Chapter 195

“Ugh…!”

Just a few days ago, I clearly warned against the idea of playing strange pranks, so it’s impossible that Aaron sent someone like that.

Moreover, since I was given a card with the implication that I could use it freely… If I just play moderately, wouldn’t the urgent side come looking for me first? …Or not!

While staring at the hunting man disappearing into the crowd, I picked up one of the neatly arranged blue chips in front of me and gazed at it with the feeling that I had made a sufficient effort.

Overall, it boasted a blue sheen, with the number 100,000 beautifully engraved in the center on the plastic coin.

It had a smooth texture, and even just looking at it stirred my heart in excitement, reminiscent of a striking trump pattern.

Ah, isn’t it natural that in this casino, the more you have, the better, since it’s a symbol of wealth?

I know that chips were used in games based on their shapes and colors, but I’m sure the standards must have differed significantly from this.

This little thing is categorized similarly to citizenship levels, changing in increments of ten from the yellow chip worth one thousand credits to the black chip worth ten million.

The low floor gaming areas are mostly filled with yellow and green chips, while high floors typically have at least blue or red chips. Looking at the ecosystem where the occasional eye-catching black chips roll madly around, it seems like a well-defined system.

Or maybe… Is it because electronic currency is so prevalent in this world?

The sheer act of feeling the weight of money in your hands seems to enhance the thrill of gambling. After all, a stack of chips in front of you is far more impressive than a vague number displayed in a cyberware.

Ping…! Tap!

I flicked the chip I had placed on my index finger upwards and effortlessly caught it as it fell.

Considering that a small mistake could mean a big loss either forward or backward, my current condition and hand feel are quite good. Very good… good.

…Huh? You’re questioning how I’m posing like this when the only card game I’ve properly played is the basic Spider solitaire on my computer?

Hey! Since it’s my first time, I should savor the atmosphere carefully!

– Then do you have a specific game in mind? You seem unable to contain your excitement since earlier. –

“Well, I’ve got something in mind… Ah, right. Should I check the guide before moving?”

I returned the arranged chips to the chip case, asked Zero who was eagerly wondering if it was time to move, and put the brakes on my legs that were ready to spring up at any moment. It might not be a bad idea to calm down my excitement for a moment.

I adjusted the cyberware screen that had blocked all useless pop-ups and looked through the piled messages log to find documents and files from the Rendezvous Casino.

Welcome greetings… No, standards for high floor exclusive services… I’ll read that later. Oh, found it. A guide to casino facilities.

Like an illustrated signboard set up in an amusement park, a cute, deformative layout of the internal gaming areas unfolded, easy enough for a fool to recognize at a glance. I hadn’t experienced it firsthand, but it felt like the entrance of my overstuffed bag had burst open. …Ahem!

[ Blackjack: How about trying your fortune with humanity’s most beloved hand game? ]

[ Baccarat: Did you know? In the past, there were professional players who made a living from Baccarat. What’s stopping you now? Go ahead and challenge it! ]

[ Community Poker, Texas Hold’em Rules: Read your enemy. If that’s difficult, you might as well pray to the goddess of victory! Once chips hit the table, they belong to no predetermined owner, you know? ]

“Oh….”

As I aligned the game list, familiar names popped up continuously, ones I’d heard at least once before.

Even without the short descriptions added by the casino to entice guests or calculating the expected profit from winning, it was a feeling akin to seeing a mountain of chips pouring down just from knowing their names.

When I occasionally turned my head towards the cheer and almost scream-like high-pitched sounds erupting from the spectators, I caught a glimpse of that mountain of chips pouring into the central betting area of the table, so perhaps I was already optimally primed to enjoy gambling.

Of course, there were also games like Roulette, known as the “Queen of the Casino,” and dice games like Tai Sai or Craps that periodically produced clinking sounds to capture attention.

Diverse games like Keno or Big Wheel, which immediately inform on-the-spot lottery results and drive bettors into a frenzy, craved for my interest, but… since the seed money wasn’t out of my pocket, I wouldn’t mind trying all of them just once!

People tend to prefer the familiar when given options, and reminding me that Anastasia Valentine was from a culture crazy about gacha, my eyes gravitated towards the bottom of the list.

I became fixated on a high-risk hope crusher that leads players to play with no dealers or staff present, typically resulting in their own bankruptcy.

[ Slot Machine (Wheel of Fortune): Pull the lever and align the symbols. And hit the Jackpot! It’s rare to find something this simple that you can enjoy for a long time. ]

“…Truly, there’s nothing quite like this for testing my theory.”

With a start!

There was nothing more to see. I stood up and confidently walked towards a high-stakes machine on the high floor, much like a hero heading to face a demon king or a warrior settling a score with a long-time nemesis.

Zero, who moved like lightning, naturally followed behind me holding the chip case.

– Typically, each slot machine has a set return rate regulated by the central system, making it difficult to win if you choose the wrong machine… Are you sure it’s fine to sit anywhere? Just in case you plan to use your abilities…. –

“Pfft! Who cheats in a fair match? No, but isolating myself while everyone else struggles would be quite amusing. However, right now, I need that subtly unfair probability.”

Sitting casually in front of an empty slot machine, I skimmed the winning patterns displayed on the holographic interface in front of me and ignored them, reminding myself that I wouldn’t be swayed by the results of each game.

If there are many sevens, it’s a gain, but if cherries aren’t included, it’s an invalid payout, and BAR only pays out in multiples if aligned…. All meaningless assumptions, merely wishes for guests to know while playing.

If I won, it would be returned automatically, otherwise, who knows.

While I did say it was okay, Zero’s point was valid.

Like the probability-based gambling in the online games I played before getting absorbed in Neo Haven, it’s also true that the results of slot machines are determined by the probability model set by the operator and the random numbers generated the moment the lever is pulled or button is pressed.

The flashy effects and dazzling spins are all tricks of the eye, and the odds for players are infinitely low, so even if I keep digging, the chances of diamonds appearing in this abandoned mine are nearly nonexistent.

In other words, without the possibility of someone’s personal judgment or decision intervening, one can clearly understand the existence and effectiveness of stats just by recording the return rate set by the casino, my luck, and the number of trials!

“Ah? I have to choose how many credits to put into each game? This is a dilemma… Once I choose, I want to stick with that setting until the end.”

But suddenly, I hesitated, and my arm that had risen to pull the lever stopped.

I was about to dive into the main game while curiously fidgeting with the machine, which was kindly equipped with a scanner to allow for on-the-spot payments in case of frustration.

Perhaps in an attempt to flaunt the superiority of the 23rd-century slot machines, I faced a cheeky demand to finish various settings before starting to play.

“Um….”

Well, I broadly understood what Bet meant, but what language was “Allow blanks on Pay Line” from?

Increasing multipliers through deleting wilds? Rearranging free game odds upon scatter removal…? What is all of this? Seriously.

– …Ahsa? You’re not well-versed with slot machines, or did you have a preference because you know them in detail? –

“No, not at all? It’s just that the slumbering spirit of a gambler summoned me here… Ah! Enough of the jokes, I don’t know! Just go ahead and spin with a moderately expensive preset that’s widely used!”

Clunk—!

Beep… Beep! Ding ding, ding ding ding… …

If I delayed any longer, I sensed that Zero would casually order dopamine addiction treatment drugs by the box, so I hurriedly initiated it. I hoped the data substitution for the results would lessen the nagging.

The input amount was 10 blue chips, totaling 1 million credits. Each game’s bet was 10,000 credits, meaning exactly 100 trials in succession.

Did you know? When a character with a 1% appearance probability attempts precisely 100 draws in a mobile game, the chances of appearing at least once are only 63%?

That’s how vastly different probability and statistics are from human intuition, and I wanted to highlight that expecting a low possibility in decimal points during independent trials of 100 is ridiculous.

Thus, originally, I intended for this machine’s spin, which would take less than 10 minutes, to finish, then to put in another million credits, and if that ran out, use my debit card for my little experiment.

Why am I suddenly saying this…?

……So, about ten minutes later, not only was my capital doubled, but after thirty minutes, it multiplied to five times more.

I wanted to share this tale to claim it was a stunning coincidence that two employees wearing sunglasses clung to my back. Hmm.

““…….””

“W-What?”

I swear to the unknown divine being that exists, I did not commit any fraud. Really, dammit.