Fu Ye Hotel was a five-story business hotel, less than two hundred meters from the exit of Hancheng Train Station. Chen Song had chosen the top floor of the hotel as the location for his casino.
The area around the train station was Hua Zi's territory, and both the underworld and the authorities gave him face. Chen Song could guarantee safety by opening a casino here. Furthermore, the hotel owner was Chen Song's close friend and would not report him to Hua Zi.
The casino was set up in a small conference room on the fifth floor. The conference table served as the gambling table, with a yellow tape marking the dividing line in the middle. The chairs with backrests could accommodate twenty people seated around the table.
Biao Biao and A Feng, along with their two junior brothers, arrived at the hotel before 8 PM after receiving notification from Song Jianhao. They brought three combination lock suitcases, each containing one million yuan in cash.
To ensure safety, A Feng rented a room on the fourth floor as their resting area. He arranged for two people to stay in the room to guard the cash, as they couldn't bring all the cash into the casino at once. The other two were at the casino to lend money, and Biao Biao was responsible for the bookkeeping.
The gambling officially began at 8 PM. The Emperor Company's side consisted of Song Jianhao's men, while Chen Song only assigned Ah Ming, a young man of eighteen or nineteen, to handle the bookkeeping on-site.
Old Wu personally took on the role of the dealer.
There were only eight participants in the game. They were all dignified and carried an air of prestige, clearly indicating they were wealthy businessmen.
"Biao Biao, prepare one million for us. Start with five hundred thousand, and deduct the vig."
As soon as Old Wu took his seat as the dealer, he instructed the money lending company to bring the cash. This was agreed upon beforehand. The Emperor Company did not bring money into the venue; the money lending company provided the operating funds, with a vig of one million.
After Biao Biao recorded the transaction, A Feng opened a combination lock suitcase in the middle and handed four hundred and fifty thousand yuan to Song Jianhao.
Song Jianhao had Ah Ming count the cash together with him. After confirming it was four hundred and fifty thousand yuan, he handed it over to Old Wu.
"Money lending company, give me twenty chips."
Seeing that the Emperor Company had brought money, a gambler immediately asked to borrow chips.
Of the eight gamblers, only two had brought one hundred thousand yuan each. The remaining six came empty-handed, knowing that the money lending company was there to provide credit.
Under Chen Song's introduction, Biao Biao registered each of these six bosses and issued them twenty thousand yuan in cash each, without charging any vig. Chen Song had previously stated that these bosses were superstitious and would only pay the vig after winning a round.
With one million seven hundred thousand yuan released at the start, A Feng was a little worried that the money he brought might not be enough. After completing the procedures, he went out to call Yang Fan, asking him to prepare some more money as reserve funds.
According to casino rules, Old Wu went through the pre-game procedures and set the established players for three and five points.
"Gentlemen, this is our first time doing business together. For now, the table limit is fifty thousand. We can adjust it later based on the betting situation. What do you think?"
Old Wu passed cigarettes to the eight bosses and then tentatively asked.
A handsome boss in his thirties looked at Old Wu incredulously: "Table limit of fifty thousand? Are you kidding? We never bet less than fifty thousand. Fifty thousand table limit would be more like it, otherwise, how can we have fun?"
Old Wu's expression changed drastically: "Sir, please don't joke. We can't afford a table limit of fifty thousand. I doubt any Emperor Company in Hancheng would dare to take on such a large game, and it's rare even in gambling cities."
A table limit of fifty thousand generally meant the Emperor Company had a potential win or loss of five million, and they needed to have five million in capital to be the dealer. What Old Wu said was the truth; he had indeed never played such a large gambling game before. He was also deliberately playing weak, as he intended to cheat. By saying this, he aimed to make the gamblers lower their guard and believe the game was fair.
Song Jianhao didn't dare to play that big. The more they cheated, the more low-key they had to be.
Chen Song quickly smoothed things over: "A table limit of fifty thousand is too much. The Emperor Company doesn't have that kind of capital. Please be understanding, let's set it at twenty thousand. The money lending company should prepare sufficient funds to ensure the bosses have fun."
A Feng nodded: "No problem. I've already called to arrange for more money. Five million should be enough to meet the bosses' needs. If it's not enough, I'll find another way."
The handsome boss smiled with satisfaction: "Good, the money lending company is very capable. This way, it's more interesting. Let's go with twenty thousand table limit."
"A table limit of twenty thousand is still too high. Can we start with ten thousand first?"
Old Wu continued to play weak, because if he lost three consecutive rounds, the four hundred and fifty thousand in front of him wouldn't be enough to cover the losses.
Chen Song waved his hand at him: "It's twenty thousand table limit. If you can't afford it, don't come tomorrow. I'll find a more capable Emperor Company to take over."
Since the boss had spoken, Old Wu had no choice but to comply.
The gambling officially began. As expected, in the first round, these bosses started betting in increments of ten thousand. The smallest bet was two thousand, while others were three thousand or five thousand.
Fortunately, bets were placed on both odd and even numbers, and the difference between the two sides was not large, not even reaching fifty thousand.
This made Old Wu breathe a sigh of relief. After all, he couldn't cheat every round; most of the game had to be played honestly.
The winners of the first round voluntarily paid the vig to the money lending company. With a five percent vig on two hundred thousand, the interest was ten thousand. A Feng had released one million seven hundred thousand at once, so the interest he collected was one hundred and five thousand, which could be lent out again.
Gambling companies also charged a five percent vig. For every ten thousand yuan the Emperor Company won, they gave five hundred yuan to the gambling company.
In the initial rounds, the bosses were somewhat restrained and did not bet too heavily. As the casino atmosphere gradually heated up, their bets began to increase, with most starting at fifty thousand, and some betting eighty thousand or one hundred thousand.
Wins and losses quickly began to appear. With this kind of betting, two hundred thousand could be lost in just a few rounds.
"Money lending company, give me five hundred thousand."
The handsome boss began his second round of borrowing chips. His initial two hundred thousand was lost in less than ten minutes.
"Certainly, sir. You have borrowed a total of seven hundred thousand. Please sign here."
Due to the large amount, Biao Biao registered each boss. Every time someone borrowed money, they had to sign personally to avoid disputes later.
After the procedures were completed, A Feng placed five hundred thousand yuan in cash in front of him.
This time, the handsome boss was very prompt and immediately gave A Feng twenty-five thousand yuan as the vig.
"Give me five hundred thousand as well."
Within two rounds, another boss also started borrowing money.
This put A Feng in a difficult position. If they continued to borrow at this rate, his money would soon be insufficient. After completing the procedures, he immediately went out to call Yang Fan and asked him to send more money.
Upon understanding the situation, Yang Fan went directly to Luo Tong's house and took out all two million yuan in cash from his safe. He personally brought four people to Fu Ye Hotel.
By the time he arrived at the hotel, A Feng had already lent out all three million yuan he had, and only collected twenty thousand yuan.
Old Wu, sweating profusely, was the dealer. This was his first time participating in such a large gambling game. Half an hour after the start, each round had a win or loss of two hundred thousand yuan. If it weren't for his occasional cheating, he would have lost the entire million long ago.