when they make you feel like they want you to be there as well. And like you said, “They’re friendly. They make you feel like you’re at home. And you’re in like a safe environment to do what you’re there to do.” And so with that, I wanted to ask to go farther on that. What is it that… What makes a good Casino Host? Because you’ve told me you’ve had a lot of experience with Casino Hosts at different properties. And so what makes the difference between a great Casino Host?

(12:26-13:29) DA: For me, it’s just that small town touch. My local host know me really well. When we’re there they come out and say, “Hi.” They’ll make sure that… They’ll book us dinner reservations. Things that I don’t even really asked them to do. Or they’ll say, “Hey. Are you going to come up next week? Do you want a room in case you get tired?” Stuff like that. So it’s more of the personal touch. When they can get a hold of you. And maybe some host love to give you extra free play. And some hosts have boundaries of what they can do for you. And that is wonderful. And that does make a good host. But it’s really when they know you aside from what makes you happy. So for my husband and I when we go to Jackson, my host knows that we love to have dinner there. So she’ll call me and say, “Are you guys coming up this week?” And I’ll say, “Yeah.” She’s like, “I’m gonna book you dinner.” And I’m like, “Okay.” So that means a lot more to me than some of maybe fancy things that a host can do.

(13:29-13:38) KV: The way to my heart is food. And it’s a way to a lot of players hearts too.

(13:38-14:05) DA: It’s the way to my husband’s heart. My hubby. The favorite thing about my channel for him is the Comps and the food. And we did a really funny Christmas Eve. I’m sorry. New Year’s Eve. We had to make our tier status. We did this hilarious video so that we can earn the free buffets for the year.
Which then they closed down. But the way to his heart is food for sure.

(14:05-14:17) KV: So over time I can tell that your channel is growing. And you’re expanding. So I wanted to ask you, what’s next for your channel?

(14:17-16:30) DA: Yes. So hopefully very soon. We’re on the brink of 40,000 subscribers. We should be there in a couple of weeks. It’s a huge milestone. And I’ve had some really amazing luck in the month of September. So I have 2 once-in-a-lifetime-type jackpot videos to air on my channel when we hit 40,000 subscribers. So that’s what’s immediately up-and-coming. And November is my 3-year channel anniversary. And we’re holding our Loyal Royal Vegas Take-over Event. Which the Loyal Royal is like our Patreon Group. So in Vegas this is our third annual one. And it’ll be close to a hundred of us. And we all meet up and we gamble. We have a great time. We have a lot of shenanigans. And just meet one another and put a face to YouTube or Facebook name that you’ve been getting to know. So our channel anniversary is coming up in November. And from there… I love the fact that my channel is growing and that people are watching it. I just feel I’ve had the most amazing, loyal subscriber base from the very beginning. So I don’t really know what the future holds. I know what we want to do in 2021 when things lift. We want to do traveling. We want to hold meet-and-greets. And not just Vegas but other states. And go meet so many people that have supported my channel and have fun with them. And for me, I just hope that it continues to go this way. Because I love having a platform that I can use to spread some laughter and positivity through the common denominator of slots. Because people are watching my channel because they like slots. But I also love the fact that I get a lot of emails that will say, “Hey. Thank you for the smile today. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for just putting a smile on my face.” So that’s what I love most about my channel. So wherever it goes from here, I’m just really excited to be able to continue to do that.

(16:30-16:48) KV: That’s really awesome. And I agree that users see that uniqueness. And that’s created the loyalty that you have in your subscribers.
And I’m really excited to see what’s next for you as well. How do our viewers see you?

(16:48-17:37) DA: So on YouTube, it’s Slot Queen. Which is probably the most important. But we also have a website it’s www.sqslots.com. And I have a blog on there. And I’m getting better about putting my calendar on there. I’m very much in the learning process. But I have an amazing friend/viewer that built me a great website. On Instagram I’m 916 Slot Queen. And on Facebook we have a Slot Queen Page. So pretty much all Slot Queen except for the website it’s www.sqslots.com. And eventually I will have my calendar really updated about where we’re going to be. We do travel quite a bit and hold different events
and meet-and-greets and group pulls and stuff. I just need to update that calendar and better at it.

(17:37-17:52) KV: Awesome. Thank you so much. I can’t wait for our viewers to check out your page. See all your amazing winnings, your jackpots. And I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today.

(17:52-18:32) DA: Yeah. Thank you for reaching out to me. I’m excited. Especially when you said like the first email was like,” “Oh. Your channel, your video has been featured.” I’m like, “Whoa. This is awesome.” So I really appreciate you guys reaching out. I love seeing all the different companies and even some casinos as well as manufacturers starting to realize that slot channels are directly speaking to the people that are gambling. And so I’m really excited to see the different companies and casinos reaching out and wanting to talk to us and letting us spread what we do. And I’m excited about it. Thank you.