"This is annoying."
I muttered, collecting the chips that had just poured out of the slot machine.
"Why? That's over 10 million won."
I glared at Maru, who was already calculating the money, and sighed.
"It's not fun."
The thrill of gambling came from the unexpected victory, the triumph over the machine or other players.
But my intuition was ruining everything.
It was too easy. I knew when to pull the lever at the slot machines, when to hit or stand in blackjack.
If this were the early days of my business, I would have enjoyed making money like this. But now, I had too much money to be excited about such small amounts.
"This wasn't the plan."
I had come here to relieve stress by spending money, but I was getting more stressed instead.
I could use my intuition to win a fortune, but that would be suicidal.
I had a fake ID and had taken precautions, but if I attracted too much attention, I could become a target of the Korean government.
The punishment for gambling overseas wasn't severe, but I had too many skeletons in my closet to risk it.
Maru, oblivious to my frustration, was cheering excitedly as he played the slot machines.
"Damn it."
I left him and started wandering around the casino.
It was more entertaining to observe the various characters: the gamblers with bloodshot eyes, the call girls flirting with them.
I walked further inside, towards the high-stakes tables.
There were VIP rooms where billions of won changed hands every night, but the tables here weren't exactly small-time either.
The high-stakes tables were surrounded by spectators, and gasps and cheers erupted with every spin of the roulette wheel.
"Ah!"
A groan came from a table surrounded by a large crowd, and I approached it curiously.
It was a roulette table, and five people, one woman and four men, were playing with expressionless faces.
The average bet was $10,000, about 10 million won.
Considering that a single spin of the roulette wheel took less than five minutes, it was an incredibly high-stakes game.
The game continued, and the winners and losers changed constantly, but the players' expressions remained unchanged.
They were losing or winning a year's worth of an average Korean worker's salary in a single spin, but they seemed indifferent.
It was the epitome of upper-class composure.
Anyone could join the game as long as they met the minimum bet, but the high stakes kept most people away. They just watched.
Roulette was a simple game. A dealer spun a small ball on a rotating wheel with numbered slots, and the players bet on where the ball would land.
You could bet on individual numbers, or groups of numbers, or even or odd, or red or black. The payouts varied.
"This looks interesting."
Since you placed your bets before the dealer spun the ball, my intuition wouldn't be as much of an advantage.
I watched the game for a while, learned the rules, and then approached the table with a gleam in my eye.
The spectators looked at me with interest. A new player had joined the table after an hour of the same five people playing.
I was wearing an expensive suit and a watch worth over 100 million won. I might not be as rich as these five, but I wasn't exactly poor either. I puffed out my chest and said,
"Hello, I'm in."
I took out chips worth $2.3 million and placed them on the table.
I had exchanged 2 billion won for $2 million, but I had unintentionally earned another $300,000.
The dealer nodded, and I joined the game.
"Yes! This is what gambling is all about! Nice!"
I was excited to finally find a game where my intuition wasn't an advantage, and I started betting aggressively.
The other five players were spreading their bets to minimize their risk, but I put all $100,000 on a single spot.
My goal was the thrill of the win, the rush of adrenaline when my bet was successful.
Of course, the risk was also high. I won a few times, doubling my money, but after just 30 minutes, my $2.3 million had dwindled to $1.6 million.
The spectators started cheering and applauding as I celebrated my wins with exaggerated reactions, unlike the other players who remained stoic.
"Wow, you're amazing!"
"You're so cool, oppa!"
Some Koreans cheered and whistled when I shouted in Korean.
I waved at them, and they cheered even louder.
Millions of dollars changed hands in this casino every day, so who would care about a measly $2 million? I became even more excited.
The other players glared at me, annoyed by my boisterous behavior, but I was too caught up in the moment to care.
"Hyung, aren't you being too loud? You said we should be careful."
Maru had found me. I smiled and said,
"It's okay. As long as I don't win too much."
I ignored his warning and continued betting.
After just an hour, my $2.3 million had dwindled to $1 million.
"Hyung, let's go. There's always tomorrow."
I looked at my remaining chips and nodded.
"You're right. We can play again tomorrow."
I said goodbye to the dealer and the other players, still frowning at me, and left the table amidst the cheers of the spectators.
"That was fun. Let's do it again tomorrow."
"You looked miserable playing other games, but you enjoyed roulette?"
"It was really fun. The thrill of the gamble…"
Maru frowned.
"But you lost $1.3 million. Aren't you upset?"
"When else would I get to experience this? You're not supposed to think about money when you're having fun. I'm glad we came to Macau."
As we were walking and talking, I saw a man sitting at a slot machine, sighing deeply.
It was a common sight in a casino, so I was about to walk past him when I suddenly felt drawn to the slot machine he was sitting at.
My heart started racing as I approached it.
The man looked at me with a haggard expression.
"You… continue?"
He hesitated and then stood up, shaking his head.
"No."
I sat down at the slot machine as if in a trance and inserted a $5 chip.
"Hyung, what are you doing? Aren't we leaving?"
"No, let me try this one. I have a good feeling about it."
"A good feeling? You're tired, let's just go."
I ignored him and pulled the lever. The slot machine started spinning.
The first image stopped.
"7."
And the second.
"7."
Maru gulped, sensing something unusual. The man who had been sitting there also approached, his eyes bloodshot, watching the last image intently.
And the final image.
"7."
Three sevens in a row. A fanfare erupted throughout the casino.
The words "JACKPOT" and "Congratulations on winning $50 million" appeared on the screen. I finally came to my senses and muttered, my face pale,
"Damn it. I'm screwed."
After a struggle with the man who claimed the jackpot was his, we returned to our hotel room. Maru shouted,
"What have you done?! You said we shouldn't attract attention, and you hit the jackpot? You're basically announcing to the world that you were gambling!"
"I didn't do it on purpose! I just had a good feeling about it! How was I supposed to know I would hit the jackpot?!"
"$50 million is 50 billion won! This is news! If this gets reported, we're in trouble!"
I kicked the bed in frustration.
"Damn it! I should have just walked away."
"You always have to make a scene. What is this?"
I sighed.
"What should we do? If the Korean government investigates us for gambling overseas, we're screwed."
Gambling overseas wasn't the only problem.
Under Korean law, we weren't allowed to take more than $20,000 out of the country.
But I had brought $2 million and gambled it away at the roulette table, even interacting with the spectators.
We had also made countless foreign exchange transactions to establish overseas branches. It didn't make sense that we hadn't been investigated yet.
And if the story of Chunha Trading's meteoric rise in just three years became public, they would investigate our origins and uncover all our illegal activities.
"Damn it! All because of 50 billion won!"
For ordinary people, it would just be a matter of paying a fine. But it was different for me.
Chunha Trading had a lot of cash, but our business was built on a foundation of legal and illegal activities. It was a house of cards.
"What do we do? The jackpot alarm went off in a casino with tens of thousands of people. There's no way to contain this."
I trembled, lost in thought.
Maru, also worried, paced back and forth.
"Let's silence the people who saw me playing roulette. We need to ask Chairman Zhao Yang to track them down. Fortunately, I hit the jackpot with just $5, so we can say I was just a tourist playing slots for fun. It shouldn't be a big problem."
Maru sighed.
"Do you think it's that easy to track down specific people in a casino with tens of thousands of people?"
"We have to try! We have to find them before we leave Macau. It'll be too late after that."
A Korean hitting a $50 million jackpot in Macau.
And then they find out he gambled over $1 million at the roulette table. They'll investigate the source of the funds and find out about Chunha Trading's dividends.
A company distributing 20 billion won in dividends amidst an economic crisis?
It would definitely attract attention.
"And how are you going to claim the jackpot?"
"Ugh."
After the jackpot, I had been escorted to the cashier's counter by casino staff.
They asked for my passport or ID, and I had excused myself, saying I had left it in my hotel room.
I wanted to just forfeit the money, but the Venetian Macao was part of the casino.
They were owned by the same company, so there was no way to escape.
I nervously took out two passports from my pocket.
One was my real passport, and the other was a fake passport Chairman Zhao Yang had given me for emergencies.
"The fake one is too risky. I need to exchange the 50 billion won into Korean currency, and the casino and banks aren't stupid enough to fall for a fake passport. But if I use my real passport, my identity will be revealed."
I looked at Maru.
"Should we just run?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Wouldn't the casino be happy if the winner disappeared after refusing to claim the money?"
Maru shook his head.
"If the winner disappears, they'll be even more suspicious and track you down."
"I guess so. It's not possible, is it?"
After much deliberation, I said,
"There's no other way. Let's try to contain the situation and think of a solution. It might not become a big issue. We'll wait and see."