Zhuang Rui was a little slow to catch up with the old man's train of thought, and casually replied, "A ship? That's great. Apart from the Neptune, this is the biggest ship I've ever seen..."
"Alright, since you like it, I'll give you this ship..."
The old man said with a smile.
"What?"
Upon hearing the old gambling king's words, Zhuang Rui immediately jumped off the comfortable beach chair.
Although Zhuang Rui made his fortune through his supernatural ability, he never imagined that such a windfall would actually fall from the sky and land right on him.
Chapter 923 Gambling License (Part 1)
"Grandpa He, you...you're not joking, are you?"
Ever since Zhuang Rui learned that the ship cost over 3 billion yuan, he gave up the idea of building such a salvage vessel, as the cost was far too high.
If someone had a net worth of three or four billion, wouldn't it be a waste of time to go out to sea to salvage things? It's only because Zhuang Rui could see the treasures at the bottom of the sea that he came up with the idea of getting a salvage ship to plunder the ocean.
"Oh, do you think I, an old man, am joking with you?"
The old gambling king glanced at Zhuang Rui, reached out and picked up a grape, put it in his mouth and chewed it. After a while, he continued, "This ship has been idle for many years. I have no use for it. What's wrong with giving it to you to play with?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but curl his lip. "Your ship has been built for at least ten years, and I've never seen it given to anyone to play with. These days, if someone is being overly solicitous for no reason, they must be up to no good." Zhuang Rui became more vigilant but did not respond to the old man's words.
"What? You don't want it?"
The gambling king saw Zhuang Rui sitting there silently and asked him something strange.
"I want to raise them, but I can't afford it..."
Zhuang Rui was telling the truth. The maintenance and employee salaries alone would cost tens of millions a month. He really couldn't afford it. Apart from people like the gambling king with hundreds of billions in assets, there are probably not many people who can afford to maintain such a luxury ferry.
Zhuang Rui is now even starting to wonder if the old man feels that keeping the ship around is like having a chicken bone in his basket, which is why he wants to get rid of it.
After all, it's useless every month, yet you still have to spend tens of millions. No matter how rich you are, you're not going to feel comfortable, right?
Zhuang Rui owns a private jet, which costs only a few hundred thousand yuan a month, but even that makes him feel a little pained. If he were to get a money-making ship like this, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully at night.
"That's true, there are a lot of idle people on this ship..."
The old gambling king deeply agreed with Zhuang Rui's words. Since the ship was withdrawn from international waters and the gambling ship business ended, it had only been used to entertain guests occasionally in the port. However, the old gambling king was sentimental and kept all the crew members who had been hired at high salaries back then.
The old gambling king knows the cost of hundreds of millions every year, and when Zhuang Rui said that, his brows furrowed.
"Actually, 100 people are enough for this ship. Young man, if you want it, I'll leave the captain and crew to you, and I'll arrange for the others. What do you think?"
Don't let the size of this ship fool you; it's highly automated. It only takes a few dozen people to operate it. The 100 people the old gambling king mentioned actually include some cooks and cleaners, which are essential. Otherwise, the ship would grow mold after a month or two.
"Grandpa, please...please just tell me what you want from me. This ship...I really can't afford it..."
Zhuang Rui was a bit confused by this old man. He had met many people with strange tempers, but he had never seen someone trying to stuff billions of dollars into his arms. Wasn't he afraid that he would sell the ship?
The monthly expenses for 100 people should not exceed three million, which Zhuang Rui can afford. However, he dares not accept such a huge favor. Who knows what conditions the old gambling king will offer if he accepts the ship?
If there's such a thing as a free lunch, Zhuang Rui believes it, because you can get a free buffet in the casino. You just need to exchange a few chips, and even if you don't gamble, you can still have a free meal.
But Zhuang Rui didn't believe in the idea of a pie falling from the sky. Even if it did, it would be so high that it would either kill or seriously injure someone.
The old gambling king seemed a little embarrassed as he touched his distinctive nose and said, "Young man, I'm giving you a gift and you don't want it. I can't really offer you any other terms..."
"Sir, please feel free to ask for my instructions. I will do my best to fulfill them..."
Zhuang Rui was also a little curious. This old man was incredibly wealthy and powerful in Hong Kong and Macau. What could he possibly need Zhuang Rui's help with? However, Zhuang Rui didn't give a definitive answer. He would help if he could, but he would be sorry if he couldn't.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the old gambling king lowered his eyelids slightly, seemingly asleep. Just as Zhuang Rui was getting a little impatient, he suddenly opened his eyes, stared at Zhuang Rui, and said, "I want you to help me place a bet in the name of SJM." "Wh...what?"
Zhuang Rui wondered if he had misheard. The dignified gambling king who had been ruling Macau for nearly half a century actually wanted him to gamble for him? Could it be that all the people he kept were useless?
Although the former world gambling king Stevenson was ruined by him and the current gambling king Jarvis left Macau in disgrace, Zhuang Rui did not believe that the gambling kings did not have gambling masters he had trained.
"Old man, are you joking? I don't know anything about gambling. Winning twice was all luck. I can't help you with this..."
Zhuang Rui refused without hesitation. For this man over ninety years old to make such a request, the bet must be extremely important. Although Zhuang Rui was confident of winning, he didn't want to stand out.
In the minds of Chinese people, gambling is always associated with organized crime, and a figure like the "King of Gambling" is likely involved with international organized crime. If I were to actually help him win money, I probably wouldn't even have the life to enjoy this luxury ferry.
"Young man, do you know why you came to Macau this time?"
The old man was not angry when he heard Zhuang Rui's words, but asked slowly.
"My friend was scammed, and I'm here to get back what's rightfully mine..."
Zhuang Rui replied.
“That’s right. Such cheating would never have happened in Macau casinos before 2002. I wouldn’t say there are no cheaters in Macau, but no one would dare to be so blatant.” The old man spoke a little hurriedly and coughed repeatedly after he finished speaking. Zhuang Rui quickly poured a glass of warm water from the table and handed it to him.
Why did those con artists become so unrestrained after 2002?
Zhuang Rui found it rather strange. For a casino, a steady stream of revenue is the most important thing, but the casino that colluded with Liu Minghui to "trap" Lao Si was clearly killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, which was an extremely unwise act.
"Gambling on licenses, it's all because of gambling on licenses..."
The old gambling king's eyes, which were originally somewhat cloudy, suddenly sharpened after the words "gambling license" were mentioned, and a strange light flashed in them.
"Gambling license? Does that mean you can only operate a gambling business in Macau if you have a gambling license?"
Zhuang Rui didn't know much about these things, but judging from the name, it should be the same type of thing as a company's business license, right?
The old gambling king nodded and said, "Yes, you understand correctly. A gambling license is a business license for operating gambling operations. Only with this can one open a casino in Macau..."
"This document must have been issued by the Macao SAR government, right? What does it have to do with gambling?"
Zhuang Rui was still somewhat puzzled. There are dozens of casinos of all sizes in Macau, and this man in front of him owns 11 of them. With his status in Macau, wouldn't it be an easy thing for him to get more gambling licenses?
"Of course it's related. I'm tired. Let Amin tell you about these things..."
The old gambling king had talked a lot today and seemed a bit tired. He beckoned to the old croupier standing in the distance, and after the croupier came over, he said, "Tell the young dealer about the history of Macau's gambling license development..."
"yes……"
The veteran croupier bowed respectfully and addressed Zhuang Rui, saying, "Mr. Zhuang, the first gambling license in Macau was issued in October 1961, when Mr. He, along with Mr. Fok and others from Hong Kong, jointly..."
A story about the development of gambling in Macau is told in detail by an old croupier.
It turns out that in the 1960s, the old gambling king joined forces with a group of Hong Kong tycoons and won the exclusive right to operate casinos in Macau by bidding HK$17,000 more than his competitors. He opened the first casino in 1963.
From then on, after decades of struggling, the Macau gambling industry flourished under Mr. Ho's leadership, making Macau a world-renowned gambling city in the East, and ranking alongside Las Vegas in the United States and Monte Carlo in Morocco as one of the world's three major gambling cities.
From the late 1990s to the present, the old gambling king has paid as much as 6 billion in taxes to the gambling industry every year. It can be said that he alone has supported the entire gambling industry in Macau.
However, in 2002, the situation changed dramatically. The Macao government decided to reform the gaming industry and issued three gaming licenses that year, breaking the nearly half-century-long monopoly of the old gambling king in Macao's gaming industry.
The competition was extremely fierce at the time, with a total of 21 companies expressing their determination to win the gaming license. In addition to the local forces in Macau represented by the gambling king, there were also many companies from the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, the Philippines and other places.
World-renowned casino hotel conglomerates, including MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas, Suncity Group, and Genting Group in Malaysia, have all attached great importance to this issuance of gaming licenses.
The 21 consortia pledged to invest an average of US$2 billion in the Australian gambling industry, with the smallest investment exceeding US$1 billion and the largest reaching HK$40 billion.
At the time, the gambling king was extremely dissatisfied with the government's decision. In an interview with local media, he stated that with his 40 years of management experience, he did not need to cooperate with other companies. The old gambling king insisted on "playing by himself" because it was the general trend. In the end, the gambling industry in Macau was unified by the gambling king. Now, it is divided into three parts, with the gambling licenses obtained by the gambling king's SJM Holdings, Wynn Resorts, and Galaxy Entertainment Group.
Unlike SJM Holdings, owned by the gambling tycoon, the other two companies are backed by foreign gambling conglomerates.
Just like Galaxy Entertainment Group, although on the surface it is a gaming company formed by the Lui Che-woo family of Hong Kong businessmen and the Venetian Group.
But behind it is Shawn Adelson, a prominent figure in the American gambling industry and owner of the Venetian Group in Nevada, who holds at least 30% of Galaxy's shares.
Chapter 924 Gambling License (Part 2)
Shodden Adelson is considered one of the world's most skilled experts in operating convention and exhibition centers and the tourism and entertainment industry, while another major shareholder, Lui Che-woo, is also a well-known figure in Hong Kong.
Lui Che-woo's ancestral home is Wuyi, Guangdong. He was born in Jiangmen in 1929. When he was 4 years old, he moved to Hong Kong with his parents. He started his business in the 1950s. His companies include two listed companies, K. Wah Construction Materials and K. Wah International, as well as more than 200 subsidiaries. His investments are spread across mainland China, Thailand, Malaysia, the United States and other regions and countries.
It can be said that although neither of them had experience in the gambling industry, their strength was no less than that of the old gambling king. The entry of Galaxy Entertainment Group set off a wave of casino competition in Macau.
If Galaxy Entertainment Group is run by outsiders, then the owner of Wynn Resorts (Macau) Ltd., which also holds a gaming license, is no less renowned in the gaming industry than the "King of Gambling."
Stephen Wayne, chairman of Wynn Resorts, is a legendary figure whose reputation in Las Vegas is even greater than that in Macau.
In the late 1980s, Las Vegas casinos began to fully implement modern corporate management systems.
Stephen Wayne, as an advocate and promoter, successfully transformed Las Vegas into a resort destination suitable for the whole family, pushing the trend of themed hotel operation to a new peak. He was dubbed the "Father of Las Vegas" and can be regarded as a bigwig in the gambling industry.
After Wynn entered Macau, it did indeed make a large-scale investment, spending nearly six billion patacas to build resort hotels, shopping malls, shopping centers, and large-scale entertainment facilities.
From then on, the era that originally belonged to the gambling king alone became history, and Macau became a three-way balance of power.
Of course, the investment of nearly 20 billion patacas, or about 16 billion yuan, by the three companies has put Macau on a fast track of development, but it has also brought many drawbacks.
The old gambling king's original ideas about the gambling industry have been overturned. Some people who contracted the gambling tables in the casinos colluded with loan sharks or swindlers to cheat tourists who came to Macau for tourism and leisure.
In recent years, there have been frequent reports in China about some powerful officials getting mired in trouble in Macau. The reason for this is that some casinos believe that these officials are afraid to publicize their losses, so they deliberately set traps for them.
Those who were exposed were just unlucky. Who knows how many other domestic officials, whose identities have been kept secret, are spending lavishly in Macau casinos? These are the very people most welcomed by those casinos.
The incident involving Lao Si happened within Galaxy Company. This was entirely due to Galaxy Company's lax supervision, turning a blind eye, and even colluding with people from the Thousand Gates. There were other similar incidents, but Zhuang Rui was just unlucky enough to be the one to run into one.
Therefore, starting in 2002, Macau's gambling tax revenue declined year by year, and violent incidents became commonplace. The entertainment environment was far from what it used to be. This was a painful sight for the old gambling tycoon who had spent his entire life working hard in Macau. ...
After hearing about the gambling license dispute, Zhuang Rui was puzzled and asked, "Uncle Ming, there are only three gambling licenses in total, so how come there are so many casinos in Macau?"
"Cough cough..."
The gambling king, who was eating grapes, was choked by Zhuang Rui's words and started coughing repeatedly. Two women in the distance quickly came over and patted his chest and back, which made the old man feel much better.
After catching his breath, the old man glared at Zhuang Rui with annoyance and said, "The gambling license is issued to the company. As long as the company has a gambling license, it can open a casino. Can you explain that?"
"Hehe, I'm just an amateur, aren't I? Please don't be angry..."
After hearing about the old gambling king's glorious history in Macau, Zhuang Rui had even more respect for him. Although Zhuang Rui did not advocate gambling, he believed that formalizing the industry would be more beneficial than harmful.
"By the way, sir, these gambling licenses have only been issued for a few years. Is it really necessary to go through the bidding process again?"
Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered the reason why the gambling king asked him to gamble on his behalf, which was because of gambling cards, and he was immediately puzzled.
In order to bid for this gambling license, several companies invested over a billion dollars. The operating rights cannot be limited to three to five years; they should be at least around twenty years. So what did the old man mean when he asked someone to gamble on his behalf?
Moreover, the issuance of gaming licenses is controlled by the Macao government. Although Macao is a gambling city, Zhuang Rui absolutely does not believe that the Macao government would decide on the issuance of gaming licenses based on who has the best gambling skills.
The old gambling king didn't answer, but waved his hand, signaling the women beside him to leave. The two women looked a little reluctant, but they still left and stood at a distance.