Power and Wealth

Chapter 1245: One arm bandit

Chapter 1245: One arm bandit

Night.

International waters.

On board the gambling ship. The casino started.

The croupiers and dealers stood at the tables, and staff were stationed everywhere to serve the guests. All the tables were filled with people in an instant.

Gambling started.

Everyone is excited.

“Let’s go, Xiao Dong.”

“Ok. Go and enjoy yourself.”

“Ok. I will look for you later.”

“I will walk around.”

They separated. Dong Xuebing was not worried as Sis Zhang would not place big bets.

Most of the tables in the casino are playing Baccarat.

Zhang Longjuan and Shen Xiaomei went to one of the tables.

Dong Xuebing did not join them because he did not know about Baccarat’s rules. He looked around and saw blackjack and roulette tables. He went to the slot machines in a corner. There were a few dozen machines, and some of them were occupied. He had never played slots before and was dazed by the different symbols on them.

Clank!

A man put a 1,000 USD chip into the machine and pulled the lever. The pictures started spinning and stopped.

All the symbols were different.

That man looked disappointed. He did not win.

The person beside him did the same and did not win too.

Dong Xuebing looked for a while and knew how to play. Sis Zhang is correct. This casino is different from other casinos. The slot machines here were not using coins, and the bets were much higher. They accept chips, and the machines will detect the chip. There will be a beep, and the player can pull the lever. The lever is not pulled down like the machines in other casinos. It is horizontal, and the player got to push it. Dong Xuebing wondered how much the jackpot was as every bet was 1,000 USD. The odds of winning the jackpot are slim, and the payouts should be astronomical.

Dong Xuebing watched them for a while and did not see anyone win.

His heart was pumping hard when he saw the machines eating the chips. These people are crazy.

Suddenly, there was a commotion. Ding… ding… ding…

A middle-aged woman laughed. She was playing on a fruit slot machine, and she won. About 100 chips fell out of the machine. She collected them in a box and continued to play with another machine.

One hundred chips.

Although this was the lowest payout, it was 100,000 USD.

It is equivalent to a few hundred thousand RMB.

The people around that woman looked at her enviously. They envied her luck, despite it was not a big win. Many people started moving toward the slot machines, and most were occupied within a few minutes. Slot machines and Baccarat are the most profitable for casinos. The odds of winning are low, but people will still want to try their luck.

Dong Xuebing noticed an empty slot machine. People were queuing behind other machines and not playing with that empty machine.

That machine was the only empty machine.

Dong Xuebing was curious. Is that machine spoilt?

He went closer. The machine is working. Why is no one using it?

Dong Xuebing had nothing to do and wanted to play a few hands. But he hesitated when he saw other people not playing with this machine. He remembered going to video arcades when he was young and spending money on faulty machines. He looked at the machine for a while. There must be a reason why everyone is avoiding this machine.

A young man waiting at another machine looked at Dong Xuebing. “Are you waiting too?”

Dong Xuebing nodded and asked. “Why are you not playing with this machine? It’s empty.”

The young man explained. “Someone won the ‘777’ jackpot at this machine last month. That’s why no one wants to play there.”

“777?” Dong Xuebing said. “How much is the jackpot?”

The young man replied without thinking. “100 million USD.”

Dong Xuebing was shocked. “100 million USD? How come it is so much?”

The young man replied. “That guy bet with 10,000 chips, so the payout is high. If it were a 1,000 USD chip, his winning would be 10 million USD. He was fortunate.”

Damn!

100 million USD!

That’s a few hundred million RMB!

The casino will make a loss. Wait… the casino will not lose money. Dong Xuebing thought for a while and understood. One hundred million USD might seem a lot, but how much money is every machine making for the casino? Look at the number of slot machines here. These machines should generate up to 100 million USD daily for the casino. The gambling ship set sail every ten days, and the casino’s earnings from the slot machines should be more than three to four hundred million USD a month. Even deducting the players’ winnings, they should make at least one hundred million USD monthly.

Dong Xuebing asked. “Is it because no more chips are inside, and everyone is not playing on it?”

“No.” The young man answered. “The bet is at least one thousand USD, much higher than other casinos. The rules here are different too. The casino manufactures these machines, and they are different from other casinos. They will top up the chips in the machines every day. You don’t need to worry about not getting your chips after winning the jackpot. The odds are fixed and not according to the machine’s earnings.”

Dong Xuebing asked curiously. “Then this machine should be popular. Someone had won the jackpot from it before.”

The young man laughed. “Everyone does not think so. Do you know how hard it is to get ‘777’? This gambling ship started a few months ago, and that was the first time someone won the jackpot. The odds of winning the jackpot from the same machine are too low. That’s why no one wants to play at that machine.”

Dong Xuebing understood and thought to himself. If the odds for every machine are the same, it should be the same even if someone had won the jackpot from the machine. It should be more of a psychological effect.

Never mind.

I will pick this machine.

It was the only empty machine, and Dong Xuebing sat before it.

The young man did not stop him because the person before him had left. He got onto the machine and started playing.

This was Dong Xuebing’s first time playing. He examined the machine and put in a one thousand USD chip.

Beep…

The machine displayed the number ‘2’.

Dong Xuebing pushed the lever, and the machine started spinning.

The machine stopped, and not a single ‘7’ appeared. All the symbols are different. Although Dong Xuebing was still figuring out how to play, he knew he did not win anything. One thousand USD was gone like this.

Dong Xuebing played again.

He did not win.

Dong Xuebing shook his head and stood up. He felt it was impossible to win the jackpot. It would be better if he played other games.

Dong Xuebing turned and saw Zhang Longjuan beside him.

Sis Zhang smiled. “Why are you playing slots?”

Dong Xuebing replied. “Slots are easy. I don’t need to think.”

Dong Xuebing wished he could win the jackpot to help Zhang Longjuan.

Zhang Longjuan smiled and held his arm. She pulled him to other areas. “I don’t recommend you to play slots.”

“Why?”

“Because those are the casino’s machines. Those machines only accept their casino chips, and it operates differently from other slot machines. The rules are different too. The payouts might be big, and you can win small prizes easier than other casino slot machines, but it is still unpredictable. Do you understand?”

“Are you saying it is fishy?”

“I don’t know. But I know it is almost impossible to win the jackpot.”

“Someone won it last month.”

“Do you know how much those people spent before one of them won the jackpot? The odds are too low.” Zhang Longjuan smiled. “I still prefer playing something I can control. For example, blackjack. It is not fully based on luck. Your skills and experiences play a part. Haha… I know slot machines' payout is good. Maybe I can solve my financial issues if I win the jackpot. But I only got five million USD and can only play five hundred times with ten thousand USD chips. I cannot bet based on luck.”

Zhang Longjuan is calm as usual.

Dong Xuebing nodded. He agreed with Sis Zhang. Rather than betting on slot machines, he should bet on something within his control.

“Have you warmed up?” Dong Xuebing asked.

Zhang Longjuan played with her fingers. “Not bad. I will play outside for a while more.”

Dong Xuebing looked at Shen Xiaomei’s suitcase. “What about your chips?”

Zhang Longjuan laughed. “I got about 5.6 to 5.7 million USD now.”

Dong Xuebing was surprised. “You won sixty to seventy thousand?”

“I was quite lucky.” Zhang Longjuan laughed. “I won some at the baccarat tables and some at the blackjack tables. But I lost at roulette.”

“You are impressive.”

“I am far from my goal. My target is to win 100 million USD today. I must go to the VIP room later. There are only two outcomes if I continue to play here. Either I lose everything, or I win a bit.”

“You will be fine if you continue to be so lucky.” Dong Xuebing was more confident of Zhang Longjuan after hearing how much she won.