Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 235 - 234 Gold Business Card

Chapter 235: Chapter 234 Gold Business Card

Yang Yi also rose from the table to leave. Before he left, he changed most of his hundred-dollar chips into thousands at the croupier’s station; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to carry them. In the end, he left two hundred-dollar chips for the well-endowed croupier as a tip.

Winning money definitely feels great.

The greatest illusion of a casino is that everyone believes they can win money; everyone thinks they’ll be the lucky one, as if good luck alone could lead to a life of luxury and debauchery. But the harsh reality is that besides the casinos making money, along with a small fraction of professional gamblers who can make a living out of it, the vast majority are just lambs to the slaughter.

A common adage holds that the more you gamble, the more you lose. Then why do professional gamblers, who gamble frequently, manage to win money? Because for professional gamblers, it’s never about gambling; they’re simply working to win money.

If you can’t differentiate between the gambling of an ordinary person and that of a professional gambler, then you deserve to lose your shirt.

Yang Yi felt that if he were to dedicate himself to being a professional gambler, he would definitely be able to win big money.

He found another table and sat down, quickly realizing that four of the five people at the table were professional gamblers. They were subtly working together to win money from one person. Although this meant no one won a significant amount, coming across a clueless and wealthy mark wasn’t an everyday occurrence.

Sadly, this wealthy mark was a Huaxia man.

Yang Yi had no lofty sentiments about warning the Huaxia man to stop gambling. After all, these professional gamblers weren’t cheating; they were using their skills to win. Since the Huaxia man dared to sit down and go all-in on every hand regardless of his cards, why should Yang Yi bother to speak up?

Yang Yi ran into that middle-aged man again, sitting adjacent to him just like the last time. Why? Because a mark like this was rare, and upon spotting one, you had to quickly take a seat, otherwise it would soon be snapped up by other professional gamblers who got wind of it.

Smiling politely at the middle-aged man he had just cooperated with, Yang Yi joined the game.

Professional gamblers rarely go head-to-head unless they all feel they have really good cards. In such cases, there’s no choice but to gamble and see it through.

Yang Yi didn’t pay special attention to observing the middle-aged man beside him; he was focused on playing. But having just worked together, there was a sense of camaraderie between him and the adjacent professional gambler.

The four professional gamblers and Yang Yi, a prospective mathematician, took all the Huaxia man’s money within an hour. After the Huaxia man left the table with a face of utter desolation, swearing and cursing, the five professionals immediately dispersed.

They had to break up; otherwise, the winning game would turn into a poker tournament.

After walking around for a bit, Yang Yi found another table where he could win money. Not long after he began playing, the middle-aged man appeared again.

Sitting down next to Yang Yi once more, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "It’s really quite a coincidence."

Yang Yi looked at the person beside him and smiled, "Yes, it really is."

"You play a good hand. Do you only play Texas Hold’em?"

"Oh no, I play everything. It’s just that I’ve been quite lucky today."

This was a VIP lounge, so there were many servers with drinks weaving through the gaming hall. The middle-aged man gestured to a server and ordered a glass of red wine, while Yang Yi followed suit and ordered a cocktail.

Seeing that Yang Yi now had a drink in front of him, the middle-aged man lifted his glass and with a smile introduced himself, "Boer Stupike."

Yang Yi was somewhat surprised. Professional gamblers rarely converse at the gaming table, as it could easily ruin the game for them.

Still, Yang Yi picked up his glass and smiled back, "Mike Yang, pleased to meet you."

They played until the table broke up and Yang Yi checked the time— it was already past ten o’clock at night. He had unwittingly played for three and a half hours, and his chips had increased from fifty thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand—a substantial gain.

Just as the table broke up and Yang Yi was about to leave, his neighbor Boer suddenly said, "Please wait a moment."

Yang Yi stopped getting up and turned to Boer, "Is there something you need?"

Boer looked at Yang Yi apologetically and said, "Sorry, please wait a moment."

After speaking, Boer smiled at the croupier and said, "Please help me exchange these chips for ten-thousand-dollar ones, thank you."

Boer also had about one hundred thousand US dollars in chips, and there weren’t any ten thousand dollar chips at the croupier’s table, but that was no issue; the croupier only had to say the word, and someone quickly brought the large denomination chips the croupier needed.

Sixteen ten thousand dollar chips, and the rest were all one hundred, five hundred, or one thousand dollar chips. Boer gave a slight smile to the croupier and said, "The rest is all yours."

A tip of several thousand dollars left the croupier incredulously covering her mouth, while after Boer had the sixteen ten thousand dollar chips in hand, he turned to Yang Yi with a smile and said, "Please, come this way."

Both of them stood up, Yang Yi still holding the box of chips, and it was then that Boer smiled and said, "You play a good game— is this your profession?"

Yang Yi shook his head and replied, "No, I don’t do this for a living, just here to play for fun."

Boer nodded and said, "Oh, just for fun. I really thought you were a professional card player. So, do you play here often?"

"No, it’s my first time—I’m here in Las Vegas for the first time, entering a casino for the first time."

Boer’s smile grew even more satisfied as he said to Yang Yi, "You play very well, and your style of play is exactly what I’m looking for, so I’d like to ask if you would be willing to participate in a gambling game tomorrow?"

Yang Yi frowned slightly and responded, "Sorry, I’m quite busy these next few days."

Boer laughed and said, "Please hear me out. I just got here today too, and I have a very important game tomorrow, for which I need a partner. I greatly admire your skills. That’s why I’m inviting you to join this game."

Yang Yi shook his head and said, "No, sir, you may be mistaken. I’m not a professional gambler. Perhaps you should find someone else."

Boer still wasn’t ready to give up, smiling, he said, "I’m not a professional gambler either. I just like to play a hand or two when I have the time. Professional gamblers might have enough skill, but I don’t want a professional gambler. I need someone with a fresh face, someone who’s never appeared here before. I don’t cheat, I don’t need to cheat, and of course, I don’t need you to cheat for me. What I need is just for you to play normally. I will give you one million US dollars in chips, and whatever you win is all yours."

A gambling game with one million US dollars in chips caused Yang Yi to catch his breath and then ask, "What if I lose?"

"If you lose, it’s on me. Just pay me back however much is left of the million, but I think you won’t lose, right?"

The risk seemed high; it could easily be a scam. Yang Yi had absolutely no reason to get involved in such an ambiguous gamble, so as he was about to refuse, Boer placed the sixteen ten-thousand-dollar chips he held onto the box of chips Yang Yi was carrying and said, "As a sign of sincerity, this is a small token from me. If you’re interested, give me a call tomorrow morning. We can discuss it in detail."

After finishing his words, Boer lifted his right hand and beckoned with his fingers, then a man in a suit appeared out of nowhere and quickly walked over to Boer’s side.

Yang Yi hadn’t noticed earlier that someone had been keeping a close watch on Boer, and he didn’t even realize there was a man in a suit nearby, but the fact that Boer could summon someone with just a gesture made it clear that the man in the suit had been attentively following Boer.

"My business card."

At Boer’s command, the man in the suit immediately took out a business card from his pocket and placed it in Boer’s hand.

Boer handed out the business card, and since Yang Yi had one hand occupied with the box of chips, he could only take the business card with his other hand.

"Sorry."

"No problem. My number is on the card. If you change your mind, please call me early. I look forward to your call, goodbye."

After bowing slightly towards Yang Yi, Boer turned and left, with the man in the suit following close behind. Both of them quickly exited the gambling hall.

Yang Yi took another look at the business card—it only had a name and a phone number, no titles or anything else.

But this business card was made of gold.

A person who makes business cards out of gold, wearing a very ordinary suit, and whose gesture of introduction is a gift of one hundred sixty thousand dollars, made Yang Yi, who thought he was quite experienced, realize that his perspective was still not broad enough.

Xiao Ran walked up to Yang Yi’s side and whispered, "I saw you were talking, so I didn’t come over. Who was that?"

Yang Yi exhaled and replied in a low voice, "A wealthy person."