"The game is on, 'Nails', single wins."
Song Jianhao ignored Yang Jian's advice and decisively opened the banker position. The combination of one and two dots was called a nail. Boss Ma lost again.
The four dealers collected all the money from the double side and then looked at Boss Ma, as he had no money left in front of him, waiting to see how he would handle it.
Boss Ma, however, remained unfazed: "Brother Xi, get me another hundred."
Brother Xi, who had been sitting and drinking tea on the periphery, immediately squeezed in upon hearing Boss Ma's voice: "Boss Ma, you lost fifty so quickly?"
"Lost it. Still have over thirty to pay out, hurry up with the money."
"Alright, coming right up. But play a bit steadier. Have you had too much to drink? How about I treat you to a foot massage and you can rest before playing again?"
"No problem, I'm perfectly clear. I'm very happy today. This Emperor is quite something, taking on a twenty-thousand table. That's what makes it exciting."
Brother Xi stared at Song Jianhao with his mouth agape, and after a while, said: "Old Song, you're betting on a twenty-thousand table? Then the wins and losses will be huge. Boss Ma is a big boss; even if he loses a thousand, he won't bat an eye. But you need the strength to play with him."
The implication was that if Song Jianhao made the table stakes too high, he might end up in a very bad way. Although Brother Xi didn't fully understand Song Jianhao's true capabilities, he knew he wouldn't have too much money, especially since he wasn't even a top player in the city.
"Brother Xi, it's fine. It's rare for Boss Ma to be this happy, so we should indulge him a little."
Song Jianhao seemed to have gotten carried away. Having won two rounds in a row, he had hundreds of thousands in front of him. Combined with the money in the dealers' hands, it was over a million. He felt he could go head-to-head with Boss Ma. If luck was on his side, he might even win a few million tonight and turn his fortunes around completely. Even if he lost, it would only be five hundred thousand yuan, which was worth the gamble.
Brother Xi said no more and instructed his subordinates to get money for Boss Ma, a full million.
Boss Ma didn't dally, throwing out four hundred thousand to the dealer to pay out.
The game continued. As soon as Song Jianhao shook the dice, Boss Ma placed two hundred thousand cash on the single side: "Unlimited bets on single. I'll take a million too. Those who want to win money, place your bets quickly."
Most people had won two hands, and a long streak of single bets appeared. Coupled with Boss Ma's provocation, the single side was once again covered with banknotes, totaling over four hundred thousand this time, meaning Boss Ma was effectively betting over six hundred thousand.
There were also bets on doubles. Besides Boss Ma's two hundred thousand, there were another seventy to eighty thousand from other bettors, clearly exceeding the table limit.
Seeing Song Jianhao preparing to open the banker position again, Old Wu couldn't help but interject: "Little Song, you can't open the banker. It's over two hundred thousand. Even if you win this round, the next one will be even bigger. This way of gambling is very disadvantageous for us."
Song Jianhao finally listened. He quickly offered Boss Ma a cigarette: "Boss Ma, the Emperor's table limit is twenty thousand, it can't be exceeded. Can we bet a little less?"
"Alright, the Emperor bets twenty thousand, both single and double are on me."
Boss Ma was not unreasonable and readily agreed to Song Jianhao's request.
"Good, then I'll open. Three and five, eight points, double wins."
As Song Jianhao opened the banker position, a collective groan echoed through the venue. Boss Ma had won this round, and the Emperor Company lost twenty thousand.
Boss Ma won over five hundred thousand in this round. The money piled high in front of him. He took out a hundred thousand and gave it to Brother Xi: "This is for the house cut, please have some tea with the rest."
"Thank you, Boss Ma. Don't win too much tonight, two hundred thousand is enough."
Brother Xi's flattery made Boss Ma beam with joy. He then grabbed a handful of banknotes and gave it to the young man who was managing the bets for Brother Xi.
With the money won, Boss Ma became even more energetic. In every round, he would bet on the side with more money and also bet twenty thousand against the banker.
Perhaps it was luck, but this way of gambling resulted in more wins than losses.
The gamblers themselves were fine. To avoid Boss Ma's dominance, they simply reduced their betting amounts.
But the Emperor Company was in a miserable state. Within half an hour, all the money they had won earlier, along with their principal, was lost.
"Brother Xi, our Emperor Company needs to borrow five hundred thousand."
Song Jianhao looked at the time. There was still over an hour before the session ended. Seeing a chance to recoup his losses, he began to borrow.
Brother Xi shook his head: "Old Song, I can lend you five hundred thousand, but the table limit you've set is too high. Fifty thousand might not even last three rounds. Why don't we call it a day?"
"It's fine, I'll bring you the fifty thousand tomorrow. If I lose, I'll forfeit the game."
Song Jianhao was defiant, believing he wouldn't be that unlucky, and insisted on taking the gamble.
Brother Xi didn't try to dissuade him further: "Alright then, Boss Ma, you have too much money in front of you. Count out fifty thousand for the Emperor Company, and I'll deduct fifty thousand from your account."
Boss Ma laughed heartily: "Why not just give him a million? Fifty thousand won't last long."
Song Jianhao quickly said: "A million is fine too."
However, Brother Xi disagreed: "Old Song, your credit limit with me is only five hundred thousand. If you want to borrow more, you need to provide collateral."
Song Jianhao immediately took out his car keys and threw them over: "Brother Xi, I bought this car less than a month ago. It cost me five hundred and fifty thousand after taxes. You can hold onto it as collateral."
Brother Xi picked up the car keys and thought for a moment, then said: "I've seen your car. But I can only lend you eight hundred thousand at most."
"Alright, eight hundred thousand it is."
With an eight hundred thousand cushion, Song Jianhao felt even more confident and didn't consider the consequences at all.
Brother Xi put away the car keys and told Boss Ma to count out the money.
Meanwhile, Biao Biao became anxious: "Brother Hao, can I give up my shares behind you? The wins and losses are too big. If I lose again, I won't have any money to pay."
"If you don't want them, you can't. I'll take your five percent share."
Before Song Jianhao could finish speaking, Director Zhong also said: "President Song, I'm withdrawing too."
This put Song Jianhao in a difficult position. If everyone withdrew their shares, he wouldn't dare to be the banker alone. "You withdraw one percent of your shares. Everyone else stays the same."
Yang Jian had also considered withdrawing, but Song Jianhao had blocked his exit. It wasn't appropriate to argue with him in this setting. Fine, he'd gamble with him. Perhaps they could turn the tide.
Old Wu opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He clearly didn't want to continue this madness with Song Jianhao.
As the Emperor Company was borrowing money, the game was temporarily suspended. The gamblers were quiet, as such scenes were common in casinos and they were accustomed to them.
Boss Ma counted out eight hundred thousand and handed it to Song Jianhao. Then, he returned the remaining seven hundred thousand in chips to Brother Xi. A large pile of cash remained in front of him, clearly indicating he had no intention of leaving after winning.
Having obtained the eight hundred thousand, Song Jianhao announced that the game would continue.
However, Boss Ma was no longer as aggressive. Instead, he became more restrained, betting only five thousand or ten thousand at a time, and no longer gambling against the banker and the crowd.
But there is a saying in gambling: "Follow the red, step on the black." Once someone in the casino is having a lucky streak, nearby gamblers will follow their bets, which is called "following the red."
And the person with the best gambling luck at the moment was undoubtedly Boss Ma. Therefore, most gamblers followed his bets. At this time, the banker was having a bad streak, which is called "stepping on the black."
As a result, the Emperor Company still had to bet around two hundred thousand per round, and the pressure had not lessened at all. Even more bizarrely, the dice combinations that were supposed to favor the banker had only appeared once, and that was when Old Wu was shaking the dice. In Song Jianhao's hands, they had never appeared, which was why they had lost over a million so quickly.