The Tyrant Billionaire

A few days later, Michael flew from New York to Las Vegas, where Hardy personally picked him up at the airport. The two met with a warm embrace.

"Hardy, thank you for your help with the Corleone family," Michael said sincerely.

"Mr. Vito has already thanked me," Hardy replied with a smile.

"No, this is my personal thanks. I know how dangerous the situation was for our family. Without your help, the other families might not have stopped and negotiated," Michael said.

Hardy smiled, "Let's not talk about that. Come, let me show you our Flamingo Casino."

The two arrived at the Flamingo Casino. The luxurious casino hall, rows of gaming tables, lavishly decorated hotel, shaded palm trees, and a small lake—having such a lake in Nevada is truly rare.

"It's very beautiful here. No wonder it cost so much. What are your plans for running it, Hardy?" Michael asked.

Hardy repeated the business strategy he had discussed with Bill to Michael.

Improve the supporting facilities, enhance the play ability of the place, turn it into a leisure destination, and increase publicity with advertisements in newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and television.

Increase flights and buses, with tickets redeemable for casino chips at the Flamingo. Add more engaging activities in the casino to attract people, such as timed draws and gambling tournaments.

"I have already contacted the construction company. The person in charge came over and said it would be fully completed in three months, meaning the casino could officially open in early October. The October weather in Las Vegas is very pleasant, a perfect time for the grand opening."

"I just established an airline company, that has started trial operations. I'm planning to add a Los Angeles to Las Vegas route and buy 20 buses to run long distance passenger services between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with buses every half hour."

Michael was filled with admiration. Hardy's planning was meticulous, covering all aspects he could think of and mobilizing such vast resources, like increasing flight routes, which is not something an ordinary person can do. But Hardy, with his own airline, could easily arrange it.

Michael thought for a moment and said, "Hardy, have you ever thought about renaming the casino?"

Hardy was slightly taken aback. "What do you have in mind?"

"I heard that the name Flamingo originally came from Sigel's nickname for his girlfriend. Now that the casino is ours, I think it should have a new name," Michael suggested.

"What name do you want to change it to?"

"Hardy Casino, I think it sounds better than Flamingo," Michael said with a smile.

Hardy was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter.

In the afternoon, the two went to the Las Vegas city government's industrial and commercial administration department to confirm the new shares. The shares of the original three families were all transferred to Michael, who now held 39% of the casino's shares.

Hardy originally had 18% of the shares, with Sigel having mortgaged 43% of his shares to him. Now that Sigel is dead and the debt still unpayed, the shares automatically belonged to Hardy. After reconfirmation, Hardy now owned 61% of the casino's shares.

The management registration names were also changed, officially renaming it to "Hardy Hotel."

From then on, the casino was officially owned by Hardy and Michael.

Back at the casino, Michael handed Hardy a check. "Hardy, this is the money for buying the shares."

Hardy took the check and saw that it was for three million dollars. "Then I won't be polite. This money will be used for the remaining construction and the opening. When the casino makes money, this amount will be repaid."

The next day, people from HD Films arrived, with the director, cinematographer, and lighting all in place. They also brought dozens of actors signed by HD Agency, who were very excited to be featured in this project despite having no fame.

Hardy had previously called Ava Gardner and Hedy Lamarr, inviting them to come and shoot the promotional video. Both dropped their current work to come over.

The two top Hollywood actresses, dressed in beautiful gowns, introduced Hardy Hotel in front of the camera, choosing the most beautiful shots to make the casino hotel look even more luxurious.

At night, neon lights flashed, and the casino was full of handsome men and beautiful women, with people constantly gambling and celebrating. Someone won a few thousand dollars in one go, and the people around joined in the celebration.

Beautiful women, gambling, and money—these elements all boost people's adrenaline.

In two days, the team took hundreds of photos and over three hours of video, which would be edited and used for advertisements in magazines and on TV.

During these two days, Michael watched everything, growing more and more impressed with Hardy. He found that the shots and presentation styles, guided by Hardy, were more eye catching than what the director had envisioned. He wondered where Hardy got all these ideas.

If Hardy knew Michael's thoughts, he would definitely tell him that after watching a few terabytes of videos, anyone could at least do this much.

During the shoot, Hardy arranged for Ava Gardner and Hedy Lamarr to stay at Hardy Hotel, but on different floors to avoid disturbing each other with noise.

After the shoot, the two beautiful actresses left, Ava returned to her film crew, and the filming team also returned to Los Angeles.

Hardy was also preparing to leave but had to make arrangements before going.

The casino operations manager is Upton 42 years old who was previously responsible for the Austrian's gang McKinsey Club. He has extensive experience in casino operations and is a very capable person. Hardy had him come over early to get familiar with the environment and oversee the project until it was fully completed and successfully opened.

Andy was assigned to arrange for several accountants and cashiers here. The head of casino security is Rossi, one of the four major legion commanders of the Los City Company, with fifty men under him. HD Security Las Vegas head Robert Drew retained fifty security personnel, with the rest returning to Los Angeles.