In a game of poker, the one with the highest hand speaks first. The dealer reminded, “Mr. Bloomer, please place your bet.”
Leo directly pushed out one million in chips.
Brice’s serious expression suddenly relaxed, and he covered his cards completely, throwing them in front of the dealer and smiling, “I fold.”
As a beginner, Leo didn’t expect to win his first round.
Watching the dealer push the chips towards him on the gambling table, he felt an indescribable joy. No wonder there are gamblers in the world; gambling can truly become addictive.
Coral, sitting next to Leo, glanced at him and smiled knowingly.
Leo undeniably won the first round, and then the dealer collected the cards, shuffled, and started the second round.
Leo’s luck was even better in the second round, as he got four kings in a row, making it a Four of a Kind in poker.
Brice had the weakest hand this round, a flush, while Finnegan had a full house.
After Finnegan and Brice folded, Leo won the second round again.
In fact, Leo’s good luck was related to the seat he chose.
From the moment he entered this VIP room, Leo was drawn to his current position.
Because this position had the best geomancy in the room, and with good geomancy, luck naturally followed.
After the start of the third round, Leo immediately received four aces, while Finnegan and Brice got progressively worse hands.
Finnegan had three of a kind, and Brice had a straight.
By the end, most of the chips in front of Finnegan and Brice had shifted to Leo.
Leo was feeling quite pleased.
Brice’s expression turned sour as he looked at the mere one million chips left in front of him.
Finnegan, who lost money, was somewhat gleeful and looked at Brice, saying, “Mr. Hampton, how about that? I told you Coral would bring a skilled player. Do you believe me now?”
“A skilled player?” Brice was dismissive. “He doesn’t have any real skill in playing cards; it’s all just luck. Today is really strange.”
Speaking of which, Brice looked at Leo skeptically and asked, “Mr. Bloomer, are you… a master of sleight of hand?”
“Cheating?” Leo laughed. “This is my first time here, and it’s my first time playing poker. Why don’t you tell me how I cheated?”
After a brief thought, Brice realized that this guy was obviously a beginner and couldn’t have cheated. However, he still lost to him, which made Brice lose interest for a moment.
On the other hand, Finnegan’s interest in Leo grew stronger, and he smiled and asked, “Mr. Bloomer, it’s the first time I’ve seen Mr. Hampton lose so badly. Please tell me, how did you do it?”
Leo shrugged and spread his hands. “Well… it’s just good luck.”
“Being around someone with good luck usually brings you good luck too. How about we try a different game?” Finnegan suggested.
Leo responded, “What do you want to play?”
“How about betting on horses?”
Betting on horses meant predicting the placement of racehorses in a race. The rule was to guess the top three positions in three races. It didn’t have to be an exact match; the closest guess to the actual results would win.
It was essentially a form of peripheral gambling.
“Mr. Hampton, what do you say?” Finnegan asked Brice.
Brice, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his gaze, glanced at Leo and uttered a single word, “Let’s bet!”
“Nia, are there any races happening right now?” Finnegan asked the dealer.
The dealer checked the time and replied, “Mr. Mckenzie, there will be three horse races at the racetrack in exactly twenty minutes.”
“Good, let’s turn on the TV. We’re betting on horses!”
The attractive dealer nodded and, after collecting the cards, took a remote control from under the gambling table and turned on the large wall-mounted TV.
The dealer pointed at the TV on the wall with the remote control, explaining, “This TV is directly connected to the racetrack. The panoramic view of the racetrack will be broadcasted live.”
“The nine participating racehorses are currently displayed on the screen, each with a number on their back. Five minutes before the race starts, please select the numbers of the top three horses, arrange them in order, and place them in the betting box.”
After the dealer finished speaking, she took out a betting box and number cards from under the gambling table and distributed the number cards to the three individuals.
The number cards were color-coded, with Leo’s being blue, Finnegan’s being red, and Brice’s being yellow.
After the preparations were done, the dealer pressed the remote control in her hand again, and shortly afterward, a waiter entered carrying red wine and tea.
Coral ordered a cup of tea, while the other three each requested a glass of red wine. They sipped their wine while observing the racehorses on the screen.
The horses appearing on the screen were all top-notch horses, robust and powerful.
From their appearance alone, it was difficult to determine which horse was the fastest and which was the slowest.
However, for those who studied horses, they could roughly judge the strengths and weaknesses of these nine horses from subtle details.
But even with such judgments, anything could happen on the racetrack. The horse you thought would be the fastest might not even make it to the top three in the end.
Betting on peripheral factors was quite challenging, which was why bookmakers offered high odds for peripheral bets.
When there were five minutes left on the countdown timer on the large screen, the dealer spoke, “Now you can start selecting and placing bets. Please place your number cards in the betting box three minutes before the deadline.”
“It’s boring to play small. I still have one million left, and I’m going all-in!” Finnegan said, placing his chosen number card into the betting box first.
Brice followed suit and placed his number card in the betting box, also wagering one million.
Both of them bet one million, so Leo could only follow suit and placed his number card into the box as well.
After the betting time ended, with three minutes remaining, the racehorses were already being led to the racetrack by the staff.
With one minute left, the nine racehorses were in their respective positions on the track.
The countdown began!
3, 2, 1!
As the starting pistol fired, the nine racehorses surged forward, galloping with all their might.
The horse in the lead was number 9, while Leo had chosen numbers 2, 4, and 5.
Currently, number 2 was in second place, while numbers 4 and 5 lagged behind, hovering between the fourth and fifth positions.
Finnegan and Brice were focused solely on the big screen, their faces showing no significant changes in expression.
Coral sipped her tea, quietly observing the changing race situation on the screen.
After one lap, number 9 maintained a strong momentum, while number 2 fell back to third place. Number 4 was in fifth place, and number 5 in sixth.
The race continued until the end, and although Leo’s favored number 2 made it to the top three, it only managed to secure third place.
Number 4 finished in fifth place, and number 5 in sixth.
After the results were announced, the dealer retrieved the number cards of the three individuals from the betting box.