A CEO once known as the ‘Spam King’ after he was sued by Bill Gates has now transformed himself to match a new nickname, winning a hefty $1 million on a bet.
Scott Richter was dubbed that one back in the early 2000s after sending billions of emails pushing ads as part of his email marketing business.
But it all came crashing down in 2003 when he had to pay Microsoft a whopping $7 million, thanks to a lawsuit.
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He didn’t ‘give up hope’ though, coming back with new companies and earning another nickname.
At one point the 53-year-old was known as the ‘Ringtone King’ but that was before ringtones became free. And now, he’s earned the nickname of the ‘Jackpot King’ after starting to live stream and film himself playing online casino games and gambling.
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A full-time gambling influencer, he’s got two million followers across socials and spends two to three days a week filming in casinos across the US.
After a $250 bet last year, Richter ended up winning a $1 million jackpot. Plus, despite losses (like a sum of $250k at one point), he still earns from them thanks to social media content.
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Having only been posting the videos for just over 10 years, he’s been gambling for over three decades now and always wears his signature t-shirt with #RAJA printed across it.
He said: "I've been playing slot machines in the casinos my whole life. I started The Big Jackpot 11 years ago by posting bonus videos online. It went viral and people started watching.”
Richter explained there’s a ‘really nice community of people’ with different tournaments and contests taking place.
"Gambling for me always was back in the day mindless entertainment. When you're playing on a slot machine you're just pushing a button and you don't have to think about anything,” he said. "I enjoy the thrill of it and I have to do it to make content. I wouldn't gamble as much as I'm doing nowadays unless I made content.”
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And while it might be a source of income, he says trips to a casino are also a bit of ‘relaxation’ for him.
“I can sit there and when I'm at the slot machines that's where I can think of things of business wise. I just zone out and think about business ideas,” he added.
Last December, the bloke had his biggest win ever with that whopper $1 million jackpot – caught live on camera. It’s racked up over 1.1 million views on YouTube as he says it makes him the first influencer to capture such a moment.
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The ‘Jackpot King’ said: "When I saw the numbers light up on the machine I felt amazing, I couldn't believe it.
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"I was very excited, we had a glass of champagne after it.”
He reckons the video alone has ‘probably made $25,000’ so it’s ‘like a double jackpot’.
Richter added: "I donated a bunch of money to animal shelters. It was the holidays, I like to give anyways but I gave a bunch of donations to animal shelters and animal charities and military charities for veterans."
But he doesn’t just win and, of course, makes some big losses. So, he assures he only takes to ‘the casino what he wants to lose’.
"I would never gamble money I don't have to lose. I know a lot of people have addictions and problems with gambling but I can stop,” he explained.
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"Sometimes you get tired of it. There's days where you don't want to gamble, especially if you've been losing.
"When you're winning it's fun obviously but I mean there's times when you're losing. I'm live streaming for hours at a time in a casino and if I'm losing it's not very exciting."
Please gamble responsibly. For help, support and advice about problem gambling, contact the National Gambling Helpline anytime on 0808 8020 133
Jess Battison