Pushing through the crowd, I squeezed in behind Bian Liang to find all the empty seats at this blackjack table already occupied by gamblers.
This kind of situation is common in casinos.
Generally, if a gambler falls into a pit, those without money watch from the sidelines, while those with money sit at the table and use the gambler who has lost a lot as a "guiding light."
In any environment, the most common sight is people stepping on others to get ahead, kicking them while they're down.
After entering, I didn't rush to play because there was no point in rushing.
The VIP room's long tables are mostly about empty seats; temporary additions are not allowed by the casino.
To get on the table, one has to wait for someone to quit and leave.
So, for now, I could only stand by and watch, which also gave me a chance to observe the various gamblers at the table...
At this blackjack table, there were currently seven men and two women.
Setting aside the seven men, the two women were both dressed as high-society ladies.
One of them, with a charming appearance, looked to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old. She was not only voluptuous but also adorned with gold and silver, exuding extreme opulence.
Sitting in the seat above Bian Liang, she had a lady's 520 cigarette held between her lips, her fiery red lips.
The pure white cigarette holder was adorned with a tempting red lipstick print.
As the woman blew smoke, she continuously scanned Bian Liang with a playful gaze.
Clearly, she was one of those who considered Bian Liang a guiding light for their financial gain.
This was my firm conclusion after observing for about six or seven minutes.
The reason for my certainty was that when Bian Liang chose to pass, she would also follow suit.
And when Bian Liang busted by drawing a high card, she would then try her luck to pick up the scraps.
What surprised me the most was that in the short span of six or seven minutes of my observation, she had actually won a hand using this "guiding light" strategy!
She had instantly gained over 200,000 chips, both principal and profit.
The advantage of her seating position allowed the woman to successfully wait behind Bian Liang and pick up a few wins.
As for the other woman, who appeared slightly younger and more aloof, due to her position as the player immediately to Bian Liang's right, she didn't benefit. Instead, she often drew cards before Bian Liang and busted.
Based on the situation in these few minutes alone, this blackjack table, which had been taken over by the wealthy man, was undoubtedly bringing him a net profit of over seven figures.
As for the plump young woman, I couldn't make a definitive conclusion without knowing her previous wins and losses.
Let's consider the dealer, who shuffles and deals the cards and collects the rake, as the second biggest winner.
Under normal circumstances, to build more reputation and prestige, major casinos and newly opened casinos generally do not allow dealers to cheat. They rely solely on the rake to make money.
Don't think for a moment that casinos only make money by cheating. If you add up the fixed 5% rake from the total chips on every table, in every hand, and then multiply it by the number of tables and the total number of hands...
You will find that it results in a surprisingly large number!
...
About ten minutes later.
Among the seven male gamblers, a middle-aged bald man finally lost all his remaining chips and left, muttering curses.
Seeing this, I immediately took the 200,000 chips that Cheng Minglang had exchanged for me and quickly walked to the empty seat, stepping in to "put out the fire."
The moment I sat down, I noticed that both the wealthy man and Bian Liang simultaneously cast appraising glances at me.
The former even nodded at me with a smile, as if greeting me.
I returned his smile as well, as it's impolite to refuse a friendly gesture.
Regardless of what kind of gambler the wealthy man considered me, or what his intentions might be.
To prevent him from becoming suspicious, I wouldn't make a move until he made one against me.
But how does that popular modern saying go?
It's something like: "I'm not afraid of a god-like opponent, but I fear a pig-like teammate!"
Just as I was concealing myself, Bian Liang, upon seeing me, immediately grumbled at me with dissatisfaction, "What are you doing here? Are you here to watch me make a fool of myself?"
Hearing this, I was instantly speechless.
I was truly exasperated by Bian Liang's petty nature!
How resentful could this guy be, to be so thoughtless as to expose our acquaintance in front of so many outsiders!
Now, I couldn't hide even if I wanted to!
As expected, after Bian Liang's single sentence revealed our acquaintance, the wealthy man immediately gave me a meaningful smile.
This time, I didn't respond.
Because doing so would be pointless.
Since I had already promised Xu Shiyu to help Bian Liang out of this predicament, I was determined to win back all the chips he had lost to the wealthy man.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be expected to pay out of my own pocket to settle his usurious debts, would I?
Seeing that the empty seat had been filled, the dealer wasted no words. Saying "Players, please bet," he immediately began shuffling the cards, his eyes filled with excitement and joy.
More gamblers were a welcome sight for both the dealer and the casino.
After all, the casino had given up the long table and could only make money through the rake.
And the total rake from each table was directly related to the dealer's commission.
Therefore, the more people participated, and the more chips they bet, the happier they would be.
What the dealer thought was irrelevant to me.
As long as he wasn't in league with the wealthy man, I didn't mind betting more in each hand, so he could collect more rake.
And, by extension, set a trap for the wealthy man...
The stakes at this table were very high, with a minimum bet of 1,000, ten times that of the outside tables.
As for the betting limit, it was set at 200,000.
If I recall correctly, the maximum betting limit for blackjack at the outside tables was only 10,000.
It was clear that the wealthy man had single-handedly raised the maximum betting limit for this VIP room blackjack table!
No wonder Bian Liang had fallen into this trap. If he lost five hands in a row at the maximum limit of 200,000, he would be down a million!
It was fortunate that there was no doubling down for the dealer in blackjack, otherwise Bian Liang would have lost even more than he had now!
This round was a big one. The first gambler to bet, in clockwise order, placed a 10,000 chip on the table.
As for the others, the most was 100,000, and the least was 5,000.
When it was my turn, I directly bet the maximum of 200,000.
Although my usual principle when playing cards at a table was to hide my strength and play conservatively, I couldn't do that today.
Moreover, the wealthy man had booked this table for several hours. Having made a substantial profit, there was no guarantee he wouldn't leave at any moment.
So, without further ado, I just went for it!