บท 189: Chapter 189: Becoming a Shareholder of Stark Industries
At Caesars Palace, preparations were already underway. The two men walked into the VIP room and sat down face to face. Stark said, "Alright, what game do you want to play?"
"Haha, of course, Texas Hold'em. But wouldn't that be too difficult for you? How about we just play high card?"
Those who could enter the VIP room were people of status. Watching Stark being mocked by William until his face turned red, everyone couldn't help but laugh. It seemed Tony Stark really had no friends here.
Once everyone in the VIP room was seated, the dealer for this game surprised everyone. It turned out to be the chairman of Caesars Palace, an elderly man in his sixties.
"Good evening, gentlemen. I am Smith, the chairman of Caesars Palace. Due to the special nature of this game, I need to confirm with both of you where your funds will be handled and which banks will be involved."
This time, William spoke before Stark, "Swiss National Bank."
Smith then looked at Stark, who thought for a moment and nodded. To him, the Swiss National Bank was no different from any other major bank. No bank would openly cheat a billionaire arms dealer like him. Don't be fooled; Tony Stark was not yet the merciful man he would become after his life-changing experiences.
"Okay, since the banks are confirmed, the second question is, how much are your funds?"
Hearing this, Stark chuckled and said to William, "You tell me, kid. Let's not play too big, or you might lose everything and have no milk to drink at home."
"Hehe," "Haha," the spectators were already enjoying the banter between the two, even before the game began.
William looked at the contemptuous Stark and thought it over. To make Stark take the bait, he'd need something tempting. Deciding to go all out, he said, "Three billion dollars in cash and all the patents of my new MP3 valued at one billion dollars, for a total of four billion dollars against an equivalent value of Stark Industries' stock."
"Boom!" Hearing William's words, everyone stood up in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
"God, the Devonshire family are all madmen," Smith exclaimed, then sternly said, "Mr. William Devonshire, are you sure you're serious? Once Mr. Stark confirms, the game will proceed, and there will be no turning back. If you back out, the entire upper echelon of the USA will boycott any of your business activities. You'll become the most unwelcome person in the country."
William was surprised to see that Smith seemed to have had dealings with his father, Henry. However, he ignored Smith's warning and smiled at the gaping Stark. "Agreed?"
Playing for such high stakes? This put Stark in a difficult position. He had expected a few billion at most, not this madness. Did he have such a grudge against this kid? Most of Stark's wealth was tied up in stocks and real estate, not liquid cash. He couldn't continue without putting up shares.
William didn't rush Stark. If Stark agreed, it had to be his own decision to avoid any future resentment.
The audience held their breath, watching Stark. If he agreed, this would be the biggest game in history.
Stark, cornered, thought for a long time before saying, "I can put up the stock, but the voting rights remain mine. If you want to sell, you can only sell to me, and I'll buy at market price."
"Boom!" The audience erupted in excitement. They didn't expect Stark to agree.
However, Stark wasn't stupid. He was eyeing William's MP3 patents. Over the past few months, William's lawyer, Anthony, had been continuously registering MP3 patents. With hundreds already registered, many people were becoming envious. William's valuation of one billion dollars seemed like a steal to Stark, who believed he could turn it into one hundred billion if handled correctly. Plus, patents could earn royalties for twenty years.
William, seeing Stark take the bait, smiled. "You can keep the voting rights, but we must have equal rights per share. You can't dilute my shares. Our agreement will be void if you do. The term is three years, enough time for you to prepare, right, Mr. Stark?"
Stark thought it over and nodded. "No problem."
"And if I want to sell, you have the first right of refusal. If you decline, I can sell to others, but you have one month to respond. If you don't, I'll assume you waived your right."
Focused on William's patents, Stark touched his phone, confident that with the help of the early AI version of JARVIS, he wouldn't lose to William. He nodded, "Agreed."
With terms settled, the bank and lawyers came in. It took over an hour to finalize the contracts.
Once everything was ready, old Smith asked one last time, "Any objections to me being the dealer?"
William and Stark shook their heads. "The game begins," Smith announced.
Hearing the game start, everyone was on edge. Unfortunately for Stark, the outcome was far from what he had hoped.
Four hours later, at 7 a.m., Stark, looking somewhat disheveled, walked out of the VIP room with the help of his head of security, Happy. He couldn't understand how he had lost forty billion dollars worth of Stark Industries shares to William in just four hours. His ownership dropped from 32% to 28%, making William the seventh-largest shareholder of Stark Industries. This private ownership meant William's influence would significantly increase in three years.
Furious, Stark couldn't help but consider the consequences of losing those 4% shares. Back in his suite, he lay on his bed, replaying the game in his mind, unable to comprehend how his luck had been so terrible from the start. Had he used up all his luck winning in the main hall earlier?
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