Chapter 184: Old K Casino (Part 2)
Roulette can be played by betting on colors, numbers, or both together, with odds increasing each time. Just a moment ago, a gambler placed a bet on black 7. Normally, if such a bet won, it would pay out a full 36 times the stake. And indeed, the little ball almost landed on that number—it looked like it was about to stop—but in the end, it stopped right next to it, missing completely.
The trajectory of that little ball might not be obvious to ordinary people, but Ian had his Psychic Field activated, constantly sensing it. He felt there was something off about the ball. When it was about to stop, it seemed to be nudged by some very subtle force.
Even without evidence, Ian knew damn well that the casino was cheating. The dealer was the house.
After watching several rounds, Ian noticed that while most of the time nothing unusual happened, whenever there was a high-odds bet, the ball's trajectory would go awry.
"Ten bets, nine scams"—that saying was spot on. Ian understood that casinos usually had their own tricks, which wasn't surprising. What disgusted him was that the gamblers here mostly placed bets of just a few hundred to a thousand Berries. Even with such small amounts, the casino still rigged the game.
After watching for a while, Ian lost interest and started wandering around. He lingered at various tables, trying to eavesdrop on the gamblers' conversations.
He noticed that most of the patrons here looked rather shabby, but there were also a few who looked like pirates.
Before long, Zeke and the others returned, bringing back some information they had gathered.
Earlier, Ian had found it strange. For such a luxurious casino, why were there no wealthy customers? After piecing together some information, he suddenly realized there was a reason.
Most of the gamblers here were men from the village!
As mentioned before, this island had no magnetic pull. Navigators on the sea couldn't reach it via Log Pose. Only those with sea charts or knowledge of the island's location could come here.
This meant the casino had very few customers.
To avoid going bankrupt, the casino targeted the men from the village, luring them in to gamble.
Zeke pointed to a dejected-looking middle-aged man sitting at a table and said, "That guy is from the village down the hill. I bought him a drink, chatted with him for a bit, and he told me everything. This island used to be a peaceful village. In the early years, people lived comfortably. But ever since this casino opened four years ago, everything changed. The men were drawn to the casino, stopped working the fields, lost their money, sold off their household goods to the casino, or borrowed money to keep gambling. Over time, the village completely declined."
Hearing this, Ian recalled the scene he had seen in the village earlier and couldn't help shaking his head. "Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its own nest. This casino really doesn't care about anything as long as it makes money."
"Did you find out who the boss behind this casino is?" Ian asked.
"No, not yet," Zeke shook his head.
"Try to find out," Ian said.
Zeke nodded and left. Ian thought for a moment, then sat down at a dice table.
Other gambling methods were too complicated for Ian to understand, but dice were simple and easy. However, Ian didn't sit down to gamble—he sat down to cause trouble.
He wanted to see if he could flush out the casino's backer.
At this table, several people were seated. The dealer acted as the house, shaking the dice, while the gamblers placed their bets.
The betting method was simple: bet on odd or even. Without much thought, Ian tossed 5,000 Berries in chips onto "even" and then stared intently at the dealer, his Psychic Field activated, sensing the dice cup in the dealer's hand.
Ian had already decided: if he lost this round, he would flip the table and accuse the casino of cheating.
But to his surprise, when the dice were revealed, the three dice showed four, three, and one—exactly even!
He won?
Ian gloomily took the chips the dealer pushed toward him. This bet paid 1-to-1, meaning he had just won 5,000 Berries.
Since he won, he couldn't cause a scene. So, he pushed all 25,000 Berries onto "even" and said, "All in!"
This move drew sidelong glances from the others at the table, as few people here bet tens of thousands of Berries at once.
"What are you staring at? Hurry up and open!" Ian glared at the dealer.
When the dice were revealed, it was even again! The surrounding gamblers gasped in surprise, envying Ian's good luck.
Watching his chips double to 50,000, Ian was speechless. He pushed them all onto "even" again!
This time, a few gamblers followed Ian and bet on even as well.
When the dice were revealed again—two, four, four—it was even once more! Ian's chips had turned into 100,000 Berries!
The gamblers around him stared at the pile of chips with red-eyed envy.
Ian slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing: the dealer must have recognized him as a new face, a first-timer, and was trying to whet his appetite.
This was a common trick casinos used…
Sure enough, the dealer smiled and said, "Sir, your luck is truly remarkable. Would you like to continue betting?"
"Of course," Ian nodded. He had come with the intention of causing trouble, so why would he stop halfway?
Although Ian no longer needed much money to recharge and draw cards, he still needed funds for daily expenses. The Dragon Hunter Pirates weren't large, but their expenses were considerable, mainly because of Sardine and Dorry, two big eaters. The previous few hundred thousand Berries wouldn't last long. He needed to get more money.
He was a pirate now. How did pirates make money? By robbing, of course. Given Ian's nature, he wouldn't target ordinary civilians. So, besides robbing other pirates, he planned to pull a "black eat black" scheme at this casino.
Especially after learning about the casino's shady practices, Ian felt no qualms about taking action.
As for whether the casino's backer might be some formidable figure, Ian didn't think much about it. In his view, if they had stooped to preying on nearby villagers, the boss couldn't be that impressive.
So, Ian went all in again, smiling as he looked at the dealer, waiting to see what would happen next.
Would the dealer let him keep winning to whet his appetite, or make him lose it all in one go?
In gambling, there was often a "follow the trend" phenomenon. When one person was on a hot streak, others would follow their bets. After Ian bet on even, many followed suit.
However, some thought that after four consecutive evens, the odds of another even were low, so they bet on odd instead.
Once everyone at the table had placed their bets, Ian was about to signal the dealer to start. But just then, an excited voice came from behind him.
"Hey there, young man, could you place a bet on even for me? Your luck seems good, and I'd like to follow your lead."
Ian thought it was just another gambler trying to ride his coattails. Without turning around, he said irritably, "Can't you place your own bet?"
"I can't see, so I don't know where 'even' is," the voice said.
Hearing this, Ian turned around curiously to look.
Then he immediately burst out laughing!
Standing behind him was a middle-aged man with short hair and a ring of stubble on his chin. His eyes were tightly shut, with long scars running across both eyelids.
He wore a light purple bathrobe, with the collar bunched up around his neck like a scarf. On his feet were wooden clogs, and in his hand, he held a staff-sword as a walking stick.
This image could only belong to one person!
Fujitora Issho!
That was why Ian felt shocked. He never expected that this man, who would later be recruited from the civilian population to become a Marine Admiral, would also be in this casino!
And the most absurd part was that he wanted to follow Ian's bet!