Back in the day, a channel showing jackpots was almost nonexistent. Times have changed and there are tons of Slot Channels on Youtube giving players a little taste of the casino while at home. Comped Travel has been keeping an eye out for appealing Slot Channels with growing engagement to boast on. It was clear that TheBigPaypack fit the bar and has been a source of entertainment for many viewers.

Comped Travel’s Katie Vanpool interviews Tim from TheBigPayback, to learn more about how his channel was created, his most memorable jackpot, favorite casinos, and what is next for the TheBigPayback channel. Be sure to check out his videos!

Full Transcript Below:

(0:00-0:17) Katie Vanpool: Hi everybody. It’s Katie with URComped and Comped Travel. I am here with the amazing Tim from The Big Payback. Tim, How are you doing today?

(0:17-0:19) Tim from TheBigPayBack: Doing great Katie. Thanks so much for having me.

(0:19-0:27) KV: Yeah. So why don’t we get started for those that haven’t heard of The Big Payback. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your channel?

(0:27-1:04) TBP: Sure, back in 2014. It really started out as an experiment. But I always love to gamble, play slots. And I posted a few videos. And I really thought it would be a way to drive traffic to a website we were creating. And since then it’s really just taking off all on its own. And it’s become… Yeah. It’s just become such a fun thing for me to work on over the past number of years now. Yeah.

(1:04-1:14) KV: That’s awesome. So it just started off by that first upload. Or have you… Do you have a huge jackpot story that’s very memorable that you like to share with us?

(1:14-3:16) TBP: Yeah. It’s pretty crazy. One of the first slot videos I ever did was of my largest jackpot ever. And it’s a myth when people say, “Oh. You can’t win on free play or anything like that.” And I remember… And this was crazy. It was back in October of 2014. My local casino had a high-limit version of Zeus. And I had… I only had 5 or 10 minutes. I was… I wanted to use free play. And I had a good amount of free play. And the machine it would play up to $45 a spin. And so I hit the button once which is on free play. Hit the button twice and I had another $20 in and so on. The third spin I got the bonus. And at the $45 level and filled the screen with Zeus for over $20,000. And then almost did it again. And so it netted out to, a number I’ll never forget, $33,175. And yeah. And even when I was recording I didn’t have my settings right on the phone or… And I was like, “Oh. I can’t say anything. I can’t react.” This is back in what 2014. It was… There were others that were doing slot channels at the time but it was still relatively new territory not like it is today. There’s a lot of smart people doing very cool stuff in this whole niche. And… But yeah. Back then… I look at what, how I did it back then versus how I do it now. Yeah, it’s completely different. But it’s still always a classic case. And it just never know. And I’m happy I got that on video.

(3:16-3:23) KV: That’s amazing. Is it safe to say that Zeus is one of your favorite slot games? Or do you have some other ones that you enjoy playing?

(3:23-5:01) TBP: Yeah. Zeus will always have that place in my heart because of that. And it was just such a great game. As a lot of slot players know, if you find a machine and it really works for you, a lot of times or I should say many times, it just doesn’t last. And that one didn’t last at my local either. It’s not… And I’m not trying to imply that the machine paid out more than you put into it. But it was certainly a reasonable, a very good bet. And I’ve won many, many jackpots on it. But then it went away. And in as many good things do. But yeah. Lately I… Especially over the past year there have been so many good games coming out. I really enjoy the Mighty Cash Series. And it’s ironic because when they initially came out I didn’t play them that much. And then I just started playing some of the newer ones. And I hit jackpot after jackpot after jackpot. And I just find them just really a lot of fun. Let’s see. It’s so hard to just narrow it down to one. But Mighty Cash is a lot of fun. A classic Wonder 4 Tall Fortunes is a great game. Newer game. I tried 88 Fortunes Lucky Gong. Very cool game. Very cool.

(5:01-5:14) KV: Nice. So for someone that… You have some, a lot of experience with playing different casino games. Do you have a certain strategy that you use while playing?

(5:14-6:43) TBP: Yeah. That’s a really interesting question. Because, ultimately, you can’t beat the machines. But there are certainly things you can do to make your experience more enjoyable and that’s really what it’s all about. So one of the things I like to do is what I call progressive betting. Where I will bet from min to max on a game especially when you’re not penalized on any level for betting them. And that way you can extend your bankroll. You can get a lot of play for your money. There’s nothing better than hitting a jackpot at minimum bet. And if you never bet minimum, you’ll never have that experience. And a couple of the largest jackpots I’ve had over the last couple years have been with very modest bets. And if you just keep… Even if you have the money to keep just going crazy at it. I still like that.. I still like the idea of taking that shot and having that really unique win on the minimum level. That’s not to say when you get a great bonus at max bet too. That’s always a lot of fun.

(6:43-7:07) KV: Yeah. So for it sounds like you’ve got a good strategy for playing. That’s smart to switch it up. I don’t really have a strategy when I play. But I do notice I like to bounce around on my bet amount. For some reason it just makes me feel like I’m starting over and I didn’t lose as much.

(7:07-7:47) TBP: It’s all about having fun. If that’s what makes you have fun when you’re playing. That’s great. And another thing is to take a lot of breaks. Walk around. See what’s the different games that are out there. That’s certainly one thing I do with my channel. I have a showcase more than most channels out there. Variety of games. I always try and play something different. Whether that’s a new game that just came out. Or classic that’s new to me and new to most people that came out 10 years ago. But a lot of the retro games are just so much fun.

(7:47-8:00) KV: Nice. Now I wanted to ask you, what sets your favorite casinos apart from others? And if you feel like naming some of your favorite casinos, I’d love to hear them.

(8:00-9:32) TBP: Favorite casinos. Certainly I do love my local. My local is Jack Thistledown Racino. What separates I would say a good casino, one that I really enjoy, versus just some of the others is, first of all, personal service. And the customer service that they give. Not all casinos understand that they’re in the service business. It’s crazy. Some really get it and some don’t. And the ones that don’t, I just go down the road. It’s not hard. But yeah. A casino that it gives great service, that has a good variety of games, that has a very nice and safe atmosphere. That I really enjoy. So my local does a good job of adding new games but still retaining some of the classics. And other great attributes… And then another one I’ll throw out there that I really enjoy is Greektown in Detroit. Great place. Always have loved it up there. Great food always helps. But yeah. A place that can give me a good value for my money with reasonable offers. And just a fun place to go to.

(9:32-9:42) KV: Nice. And speaking of offers, diving a little bit deeper into that. What makes a great Casino Host in your opinion?

(9:42-10:39) TBP: A great Casino Host. Good question. And I tend to travel… I do a lot of road trips. So I haven’t… With this wonderful COVID that we have, I haven’t been flying anywhere. But I look forward back to being able to do that when I can. But yeah. A good Casino Host is responsive. A good Casino Host will be responsive, attend to your needs especially when the requests are reasonable. I tend to be a fairly low-maintenance player. I don’t ask for a lot. But when I do, I expect that. It’s a tendency. Especially if the request isn’t out of the ordinary.

(10:39-10:59) KV: I agree with that. Since you’re like a low-maintenance player, like you said, it makes a difference too and they take it a step further. They provide even more service than you’ll ask for. And you’re like blows your mind out the water. Wow. Thank you.

(10:59-11:41) TBP: I like to play right? I like to travel and go to new places and when I’m there, I enjoy playing and not having any drama or anything like that. So it’s not… Yeah. I don’t really require that much. But having somebody… But as I mentioned, I certainly believe in good customer service. So somebody who’s responsive is the main thing and that can help out when I do have a request. I mean, that’s where it’s at.

(11:41-12:02) KV: Well, I wanted to… For people that follow your channel. And for people that don’t, that are curious to learn more and check your channel out. What can they expect coming up? Do you have plans for expanding or how you’ve expanded? And what’s coming next for you?

(12:02-14:19) TBP: Good question. Certainly, covid… It did set me back a bit. When the pandemic hit, YouTube used technology instead of people to perform certain functions. And a lot of channels such as mine really got taken back a few notches. We launched a video and it would perform very well and then it would just go off the clip. And that is… Fortunately, we haven’t seen that in maybe about two months or so. A lot of what I’ve been doing lately is just trying to claw back some of the traffic that I had in the past. And it’s a love/ hate sometimes relationship working with YouTube. I certainly understand they have a lot of challenges to solve. I definitely can understand that too. And at least these challenges eventually seem to have gotten rectified. But yeah, I mean, lately I’ve been focusing on quality. I’ve been focusing on launching a variety of games. Searching out new games that people haven’t seen and showing something different than you can find on most other channels. So you’re always seeing a game may be in its best light in any unique… It’ s like seeing… Like the unique features of a game. So I really try and focus on that. Another thing I’ve launched in the past few months is my Best of Jackpot Handpay series. Which I just showed jackpots and I just… People who aren’t exposed to the channels maybe instead of watching like hours and hours of footage where you can watch one video which showcases, like how the jackpot happens? And people seem to have really enjoyed this new series. That’s been a fun thing that I’ve been putting together. And as each jackpot occurs many times. I’ll make the kind of like a directors commentary part of the video, right? And so that’s been a lot of fun too.

(14:19-14:43) KV: That’s so awesome. I need to go check out this series. I’ve been seeing your jackpot videos and need to dive deeper and check it out because I love watching jackpots. I love seeing the energy of a big win and it adds more excitement. For those that haven’t seen you, where can our viewers see more of The Big Payback?

(14:43-15:31) TBP: Yeah. Oh, I’d love it if everybody would go to youtube.com/TheBigPayback and that’s my channel homepage. And yeah, you could see just… I think I have close to 1,800 videos now. And while there are some duplicates, most are unique. And if you have a favorite game, if you search for it more often than not you’ll find it. And you can always request me to play games that you’d like to see too. But yeah youtube.com/TheBigPayback and I also have a website thebigpayback.com and that is something that we’re continuing to invest in and build-out for the future. But right now the channel is really where it’s at. So going there. Hit in the subscribe. Hit the bell button. It really helps me out.

(15:31-15:40) KV: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Tim for your time. I’ve loved getting to meet you. Learn more about you. And dive deeper into your channel and how you’ve grown.

(15:40-15:49) TBP: Oh, thank you so much, Katie. It’s been a pleasure. I really appreciate it.