Capítulo 13: Casino Fever

Michael's vacation in the sin city was finally over. It was time to get back to gambling. The great thing about Vegas was that all the casinos are at the same place.

The stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County is commonly known as the "Las Vegas Strip". The strip is filled with casinos and resorts; During night time the whole street is brightened by extravagant lights, making it look like Christmas. Michael decided to start with the famous MGM Grand.

When he walked into the casino, he was astonished. The place was packed to the brim with customers. It was still Christmas vacation so people were naturally out to enjoy some gambling. Either way, the big crowd was good news for Michael because it allowed him to fit in.

As usual, Michael started with blackjack; Why try other games when he was already so good at this one? As time went on he continued to win, raking in nearly $100,000 for the day. He decided to go back home and call it a day. Michael figured that $100K was nothing to the casino especially on a busy day like today.

MGM Grand the General Manager's Office

Vincent Benedict was enjoying a cup of fine red wine while going over today's report. It wasn't just any wine, It was Château Cheval Blanc 1947. The bottle cost him nearly $500,000 but he did not mind because he loved it. To be fair he did not like the wine that much, Vincent just loved the fact he could afford it.

Vincent was a first generation entrepreneur. His parents just had regular jobs getting by paycheck to paycheck. However, he did not want that to be his fate and wanted to be somebody worth mentioning. He arrived in Las Vegas without a dime in his pocket. He started working as a valet driver, parking cars for rich people. He worked his way up at the casino from Valet to Dealer and then to Pit Boss, and then Floor Manager and eventually General Manager of the MGM Grand.

In Vincent's hands, the MGM Grand flourished, stampeding over its rivals and establishing its place as the number one Casino in Las Vegas. Now Vincent was 65 years old and also a minority shareholder of MGM Grand. He owned 40% of the Casino and Resort making him a billionaire.

As he read over the report, He frowned as he got to the end. Vincent picked up the phone and called his secretary. "Cathy get Robert in here." Robert was the Casino Floor Manager.

As Robert walked in, he saw the frown on Vincent's face and he hoped he was not the reason for that frown. "Yes, sir I heard you were looking for me. What can I help you with?" Robert asked nervously.

"Is this true? Is it really the kid from Oklahoma?" Vincent asked while watching the footage on his TV. He had all the cameras hooked up to his room so that he can watch the footage anytime. He was watching a Hispanic boy playing Blackjack; The boy was obviously cheating. He just kept on winning, However, nobody could figure out how he was cheating.

"I think so, sir. The face is different, clearly he is wearing a disguise. However, the footage is proof by itself. Comparing it with the footage from the casinos in Oklahoma it is obviously the same person. " Robert replied while wiping the sweat of his forehead. He knew just how much Vincent hated cheaters. However, he had never seen anybody that was this good.

"Next time he comes, invite him to your office and have security take him to the back office." Vincent decided to teach this cheater a lesson. He hated cheaters mostly because he did not like other people taking advantage of him. He was the boss at this casino and nobody could mess with him and get away with it.

"But sir he is not winning that much. It is under a moderate limit. Not to mention, he is attracting a large crowd and promoting the casino. Maybe we should leave him alone?" Robert tried to reason with Vincent. Vincent's aggressiveness has been too much and has been negatively affecting the casino more that Vincent will ever admit. Vincent knew how to run a casino and did lead the MGM Grand into its peak; however, recently the casino has been on the decline and Vincent has lost his magic touch. The Board of Directors wanted to hand over the casino to someone else. However, Vincent was using his influence to convince the shareholders otherwise.

"This is my Casino, I run this place. If I want to promote the casino then I will hire a real celebrity to do it. Not let some wetback come in here and rob me blind. Just do what I say, don't try to teach me how to run a casino" Vincent yelled. He knew Robert wanted him gone so he could be the new General Manager. However, Vincent was not going to let the throne go for as long as he was alive.

"You just wait brat, next time you step into my casino you will regret ever coming to Las Vegas" Vincent declared under his breath.

The next day Michael woke up ready to earn some more money. He did not plan on visiting the MGM Grand too much. He knew Vegas casinos were much more aggressive than the casinos in Oklahoma. So he decided to just go to a casino for two days before going to a new one.

He drove to the Casino in his Wrx Sti. He really liked his Sti because it was his first car; He earned the money by himself and therefore the car meant much more to him. As he pulled in to the casino he headed to the restaurant first to grab some breakfast before he started gambling.

Truthfully he could eat from the mountains of luxury food he had in his inventory, however, he enjoyed the dining experience and the restaurants at the casinos were the only restaurants he was not banned from.

He ordered a croissant and danish waffles. As he was drinking some coffee he noticed someone in a manager's uniform heading towards his table.

"Good afternoon sir, My name is Robert. I am the Casino Manager here at MGM Grand. Do you mind if I joined you for breakfast?" Robert asked while taking a seat without waiting for the answer.

"No, I do not mind Robert please take a seat. So to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Michael could see security guards blocking the exit so he could tell where this conversation was going. Honestly, he was nervous; but he was not afraid for his life. He still had an entire armory in his inventory; however, that would be the last case scenario because he did not want to be labeled as a terrorist.

"Oh, I just wanted to meet the King of Gambling who has come visited us all the way from Oklahoma. My boss would also like to meet you. Let us have breakfast first. I have already called him, he will be here shortly and we can go to his office." Robert replied while giving a vague response.

Michael did not want to make a scene so he ate breakfast while exchanging pleasantries with Robert. Robert tried to get him to spill more personal information however, Michael's lips were sealed.

After a while, they finished breakfast and Michael was escorted by the security to the Back of the Casino.