Shadow Empire

Chapter 578 Glory
This is the first time for many people to enter Jingang Casino.

At the beginning, they didn't have much money, let alone coming in to see the world, they couldn't even get through the door.

All the people who run casinos are not fools. Although the buses of Jingang Casino are constantly soliciting customers at the port, they also give free chips to the tourists who have just arrived to spend.

These are actually designed.

In this era, anyone who can travel by boat to another region or even to another country is not poor.

The poor cannot leave the place where they live, and some federal people have been born in a small town.

Until the day they died, they never left the five kilometers of the town.

Therefore, those who can travel long distances during this period are potential, high-quality casino customers.

Give them some chips and take them to the casino for free so that they can enjoy themselves without suffering any loss.

As long as two or three out of ten people are interested in the games in the casino, not only can they recover all their expenses from these two or three people, but they can also make a lot of money.

But it is not so easy for the poor people who are already in the city to get in.

First of all, they need to come up with something that can make people see their payment potential, which means money, at least ten or twenty dollars.

Secondly, they must dress neatly. I don’t say they should dress very nicely, but at least they should be clean and tidy and not be impolite.

After all, players who gamble in the casino would not want to sit at the same table with a beggar, so they must dress neatly.

Just these two points are enough to prevent many lower-class people from entering the casino.

Later, these people of Lance became rich and powerful, and they did not come in because Lance and the five major families were not on good terms.

They stand on two different sides, and they will not come to the casino easily, let alone contribute their own strength to the Kodak family's profits.

So when they were poor they couldn't come in, and when they were rich they were unwilling to come in, making this their first time.

The luxurious decoration stimulated everyone's nerves. After Lance walked around the office area, he returned to the second floor.

He stood by the guardrail, with neatly arranged gambling tables below. Standing here and looking down, one could imagine how shocking it would be when the gambling tables below were surrounded by people!
He turned and looked at the young men, his eyes finally falling on Morris.

"Come here, Maurice."

Morris coughed twice and came over.

Lance put his arm around his shoulders and turned him around so that he could look at the gambling tables below. "Among us, the one who knows the most about gambling and casinos is you."

"Me, Erwin, and everyone else, we don't understand the specific operation of the casino."

"Maybe it's okay for us to brag, since we don't have to take any responsibility anyway."

“But if we really were to do it, we wouldn’t be able to do it well.”

He looked at Morris, who also realized what Lance meant. He widened his eyes and shook his head, saying, "I can't do this!"

Lance disagreed, "You can at least do better than we can."

"The casinos will be left to you to run. There are five casinos. Run them according to your ideas."

"You can hire some professional managers or other practitioners, arrange them well, and don't be stingy with their salaries."

"The casino revenue is very important, even though the money that goes into our own pockets is not that much."

Lance had already revealed to them that after taking over the casino, a large portion of the operating profits would be transferred to other places, and they would not be able to keep much for themselves.

And Lance doesn’t think that moonshine is inferior to casinos. In fact, moonshine is good and definitely makes more money than casinos during this period!
People were going crazy over Prohibition!

Those who didn’t drink before started drinking. They wanted to use this way to protest and vent their dissatisfaction with the government!

Therefore, as long as the prohibition is not resolved, the federal liquor business will not be prosperous!
Choosing Morris as the candidate was a decision Lance made after considering for a long time.

As the five major families are dismantled by him, the "hostile gangs" in the entire city will become fewer and fewer, and eventually disappear completely.

Morris is still somewhat capable in this city, but if he leaves this city, for example, if he goes to Valley City, he won't be able to make it.

Now that there are not so many problems and enemies internally, his work and the importance of his work are constantly decreasing.

Instead of leaving him with nothing to do, it would be better to give him a job that he is familiar with, such as running a casino.

He grew up in casinos. Those small casinos look different from the big casinos, but there is essentially no difference.

They all take the gamblers' money from their pockets and put it into their own pockets.

As long as he can do these things well, it will be enough.

Facing Lance's penetrating gaze, Morris finally did not refuse. He agreed, "I'll give it a try."

"If I don't do a good job, please find someone to replace me immediately!"

He sighed softly. In fact, he was a little uneasy about such a heavy responsibility.

But Lance's trust made him unable to resolve the issue, so he finally agreed.

Many guys who had a good relationship with him came over to ruffle his hair or give him a hug. Managing these five casinos not only represented that he was about to enter another stage of life, but also represented Lance's absolute trust in him, a trust that could not be shaken!

Bolton in the crowd was somewhat envious. He certainly knew that the identity of "casino general manager" was much more important than his current identity.

But he was indeed not very familiar with this aspect. Although he was envious and jealous, he did not have any complaints.

Although he is much worse than Morris, he is much better than others.

The news that Lance took people to Jingang Casino began to spread, probably by the Kodak family, but Lance did not stop it because they would know about it soon.

The day after the casino was suspended and the Kodak family hadn’t figured out what was going on, the front page of Today’s Golden Harbor reported this news:

"The biggest change in 30 years, will the Lans family take the top spot?"

Under the huge black title was a photo of Lance coming out of his old company. He wasn't looking at the camera, but he was wearing a cloak, and the men around him all had a solemn and murderous aura.

Someone opened the car door for him and he was walking towards the car on the side of the road. Although the picture is still, anyone who sees this photo can imagine his aura and temperament like a lion on the grassland!
Then the following begins to introduce some developments and speculations about this matter, and the second edition even introduces that the Kodak family’s five gambling franchise licenses and five casinos have been signed and authorized to Lance by Bandy.

The newspaper also put some small pictures, including the picture of Lance signing, the picture of Bandy signing, the legal teams of both sides, and many more people.

If the reporters previously believed that Lance had become the leader of the biggest gang in Jingang City and would rule the underground world of Jingang City, it was just something that people took for granted.

Then the second edition of the report tore everyone’s emotions apart!
How did Lance become...the owner of the casino?

They didn't understand, but no matter whether the photos or anything else were there, no one could change the fact, and the police had stopped all investigations into Bandy, as well as subsequent inspections and prosecutions.

Without any special motivation, the police department will not waste resources investigating a dead person, let alone prosecute a dead person who cannot respond to the lawsuit.

In other words, even if someone questions whether these contracts are legal and compliant, it is meaningless.

People who read this report were caught up in an indescribable change of emotions. They realized that the underground world of Jingang City had really undergone changes so huge that it was unimaginable!

The Kodak family also saw the report.

"Oh!"

There was a loud bang at the table in the auditorium, and the dull atmosphere was broken in an instant. An old uncle of Bandy's couldn't help but stand up.

He looked at the tribesmen and asked loudly, "Why are you all silent?"

"Weren't you very talkative yesterday?"

"Why are you not talking now? Don't you like talking?"

There were shouts and curses from below. Everyone was very distressed now. The benefits they had obtained were gone. Where the hell could they go to seek justice? The old man did not take the curses to heart. Instead, he mocked, "You have the courage to curse me, but you don't have the courage to curse Lance!"

"You have to know that he took away the Kodak family's century-old foundation!"

There was anger and sadness in his voice, as if Lance's action had really poked his trachea.

In fact, the Kodak family does not have such a so-called century-old history. It has only gradually developed to its current scale in the last thirty to fifty years.

At the same time, their franchise is not their own thing.

Before 955, the federal government did not allow the public operation of gambling venues such as casinos. At that time, all casinos were illegal.

People can sit together with three or five people and play cards with a little bit of gamble, but no one can provide such a place for others to gamble.

If someone did that, that person would be arrested, charged with "illegal operation of a gambling establishment," and put in jail.

But there were too many gamblers in the Federation, especially gold diggers and poor people, who were addicted to gambling.

This situation exists in almost all taverns: three or five people, or seven or eight people, sit around a table and start gambling.

The pub owner will not charge them service fees or anything like that just because they gamble, nor will he provide any exchange services like chips.

So this does not fall under the category of “business” and the bar owner does not need to bear the relevant responsibilities.

The federal government saw huge profits in this, and as it was a period of rapid federal development, after discussion in Congress, it was decided to allow casinos to operate.

However, a special business license is required and a special tax of at least 60 percent must be paid.

So these things are not the "inheritance" of the Kodak family, but they were also seized by them through other means.

In the past, when they seized other people's licenses by force, those people might not have thought that there would be a day when their descendants would also be robbed by others.

But this is exactly in line with the laws of nature's development.

The old man's hoarse voice made the auditorium quiet again, but soon someone asked, "What else can we do?"

"That's Lance!"

"The five major families are finished. Shouldn't you open your eyes and look at your surroundings and reality? We are finished!"

The old man glared at the man fiercely, "As long as we are still here, the Kodak family will not be finished."

The man sneered and stopped talking. There were still people who were so immersed in the greatness of their family that they couldn't extricate themselves.

In fact, there are quite a few such people. Even though they know that the world has changed, they are still unwilling to break away from the glory of the past.

They are unwilling to accept the facts.

"Bandy's death was unclear. Maybe it was related to these authorizations. We must protest and ask higher-level law enforcement agencies to investigate this case and find out who is stealing our family's wealth!"

He was considering some countermeasures, and some people were also tempted, after all, the family's wealth mainly came from the casino.

Now that the casino is gone, it is definitely a fatal blow to them!

Moreover, with the complete rise of the Lans family, if they lost the casino, it would mean that it would be difficult for them to continue to gain a foothold in Jingang City.

Let them migrate to other places like other families, conquer a new territory and start over?
It would be better to disband right here!

So some of his supporters asked, "What are you going to do?"

The old man pursed his lips, his eyes showing a determined look, "Go to Maintenon, find someone who can make a difference in this matter, give them some benefits, and see if there is any way to change this terrible outcome."

"I know some big shots who used to have a good relationship with Bandy. They might be interested in my proposal."

Someone asked, "What benefits do you want to use to convince them to go against Lance?"

"money?"

"Or something else?"

The old man said it more bluntly, "Even if we give away half of the casino's shares, it would be better than losing it completely!"

"I know some of you might think it's a lot, but it's really not a lot."

"Once we can stabilize ourselves and develop little by little in the future, it may not be impossible for us to stand up again."

"The casino is our only chance to get back on our feet. If we lose it, we'll lose everything!"

"Including the wealth we have now, everything, even..." His tone became a little low, and amid people's reluctance, he said the word they didn't want to hear, "...life!"

Yes, life.

Although they are finished, the wealth they possess is still beyond the reach of ordinary people. So many industries, so many companies, all of them are money!
In the past, they were able to protect these industries because the influence of the five major families was still there, but now, those people have no concerns.

Soon they will find a way to take over all this wealth, and they will kill anyone who stands in their way!

Those people in the Bay Area may appear to be civilized gentlemen on the surface, but deep down, they are more disgusting than vicious dogs in a cemetery!

The matter was decided, most people agreed with his choice, and soon they started to implement it.

It’s just that some people have different ideas than most people, and they don’t intend to tell others.

These people were among the few who were sober. They knew very well that even if the old man's plan succeeded, they would still not be able to escape the tragic end in the end.

Because they have lost the power to protect these riches and everything, the result of doing so is nothing more than changing from "people from the Bay Area or Lance took away everything from them" to "people from Maintenon took away everything from them", that's all!

So rather than letting the situation get worse step by step, it’s better to run now.

Those people packed up their things and set off secretly without telling anyone, intending to leave the city forever.

As long as you have money, you can live comfortably anywhere.

Of course they cannot compare with the past, but at least they are still among the wealthy class and have not fallen into the middle class.

But there are a few people whose choices are different.

Rather than having your bones chewed up and swallowed by the diners at the table, it would be better to get a new thigh.

A middle-aged man in his forties came to Lance's new company with his sincerity and asked to see Lance.

Soon he was allowed to see Lance, but of course before that he was searched, including his shoes, which were taken off and checked.

When he arrived outside Lance's office, patted his cheeks, and was about to face Lance with a rosy smile and the most sincere and flattering attitude, his flattering smile froze little by little as the door opened.

His first thought was "Why the hell are you here?", but when the people in the room saw him, they were no longer so shocked. Some even rolled their eyes, as if to say "You're just here."

He was pushed by someone behind him and walked into Lance's spacious office. He looked at his brothers and a nephew sitting on the sofa, with expressions constantly changing on their faces.

Lance smiled, "You two should know each other."

The youngest man quickly bent down and said, "Yes, Mr. Lance, this is my uncle..." and he said the man's name.

Lance asked the guy who just came in to sit on the sofa as well. "If I'm not mistaken, what you are going to say must be the same as what they are going to say."

The middle-aged man glanced at the people around him with an unpleasant expression, then immediately put on a smile, "Yes, Mr. Lance."

"There are a few people in the family who can't see the situation clearly, and they tried to go to Maintenon to find help to change the status quo."

"I'm not worried that you can't match them, but I think... things in the city should be solved in the city."

He lowered his head after he finished speaking.

(End of this chapter)