• YouTuber Tommy G met up with a bunch of Las Vegas high rollers and took them around town
• He interviewed them about their experience with gambling, asking the important questions - can you win by gambling?
• The replies would surprise many with their genuineness and insight into the ways gambling and Las Vegas truly work

American YouTuber and documentary filmmaker Tommy G has decided to take a new swipe at an interesting topic, plunging into the high-adrenaline world of high roller players in Las Vegas.

In a brand-new video featured on his channel, the content creator, real name of Tommy McGeee, embarked on an odyssey across Sin City, meeting up with some of Las Vegas’ most capable gamblers and high rollers, including Mikki Mase, a self-styled baccarat whisperer who has been banned from every casino in town, and possibly the world (in his own words).

Tommy G’s crew descended on The Cosmopolitan, where it booked a lavish penthouse as it went on to explore the world of high-stakes gambling in the city, inviting a number of big fish gamblers to tag along, including Scott "Raja" Richter, Mikki Mase, Lucky Laycee, and Jonathan Lillis.

The video, germanely called the "Inside the World of High Stakes Gambling," digs up interesting nuggets of information straight from the horses’ mouth – in this case, the people who have been gambling millions in Las Vegas and are still around to tell the tale.

Tommy G picked his new acquaintances’ brains, diving into their highs and lows, and asking questions that you would want to hear asked, going for a bull’s eye with every query he poses and getting equally forthcoming and to-the-point answers.

The YouTuber asked Raja how much he had won in a single night, to which the gambler replied - $1,081,000. Mikki Mase put his all-time best win at $11,526,000, a figure he has stuck with in all interviews, and has the slip to prove that he indeed won that much money.

Scott "Raja" Richter, who has made his fortune playing slots

The video is interesting as it reveals these gamblers for who they are, often seen as influencers in the industry, and their direct attitude to gambling. Raja, for example, acknowledges that he has become a prominent influencer in gambling circles and securing sponsorships, which is contributing to the bulk of his income, even though he is only playing slot machines.

He has no trouble answering in the affirmative when Tommy G says, "It’s pure luck, right," referring to slot machines, to which Raja just goes, "Yeah" in the most matter-of-fact voice you will hear from a high roller slots gambler. Why would Raja play these games? He argues that the issue with most people comes from the fact that they keep playing to infinity and eventually run out of money.

"You don’t come here to meet a celebrity. You don’t come here to become a millionaire. You come here to have fun."

As to himself, he likes the simplicity of it – you press a button and don’t have to make any decisions.

Raja is not just a gambler, however. Back in the day, as he puts it, he used to be into online marketing and would send out up to 100 million emails a day – allegedly spam emails he notes – and ended up sued by Microsoft, the New York Attorney General, and others, racking fines of up to $20m. Was it worth it? At his peak year, Raja claims to have made $108m.

As to slot gambling, he has a simple piece of advice to offer to anyone watching – if you have never done this, don’t do it, because you are never going to win – so save your money.

Mikki Mase – a maverick, a con artist, or a paid Vegas insider?

Tommy G also introduces Mikki Mase, the divisive figure who has stacked up huge winnings playing baccarat, and who has switched his full-time gambling for handicapping through a special invite-only service. You can take a closer look at who Mikki Mase is in our full breakdown article. As for Tommy G, the YouTuber has made sure to describe the controversy surrounding Mase at every step.

Despite his track record of winning millions, the Tommy G has pointed out to the fact that Mikki Mase remains a controversial figure, which some suggest is no more than a paid Vegas insider, but others, such as poker pro Sean Perry, call a fraud.

Las Vegas may have been built on the idea that it will make all your dreams come true but the truth is – it’s a hole, and it’s a trap.

The video is definitely interesting, because Mikki Mase openly says that his presence at The Cosmopolitan, where the gamblers and Tommy G’s crew have set up their HQ for the purposes of the project, is problematic – he has been banned from the casino, and every casino in the world, for that matter.

The crew travelled to The Venetian, where Mikki Mase shared that he had not been in a while, and admitted to once having been down $15m while gambling at the property. As the video’s point of view shifted to Raja once again, who chased a jackpot at a slot machine, the next frame to have Mikki Mase in focus was him confronted by two friendly guards and what appeared to be the general manager of the property asking Mikki Mase to leave and not return until his official ban is over in the year 2121.

Lucky Laycee and Jonathan Lillis

Lucky Laycee is a former exotic dancer who is also playing slots in various casinos and online, and who has been pretty casual and straightforward about her gambling – she only gambles what she is prepared to lose, and usually does it out of her "recreational spending," meaning any money she may have set aside for the night having fun.

As to Jonathan Lillis, he is an interesting part of the crew – a professional sports bettor, or a sharp. He and his partner Chris run a Discord channel where they let their clients copy their bets in the pursuit of profit. Lillis looks for undervalued spread bets that allow him and his partner to bet relatively smaller amounts to score big wins in the process.

Is there a point of Las Vegas and high rolling in general? As Mikki Mase puts it: "You don’t come here to meet a celebrity. You don’t come here to become a millionaire. You come here to have fun."

In other words, you do not let Las Vegas use you. Las Vegas may have been built on the idea that it will make all your dreams come true, but the truth is – it’s a hole, and it’s a trap, Mikki Mase concludes.

Image credit: Casino Guru News