Chapter 908 A Special Casino
Macau was formerly a Portuguese colony, and the name "Macau Lisboa Casino" comes from the capital city of Lisbon. On average, more than 30,000 customers enter and exit the Lisboa Casino every day, making it the world's leading casino in terms of both customer numbers and revenue.
The unique, birdcage-like architecture of the Lisboa Casino has not only become a major attraction in Macau, drawing millions of domestic and international tourists every day, but it also serves as a window into Macau, attracting people from all over the world who are interested in the city.
The Lisboa Casino alone employs over 3,000 people, and its 26 VIP rooms are frequented by high rollers from all over the world. If a working-class person with a monthly income of only around a thousand yuan were to peek inside, the sheer "generosity" of the big gamblers betting tens of thousands of yuan would surely send chills down their spine. The Lisboa Casino's design is riddled with feng shui mysteries. The most ominous of these is the main entrance, adorned with a pair of large, lifelike bats that seem poised to swoop down and suck blood.
One of the two main gates is shaped like a lion's mouth, and the other like a tiger's mouth. There are taxi stands right in front of both gates. Gamblers entering the casino through these gates are like falling into the mouths of lions and tigers, making them easy prey for the lions and tigers. This is because lions are the king of beasts and have the effect of attracting wealth in feng shui, while tigers are fierce beasts and have the effect of guarding wealth and protecting the house. Therefore, experienced gamblers generally do not enter the casino through these two gates, otherwise it would be like "sending a sheep into the tiger's mouth".
"Zhuang Rui, we should be more skeptical than skeptical about these things. Let's go through the side door..."
When Qin Haoran saw his son-in-law standing at the entrance of the Lisboa Casino for a long time, he thought he was being stubborn and insisted on entering through the main entrance.
"Okay, Dad, let's go through the side door..."
Zhuang Rui smiled. Although he had the help of spiritual energy in his eyes, he still couldn't win without luck. Many things in this world are inexplicable. Since there is such a saying, perhaps there is some supernatural element to it.
"Mr. Qin, hello, please follow me..."
After Zhuang Rui and his group entered the casino through the side door, a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a suit and tie was already waiting there.
The middle-aged man didn't bring any people into the casino hall. Instead, he went straight to the elevator. According to Qin Haoran, in Macau casinos, the higher the floor of the casino hall, the larger the betting amount. Even Qin Haoran didn't know which casino hall they would be opening.
"For the rest of my life, which VIP room have you arranged for me?"
When he saw the middle-aged man press the elevator button to the top floor, Qin Haoran couldn't help but frown. Although he wasn't a gambler, he would occasionally accompany customers to gamble for business purposes. He had never heard of a gambling room on the top floor of a casino.
The middle-aged man turned around, glanced at Zhuang Rui, and then replied, "Mr. Qin, Mr. He has instructed that the room used for today's gambling will be converted into a money-counting room..."
"What? The secret money counting room at the Lisboa Casino?"
Qin Haoran was clearly taken aback upon hearing this, and then asked, "Was it Mr. He who personally gave the order?"
"Yes, to ensure no one can cheat, Mr. He decided to use the money counting room as the gambling room for this round, which is a first in Macau..."
As the middle-aged man spoke, his eyes kept scanning Zhuang Rui. He didn't know who Zhuang Rui was, that he could make Old Master He make an exception and open a money counting room.
"Dad, what's a 'money-counting room'?"
Zhuang Rui lowered his voice and asked Qin Haoran, but the elevator was only so big that everyone in the elevator could hear him clearly, no matter how soft his voice was.
"I've heard a bit about it, but I don't really know the specifics..."
Qin Haoran looked a little embarrassed. Money-counting rooms were a legendary thing in Macau, and it wasn't clear to outsiders whether they actually existed. He couldn't explain the details either.
"This must be Mr. Zhuang."
The middle-aged man who led the way glanced at Zhuang Rui and said, "The money counting room is the most important place in every casino. Even senior casino managers are not allowed to enter. I haven't been there yet. Inside..."
After hearing Yu Sheng's explanation, everyone finally understood. As the name suggests, the purpose of the money counting room is to count money.
Every day, the operating revenue of the 11 casinos under Mr. He's name is escorted here in time slots, where dedicated staff count the cash bills one by one. The cash delivered is mostly in Hong Kong dollars or Macau dollars with a face value of 1,000 yuan. It takes 40 employees an average of 16 hours a day to count the day's revenue.
At its peak, the amount involved was several hundred million yuan per day, and even the smallest amounts were forty to fifty million yuan. The security measures there were so tight that outsiders had no way of knowing anything about it. Even most of the casino's employees were unaware of the details and had no right to set foot there.
Only special envoys from the government's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, along with numerous surveillance cameras at different angles inside the house, were closely monitoring every move inside.
Because of the tight security measures at the money counting room, with countless cameras pointing at the room from all angles, it is virtually impossible to cheat here.
The gambling tycoon's choice of this room as the venue for Zhuang Rui's bet was quite a thoughtful move.
After reaching the top floor of the elevator, you are greeted by a large lobby. However, outside the elevator, there are two rows of security guards dressed in black suits. Judging from the bulging waistbands of their guards, they are very likely carrying weapons.
"Mr. Qin, I'm sorry, this is the only way I can take you. Manager Wu will be here to assist you..."
As soon as Yu Sheng stepped out of the elevator, he was stopped by the security guard, and another man in his forties walked towards him.
"Mr. Qin, Mr. Zhuang, my surname is Wu. I'm sorry, but according to the rules, including Mr. Zhuang, you can only have a maximum of five people entering..."
Manager Wu first introduced himself, then gestured to the security guard next to him to stop the group behind Zhuang Rui.
Besides Peng Fei and Wei Ge Lao Si, there were also seven or eight people from Qin's Jewelry who came to Macau with Zhuang Rui this time. Of course, they were all just there to watch the excitement.
"Dad, Peng Fei and two of my classmates are going in..."
Zhuang Rui turned his head and whispered to Qin Haoran. He didn't like the Qin family having such a large group of people. Did they think he was a monkey show?
"Okay, with me included, that makes five..."
Qin Haoran nodded, turned around and said, "Second brother, third brother, take them downstairs to play, give them 500,000 in chips..."
Qin Xuanbing's cousins were initially unhappy when they heard they couldn't go in, but when Qin Haoran agreed to let them gamble, their faces lit up with smiles.
The Qin family has extremely strict rules. You can be a playboy, spend money on minor celebrities and drive luxury cars, but gambling and drugs are absolutely forbidden. If any descendant of the Qin family gets involved in these two vices, they will be stripped of their inheritance rights and dividend shares.
So even if these people had been to Macau before, they only played around, betting only tens of thousands of dollars. Now, Qin Haoran, who was practically the head of the Qin family, was talking about 500,000 dollars with a single word, so they were naturally overjoyed.
Upon hearing Qin Haoran's words, Manager Wu quickly replied, "Mr. Qin, although these people can't enter the casino, they can watch from another room through a glass partition. It's the same as being in the room, so the impact isn't significant..."
Today, some prominent figures from Hong Kong, Macau, and even Taiwan came to watch the game. These people are usually surrounded by a large entourage when they come and go. However, the number of people who can enter the casino is limited, so the casino came up with this solution to allow them to watch the game from separate rooms.
Besides the five people each side can bring into the battle, the rest of the spectators can only enter alone. Except for some elderly people with mobility issues who can bring a caregiver, everyone else can only enter the adjacent room.
Those rooms were originally used to monitor the money counting room. They were separated by a one-way glass partition, so the money counting room couldn't see outside, but the people in the room could see everything that was happening inside the money counting room, and they wouldn't miss any sounds.
"Okay, second brother, you take them there. Don't let them wander off. If Xiao Rui wins, he'll definitely give you kids a reward..."
Qin Haoran's words made several people who originally thought they could go to gamble secretly unhappy, but they didn't dare to disobey Qin Haoran's arrangements. After all, the old master Qin basically didn't care about things now, and Qin Haoran was the one who made the decisions in the family.
"Gentlemen, please have your information checked, and then you may enter..."
After hearing Qin Haoran's words, Manager Wu couldn't help but glance at Zhuang Rui. He was on a much higher level than Yu Sheng and knew about Zhuang Rui's battle against his casino's gambling king on the gambling ship.
After the gambling king's defeat, he resigned from his job as the casino's technical director, which affected the casino's operations. Later, he poached another gambling king from an overseas casino with a high salary, which finally solved the technical director problem.
It's important to understand that the technical director of a casino plays a crucial role. Although there's usually nothing to do, if a gambling expert comes to cause trouble, the casino king will have to step in.
During that period without the gambling king in charge, the entire casino was on edge, and all of this was thanks to Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui was naturally unaware of his grudges with the Lisboa Casino, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. Who told you to stick your neck out?
The security checks for entering the casino are extremely strict. Watches, rings, and all metal objects are prohibited from being brought into the casino. Even shoes must be changed into disposable slippers provided by the casino.
What surprised Zhuang Rui the most was that the knife on Peng Fei's body, which couldn't even be detected when boarding a plane, was actually found during this security check. Peng Fei was also stunned, which showed how professional the security personnel were.
Stepping onto the thick red carpet and entering the large gambling hall, which was at least two or three hundred square meters, Lao Si's eyes immediately turned red, because he saw Liu Minghui, the one who had led him into the trap.
Chapter 909 A Towering Mountain to Admire
Although the gambling hall is very large, there is only one gambling table in the middle, and twenty chairs on each side. In other words, at most forty people can watch the game today.
Quite a few people were already seated at the table. Many of them were already acquainted and were chatting quietly while waiting for the game to start.
As soon as Qin Haoran entered the casino, people all around him greeted him. Hong Kong and Macau are so small, everyone runs into each other all the time. Qin Haoran also clasped his hands in greeting and kept performing the salute.
"Youngest brother, that person is Liu Minghui..."
The fourth brother grabbed Zhuang Rui's arm, his eyes filled with intense hatred, and looked at a middle-aged man sitting in a chair next to the gambling table.
Seeing the fourth brother's gritted teeth, Zhuang Rui was certain that if he were given a knife, his older brother would definitely stab him right now.
"Fourth Brother, they beat you with their brains. Don't always think about fighting and killing. Winning back at the gambling table is the right thing to do..."
Zhuang Rui was afraid that Lao Si might act impulsively and confront Liu Minghui. If that happened, it would be seen as a low act by everyone.
"That's right, the martial arts world these days is all about deception and treachery; fighting with knives and guns is beneath us..."
Uncle De, dressed in an old-fashioned cultural robe, appeared beside Zhuang Rui at some point.
Upon seeing Uncle De, Zhuang Rui, forgetting to persuade the fourth brother, hurriedly said, "Uncle De, I'm so sorry to have troubled you this time, and made you come all this way..."
"What are you saying, kid? Why are you being so polite with Uncle De?"
Uncle De glared at Zhuang Rui, then lowered his voice and said, "Xiao Rui, where are your experts? I've heard that they've invited last year's World Gambling King Championship winner to gamble against you. That guy is incredibly skilled with both dice and poker..."
In the martial arts world, gambling games conducted due to certain grudges can be played by someone else. Judging from what Uncle De said, those members of the swindling sect who set up the scheme to deceive Lao Si probably won't be making a move this time.
Zhuang Rui followed Uncle De's gaze and looked at Liu Minghui and his group. There were also five of them. Besides Liu Minghui, who was over forty years old, fair-skinned and chubby, and looked harmless, there were four other people.
One of them looked to be in his thirties, nearly two meters tall, with bulging muscles all over his body. He was probably a henchman named Fire General from the Thousand Gates. The other two had very ordinary appearances, the kind that would be easily lost in a crowd.
The last person, and the one who caught Zhuang Rui's attention the most, was a foreigner, around forty years old, a white man, but it was impossible to tell what country he was from. He was sitting there with his eyes half-closed, resting. If nothing unexpected happened, this person was the champion of the World Gambling King Competition that Uncle De had mentioned.
Seemingly sensing Zhuang Rui's gaze, the man slightly opened his eyes, looked Zhuang Rui up and down, and then disdainfully withdrew his gaze, as if he felt that Zhuang Rui was not worthy of being his opponent.
Jervis Maliz certainly has the right to look down on Zhuang Rui. He is the champion of the World Gambling King Competition for the past two years, and he is in his prime. He swept his opponents almost effortlessly in both competitions. Looking at the current gambling world, he is definitely the world gambling king.
If it weren't for the fact that the people from the Thousand Gates were willing to give 20% of the profits from this bet to Jervis, he really wouldn't have wanted to gamble with this young man. Although he knew that the other party had beaten Stevenson before, Jervis didn't take Zhuang Rui seriously.
Jervis had carefully watched the video of Zhuang Rui and Stevenson's betting game and came to only one conclusion: Zhuang Rui was incredibly lucky. He bet on big or small without revealing his cards, which could only be explained by luck.
However, Jervis was confident that, whether through skill or luck, he could utterly defeat Zhuang Rui and take his rightful HK$200 million. Keep in mind, that 20% included the winnings of the gambling syndicate members. ...
"What? You want to go up and gamble?"
Uncle De's uncontrollable exclamation instantly silenced the gambling hall, and dozens of eyes focused on Uncle De and Zhuang Rui.
Who is that young man?
"I heard it's about betting against the gambling king..."
"You don't recognize him, do you? A few years ago, this young man beat Stevenson..."
"Yes, Stevenson never recovered after that game, otherwise Jarvis wouldn't have won the championship two years in a row..."
Upon seeing the main figure arrive, the people in the casino began to discuss it. The total amount involved was HK$1 billion. Although it could not be said to be unprecedented, apart from the crown princes of Saudi Arabia, very few people would gamble like this.
These people sitting in the casino are all prominent business tycoons who are involved in the gambling industry. Some of them are even shareholders of SJM Holdings, so they are quite knowledgeable about the dynamics of the gambling world.
Zhuang Rui coughed twice, pulled Uncle De aside, and whispered, "Ahem, Uncle De, there's no need for such a big reaction. You know, I've always been quite lucky..."
"Nonsense, can luck feed you?"
Uncle De treated Zhuang Rui like a son or nephew, so he spoke very bluntly. However, after saying those words, he was stunned. For Zhuang Rui, luck... seemed to be something that could really feed him.
Putting aside Zhuang Rui's keen intuition when gambling on stones, he has never been fooled in the past few years when appraising items on Taobao. Modern people do not believe in ghosts and gods, so Zhuang Rui's situation can only be attributed to good luck.
Although facts speak louder than words, Uncle De was still worried and asked in a low voice, "Have you made up your mind?"
"It's alright, Uncle De, I'm the kind of person who brings bad luck to the gambling king..."
Zhuang Rui recalled the disdainful look in Jarvis's eyes and couldn't help but sneer inwardly, "Damn it, I'm here to crush the gambling king. Even if you're a hundred times better than Stevenson, you're still going to be screwed in Macau today..."