Hi there, Monday! Glad to have you here, friend. Let’s jump in with trivia. Some of Google’s 2022 salaries were leaked online. How much — between salary, equity, leave and benefits — does a top-level software engineer make? Is it $265,000, $379,000, $510,000 or $718,000? Answer’s at the end!

🤗 Moment of honesty: My staff and I put a lot of time and effort into this free newsletter. Support us by checking out Masterworks. Happy sponsors = Free tech news and smarts for you! — Kim

I was astounded by this story and know you will be, too. Gambling guru Brian Christopher lost a staggering $300,000 on slot machines last year. Yes, I called a guy who lost that kind of money a guru. Why? He built an empire livestreaming his gambling adventures. 

Thousands of fans tune in to YouTube daily to see how much Christopher will win — or lose. No matter how much the house takes from him, he's still very much a winner.

Teach me your ways

How in the world does one build a lucrative business out of playing a game of chance? Throughout the week, Christopher heads to the casino and hops on slot machines, bringing his YouTube and Facebook audiences along for the ride.

He livestreams himself playing games and walking through the process, which includes the sometimes ugly reality of losing.

“Wait, don’t casinos ban filming?” you’re thinking. That used to be the case, but now there’s too much free promotion to be had. Christopher and other gambling livestreamers often get special permission to shoot footage. Casinos also offer promotional deals to gambling influencers — cha-ching!

The business of betting

These days, Christopher has 10 employees who package and ship merchandise, run his social media accounts, and secure sponsorship deals and partnerships. An assistant and videographer help with filming and production. 

Christopher games online from his home in Palm Springs when he's not at the casino. He also offers cruise trips through a partnership with Carnival, where hundreds of fans try their hands at the cruise ship slot machines. 

I know what you’re wondering: How much does this make? Christopher didn’t share exact amounts, but it’s enough to pay his staff and turn a profit, even after claiming $300,000 in gambling losses. Not too shabby!

Meet the other big losers

• Francine Maric (aka Lady Luck HQ) shares her win-loss statements with fans — and has also flushed $300,000. But she turns a pretty profit thanks to advertising revenue, paid partnerships and brand sponsorships.
• Elyse Shultz runs the YouTube channel Travel Ruby, a Vegas-based travel account with 200,000 subscribers and almost 40 million views. Shultz recently started a dedicated gambling channel, Ruby Slots, which also receives millions of views.

🎰 Who would’ve thought you could make a really good income by letting people watch you gamble, play the slots and win a jackpot? Or, if you were in Mongolia, that would be a yakpot.

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This is 100% true. Research has proven a portfolio with just a 5% invested in contemporary art historically has driven not only higher returns but also a better risk-adjusted appreciation rate versus a “traditional” portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds.

Translation: More money in your bank account with fewer ups and downs.

But how is the average person supposed to get access to an asset that's been the exclusive domain of the ultra-rich for centuries? The answer is Masterworks, an award-winning platform for investing in fractionalized works of art.

Masterworks has completed 14 exits on their artwork, all of them profitable, with the last three delivering annualized net returns of 17.8%, 21.5% and 35% for investors.

See important disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.

🪖 Femme fatale: Ukraine is taking a page from the hacker playbook: Using AI-generated images of attractive women to fool Russian soldiers into giving up sensitive information. One woman behind the accounts says her brother died in combat and her father is currently serving. She flirts her way into troop numbers, military equipment, logistics and attack details. Beauty is a double-edged sword.

Update Chrome! Like, now. The latest security fix addresses 11 critical vulnerabilities. Restart Chrome to ensure you’re on version 115.0.5790.102. Fun fact: The hackers who reported the flaws took home $16,000 in bug bounties.

🚕 What’s he smoking? CEO Elon Musk says Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) tech works so well, he’s licensing it to other carmakers. Since 2019, Tesla’s autopilot has been involved in 736 accidents and caused 17 deaths. I had a Tesla with FSD, and I’d likely be dead now if I trusted it.

Maybe they thought no one would notice: YouTube Premium just went from $12 to $14. The annual price jumped from $120 to $140. Music Premium went up a buck, too. Just a heads up: Your bill is going up if you subscribe. 

💔 I’m over here: There's a word for constantly checking your phone and snubbing those you're with: Phubbing. New studies show the more phubbing there is in a relationship, the more marital conflict and less intimacy there is, too. Tensions high at home? Put down your devices.

Glow up: Microsoft Teams has 12 digital makeup looks you can apply with just a few clicks. No more putting on your face to sit in front of the computer. Click Join Meeting > Video Effect > More Video Effects. Under Filter, scroll to Maybelline.

Real estate boom: AI is what’s driving $1 trillion to be spent building data centers in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Virginia. These massive centers make good neighbors — no car or foot traffic. The downside? Their new communities have to support the excessive use of electricity, and most cannot … yet. 

📺 China vs. Elon: While Elon Musk's Starlink takes over space like a cosmic empire, China's not sitting by idly. It's launching thousands of broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit. Starlink may have the lead, but China's got tricks up its space sleeve. Want to know what’s really happening? Check out this video to see the satellite showdown.

I turn tech complexity into simplicity with my Daily Tech Update podcast. I’ll give you the top tech news and a useful digital life hack, all in under two minutes. It's the perfect match for your daily routine — no tech expertise required.

👉 Your journey to tech confidence is a click away!

Brain health isn’t just about keeping sharp with puzzles and honing your memory. Diet matters, too. HuffPost talked to neurologists and neuroscientists (the folks who live and breathe brain health) about the foods and drinks they stay away from.

• Protein powder: This surprised me! Most are loaded with artificial sweeteners that can mess with your gut microbiome — an important factor in brain health because most neurotransmitters are produced in the gut.
• Soda: No shocker here. All that sugar damages blood vessels that supply the brain. 
• Margarine: Most are full of gross ingredients and contain trans fat. Stick with olive oil or real butter.
• Cannabis-infused foods: THC constricts arteries in the brain. That’s especially dangerous for folks who get migraines or lots of headaches.
• Beer: Sorry, pals. Alcohol is a neurotoxin that can injure the nervous system.
• Decaf coffee: The chemicals used to remove caffeine are toxic to humans — not something you should be ingesting.
• French fries: I know you’re mad at me for this one. Fatty, fried foods can damage blood vessels in the brain, impacting learning and memory.

🪞 A great way to lose weight is to eat naked in front of a mirror. Restaurants always throw you out before you can overeat.

Slimy hackers are using a trick that always comes back because it works: Scattering infected thumb drives in public spaces, like parking lots or offices, to carry out their malicious activities. 

“I wouldn’t pick that up,” you might think, but they use enticing labels or logos to pique your curiosity and encourage you to plug it into your computer. Think: “Financial Records” or “Crypto keys.”

Plug it in and you’re in for some trouble. Malware stored on the drive can infect your PC and give that hacker total access to your files.

To stay safe, don’t plug in just any thumb drive. Stick to using ones from reliable sources or those you’ve purchased.

Jonny, you’re really making the rest of us look bad.

💸 The answer is $718,000. Holy smokes! Bet that pissed off the Google lawyer making a paltry $320,000. 

Speaking of, a guy went to a lawyer and asked what his fee was. “A hundred dollars for three questions,” answered the lawyer. “Isn’t that a little steep?” asked the man. “Yes,” said the lawyer. “Now, what’s your third question?” I just crack myself up sometimes!

🚀 Take that shiny referral link below and shoot it to a buddy — text it, email it or plaster it all over social media! Your friend will get all the tech-savvy lowdown, and you'll score some awesome prizes. Heartfelt thanks for all your support! — Kim

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