The receptionist froze slightly at Alex’s sudden demand. Seeing her not react, Alex shot her a fierce look.
He had reddened eyes and a very flushed face, as if he was going crazy.
The receptionist recovered from his daze, immediately checked the balance on the card before changing the corresponding tokens for him. Then he smilingly said to Alex as he handed him the tokens:
-Sir, have a good time.
Alex then left with a large pile of chips in his arms.
The receptionist immediately withdrew her smile as she watched him walk away and sent a message to her boss, Agustin, informing him of the latest situation.
As soon as he received the message, Agustin gave the order to take action against Alex.
Alex, very excited, returned to the table with his chips to play, but lost the first game.
Alex had been winning, and losing a game sobered him up a bit. He felt a little uneasy in his heart and the thought came to him to call the game over and leave.
Augustine’s men at his side seemed to notice what he was thinking and intentionally prompted him:
-It’s nothing to lose a single game. Man, you’ve already won a big pile of chips, what are you afraid of? As lucky as you are, I’m sure you’ll be able to win more again.
-Yes, the money you just lost is not even a tenth of what you won. You don’t need to be afraid, do you?
-I see you look rich. You won’t mind this small amount of money, will you?
The other players also began to flatter Alex in an exaggerated manner. And before such kind words from people, Alex calmed down and regained his self-confidence.
He gritted his teeth, pulled out more chips next to him and said to the dealer:
-Let’s go on!
However, Alex then lost again and again. When he was about to mentally collapse and stop playing, Agustin’s men deliberately let him win a game.
Just as the circle repeated itself, and Alex did not perceive in the slightest that he had fallen into the trap set for him, on the contrary, he became increasingly frantic, wanting to win more when he won and turn the tables when he lost.
Time passed unnoticed. And when Alex wanted to pick up the chips next to him to place his bet, he picked up nothing. He looked down and realized that the pile of chips, which looked like a small mountain, had run out.
Instantly, Alex jolted awake and a shiver ran down his spine.
Not only had he lost his grandmother’s money, but also all his pocket money, and all his winnings from the previous days! Now he didn’t have a penny left.
Alex was completely stunned, his face pale, his lips quivering, and sweat oozing from his forehead.
During his entire gambling life, it was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation, which made him feel a little scared inside and he couldn’t help the urge to leave.
-Well, today ends here. I don’t play anymore, I don’t play anymore….
After saying this, she tried to get up to leave, hesitating on how to explain all this to her grandmother.
If his father found out about this, he would definitely beat him to death. Alex’s legs shook unconsciously at the thought of his father’s stern face.
His father had already warned him that if he ever played money again, he would break his legs, so Alex couldn’t let his father know about this in any way.
Just as Alex was about to turn around to leave the casino, a man next to him tugged on his shirt and asked:
-Dude, are you leaving like that?
-What else can I do if I don’t leave? “Alex gritted his teeth and looked at the man angrily.
“It’s all these people’s fault! If they hadn’t instigated me incessantly next door, I wouldn’t have become so irrational and I wouldn’t have lost all the money!”
The man, showing no fear at Alex’s fierce look, smiled at him and said:
-Don’t look at me like that. My friend, I have confidence in you. You are a good player at the table and you are lucky. If you keep playing, you will surely win back soon all the money you have lost. A friend of mine used to be in exactly the same situation as you, but can you guess how he is now?
-How is this friend of yours? -Alex was curious.
The man smiled mysteriously at him and continued:
-Now he has set up his own company, leads a comfortable life, surrounded by beautiful women, and often travels abroad. What do you think? Do you envy him?
A flash of envy did indeed pass through Alex’s eyes. Such a life, indeed, was what he aspired to.
Seeing Alex’s hesitation, the man hurried to continue:
-The start-up capital for your business was earned at the casino. Man, I’ve been watching you on the side and I think you’re really good at gambling. Why don’t you take a little risk to win more?
-But I don’t have any more money,” Alex said helplessly.
The man laughed and pointed to the front desk as he spoke:
-You don’t know anything about that, do you? You can go there and ask for a loan.
Hearing this, Alex shook his head and refused:
-No, no, I can’t do that.
He was not a fool and knew that most of the loans in the casinos were usury.
Now he had lost all the money and at most he would get a beating from his father, but if he took out a loan and could not pay the high interest to the loan sharks, his father would undoubtedly kick him out of the house.
The man grew a little impatient at not having succeeded in fooling Alex. If he left today, there was no telling when he would come to the casino again.
Just as the man was trying to think of how to convince Alex, a person walked up, took one look at Alex and said in surprise:
-Alex, I didn’t expect to be able to meet you here.
Alex froze for a moment at the sight of the man. The latter was a former classmate of his at school.
This former classmate was very enthusiastic about Alex and, as soon as he approached him, he put his arm around Alex’s shoulders and asked him:
-They say that your family has established a good relationship with the Santangel family, is it true? Don’t forget that I am your good friend after you became a rich man, eh?
This simple compliment made Alex’s eyes light up.
”Yes, I almost forgot that, with the Santangel family’s backing, our family ceases to be like before. Albina will marry Umberto and join his wealthy family. Besides, grandmother has mentioned that Umberto will give Albina 10 million and several properties as a wedding gift, therefore, Albina would help me even if I couldn’t pay the gambling debts of betting game, right?”
Alex got excited at the thought. Besides, there was a possibility that he would not lose money. In case he won, there would be no such supposed debt and he could start his own business with the money he won.
After a moment’s thought, he casually said a few words to deal with his classmate and hurried impatiently to the reception desk.
After Alex left, the man who had been convincing Alex to take out a loan and that classmate exchanged glances with each other.
The receptionist smilingly asked when she saw Alex:
-Sir, how can I help you?
-I want a loan,” he said hurriedly while looking anxiously at the gambling table.
-Well, how much do you want to borrow?
Alex answered after a moment of thought:
-300 thousand euros….
After a short pause, Alex changed his mind and said:
-No, give me 500 thousand!
The receptionist was quite surprised that this man wanted to borrow so much, but she still took out the loan contract, filled in the amount of money and handed it to Alex as she spoke:
-Please sign here and put the fingerprint of your index finger.
Alex, eager to continue his gambling game, did not read the agreement carefully and signed his name immediately after confirming that the money account was correct.
He did not notice that the receptionist gave him a mysterious smile after he pressed his handprint.
-Give me the money fast now! -Alex tossed the pen to the receptionist, impatience in his voice.
-Sir, would you like to exchange the money directly into tokens?
Without hesitating a bit, Alex answered directly:
-Yes, help me all five hundred thousand in tokens.
Then Alex returned to the table with a big pile of chips in his arms, and started his gambling game again with enthusiasm.
He did not notice that, after resuming his seat at the table, those around him who had been convincing him to continue playing since he entered had already left.
As the goal had been achieved, the dealer showed Alex no more mercy, and even secretly used dirty tricks to make Alex lose games one after another.
Very soon, Alex lost all the five hundred thousand he himself had borrowed.
Seeing that he ran out of all his chips again, he became very agitated, to such a degree that he could not stand it any longer and fainted on the spot.