This means that Zhuang Rui truly won the bet by luck, which is undeniable. As for whether Zhuang Rui can perform magic tricks or see through the cards, sorry, although the West also has a mythological system, the people in these gambling halls have always believed more in themselves and are not very respectful to Jesus or Satan.
"Luckily I didn't call, otherwise I would be in big trouble now, both hands on the table are higher than mine..."
The other four people at the table were sweating profusely, feeling incredibly fortunate that they had a weak hand and hadn't acted impulsively. Otherwise, Bennett wouldn't be the only one lying on the ground; there would probably be a whole circle of people lying around the table.
"Damn it, if that kid Zhuang calls, I won't play anymore..."
Walter discreetly wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead, making up his mind that he would fold to every bet Zhuang Rui made...
"God, is that young man your illegitimate son? Why do you favor him so much?"
The person who said this must be a believer in Satan, otherwise they wouldn't be so disrespectful to Jesus.
"This is incredible! This bet will be the greatest match of all time..."
I wonder if Mr. Bennett felt any comfort upon hearing this man's words. Although he lost the bet, he has made his mark in the history of gambling.
Amidst the murmurs and whispers, Bennett, with blood still trickling from his lips, suddenly jumped up from his bench, pointed at Zhuang Rui, and shouted, "No... this can't be! He cheated! He must have cheated! Otherwise, he couldn't have beaten me..."
It's not uncommon to get the same hand on a gambling table, but the odds of getting the same hand on such a coincidence, especially when Zhuang Rui hadn't seen his hole cards, are extremely slim. That's why Bennett simply couldn't believe that Zhuang Rui could win against him by luck.
“Mr. Bennett, you can’t just say things like that. I would like to cheat, but are you going to tell all these people that I’m blind?”
Zhuang Rui spread his hands innocently. Had this guy watched too many Hong Kong gambling movies? Did he really think cheating in a casino was such a simple thing?
It's important to understand that modern gambling cheating primarily utilizes high-tech methods. A case that shocked the gambling world a few years ago involved several university students using mathematical calculations to transmit the card information via a device mounted on their feet. Others received the information in a hotel, analyzed it, and relayed the results back to the casino, resulting in the students winning big against several casinos. Methods like secretly filming and switching cards are now rarely seen, especially in high-stakes games like this. Before the game begins, all participants undergo thorough checks, and it's impossible for them to be carrying playing cards.
"Kid, if you can't accept defeat, then get lost. What evidence do you have that Zhuang Rui cheated?"
Huangfu Yun, who was in the guest seats, shouted loudly.
"That's right, Mr. Halbert. Is this the quality of the people you hire? Does winning automatically mean cheating?"
Fourth Wife's face also turned cold as she looked at Halbert, who was sitting on the other side. During the gambling game, Bennett's gaze when he questioned Halbert had not escaped Fourth Wife's notice. In her opinion, Bennett's hysterical behavior now might have been at Halbert's behest.
At this moment, Fourth Wife's mindset was completely different from before. She was not only full of confidence in the most powerful man, but also had great admiration for the old man in Macau. Perhaps only Zhuang Rui's "luck" could win such a gamble.
Now, Fourth Wife is pondering whether giving Zhuang Rui 10% of the shares is a bit too little. You see, after today's battle, Zhuang Rui's name will surely spread throughout the entire gambling world. In the future, if anything happens in the Macau casinos, just calling Zhuang Rui will definitely create a very powerful deterrent.
"That's hard to say, nobody knows if someone cheated or not..."
Halbert's roots are not in Asia. If he had been able to obtain the gambling license, he might have been more wary of the fourth wife. However, it is clear that the gambling license is now a lost cause for him, so Halbert simply challenged the fourth wife.
"What, can't you handle losing?"
Fourth Sister Huo stood up. Although she was a woman, her aura was in no way inferior to that of Herbert. The bodyguards behind her were also glaring at Herbert.
Halbert's side was not to be outdone. Four or five burly white men surrounded Halbert, waiting for their master to give orders. It should be noted that for them, it was not necessary to have a gun to kill someone.
"Please, both of you, have a seat..."
Just as the Fourth Wife and Halbert were about to clash, Hank, the host, stood up, holding a videotape, and said, "My technical department has just conducted a technical assessment of this betting game. The video shows that Mr. Zhuang did not engage in any cheating or irregular behavior. Halbert, please watch your words and actions..."
Hank is the owner of the MGM Grand Hotel. He has been operating in Las Vegas for a long time, and his connections in the underworld and with the highest levels of the US government are far superior to those of Halbert. Therefore, he speaks very rudely.
“Mr. Hank, I’m sorry, I lost my composure. We’ve lost this bet…”
Halbert had only wanted to bully Fourth Sister and vent his dissatisfaction at being eliminated, but now that Hank had spoken, Halbert dared not cause any more trouble. He bowed slightly to Hank and led the group out of the casino.
"Boss, this..."
Bennett, who remained in the room, was somewhat taken aback when he saw the boss leave. He wanted to follow him out, but there were still more than ten million dollars worth of chips on the table, which made him still have the hope of winning back his losses.
What chilled him to the bone was that he knew exactly what kind of person Halbert was. He had helped him "lose" nearly $500 million this time, and he was afraid that he would not have a good outcome after the bet ended.
Hank glanced at Bennett and said, "Mr. Bennett, you can choose to continue the game... or withdraw..."
"I choose...to continue..."
Bennett's throat tightened, and he managed to utter those words with difficulty. He didn't know if he would be taken away and vanished into thin air by Halbert's men as soon as he stepped out of the casino.
"Alright, let's continue the betting..."
Huck waved his hand, and the dealer opened a brand new deck of cards to deal.
After the game restarted, Bennett was clearly affected by the previous round. Whether he was eager to win back his losses or wanted to lose everything and escape, he lost all the chips on the table in the first showdown.
This time, without Hank asking again, Bennett left the gambling table looking ashen-faced. What awaited him was perhaps Halbert's wrath. As for whether he would live to continue in the gambling world, that would depend on Halbert's mood.
"Ten million? Still no one to bid? Sigh, it's lonely for a master..."
Zhuang Rui threw down ten one-million-dollar chips, and both his upstream and downstream players folded. Now the other four people at the table unanimously believed that Zhuang Rui's mother or a direct female relative must have some kind of ambiguous relationship with God, otherwise how could he be so lucky?
So now a very strange situation has formed at the gambling table. Whenever Zhuang Rui raises, the other players all fold and don't call. But when someone else raises, the other players act like wolves that haven't eaten meat for a month, increasing their bets and fighting to the death.
The outcome of the game is now very clear. With nearly a billion dollars in bets on Zhuang Rui's table, one of the three cards has undoubtedly fallen into Zhuang Rui's hands, which makes the fourth wife sitting in the guest seat beam with joy.
Chapter 1043 Retiring from the Gambling World
"Please leave the table, everyone. Let's begin counting the chips..."
When the hour hand of the luxurious old-fashioned grandfather clock in the casino pointed to seven o'clock in the evening, the game was coming to an end. After the last hand, the casino emcee came forward and began to direct the counting of the chips.
"Zhuang, you are my idol. From now on, I will avoid any gambling games involving you... Um, I think it's ninety miles?"
Walter stood up from the gambling table. Instead of going to the guest seats where his boss was sitting, he stretched out his shoulder to Zhuang Rui and gave him a big hug. Now Walter was truly convinced of Zhuang Rui's abilities. He asked himself if he would have any chance of winning against Zhuang Rui again in the future.
These words were somewhat flattering, but Walter had a big smile on his face. The reason was simple: he had won second place in this bet after Zhuang Rui. Although the chips had not yet been counted, everyone already knew exactly who would win or lose.
In several games without Zhuang Rui, Walter actually won a few good hands, and in the end, in addition to his own $500 million principal, he won more than $100 million. This was what made him overjoyed, because according to the prior agreement, all the winnings would belong to him personally.
Zhuang Rui hugged Walter and patted him on the shoulder, laughing as he said, "Oh, congratulations first, but... Mr. Walter, I look forward to betting against you again..."
Zhuang Rui was in an even better mood. Not only had he won a gaming license for SJM Holdings, but he had also won a total of US$780 million over the two days. This money would belong entirely to Zhuang Rui. Although he wasn't short of money, having money coming in was always a pleasant thing.
Oh...no, please don't..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Walter shoved Zhuang Rui away as if he had been electrocuted, saying with a look of fear, "Zhuang, I think... I'd better stay away from you..."
"What a joke! If Zhuang Rui's luck continues like this, even if I had a straight flush and gambled against him, I'd still lose. Walter doesn't want to run into this freak again. Heh, I guess we won't have another chance to sit down and gamble together..."
Zhuang Rui smiled. This time, he was only participating in the gambling game to repay a favor to the gambling king, which was somewhat against Zhuang Rui's principles. Furthermore, after this gambling game, he would be targeted by many people with ulterior motives. Zhuang Rui had already made up his mind that he would never appear in the gambling world again, just like Zhou Shuai in "God of Gamblers," who only showed the world his back.
That's such a pity..."
Everyone says foreigners are more charming, and while Walter lamented it, his seemingly weathered face beamed with a smile like a chrysanthemum.
"By the way, Zhuang, why are you so lucky?"
Seeing that Zhuang Rui was in a good mood, Walter quickly leaned closer and asked a question. The other gambling tycoons nearby, hearing this, also perked up their ears, eager to hear Zhuang Rui's reply.
Um... perhaps this is because I'm a devout Buddhist, and Guanyin Bodhisattva has protected me?
Zhuang Rui was momentarily speechless at Walter's question. Looking down at the red string around his neck, he quickly made up an excuse and took out the glass-type jade Guanyin ornament for Walter and the others to admire.
Tomorrow... no, I'll make one of these when I get back. Oh my god, I'd be happy if I had even half of Zhuang's luck...
Walter and the others did not doubt Zhuang Rui's words. After all, in the world of gambling, every expert has their own habits, and worshipping Guanyin is not an unacceptable thing. There are people who like even stranger hobbies.
Through the intentional or unintentional dissemination by Walter and others, a trend of worshipping Guanyin arose in the gambling world worldwide. Many professional gamblers wore Guanyin statues on their wrists, and some even tattooed images of Guanyin on their bodies and kept incense for Guanyin in their homes. Before each trip to the casino, they would burn incense and pray, hoping that Guanyin would possess them and allow them to win big.
Perhaps Guanyin Bodhisattva in heaven knows this and should thank Zhuang Rui for his great achievement of spreading his faith around the world?
"...The final chips have been counted..."
While Walter and the others were pestering Zhuang Rui to share their experiences, the casino emcee's voice rang out, "
The dealer from Macau, with a final total chip stack of 1.16 billion, is the winner of this bet and will also be the recipient of the gold bracelet… Mr. Walter won second place with a total chip stack of 620 million. Congratulations… Chartres won third place with a total chip stack of 618 million. Congratulations to you too…
The emcee's words brought a smile to Zhuang Rui's lips. The figure of 1.16 billion, although the 500 million principal from SJM had to be deducted, did not include the 120 million he won yesterday. If all were added together, Zhuang Rui had swept up nearly 800 million US dollars from this high-stakes gamble.
This figure is comparable to that of the financial tycoons who dominate the stock market on Wall Street, and Zhuang Rui's performance today perfectly exemplifies this.
The new meaning of the word "luck" also led to a new way of gambling, in which many gamblers abandoned card-playing skills and simply bet on the size of the cards dealt. Of course, all of this is a story for later and has little to do with Zhuang Rui.
"Next, we will be presenting the awards for this Texas Hold'em tournament. Mr. Zhuang, please come forward to receive your award..."
Zhuang Rui was taken aback by the emcee's words: "This prize money is already quite substantial, why are there still other things to give out?"
However, thinking that it might be a waste not to take advantage of the opportunity, Zhuang Rui still cooperated with the emcee and stood in the middle of the gambling hall.
The award was presented by Hank, the owner of the MGM Grand Hotel. He placed a shimmering gold bracelet on Zhuang Rui's wrist and said, "This is the first prize of this competition, the highest honor in the gambling world, the 'Gold Bracelet.' I think Zhuang truly deserves to receive it..."
"Thank you, thank you everyone..."
Zhuang Rui shook hands with Hank, then quietly took a few steps back. He had been in the limelight too much these past two days. As the saying goes, "People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat." Being in the limelight too much might not be a good thing.
However, this bracelet is indeed quite nice. Zhuang Rui stepped back and took a closer look. The entire bracelet is made of high-purity gold and consists of 26 gold plaques, each about one centimeter in size. Each gold plaque is engraved with two playing cards, making a total of fifty-four playing cards.
"This chain is alright, it's worth ten or twenty thousand dollars..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was grinning to himself, Hank, the casino owner who hadn't yet had a chance to get any closer to Zhuang Rui on stage, walked up to him, gave him a deep hug, and said, "Zhuang, congratulations. I hope to see you at the gambling table again someday..."
Hank was genuinely delighted, because one of the three gambling licenses was his, meaning his gambling business would expand into Southeast Asia. For Hank, who aspired to build a vast gambling empire, this was undoubtedly another step closer to achieving his goal.
Mr. Zhuang, I think... we can have dinner together later..."
After hugging Zhuang Rui, Hank extended an olive branch to him. Faced with such an incredibly lucky guy, seemingly related to God, Hank would naturally swallow his pride and personally recruit him.
No… Mr. Hank, I have already arranged a celebratory dinner for Mr. Zhuang. If you are free, you are welcome to attend…
Before Zhuang Rui could reply, Fourth Aunt had already squeezed through. Zhuang Rui looked around and was immediately startled; he was surrounded by people, and their eyes seemed to want to devour him alive.
"Damn it, I'm not a beauty, is it really necessary to act like this?"
Zhuang Rui shook his head somewhat awkwardly, reached out and snatched the microphone from the emcee who wanted him to give his acceptance speech, and said loudly, "I'm sorry, everyone, I think this is the last time I will participate in the competition. I will retire from the gambling world after this!"
Zhuang Rui really didn't want to get involved in these things anymore. Moreover, with his net worth, there was no need for him to make money with his eyes. Zhuang Rui didn't want to be the world's richest man. His current goal was to live his life well while discovering more treasures from the past and bringing those civilizations buried underground back to the world.
Even with the $700 million he won this time, Zhuang Rui wanted to use it in batches for education and poverty alleviation in China. Although Zhuang Rui had never relied on the Ouyang family's power to do things for himself, he still carried the Ouyang family's label.
Zhuang Rui did this to reduce criticism from certain quarters. Although it was a private matter, it wasn't exactly a good thing for the Ouyang family to have a direct descendant of a powerful family gambling abroad.
What? Retiring from gambling? Are you talking nonsense because you're overjoyed?
Standing next to Zhuang Rui, Hank was stunned for a moment after hearing Zhuang Rui's words. In his opinion, with Zhuang Rui's gambling skills... no, or rather, his luck, he was good enough to become a gambling king who could intimidate the region. That would mean that Zhuang Rui would have an inexhaustible supply of money and beautiful women. Quitting now would be a very foolish thing to do.
"Oh no, Mr. Hank, I'm very serious. What if... one day my luck runs out?"
Zhuang Rui shook his head, his expression resolute, which made everyone have no doubt about his words. However, sighs followed. Could it be that this rising star of the gambling world is about to disappear?
Of course, some people regret that they will never see the "luck-based" gambling style again, but most people probably breathe a sigh of relief. Perhaps the gambling world can develop better without Zhuang Rui, this prodigy.