The Tyrant Billionaire

The draw time arrived.

The tickets swirled in the glass box like a tornado, and finally, a few tickets were sucked into another box for the final draw.

The duty manager took out a ticket, looked at it, and announced, "Congratulations to this lucky customer. The prize money is $15,620, and the number is..."

"DS0302991!"

The gamblers on site checked their tickets, and many, seeing their numbers didn't match, shook their heads in disappointment.

After a few seconds of silence.

Suddenly, one of the people in a yellow vest shouted in excitement.

"Wow, wow, wow~~~ It's us! One of our customers won!" the yellow vest jubilantly shouted.

This drew the attention of all the gamblers.

So lucky! Winning on the first participation.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

Most people placed one or a few bets, while they placed over a thousand tickets at once, naturally increasing their winning chances.

The two yellow vests claimed the prize money, happily posing for photos at the casino.

The host and cameraman approached, and the host asked, "I'm curious, how do you verify which customer bought this winning ticket?"

The yellow vest took out a file folder filled with records, with one side listing customer account numbers and the other the ticket numbers for that round.

"We purchase a large number of tickets from the casino in advance. Since each ticket number is unique, we record the ticket numbers for each customer's bet and enter them into the draw pool. This way, there's no mistake."

The staff showed the winning ticket with a customer account number written on it, representing the customer's information.

After explaining to the host, the yellow vest excitedly faced the TV camera and shouted, "This lucky customer is a friend from Texas. Congratulations! We will contact you soon."

Amidst the envious glances of many, the two left with their prize.

The big prize won by someone deeply stimulated many gamblers, causing the phone lines of the betting company to be overwhelmed with calls. There were new accounts being opened and bets being placed, with a hundred phones ringing non stop.

In just three days, over ten thousand new accounts were added, bringing the betting company's total funds to 2 million, of which the company earned 100,000 just from fees.

Additionally, the money in the betting company's accounts did not earn interest. This money could be loaned out by the betting company to banks, earning them more profit.

As for the money used to buy lottery tickets, well, cash was the least scarce resource in The Los City Company. By rotating the funds, the money essentially became legitimate, making it an incredibly effective way to launder money.

At the same time, due to the launch of the betting service, the prizes for the casino's lottery activities increased. In just a few days, the jackpot reached $30,000, and the bets placed through the external betting service exceeded the amounts wagered by casino patrons.

The expanding pool of funds further stimulated the enthusiasm of gamblers and bettors, leading to more people placing bets.

Half a month later, Bill reported to Hardy that the account funds of the "Queen of luck Betting Company" had reached 10 million, and the casino's jackpots had stabilized at over $40,000.

In fact, the betting company was earning small money.

The main benefit was the significant boost it provided to the casino's business.

Hardy did some calculations.

With a jackpot of $40,000 per draw, 10 times a day, and the casino taking a 15% commission, maintaining this state throughout the year would yield an income of 22 million.

This was an absolutely insane amount of income.

At the Hardy Estate in Las Vegas,

Hardy invited Las Vegas Mayor Goodman as a guest. Goodman enjoyed red wine, so Hardy took the mayor to his underground wine cellar.

Because of its deep construction and sturdy walls, the wine cellar naturally keeps its temperature between 17 and 18 degrees Celsius all year round.

The entire wine cellar was over 200 square meters, with walls and middle shelves filled with bottles of red wine.

Goodman casually pulled out a bottle, "A 1908 Latour, a good year. It's said that 1908 was the best year of that decade. This bottle is estimated to be worth $500."

Hardy smiled, "500 was the price a couple of years ago. Recently, the price of vintage wines has skyrocketed. Now it should be around $800, and retailing for about $1,000."

Goodman carefully examined the bottle twice more before reluctantly putting it back on the shelf. He walked a few steps and picked up another bottle, a 1928 Lafite.

Margaux, Cheval Blanc, Coutet, Mouton, Petrus—the wine cellar was filled with wines that were estimated to be worth no less than forty or fifty thousand dollars.

Hardy pulled a bottle from the rack and handed it to Mayor Goodman with a smile, "How about we drink this one today?"

A 1914 Romanée-Conti, Mayor Goodman thought to himself, this is a good wine. Due to its low production, Romanée-Conti has always been extremely expensive. This bottle could be more expensive than the Latour, possibly selling for up to $2,000.

The two returned to the living room and handed the wine to the butler to decant. Hardy and Mayor Goodman sat down to chat.

"The Hardy Hotel has opened and is doing very well, with a steady stream of gamblers every day. Buses constantly bring people from Los Angeles, making Las Vegas increasingly prosperous," Mayor Goodman said with a smile.

"A prosperous market means the government can collect more taxes, doesn't it?" Hardy replied with a smile.

"Of course, the citizens of Las Vegas all hope for continuous improvement here. Next year, the government plans to invest more money in infrastructure construction, such as drainage systems, road traffic systems, communication systems, and environmental sanitation systems," the mayor said.

"If the government needs it, the Hardy Hotel is willing to contribute to municipal construction. As more and more tourists come to Las Vegas, there is only one small hospital, which can no longer meet current needs. I plan to invest in building a large comprehensive hospital. What do you think, Mayor Goodman?"

Currently, Las Vegas only has tens of thousands of permanent residents, ranking low among American cities. But Hardy knew that in the future, the population of Las Vegas would increase dramatically, and building a hospital would definitely be profitable.