"Lisa, how old are you?" Eric asked, holding a stack of complimentary chips worth $10,000, heading towards the casino accompanied by a seductive secretary.
Lisa frowned slightly. "Mr. Cooper, asking a woman's age isn't the best habit» but then she smiled. "But since you're so young and charming, I'll tell you: I'm 28, unmarried, and I have two children."
"Wow, you wouldn't know it by looking at your figure. You look like you're in your twenties» Eric remarked in surprise. He was telling the truth, as the girl in front of him was very attractive.
Lisa smiled. "I know. Otherwise, how would I have become Mr. Kerkorian's secretary?"
"What would you like to try? Poker, craps, roulette, or slot machines?"
Eric remembered scenes from the TV show "Friends» filmed in Las Vegas during the fifth season, and wondered which casino it had been.
"Let's do craps, see if I can pull off a Monica."
"Are you a fan of 'Friends'?"
"Of course, I'm a superfan."
"Then you definitely have to try, because that episode was filmed right here."
"Really?" Eric was surprised.
Lisa nodded, "Yes, I tell every guest that."
"Haha» Eric laughed. "Then let's start with snake eyes."
At the craps table, Eric rolled the dice, and they stopped on two ones.
Lisa tilted her head slightly and said with a smile, "Not bad luck."
"Now two twos» Eric said, rolling the dice again. They stopped on two twos.
The dealer pushed a stack of chips towards him, "Would you like to continue?"
"Of course, now two threes."
Without looking, Eric rolled the dice, and again, they came up threes.
"Ooo!" came the excited exclamations around. Eric was surprised himself.
"Maybe I am the God of Gamblers? There was a movie by that name in Hong Kong, I think."
Lisa looked at him in amazement, "What luck!"
Eric shrugged, "Then let's continue, two fours."
The crowd around started cheering Eric on, and the dice again showed fours.
Now even the dealer was looking at him suspiciously, as if to say, "Are you cheating?"
But Lisa, being a secretary to a big boss, knew that was impossible.
The cheer of the crowd attracted more people, surrounding Eric and Lisa.
"Would you like to continue?" asked the dealer.
Eric looked at Lisa. She nodded without hesitation, "Of course, we're on a roll!"
Eric lifted Lisa's chin slightly, "Alright, girl, what's next?"
"Of course, two fives. I think everyone wants to see that."
"Five! Five! Five!" the crowd began to chant.
Eric rolled the dice, and they showed two fives.
The crowd roared with excitement. Eric himself remained calm—after all, he had already made $1.1 billion. But the crowd was ecstatic.
The dealer handed him the dice, and Eric, playing with them, asked, "One more time?"
Lisa winked, "Let's go for the last time, two sixes?"
"As you wish, madam. If I win, all these chips will be yours as a gift."
Lisa was visibly excited, as the next bet could increase her winnings to $40,000.
Despite working for Kerkorian, Lisa did not earn millions. In fact, her employer had six such secretaries, each performing different tasks.
The true personal secretary and mistress were separate, as no smart person would keep their mistress in the office.
So $40,000 would be a significant amount for Lisa, equal to her half-year's salary.
The dice, spinning under the watchful eyes of everyone present, finally settled on double sixes. Lisa threw herself into Eric's arms, wrapping her hands around his neck.
Eric heard a whisper in his ear: "Let's go somewhere, I'm burning up!" "To your place?" "No, I can't wait that long!"
Instructing the dealer to cash in the chips, they headed to the restroom, where they gave in to their desires, as is customary in Las Vegas.
Coming out of the restroom, Eric was clearly satisfied. He no longer wanted to gamble and decided to go with Lisa to the theater to watch the opera "Don Giovanni."
When the opera was almost over, there was still no news from his father. "Could the deal have fallen through?" Eric started to worry and dragged Lisa back to the restroom. "I need to relieve some tension!"
During their second visit to the restroom, Lisa suddenly stopped: "That's my boss calling. He's inviting us to dinner. It seems your father and he have reached an agreement." "Let's hope so!" Eric muttered.
...
On the plane, Charlie Cooper was beaming with joy: "I told you, Kerkorian doesn't care about movies; he's only interested in the hotel business of MGM." "And since we've known each other for over ten years, everything went smoothly. He had just one condition." "What was it?" "If we decide to sell MGM, he has the first right of refusal. I agreed."
Eric nodded to himself. Clearly, Kerkorian didn't believe they could manage MGM effectively. After all, his father had worked there for years, and MGM was still in a dire state. From Kerkorian's perspective, they had probably just found someone to bankroll them. But soon enough, MGM would return to him and become a money-laundering tool again.
"But I also set my own condition: the $2.8 billion will be paid in two stages, first $2 billion, and the remaining $800 million over two years. That's our starting capital." Eric laughed: "While this might seem like financial trickery, I won't give the banks or Kerkorian a chance."