After having dinner with his sister, Yang Jian and Biao Biao returned to their rented apartment. Song Jianhao and the others were already back.
“Brother Hao, how much did you win?”
Yang Jian asked with a smile as soon as he entered, noticing Song Jianhao’s beaming face, which indicated he had won money.
“I won eighty thousand. I’m taking suggestions on whether we should go singing or watch a show tonight. What do you think?”
“Let’s watch a show. Haven’t we sung enough yesterday?”
“Alright, then it’s a show.”
Song Jianhao knew Yang Jian didn’t like going to nightclubs and wanted to consider his feelings for their leisure activities. Yang Jian hadn’t spent anything the previous night, but he was still getting his share of the expenses.
With everyone present, Song Jianhao began to go over the day’s accounts. With a loss of 350,000, his ten percent share was a loss of 35,000.
Yang Jian’s fifteen percent share meant a loss of 52,500. Averaged over two days, his loss was just over 10,000, which was not a crippling blow. Moreover, Song Jianhao would cover these expenses, so Yang Jian didn’t have to pay cash.
Song Jianhao incurred a larger loss, but he had won money gambling, which helped offset some of his losses.
Yang Jian did not approve of Song Jianhao’s approach. Having spent a year and a half in casinos, he had long recognized the dangers of gambling. People like them, who frequented casinos, would become addicted once they started gambling, rendering the role of the banker meaningless.
Furthermore, on his first day in the casino, Song Jianmin had warned him that whether working, banking, or dealing, one must not participate in gambling. Otherwise, they shouldn’t associate with casinos. Therefore, Yang Jian had always adhered to this principle.
In fact, Song Jianhao often admonished Sixi and the others during meetings not to gamble, but he himself failed to set an example. In Yang Jian’s opinion, he would eventually lose badly.
After settling the accounts, all shareholders were required to replenish their losses by noon the next day to reach the 500,000 mark to enter the game.
Subsequently, Song Jianhao led all members of the Emperor Company to the Rolling Stone Theater to watch a performance. Everyone was delighted with this activity, and they enjoyed the night.
The next day’s gambling session was scheduled from 6 PM to 9 PM. Song Jianhao and his group arrived at the casino at 5:30 PM, just in time for the casino’s boxed meals.
At exactly 6 PM, Old Wu took his seat as the banker on time. Yang Jian and Song Jianhao stood behind him. As Brother Xi had said, this period saw a large crowd and many high-stakes players. More than ten gamblers in the front row had stacks of cash ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 in front of them, more than double the usual amount. They needed to support Old Wu in such a game.
As soon as the game started, the gamblers’ betting momentum was fierce. The table, stretching over ten meters, was covered with banknotes. The combined bets on odd and even sides amounted to 300,000 to 400,000.
Although Old Wu was an experienced veteran, this was his first time facing such a scene. After a few rounds, sweat broke out on his forehead. Fortunately, the table limit was 100,000, and the gamblers were cooperative. If the difference exceeded 100,000, some would automatically reduce their bet amount, essentially moving with the banker and helping to absorb some of the risk, ensuring that Emperor Company only gambled around 100,000 per round.
Even so, Old Wu was under immense pressure because gambling 100,000 per round was too risky. They had only brought 500,000, and with a slight turn of bad luck, they could lose it all in a few rounds.
Yang Jian was also very nervous. Such gambling was too thrilling, and he worried that the 500,000 wouldn’t last an hour.
Fortunately, as the saying goes, old ginger is spicier. Old Wu eventually stabilized the situation and had won over 400,000 after an hour. Even so, he kept taking out tissues to wipe his sweat.
“Damn, it’s so lively today! Brother Xi, arrange a seat for me, and get me a hundred chips. I closed a big deal today, and I want to play to my heart’s content.”
A booming voice echoed from the back of the crowd. Immediately, someone cleared a path, and a plump middle-aged man squeezed his way in. Someone then offered him a seat, indicating he was a regular customer of the casino, with some influence or status.
Brother Xi immediately responded, “Certainly, Mr. Ma. I’ll get you fifty chips first, and the rest will be available upon request.”
A handsome young man carrying a bag of money stood behind Mr. Ma and placed 500,000 cash in front of him.
“Emperor, what’s the table limit?”
Mr. Ma, seemingly having had a drink, greeted Old Wu as soon as he sat down.
Old Wu offered him a cigarette, “Mr. Ma, it’s the usual, 100,000 table limit.”
“100,000 is too little. It used to be 150,000 at this time, sometimes even 200,000. Increase it a bit, or it’s not exciting enough.”
“Mr. Ma, these are the casino’s rules. We can’t afford anything much larger. Please bear with us.”
Seeing that Old Wu was not budging, Mr. Ma directly placed 100,000 cash on the even side: “Emperor, I’ll cover the odd side.”
Old Wu was taken aback. However, the odd side had at least 200,000. Mr. Ma’s wealth meant betting 300,000 was not an issue. But on the even side, besides Mr. Ma’s 100,000, there were another 40,000 to 50,000. This round, Emperor Company was betting 140,000 to 150,000, clearly exceeding the table limit.
Knowing that Old Wu wouldn’t dare to proceed, Song Jianhao patted him and told him to get up. He then sat down in the banker’s seat: “Mr. Ma, this is your first round. I’ll go with your request. I’ll open this round, and regardless of the outcome, we’ll follow the rules for the next banker, alright?”
“Deal. I plan to lose a thousand chips today. If you have the skill, win it all.”
These words excited Song Jianhao, and he reached out to open the banker’s hand. Yang Jian couldn’t even stop him.
“Opening the banker! One and six, a total of seven. Odd wins.”
Song Jianhao’s voice was filled with excitement. The banker won 140,000 to 150,000 this round.
However, Yang Jian felt a sense of unease. Mr. Ma on the opposite side was clearly not someone to be trifled with. In this round, the banker had broken the rules by exceeding the table limit by 40,000 to 50,000. It would be difficult to maintain a 100,000 table limit now, especially with Mr. Ma, who would escalate the stakes. Emperor Company did not have the capacity to play with him.
Although this round resulted in a loss of over 300,000, Mr. Ma seemed unconcerned. He threw 300,000 cash to Biao Biao and Sixi: “Dealer, help me pay out the bets on the odd side. That’s how it should be!”
Four counting machines worked at high speed, and within two minutes, all the money on the odd side was paid out. Mr. Ma was left with only 40,000 of his 300,000 cash. In essence, he had lost 360,000 this round.
As the next round began, as soon as Song Jianhao shook the dice, Mr. Ma pushed all the money in his hand to the even side: “Is anyone betting on odd? No matter how much you bet, I’ll cover the odd side.”
Hearing this, the gamblers became excited. Odd bets were not capped, and everyone knew Mr. Ma had plenty of money; he could even cover a million-dollar bet.
In an instant, money poured onto the odd side like snowflakes, totaling at least 300,000.
The even side also had a considerable amount of bets. Including Mr. Ma’s 140,000, there was a total of 180,000 to 190,000.
“Mr. Ma, are you sure you’ll cover the odd side?”
“Yes, I am. Are there any more odd bets? The more, the better.”
“No more. Mr. Ma, you’re covering the odd side.”
Just as Song Jianhao was about to open the banker’s hand, Yang Jian grabbed him and held him back: “Brother Hao, we’ve exceeded the limit. The even side has about 200,000. Be careful, or we won’t be able to handle the situation.”
“It’s fine. Let Mr. Ma have his fun today.”
Song Jianhao seemed to be infected by Mr. Ma’s generosity, or perhaps he genuinely wanted to win a million or more from him. He ignored Yang Jian’s warning and resolutely lifted the teacup.