“The situation is like this,” the man said, taking a deep drag from his cigar and slowly exhaling the smoke. “Our casino lent Bard Adela one million dollars for his mother’s medical treatment, and then another million for him to gamble with. He not only lost the million but also accrued an additional three million in gambling debts, totaling five million dollars.”
“If you can give me five million dollars now, you can take him away.”
Leo sneered, “What if I don’t want to pay five million but still want to take him?”
“Then you’ll have to ask my men if they agree,” the man said, clapping his hands.
Immediately, the scattered bodyguards surrounded them, each with a weapon at their waist.
Taking down these ordinary thugs would be a piece of cake for Leo. However, that would be too boring. Since this was a casino, he decided to play by their rules.
“I want to gamble,” Leo said, staring directly at the middle-aged man.
This was exactly what the man wanted to hear. He immediately waved off the bodyguards and smiled, “That’s more like it. Mr. Lee, come and entertain our guest!”
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, Kevin Smith jogged over, looking at Leo with a mischievous grin. “Sir, may I know your name?”
“Bloomer.”
“Mr. Bloomer, please follow me to the VIP room.”
At the far end of the warehouse were several private rooms, known as VIP rooms.
Following Kevin Smith into Room 2, Leo saw three people inside: two middle-aged men and a young man who looked rather carefree.
In front of each of them was a stack of money, at least a million dollars each.
Leo’s arrival caught their attention.
“Mr. Bloomer, let me introduce you. This is our casino’s big boss, Mr. John.”
“This is Mr. Chan, and this is Mr. Chung,” Kevin Smith introduced them one by one.
“Kid, are you sure you can handle high-stakes games? How about becoming my underling? Serve me well, and earning twenty or thirty thousand a month will be no problem,” Brandon Chung taunted Leo.
Leo smiled and said, “Mr. Chung, let’s make a deal. If I lose everything, I’ll follow you.”
Brandon Chung laughed heartily, “Don’t worry, I always keep my word.”
Once Leo sat at the table, Kevin Smith spoke again, “Before we start dealing cards, let me make a few announcements. To prevent cheating, Pretty Dealer will handle the dealing.”
At that moment, a tall, beautiful woman in a cheongsam gracefully stepped forward and bowed slightly.
Mr. Chung ogled Pretty Dealer and laughed lecherously, “Hey pretty lady, how about spending some time with me after I win?”
Pretty Dealer smiled without showing any anger.
“Secondly, we will use a new deck for each game and check the cards afterward to prevent cheating. If any irregularities are found, the game will be stopped immediately and everyone will be searched. I trust that people of your stature won’t tolerate cheating.”
“Thirdly, the betting rules are as follows: a minimum bet of ten thousand dollars with a maximum of two hundred thousand per round. We play three rounds before revealing cards. Although we aim to play big, we must also exercise restraint.”
“That’s it for the announcements. If there are no objections, we can start now,” Kevin Smith concluded.
“I have no objections,” Mr. Chung was the first to speak, his eyes still on Pretty Dealer.
Mr. John and Mr. Chan both shook their heads slightly.
Leo smiled and said, “I don’t know the rules well; I’ll follow whatever you say.”
Kevin Smith grinned, “Since there are no objections, let’s begin.”
Pretty Dealer silently moved to the center of the table, put on white gloves, and skillfully opened a new deck of cards.
Meanwhile, casino staff placed Leo’s chips in front of him-two stacks of twenty thousand each.
Seeing the chips, Mr. Chung sneered, “Is this all you have? This is going to lower my standards.”
Kevin Smith glanced at Leo and laughed, “Mr. Chung is just joking. Mr. Bloomer is quite wealthy.”
“Oh really? Didn’t seem like it,” Mr. Chung said with mock surprise.
Pretty Dealer shuffled the cards and each of the five players placed a ten-thousand-dollar ante before she began dealing.
The game was Three-Card Poker; each player received three cards at once and then decided how to play.
After dealing the cards, Pretty Dealer gestured for them to begin.
Mr. Chan smiled and placed ten thousand dollars without looking at his cards.
Mr. John followed suit, as did Leo and Kevin Smith.
When it was Mr. Chung’s turn, he doubled the bet to twenty thousand without looking at his cards.
Mr. Chan hesitated briefly before folding after glancing at his cards.
Mr. John also folded after checking his hand.
Leo grinned and matched the twenty thousand without looking at his cards.
Kevin Smith checked his hand-it was an indifferent card but relatively high within that category-and raised to forty thousand after glancing at Leo.
“Wow, Mr. Lee is actually in? Must have good cards!” Mr. Chung laughed.
Kevin Smith smiled slightly, “Since neither Mr. Chung nor Mr. Bloomer looked at their cards, I’m just taking a chance.”
Mr. Chung laughed again, “Alright then, let’s go another round,” he said as he threw in another twenty thousand.
Without hesitation, Leo matched the bet.
Kevin Smith pondered for a moment before raising another forty thousand.
“Let’s continue to the third round,” Mr. Chung said with a smile as he threw in another twenty thousand like it was nothing.
Leo also matched the twenty thousand without hesitation.
Having matched for two rounds already, Kevin Smith naturally continued with another forty thousand for the third round.
Mr. Chung laughed loudly, “Alright, now it’s time for me to look at my cards and show you what a gambling god looks like.”
He rolled up his sleeves and slowly revealed his cards with an evil grin on his face: 3, 10, J-all different suits and colors-an indifferent card.
Mr. Chung’s eyes lit up as he placed his cards down and threw in another forty thousand.
In Three-Card Poker rules, after three rounds of blind betting and one player revealing their cards, another three rounds of blind betting can commence.
Leo maintained his smile and matched another twenty thousand.
This time Kevin Smith hesitated. Holding an indifferent card meant that if Mr. Chung had a pair or even an indifferent card with an Ace, he would lose.
“Mr. Lee,” Mr. Chung taunted with a fox-like grin resting his chin on his hands. “I heard you’re quite good at gambling; how come you’re hesitating on the first hand? That’s no fun at all; why not go another three rounds?”
Kevin Smith raised an eyebrow before folding his cards and tossing them into the center of the table with a smile. “Since it’s the first hand, I’ll give Mr. Chung face and let him have an opening victory.”
With Kevin Smith out of the game, only Leo and Mr. Chung remained at the table.