#730 - Gambler! (2 in 1)

The cowboys in the bar were gently pushed aside, and Usopp took the lead, leading a group of friends into the tavern.

This gym was different from any tavern the Straw Hat Pirates had visited before. The entire tavern hall was brightly lit and extremely bright.

While other small towns were still using kerosene lamps, this agricultural island among the nations had already completely popularized the use of electricity.

Generally speaking, in order to create an atmosphere, pubs often lower the brightness. People are in a dim environment and cannot see each other's faces clearly, so they can chat more unrestrainedly and the atmosphere will be more lively.

But the tavern on Hazelnut Island is different. The bright light makes this tavern more like an ordinary restaurant.

But the interior furnishings are completely different from those in a hotel.

There are limited entertainment facilities on Hazelnut Island. For some locals, the delicacies sold by commercial introductions are not very attractive to them. Moreover, under the new naval governance, certain erotic industries are difficult to find on these islands.

After a busy day, the islanders often drink as a way to pass the time.

Perhaps the navy's top brass also understood that they could not completely ban people's entertainment activities, so the new navy did not completely prohibit the opening of casinos and gambling houses, but only issued some relevant regulations to regulate this industry.

The upper echelons have clear requirements on the locations, number and size of casinos. Even the upper limit of gambling funds has been set. The new navy has also made some regulations to prevent some ignorant people from losing everything they have in casinos and becoming refugees.

But no matter how many decrees the new navy issues, there will always be gamblers who lose everything they have every once in a while.

It's not that the New Navy doesn't want to take care of it, but with limited resources, the New Navy must also prioritize when conducting urban planning and public governance. Those irrational gamblers are naturally at the bottom of the New Navy's design plan.

Once inside the tavern, Usopp and the others followed the noise coming from somewhere inside the tavern and found the casino.

In the world, bars and casinos are basically opened in the same place. These two things have never been separated. After all, alcohol and gambling can "promote consumption" with each other.

"Let's go, God of Gamblers Usopp will help you make money today!"

Ever since awakening his Observation Haki, Usopp has been full of confidence in his gambling skills. His super-sensitive perception, coupled with the unique eyesight of a sniper, allows Usopp to be invincible at the poker table.

Although Usopp did not go to many casinos to verify his strength during his travels, when he was on the ship, Usopp and other crew members often played cards together, and he always won more than he lost.

Maybe because he often beat Chopper and Luffy, Usopp has some misunderstandings about his gambling skills.

However, Usopp's confident look still gave the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates great confidence, making Luffy, Chopper and others feel that Usopp could easily pick up money in the casino.

A group of people surrounded Usopp and went to a place where they were clapping their hands on the table.

The game being bet on is a game called blackjack, which is very popular among gamblers even in this world.

While Luffy's men were still watching the game on the table, Usopp had already exchanged all of his few remaining thousands of Beli for chips.

In other cities, these thousands of Baileys are not a small amount of money. In fact, in a place like Wan Guo, a few thousand Baileys also have a good purchasing power.

But Luffy's mouth is a huge consumer treasury. Even if all the thousands of Baileys were used to buy meat, it would not be enough for Luffy to eat.

However, when these thousands of Baileys were exchanged for chips, Usopp only had two more small green chips in his hand.

When Usopp returned to the gambling table, a gentleman-dressed customer happened to leave. Just as Usopp was about to sit down with his chips in his hand, the waiter next to him reached out and stopped Usopp.

"Hmm? What?"

Usopp, who was in high spirits, was about to go to the gambling table to start a killing spree, but was stopped by the waiter. His face was immediately filled with confusion.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"The entry fee for this table is 30,000 Bailey chips."

As he spoke, the waiter pointed to a small sign standing on the corner of the table and a slightly apologetic smile appeared on his face.

"Clam?"

Usopp immediately raised his voice when he heard this. He had traveled to many places over the years, but this was the first time he heard of such rules in a casino.

Just as he was about to vent his anger as the "customer god", Luffy beside him pulled Usopp's arm nonchalantly, pointed to a crowded gambling table not far away, and said with a smile:

"Usopp's place looks very lively, let's go over there and play."

As he spoke, he didn't care whether Usopp was willing or not, and directly pulled Usopp away from the blackjack table.

What caught Luffy's attention was the classic casino game of rolling the dice and guessing the size.

Because the game content is simple and crude, the number of participants can be maximized, and there is no limit on the entry amount of game players, this game is very popular in casinos.

The reason why Luffy saw the crowded gambling table was because there were a large number of drinkers participating in this game.

Everyone was shouting out the points they hoped the dealer would give, and everyone's face was filled with anticipation and excitement. The gamblers' emotions were also infecting the other people watching on the sidelines. Some drinkers were infected by the atmosphere and would unconsciously join in the game.

"oh!"

“It’s dice.”

Luffy pulled Usopp and others into the crowd. Usopp, who came to the front row, showed an understanding look when he saw the game going on at the gambling table.

Luffy was no stranger to this game, and when it was time for a new round of betting, he hurriedly pulled Usopp's arm and yelled at Usopp to prepare to place his bet.

"Wait, don't be so anxious, Luffy."

In the crowded casino, Usopp became less cautious in addressing Luffy, and almost subconsciously called out Luffy's real name.

But at this time, the gamblers around seemed to have never heard of the names of Luffy and others. They were focusing their limited energy on the gambling table at this moment. How could they care about the names of strangers next to them?

Usopp and Luffy were completely unaware of the risk of being exposed, and they were discussing how to place their bets.

"Bet on Xiao, Usopp. I have a feeling it should be Xiao!"

In New World casinos that play this game, gamblers often place their bets first and then shake the dice to open the sieve cup.

This is also to avoid some strong people with excellent observation Haki, or to avoid some casino veterans with excellent hearing from making crazy profits.

But again, because bets are placed before the dice are rolled, casino dealers tend to balance the points they issue, not letting some people lose too much, nor letting some people lose too badly. Of course, what is more important is to ensure the profits of their own casino.

The dealers don’t need to focus on the smaller bets. They just need to balance the sizes and make a lot of money by taking a commission, while also maintaining the casino’s reputation for fairness.

This is actually the way casinos make money. Usopp calls himself the "God of Gamblers", so he naturally knows something about it.

But Luffy didn't care about that at all. He had always been a free-spirited person. He just wanted to bet according to his own will and have a good time.

"Hurry, hurry, it's about to start."

Luffy urged Usopp to place his bet quickly. Usopp wanted to wait for a while but he couldn't resist Luffy. He could only take a chip from his hand and put it in the small area with a sad face.

The recorder of the casino across the street took a quick glance at Usopp and Luffy, reached out and adjusted the position of the chips, which was considered as approval of their bet.

In the dozen seconds before the sieve was opened, the gamblers around either watched or placed their bets, and the atmosphere became lively for a while.

Luffy was also infected by the atmosphere around him. He clapped his hands on the table and shouted "Small, small, small", becoming an avid gambler. Even Chopper was carried away by Luffy's emotions and looked at the sieve shaking in the dealer's hand with anticipation.

“Swish, swish, swish—”

Usopp pricked up his ears, stared at the dice cup in the dealer's hand, and moved his mouth slightly, muttering something.

“Boom——”

Finally, there was a slight sound, and the dice cup in the dealer's hand slammed heavily on the table.

The dull thud of the ball hitting the ground and the sound of the sieve bouncing inside blended together, making it difficult for some veteran gamblers to hear clearly.

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But this level of interference was not a problem for Usopp at all. Before the dealer at the table opened the sieve in his hand, a bright smile appeared on Usopp's face.

Amid the shouts of the gamblers, the dealer opened the dice cup in his hand.

211.

“Got it!!!”

Even though he only won back one chip, which was worth only one thousand Baileys, the smile on Luffy's innocent face could not be concealed no matter what.

"What a lucky guy, Luffy!"

"Well, what do you want to do next?"

Luffy's luck was good, and Usopp was too lazy to find any pattern at the moment, so he just asked Luffy what he wanted to bet on.

"Keep on being small!"

Luffy didn't even need to think when making this decision. As he spoke, he quickly put all the chips that had just been pushed in front of him back onto the "small" gambling table.

As gamblers around placed their bets again, the atmosphere became increasingly heated.

No one knew what kind of luck Luffy had, but after he made some profit from the small bet, he placed all his chips on small for three consecutive games, and the dealer, who did not play any tricks, also opened small for three consecutive games, which directly increased the wealth of Luffy and Usov's people several times.

The chips that were originally worth several thousand Baileys in their hands were successfully increased to over ten thousand, which really made Luffy, Usopp and others happy.

All the small bets were successful. Just when Luffy was about to push his chips to the small bet again, Usopp pulled Luffy's clothes and suggested: "So many small bets have been opened. I'm afraid the dealer will control the situation and open a 'big' bet this time."

"Luffy, listen to me, bet big!"

Usopp thought he had figured out the dealer's intention, and there were many gamblers who held the same idea as him. Even as the two of them were talking, many gamblers had already placed their chips on Big.

However, Luffy didn't care. He seemed to have tasted the joy of making money. He ignored Usopp's advice and directly pushed all the chips in his hand onto the "small" bet.

Seeing this, Usopp's face changed drastically. Just as he was about to reach out to take back the chips, the recorder sitting behind the gambling table suddenly took out a cane and gently hit Usopp on the back of his hand:

"Customer, please follow the rules and leave after you buy."

Although it didn't hurt much when the cane hit the back of Usopp's hand, it still made Usopp's hand shrink involuntarily. Seeing that it couldn't be changed, Usopp covered his face with his hand, his face full of regret.

The gamblers around were also nearing the end of their betting at this time, and most of them were betting on the big one. Some gamblers who had arrived earlier saw that Luffy, who had won four games in a row, was still betting on the small one, and they kept looking in Luffy's direction, as if they were there to watch the show.

Just when Usopp was feeling frustrated, a female gambler's voice rang out beside him:

"Sir, you've lost several times betting on big, would you like to try betting on small?"

"I think that customer is very lucky. If you follow the bet, you may get unexpected rewards."

When Usopp heard someone was planning to bet on the smaller player, he didn't even turn his head and angrily replied:

"Why bet on the small number? It's been a small number for 4 consecutive times. Will it be a small number again?"

"What an idiot, you want to bet big!!!"

Usopp's nameless anger was naturally not directed at the unfamiliar gambler, but since it was Luffy who provoked him, Usopp could not direct it at Luffy.

As soon as he finished speaking, a deeper voice came to Usopp's ears:

"That guy is right. He has hit so many small numbers in a row. How could he not hit a big number?"

"I've already lost so many times when I bet on Dadu. If I miss the chance to win, isn't that the opposite of what I was doing?!"

"Bet on the big one!"

As soon as the man finished speaking, the female voice that had spoken earlier also let out a sigh.

The chips were thrown out and the bet was on big.

Not long after, the dealer shook the sieve cup, and when the dealer placed the sieve cup on the table and opened the lid, the number inside was unexpectedly 121, still a small number.

For a moment, the gamblers gathered around the table all let out wailing sounds, and only a few people gave deafening cheers.

Usopp was also stunned when he saw this, then he turned his head stiffly and looked in the direction where the voice came from with an embarrassed look on his face.

"I told you, but you didn't listen!"

Usopp happened to see a tall and beautiful woman angrily slapping the blind uncle sitting at the table.

Noticing Usopp's gaze, the woman glared at him fiercely.

"Ah? Lost again, Bakara."

"My luck is really bad. I'm so sorry. Hahaha!"

Although the blind uncle could not see, he could still hear the noises of people around him. He didn't care about losing the bet and just laughed.