Meet The Man, The Streamer, The Charmer: Vinny Goombatz

It was late February, and the team at PlayUSA was about to flip the switch on their very first Twitch stream. Little did the team know at the time that a new livestream star was about to be born.

Introducing, Vinny Goombatz

Vinny Goombatz took to the airwaves that evening and immediately set the tone for the channel. And the minute he went live, Vinny knew he found a home.

“When I saw the ad, I was like, ‘I could do that.’ I had done a little streaming in the past, and I wanted to get into it more. I love slot machines and games. I’ve always been very entertained by that. I like people, I like to have fun, and I like a challenge.

“So here I am, now I get to play Roulette and Blackjack and have a ball. I get to play with all these great people watching and enjoy the great company of everybody. It’s a rush; it’s so much fun. I’m a very animated person; I’m a very loud person. I’m a Leo, so we love to be the center of attention. It’s perfect for me.”

The natural ease and charm that Vinny exudes on camera is something that takes most people months, if not years to master. Vinny, on the other hand, seemed to slip into the role of party host effortlessly.

“That’s who I am,” Vinny answered when asked if his stream persona is the same guy in real life. “I’m the guy in my group of friends that will just go up to anybody and start talking to them. I don’t have stage fright, and I don’t care what people think. I just go with the flow and enjoy myself while I’m doing it.”

A little background

“I’m a guy that was born and raised in New Jersey,” Vinny begins. “I’m born and raised in northwestern New Jersey. I’m from a small farm town, believe it or not – Long Valley, New Jersey. There are three stop lights in the whole town. Now, I live in Hoboken right across the river from New York City.”

It’s been four years since Vinny moved out of his small town and he looks forward to going back someday. For now, though, the big-city vibe fits nicely into his life.

Vinny’s New Jersey upbringing is evident when he’s streaming. He’s boisterous, humorous, engaging and he talks with his hands, like every good Italian.

“I’ve got the Italian family, and that comes out a little bit in the stream. I’ve got a little bit of bravado, and that’s certainly an extension of me. You know, I like to have fun with it. Who you see is the real me. ”

The highs and lows of gambling for views

Vinny might love online slots and live dealer games, but he doesn’t consider himself an expert. When he first started streaming, he lost quite a bit of money on Blackjack.

Of course, losing money took some of the fun out of it and gave Vinny pause. He asked himself, “Why am I just doing so poorly?”

It was upon a friend’s recommendation that he started studying the games.

“I started reading up on blackjack. I have better knowledge now of the moves I should be taking. I’m not an expert whatsoever. But I do I want to put the time into the game to where it becomes second nature – especially in blackjack. Roulette, well, you can’t do too much. I did try to strategize with that, but there’s only so much you can do with roulette.”

In fact, he sees learning how to play better, specifically blackjack, as much as a perk as a necessity. In fact, blackjack is one of his favorite games.

“As much as I lose at it, I love blackjack. I’ve loved it since I turned 21. There was this one time, me and some friends, went down to Atlantic City with a friend. We were having a ball, a little too much fun. It’s all a little blurry now, but I reached into my pocket, and I had a fake mustache and $700 in chips.”

And he’s been hooked ever since. In full disclosure, Vinny is paid to play online live dealer games for PlayUSA. But the money he plays with is his money. If he wins, he wins. That also means he feels it when he loses.

“Some of the big ups and downs I had, you get the worst of it. Oh my God, let me tell you, some of the rushes … I love gambling, but I don’t love the stress of a big losing night. I tend to question everything. Did I put too much on this or that?”

We wanted to know if Vinny spent time gambling outside of the stream? Vinny’s live-stream persona showed up to answer that question, “Only on the girls I date.” Ba-da-dum.

The real name of the game is engaging the viewer

The job might seem like a piece of cake. You log on, you play some live dealer games, and you collect the winnings. The real job is much more challenging, and the ultimate goal of someone who livestreams is to engage the audience.

“Every time I get on, I’m so excited to try and see who the new people are gonna be, how many followers I can get, what new questions I can ask the dealers. It’s a game within a game.”

And even though this is a job, Vinny is not immune to the emotions that go along with the unavoidable swings. Even so, Vinny tries to keep a healthy perspective on it all.

“I do wear my heart on my sleeve, so if you watch my streams, sometimes I’ll have several losses in a row, and I’ll start getting a little salty. I try not to let that affect the attitude of me streaming. I might be not happy with the table, but I just deal with it, because that’s my job. You know … you win some, you lose some.”

Vinny looks at live streaming as an opportunity to meet interesting people from around the country and the world. He is pleasantly surprised when people show up from Germany, Finland, and other European countries.

“I love hanging out with people, and that is the vibe I’m trying create. Come and watch me lose money, come and have a laugh. Come shoot the breeze with me, tell a joke or two and try and win some fake money because you might be able to earn some prizes at the end of the day.”

Besides the fun factor, believe it or not, there are other reasons to tune in. For someone who is uncomfortable going to a casino, this is a perfect way to learn about the different types of games in the midst of good company.

Vinny adds, “It’s easier to watch and ask questions from the comfort of home. It also helps someone learn how to play responsibly. It’s a great way to ease into it rather than just jumping in without knowing.”

Vinny and PlayUSA on Twitch

PlayUSA is streaming slot play and live dealer games with one of our livestreaming team every day through the end of March. April’s schedule will be available soon.

Specifically, you can tune in to watch and chat with Vinny on:

• March 24 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
• March 25 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
• March 28 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)

While you do need to be a resident of New Jersey to play, you do not need to be a resident to watch, have fun and make new friends. Click here for the complete Twitch livestream schedule. Viewers are treated to more than just Vinny’s charm and personality and the vicarious thrill of watching someone play the games too. There are frequent games with prizes up for grabs, such as free Amazon gift cards.

As much as Vinny loves streaming, interacting with people and playing the games, that isn’t what he loves the most about his job.

“I like being in on the ground level of something. I love that all my hard work is going to go into something awesome. I like the challenge of turning this into something big.”

And you can play your part by tuning in to Twitch and saying hi!

The post Meet The Man, The Streamer, The Charmer: Vinny Goombatz appeared first on Play USA.