Chapter 164: Winds and Clouds in the City of Gamblers

"So this is the legendary city of sin?"

Zhuang Chen looked at the resplendent Venetian Resort, an investment of thirty billion, featuring three thousand luxury guest rooms along with convention, shopping, sports, entertainment, and leisure facilities, covering an area of three hundred thousand square meters.

Upon entering, he booked a presidential suite at the front desk for 9,999 a night. A beaming waiter said, "Welcome to our hotel! Here are one thousand Hong Kong dollars in complimentary chips. We hope you enjoy your stay!"

Zhuang Chen nodded and followed the butler up to the forty-eighth floor. The suite was exceptionally luxurious, spanning three hundred and fifty square meters, with glittering gold accents everywhere. He had heard that even the standard suites here were seventy square meters, and the living room featured a sunken design that separated the lounging area from the relaxation space, making it feel very spacious.

A golden theme paired with peacock blue table lamps, cushions, and sofas created a comfortable and cozy resort atmosphere. Having grown accustomed to presidential suites, they all largely felt the same, holding few surprises.

If anything left a deep impression, it was the seven-star Atlantis, with its distinct themes and the ingenious underwater suite. Since it was still early, he decided to head downstairs for a stroll.

Walking along the Grand Canal Shoppes on the third floor—the largest indoor shopping center, housing over three50 shops and dozens of restaurants—the layout was designed in the style of Venice, featuring three artificial canals where tourists could experience riding in gondolas and take in the Venetian vibe.

He finally understood why it was called The Venetian.

Especially the sky—completely artificial, with bright blue skies, white clouds, and twenty-four-hour lighting, truly a city upon which the sun never sets.

Walking along the Parisian Street surrounded by various luxury brands, it was a pity there were just three grown men, watching the hyped-up women around them alongside men with ashen faces...

What a vibe!

Taking a boat—a so-called gondola—gliding along the canal while the boatman continuously sang opera, for some reason, the singing sounded exceptionally resonant inside the boat.

He heard there were various performances in the evening, but after wandering around and finding little of interest, he headed straight for the casino, which was the main purpose of the visit.

Swiping his card for two hundred thousand in chips, each worth ten thousand, all settled in Hong Kong dollars. The small pink round tokens supposedly featured high-tech anti-counterfeiting measures, and the largest denomination was actually two million. He wondered if that was true.

In this tiny territory of over thirty square kilometers, more than a dozen large casinos were scattered about. Outside the piers, customs offices, and airport parking lots, long queues of free shuttle buses operated by the various casinos waited for passengers. Many tourists spent whatever time remained after visiting a few iconic landmarks right inside the casinos.

Even staying in a standard room came with free chips that could be cashed out directly. In recent years, following the opening of the gaming licenses—alongside the existing Grand Lisboa and Wynn invested by gaming tycoon Stanley Ho—tycoons from Las Vegas had also come to grab a slice of the pie, such as this very Venetian.

"Sir, would you like some company?"

Zhuang Chen looked at the tall beauty in front of him, with her three-dimensional facial features and enchanting figure. He asked, "Mixed-race?"

"My father is Portuguese," the beauty stepped closer and smiled, "I am very familiar with this place, so..."

Zhuang Chen directly tossed over a ten-thousand-dollar chip, hiring the girl named Jessica as his guide. The girl's eyes lit up. She tucked the chip into her unfathomable cleavage, hooked her arm around Zhuang Chen's, and said with a bewitching smile, "I guarantee to keep you satisfied!"

Xia Long and Xia Hu exchanged a glance. Although they knew their boss didn't care for gambling, he was young and full of vigor, and spending money foolishly wasn't worthwhile. They kept a close watch just in case.

"Inside the hotel, the casinos are scattered across different floors with multiple entrances. You can come and go freely. As long as you aren't cheating, they can cover any amount you bet!"

Jessica quickly got into character and explained, "Every table plays differently. Those people wearing black vests are staff members known as dealers."

Zhuang Chen approached a table playing sic bo. The dealer pressed a switch, and three dice inside a silver metal cup automatically began to vibrate. There was no need for the dealer to count the final numbers; sensors automatically recognized them, and an electronic display directly showed the combined sum.

Jessica lowered her voice to explain, "If the sum of the three dice is less than or equal to ten, it's 'small'; if it's greater than or equal to ten, it's 'big'. Every time, you place your chips inside the circles marked 'big' and 'small' on the gaming table. If you guess correctly, you get back two chips for every one you bet; if you guess wrong, the chips belong to the casino."

Zhuang Chen nodded. It sounded simple enough. He had never liked gambling since childhood and rarely even played Dou Dizhu. Standing beside him was an elderly man holding two or three chips, staring intently at the previous rolls displayed on the electronic screen, muttering to himself as if carefully calculating whether to bet on big or small.

With a hardened resolve, the old man cautiously placed all his chips onto the 'big' circle. The dealer triggered the dice cup switch, and after a series of clattering sounds, the electronic screen displayed 14—Big!

The dealer smilingly doubled and returned the chips to the old man. To Zhuang Chen, every time the old man placed his chips, he seemed to deliberate deeply, meticulously studying the records of the previous rolls. Could he be a master?

Winning twice in a row, the old man's chips grew from two or three into a large handful. Beaming with radiant joy, he wanted to press his advantage and make a big bet, his left thumb moving back and forth between his index and middle fingers as he stared fixedly at the 'big' that had come up three times in a row.

Jessica gently poked Zhuang Chen with her hand, revealing a meaningful smile. Just as the countdown was about to end, the old man abruptly shoved all his chips onto 'big'...

"Seven... Small!"

Zhuang Chen watched as all the chips were deftly swept into the casino's basket by the dealer using a small wooden shovel. The old man's face turned ashen, he let out a long sigh, turned around, and walked away.

"Whether you bet on big or small, it seems like the player and the casino each have a fifty percent chance of winning, but the casino isn't stupid!" Jessica said dismissively. "When you actually encounter a sweep where all three dice show the exact same number, regardless of whether you bet big or small, the casino wins."

"Some people have calculated the probabilities: the probability of each of the six numbers is 1/6 * 1/6 * 1/6 = 1/216. Added together for all six numbers, it's (1/216) * 6 = 1/36. The casino's winning rate rises from 50% to 51.39%, while the player's winning rate drops from 50% to 48.61%."

"Don't underestimate this tiny 1% difference. Massive profits are accumulated through the slight advantage favoring the casino with every single play under the game rules. Every day, tens of thousands of people drift across this gaming table like passing clouds; the profit from just this single table alone is no small figure."

"Furthermore, for players, if they start with 5,000 yuan in hand, bet 100 yuan each time, and play 50 times, on average they might have 4,800 yuan left. If they continue playing a few dozen more times, that 4,800 yuan turns into 4,600 yuan, and eventually, it gradually dwindles down to zero..."

Seeing the trace of surprise in Zhuang Chen's eyes, she gently said, "Don't worry, I won't deliberately lure you into losing money. The casino and I aren't that close!"

"I certainly hope you have great luck and sweep the boards, and when that happens, you can just leave a generous tip. You eat the meat, and I'll just be happy sipping some broth..."

Zhuang Chen laughed heartily. What a smart girl. He patted the back of her hand and continued walking around. Nearby was the roulette wheel, where a large crowd had gathered. The wheel evenly distributed thirty-seven numbers from 0 to 36. When the wheel spun and finally came to a stop, the number indicated by the pointer was the winning number.

"The payout for this game is 1 to 35, meaning if you win, 1 can turn into 36. Assuming you play 37 times and bet 1 yuan each time, because there are 37 numbers in total on the roulette wheel, on average you can only win once, while the remaining 36 losses cost you 36 yuan in total. Yet the single win only retrieves 35 yuan. Just like the dice game, the player remains at a slight disadvantage while the casino holds a slight advantage..."