Although he didn't want to get involved in casino matters, Yang Jian still wanted to hear what Wu Wangchun had to say.
"Little Yang, you know Baoguo is back, right?"
"Yes, I heard Brother Hao mention it. I heard he even opened a casino."
"I'm talking about him opening the casino. This kid is not decent, and I want to deal with him."
Yang Jian was a bit surprised. "Uncle Wang, did he bring people to cause trouble at your place?"
Wu Wangchun snorted coldly. "He doesn't dare to cause trouble at my place. He's the boss in Chengguan, but he doesn't have the guts to enter my establishment in Xinqiao. However, this kid played dirty tricks and put me in a very passive position. All my clients have been lured away, and my casino is about to go out of business."
"What happened?"
"We were tricked by him."
Wu Wangchun began to recount the events of the past few days.
On the afternoon of the fourth, after the casino games concluded, as per custom, the casino dealers were supposed to cut open the used dice with strong scissors to allow the gamblers to verify if the dice were tampered with.
At that time, Wu Zhi was the dealer. He cut open the dice and, without even looking, casually tossed them onto the gambling table. This was because he knew the dice were genuine and wasn't afraid of inspection.
Unexpectedly, a gambler picked up the cut dice and exclaimed, "Damn it, there's a metal chip inside this dice!"
This shout caused an uproar. The gamblers who were already preparing to leave all turned back and crowded around.
"These are remote-controlled dice! The Emperor Company is cheating!"
"No wonder I lost so much today. I was tricked. Mr. Wu, your gambling company needs to give an explanation."
"Yes, you must give an explanation, or we'll call the police. This is fraud."
"Refund! Emperor Company, refund! Gambling Company, refund!"
Over a hundred gamblers were furious, all demanding an explanation from the gambling company.
The dealer for the Emperor Company was a bald man in his thirties named Huo Jiuming, who came from Hongzhou. He was bewildered at the moment, as he hadn't tampered with any dice or swapped them.
Wu Zhi was also flustered by this sudden incident. Wu Wangchun was not present, and he was in charge here. It was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and he was a bit panicked.
However, having worked in the Han City casino, he immediately jumped onto the gambling table. "Everyone, please be quiet. I will provide an explanation for this matter. If anyone deliberately causes trouble, don't blame me for being impolite."
As soon as he finished speaking, the casino security personnel surrounded them, all holding weapons. The crowd immediately quieted down.
"Mr. Huo, what's going on? Can you explain?"
Wu Zhi was helpless. He knew they had been framed today, but this was not the time to investigate the truth. He could only shift the blame to the Emperor Company, otherwise, it would be difficult to account for the gamblers.
Huo Jiuming also regained his composure. "I have nothing to explain. These dice are not ours. I am not a cheat, and I don't have the ability to swap dice in front of so many people. Moreover, you can search me to see if I have any remote control devices or swapped dice on me."
A gambler immediately stepped forward. "Facts speak louder than words. With the physical evidence here, no amount of sophistry will work."
"Yes, stop talking nonsense and pay up."
The gamblers didn't care about the truth of the matter; they just wanted compensation.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Wu Zhi shouted, "Shut up, all of you! If anyone continues to babble, I'll drag them out and break their legs."
The crowd quieted down again. Those who ran casinos were all thugs, and threatening to use force was no joke.
"Mr. Huo, since you can't explain, the only way now is to take out all your money."
Wu Zhi knew that this matter could not be dragged on for too long. Since someone had deliberately framed them, perhaps someone would call the police. While running a casino was a crime, cheating and tampering with dice would be considered fraud, with much heavier penalties.
When one is under another's roof, one must bow. Huo Jiuming was from the Emperor Company and was from out of town. With evidence of tampering with dice in hand, he couldn't clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River, so he had to accept his losses.
With a wave of his hand, a sturdy young man placed a leopard-print bag in front of him. "Brother Jiu, this is all our money. The principal was two hundred thousand, and we won one hundred and eighty thousand today."
Huo Jiuming pushed the bag towards Wu Zhi. "Mr. Wu, our principal and winnings are all here. You decide what to do."
Wu Zhi nodded. "Alright, Mr. Huo, you wait in the car for a while. I'll come find you after I handle things here."
Huo Jiuming said nothing. He glanced at the middle-aged gambler who had first handled the dice, then turned and squeezed out of the crowd.
Since the Emperor Company had brought out their money, the gamblers didn't dare to stop them. After all, the gambling company had the final say here. Moreover, with over three hundred thousand, they could at least get a share of the money.
"Everyone, we will thoroughly investigate this matter today, as it has seriously affected our company's reputation. However, to avoid delaying everyone's time and to give you an explanation, this three hundred and eighty thousand will be distributed to everyone today."
Wu Zhi planned to quickly dismiss these gamblers to avoid any further incidents.
"Mr. Wu, since the Emperor Company has brought out their money, we won't pursue it further. Hurry up and tell us how to divide the money. I lost over fifty to sixty thousand today."
"Yes, I also lost over thirty thousand."
"I lost over eighty thousand. Let's see how it's divided."
Seeing the gamblers start to make a fuss again, Wu Zhi jumped off the gambling table, took a cleaver from a subordinate, and slammed it hard on the table. "Whoever makes a fuss again, I won't give a single cent. Do you think gambling companies are like eggplants that can be easily picked?"
The crowd fell silent once more.
Wu Zhi took out a notebook from his pocket, which contained basic information about the gamblers. He intended to distribute the three hundred and eighty thousand based on this information to ensure relative fairness.
"The professional stand-ins will receive their fees, five hundred each. Xiao Ming, Xiao Zhao, you two are responsible for the distribution. Those who receive the money should leave quickly and await further notice tomorrow."
To boost the atmosphere, the casino had hired six professional stand-ins to fill the numbers, totaling over fifty people. These people received two hundred yuan per day as a fee, and they also placed bets when the games started, with wins and losses. Therefore, they had to be paid.
These people naturally had no objections, as they only received two hundred yuan normally, and receiving five hundred yuan today was already very satisfying.
Afterward, Wu Zhi categorized the remaining fifty to sixty people into three tiers based on their usual betting performance: two thousand, five thousand, and ten thousand.
The two-thousand tier was the largest, accounting for more than half of the total number of people, while the ten-thousand tier had only seven or eight people.
There were also three major gamblers who had wins and losses of over a hundred thousand yuan daily. Wu Zhi gave each of them fifty thousand yuan. These three people had no objections and left with the money in advance.
The remaining money was also quickly distributed. Although some people felt it was unfair and too little, Wu Zhi gave them no opportunity to argue. Take it or get out.
"Mr. Wu, I lost over thirty thousand today, why wasn't I given any money?"
All the gamblers had taken their money and left, leaving only the middle-aged gambler who had discovered the issue with the dice to stay until the end.