Standing in the parking lot outside the Sands Casino Hotel, Li Jiankun looked up at the yellow and white building.From the outside, it is sixteen stories high. The bottom and top floors are higher due to different designs. The whole thing looks like a mechanical bearing standing upright on a flat rectangular carton, with a large area of ​​yellow paint on the outside. , embellished with a white frame and mixed with blue window glass, giving it a slightly old-fashioned look.However, given that it was built in the 1950s, there was nothing to organize. At that time, it was undoubtedly a shining pearl in this desert.In fact, according to Liu Jingyan, the Sands Casino Hotel has been a landmark building in Las Vegas for a long time. Even if some more modern buildings are built nearby, its glory is still not full. hidden.It's in a great location, right in the heart of Casino Boulevard.Anyone who does business knows that location is important, and the land of the Sands Casino Hotel is an important part of its value.Others, such as the original gambling license with greater authority, the brand effect created over the past thirty years, etc., are all very playful resources.After Sheldon took over this casino hotel in his previous life, he demolished it within a few years, but his company was still called Sands Corporation, and the newly built Venetian was also built on the same site.The reason Liu Jingyan has a certain understanding of Las Vegas is because she has been here once before. There is a technology tycoon in Silicon Valley who also has an industry in Las Vegas. He also loves gambling and is keen to enjoy it here. Free time.When you walk into the first floor of the Sands Casino Hotel, the first thing you see is the densely packed slot machines. In fact, the first floor, which looks like a flat rectangular cardboard box, is a huge casino.Walking through the slot machine forest - each slot machine here is huge, erected high, and equipped with a comfortable enveloping sofa chair. It is completely different from the kind in Li Jiankun's impression of domestic black game machine halls. Each machine They all look like a cockpit with a bit of sci-fi flair.In the central area of ​​the casino, there is a dice wheel and a card table.You can see deeper areas, and there are many private rooms with closed doors, which are not accessible to ordinary players.It was prime time in the afternoon, and there were not many guests in the casino.Li Jiankun, who had experienced corruption in Haojiang, took a quick glance and discovered that there were huge operational problems here. It’s not surprising when you think about it. A medical research institution is dedicated to saving lives and healing the wounded. How do you ask them to manage a casino well?"They have people stationed at the hotel. Do you want to meet them now?" Liu Jingyan asked."Don't worry, let's have a meal first, and then take me out for a walk after dinner." Li Jiankun said.If you really want to open a casino, is it so easy? Although Li Jiankun has never worked in this industry, he knows from his own side that this is an industry that can easily lead to trouble.To put it bluntly, even if this casino hotel is given to him now, he doesn't think he can run it with his current resources.Although the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is interested in selling this place, it is not in a hurry. They inherited all of Howard Hughes's properties and are not short of money at all. Since no one has impressed them yet, they don't care if it takes a while.Liu Jingyan and Ran Zi went to the front desk to book a room together. During the process, the driver, old Nathan, took more than one look at the slot machines that did not require exchange for chips, but only required coins. His hands were obviously itchy.The slot machines here can be played in a big way. If you are lucky, it is still possible to become rich overnight, not to mention getting rich overnight.However, in his spare time, Li Jiankun, who would meet up with a few friends to gamble for a while, had always rejected gambling with machines. How could a person have ever played with a machine?The machine's program is obviously configurable.Even if some people do win money from slot machines, it is not so much that you win by playing the machine, but that the casino deliberately lets you win for the sake of long-term business.After the rooms were opened, everyone went back to their rooms to put away their luggage, went downstairs to have lunch together, then left the Sands Casino Hotel and drove around Las Vegas.Only Li Jiankun knew what he wanted to go shopping for.As someone who comes to Las Vegas for the first time and intends to buy a property here, he needs to know as much as possible about all the local conditions, including social form, personnel composition, security environment, business atmosphere, etc.To put it bluntly, it is a store inspection.They don’t just sit in the car and watch. When they pass by certain places, they also come down to visit, or even go in to experience it.Las Vegas can be regarded as a city of miracles. In the originally barren desert, a money tree that can shake down golden leaves has been cultivated.The gambling industry here has a long history. It was first discovered that gold mines attracted a large number of people, but how to keep people here is a big problem.Aren’t all those who dig gold rich?Then bet.The early Las Vegas casinos were a mixed bag of good and bad, with simple equipment and small scale. Gambling, liquor and sex were entangled together, making the city chaotic. The dark side of society is infinitely magnified here, and Las Vegas has been labeled the "Sin City" for this reason.Mainstream society cannot accept this deviant behavior, which makes formal funds in the financial market shy away from it. So in the beginning, the casinos here were all controlled by criminal groups.Before the 1960s, criminal syndicates were the largest bosses behind the Las Vegas gambling industry, and they controlled the city's economic lifeline.What is surprising is that there is also a Black Society Museum in this city. The artifacts on display reflect that dark history in detail.However, since there is such a museum that exists to carry history, it obviously shows that the situation has improved since then.In 1966, Nevada enacted the Gambling Corporations Act, which abolished the requirement that all shareholders of casinos must pass a background check by the Gambling Industry Control Association. To put it bluntly, anyone would be eligible to operate a local casino in the future. As long as you have the strength. On the surface, this bill seems to relax restrictions on casino operators and give criminal groups more opportunities to take advantage of it, but it actually facilitates the infusion of a large amount of legal funds into Las Vegas.Another key figure must be mentioned here, Howard Hughes.It was he who almost bought the entire Las Vegas in anger to save his penthouse room, and his behavior had a great driving effect.Think about who Hughes is? The first billionaire in the history of the United States, a guy who can do anything. He plays with airplanes and satellites. Most people can only stare at him. Can't we learn how to invest in casinos and hotels? In addition, local laws are now relaxed, so a large number of investors are pouring into Las Vegas.It can be said that Hughes brought legal investment into the gambling industry and into Las Vegas.As the gaming industry is booming, investors have opened up a desert resort here.Today, Las Vegas has evolved from a remote, backward and unknown small western town into an entertainment capital that brings together first-class world-class hotels, casinos and leisure centers. During holidays, the wealthy people in Los Angeles gather to run there. .After spending two days, Li Jiankun had a relatively detailed understanding of the city.That night, in Li Jiankun's guest room No. 7013 on the seventh floor of the Sands Casino Hotel, he summoned Liu Jingyan and Ran Zi over to prepare for the formal plan to take over the Sands Casino Hotel.