Feeling the sting of his losses, Stark stood up and called on Happy and his bodyguards to head towards the surveillance room of Caesar's Palace. He wanted to see exactly how he had lost.
Led by the manager, Stark walked into the surveillance room and immediately saw that annoying William laughing and chatting with the old guy, Smith, while watching the surveillance footage.
Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, Smith stood up with a smile to greet Stark, while William, grinning, stared at the bad luck curse hovering over Stark's head.
Releasing his mental power to lift the bad luck curse from Stark, William extended his hand, "Good morning, Mr. Stark."
Stark merely nodded at Smith, completely ignoring William's outstretched hand, and addressed Smith, "Mr. Smith, I would like to see the surveillance footage from last night."
Old Smith nodded with a smile, showing no sign of displeasure, and said, "Of course, Stark, that is your right."
"Please, follow me," Old Smith led Stark to the monitoring station and began to introduce the poker table they used last night. He explained, "For fairness, the table you used last night is a professional poker tournament table. Each player's seat has a camera, and every hand you played can be displayed here. For fairness, we also have cameras under your seats, on the chairs, and even focused on your upper bodies. I assure you the game was fair and just."
After explaining this, Smith noticed Stark nodding. These details were already mentioned to Stark and William before the game started. They also had signal-blocking devices on-site, which Happy and the bodyguards had checked, and Jarvis had found no issues with the surveillance, so Stark had no doubts in this regard.
Smith instructed his subordinates to play the video from the beginning. William and Smith remained silent; they had already watched it once before. When Stark arrived, the two were rewatching it, with Smith listening to his subordinates' analysis and William's self-praise.
Smith instructed two professional card players to explain to Stark and sat quietly by his side, accompanying him as he watched.
The more Stark watched, the darker his face became. This time, it seemed his luck had truly abandoned him. Listening to the analysis from the hotel's professional card players and looking at the statistical data provided by the hotel analysts, Stark understood that he had lost fair and square.
William's cards were 75% better than his own, and when he had good cards, William's were also decent. Stark's expressions, mouth movements, fingers, and even his heels had slight movements, especially when his heel moved, causing the red pocket square in his suit jacket pocket to move.
The video repeatedly showed William's expressionless stare at these small movements of Stark. Initially, William would randomly follow a few hands, but later he always folded. To avoid revealing his weakness to Stark, William deliberately let him win a few hands.
Most critically, Stark had a habit of drinking or eating snacks, playing with his fingers, or staring at the community cards when he had good cards.
Once or twice, even three or four times might not mean much, but when the analysts compiled all the videos of Stark's bluffs or attempts to lure William into going all-in, these small actions became glaringly obvious.
Watching the video of his own glaring weaknesses, Stark blushed. He was arrogant and proud, but not someone who couldn't accept defeat. Even with Jarvis's help, he couldn't beat William, leaving him with no grounds to complain.
But the thought of losing $4 billion in just four hours made his heart bleed, and he said unnaturally, "Alright, consider yourself lucky this time. I hope we can have a rematch next time." Stark decided to upgrade Jarvis immediately, input all the cards from this game into the program for analysis, so he could win back his losses next time.
William smiled at the stubborn Stark and shook his head. Seeing Stark's face darkening, William said, "Sorry, I wasn't mocking you. Stark, although you are one of the smartest people in the world, you can never beat me at cards."
Hearing William wasn't mocking him but instead praising him as one of the smartest people in the world (though Stark thought the "one of" part should be removed), he was still pleasantly surprised by this genius's compliment, though he quickly became wary.
Seeing Stark's face lighten a bit, William pointed to his own head and continued, "I can remember anything I want to notice. You know how good I am at archery; when playing cards, I can even notice the slightest movement of your pupils. So, no one can win against me in their first game."
Before William could finish, Stark laughed.
"You talk too much. I get it now. Your winning has nothing to do with all that. You're just trying to lure me into playing another game," Stark stared at William and said, "Using technology worth tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars to lure me once is enough. Goodbye, no, let's never meet again."
Seeing Stark not taking the bait, William regretted it but understood that tricking Stark once was already an achievement.
However, William wasn't ready to let Stark go that easily. "Maybe we should go somewhere for a drink and talk about the player project. What do you say, Stark?"
"Not interested. That small thing doesn't interest me anymore. I can design a better player than what you have with just a little time and effort," Stark looked at William and couldn't help but taunt, "Some people can't even drink. Do you want to watch us drink?"
"Sorry, in England, we can drink at 18. My favorite is whiskey, and I just won $4 billion, so the fine isn't an issue. Right, Mr. Stark?"
Seeing the two about to argue again, Old Smith quickly intervened, "Alright, gentlemen, let's be civil. Let's not forget who we are. We are billionaires. Drinking is not a big deal, let's move on. Come on, Tony, we haven't met in years, keep this old guy company."
Seeing Stark remain silent, Old Smith smiled and said, "I'll take you to my private wine cellar. I have quite a few aged whiskeys there. I think there are some rare Macallan vintages too."
Hearing about the rare Macallan vintages, Stark eagerly said, "Let's go. It would be great if you have the 1962 vintage."
As they walked past the lobby downstairs, William suddenly spotted two familiar faces, George and Peter, sitting at a table.
Seeing these two troublemakers, William couldn't help but wonder what they were doing here. Was something about to happen?
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Old Smith looked at William staring at two ordinary people and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, William, do you know them?"
"Hehe, let's go," William ignored the nervous stares of George and Peter and signaled to Old Smith that he was fine as they walked away.
After arriving at Old Smith's mansion in Las Vegas, William and Old Smith apologized to Stark and stepped aside to make a phone call.
Old Smith and Stark exchanged a glance, understanding that it had something to do with the two men William had seen earlier.
Old Smith called over a subordinate and whispered instructions, while Stark was busy on his phone.
Walking to the poolside, William lay on a deck chair and dialed the church's number.
"Hey, billionaire, what's the occasion for calling me? Just won a fortune, shouldn't you be enjoying women and wine? If you have a money-making opportunity, you don't even think of me. Are we still friends, William?"
"Hehe, I have a money-making opportunity right now. I'm just not sure if you're interested," William figured out what was going on as soon as he arrived at Old Smith's house.
This was Las Vegas. Seeing George and Peter and thinking about Caesar's Palace, William quickly realized what was going to happen.
"What kind of money-making opportunity, William? Don't try to fool me. If there's a good opportunity, why would you tell me? You have the money and the manpower. What do you need me for? If it's about intelligence, I can only say I'm sorry."
"Hehe, I guarantee it's unrelated to your profession or the government. Just tell me if you want to make some unexpected cash."
"Sorry, I'm a government man. I'm looking forward to retiring peacefully. Find someone else, William. Goodbye."
William lay on the deck chair with a smile, snapped his fingers, and soon a servant from Smith's house brought over a glass of iced lemonade. He relaxed on the deck chair, sipping his drink.
Meanwhile, Old Smith and Stark, waiting for news, didn't rush William back. Stark said, "Mr. Smith, let's not wait for William. I'm more interested in the rare Macallan vintage now."
"Hehe, no problem. Let's enjoy it first. We can have the servants bring some to William later," Old Smith looked at William lounging by the pool and shook his head, "Looks like William won't be coming in anytime soon."
Lying on the deck chair for over ten minutes, William's phone rang, just as expected. Seeing an unfamiliar landline number, he answered and heard the church's voice.
William smiled and asked, "Now we can talk?"
"Of course. Better be cautious when it's about money. So, what's the opportunity? I knew you wouldn't feel secure unless you dragged me into it personally," the church said helplessly.
He knew William wouldn't believe his story about hacking the special operations unit for that $5 million. Calling him now was to personally involve him, so even if they weren't on the same side, William could hold something over him.
The church sighed internally. He genuinely wanted to retire, but William didn't believe him. If he didn't join now, William wouldn't trust him.
"You don't need to know the process. You just need to rob a group of people along with Brian and the others. Afterwards, each of you will get $10 million in cash, used bills with no trace."
"$10 million each, in used bills?" The church hesitated before whispering, "Are you crazy? You want to rob a casino? Do you want the entire upper echelon of Las Vegas hunting you down? You're a billionaire. Why would you do that?"
"Hehe, don't worry, I'm not stupid enough to rob a casino. I assure you we won't be in trouble. Someone else will help us get the money out. All you need to do is wait and grab the cash when it's handed to us. Don't tell me you old guys can't handle a few thieves, swindlers, con men, and hackers. Buddy, change your phone and wait for my call."
William didn't care what the church thought. He was determined to involve the church this time. He couldn't trust the church's intentions otherwise.
He then called Brian, Barney, and Christmas from New York. With these four experts, William felt assured.
He also called Felix at the Swiss National Bank, instructing him to have a few brokers on standby.
After making all the arrangements, William walked into Old Smith's house with a smile.
He found Old Smith and Stark happily enjoying a bottle of 1962 Macallan whiskey.
"All set," Old Smith smiled and poured William a glass of whiskey, handing it to him.
"Thanks," William took the glass, sniffed it, and took a sip. "This is really good. I should buy more Macallan whiskey on the market."
"I'm glad you like it, William. I'll get straight to the point. Stark is getting a bit impatient. What do you think of a partnership between me and Stark? I have good government connections, and Stark has strong ties with the military. How about we collaborate on the player project?"
"Hehe, Mr. Smith, I'm not short on money. This player is a small project. It doesn't cost much to produce and promote. I think I'll handle it myself. Thanks for your offer."
Old Smith remained calm and said, "William, you're oversimplifying things. Producing is easy, but selling it is another story. You can't monopolize the profits. The easiest way is to ensure your player doesn't enter the Americas for a year or two. Then, your player won't stand a chance in the Americas. Time and market are crucial."
"Hehe, if it comes to that, I can always license the patent. Though it'll be less profitable, it'll save me more trouble. Competition will make me safer. Besides, I'm not obliged to partner with you in the USA."
Hearing this, Old Smith was at a loss for words.
Facing someone like William, who'd rather license the patent than let others take advantage, Old Smith could only drink in frustration. "Tony, you give it a try. William doesn't seem to value a hotelier like me."
Both William and Stark smirked slightly. They indeed looked down on him for being in the gambling industry.
As long as it wasn't a mortal feud, money could solve everything. So Stark asked William, "How do you want to cooperate?"
"Hehe, Stark, how much do you think my technology is worth? The patents I've released are just a small part. The technology in my head spans media, digital broadcasting, television, and mobile communications."
"Enough, no need to elaborate. I understand the technology. You've only registered the patents first. Other decoding formats exist too. If your demands are too high or the process takes too long, manufacturers will switch to other formats. The value of the MP3 format will plummet. Now is the best time to sell your technology. What do you want?"
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