After entertaining Neil and Flon for the night, Link was to attend MGM's regular board meeting the next morning.

MGM's regular board meeting did not have any specific matters to discuss, at most, to review some misconduct in past operations, or to communicate some matters.

Link didn't show up in the conference room too early or too late, and half of the directors had already arrived. Seeing him appear, several directors stood up almost simultaneously and greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, Link! I heard you saw the show last night, and I thought you'd be late!"

That's a bit dirty. Don't say that Link didn't look for a woman, even if he did, would Link be the kind of weak chicken who couldn't get out of bed after playing with a woman?

Link smiled and said, "It seems that there really are no secrets in Las Vegas!"

"Others may have, but you shouldn't! Now it's big news that you sneeze in Las Vegas!"

Link laughed and said, "That's because I'm worried that I'm passing the flu on to them!"

They sat together, talking and laughing. In fact, such a scenario only began to emerge at the end of last year.

Until then, Link had a modest stake in MGM and almost never spoke out about his claims, often echoing Tommy Cockline's opinions. This makes him "transparent" on the MGM board.

But on January 1, Lake Mead finally stopped supplying fresh water to Las Vegas entirely, allowing Las Vegas to pump fresh water from Hans Farms through Lake Mead's waterways.

Hanse Farms is now providing fresh water that not only meets Las Vegas demand, but also allows Las Vegas to have more than 10 percent more water than it did in previous years. That's enough for Las Vegas to accommodate 10% more of its population and tourists, and it can withstand a wave of rapid growth.

And half of that water is Link's own. As water in the Colorado Basin becomes increasingly scarce, Link's water is vital to Las Vegas. Link has the right to sell those waters to cities downstream of Colorado if he wants to. There will be at least a 40% water deficit in Las Vegas. So since Hans Farm became the source of water for Las Vegas, his status in the city has increased significantly.

Moreover, his wealth is growing. The total market value of the entire MGM Grand Hotel may not be comparable to his personal assets.

When it comes to his assets, some people now say that he is the richest man in the world. Of course, that counts his oil wells. After more than half a year of self-injection, the self-injection flow of those wells still shows no signs of declining.

The wells drilled near those wells were drilled to more than 3,000 meters, and they were still dry, so it was still impossible to estimate how much crude oil was there. Some even say that several of his oil wells may be self-spewing forever.

Then the value of several oil wells is immeasurable. Of course, no one believed that those wells would go down forever, and many wanted to see when water started to spew out there.

But that doesn't stop him from becoming the richest man in the United States.

Because his Blue Lagoon wine has sold tens of millions of bottles in the first three months of this year. That alone could make him more than a billion dollars. And he seems to have 100 million bottles of wine in stock. It is impossible to make an accurate assessment of how much it is worth. But there are more than 10 billion dollars.

In this way, his assets are at least $20 billion, which is definitely the richest man in Nevada.

They laughed and laughed. All the directors came one after another.

Tommy Cockline soon arrived. When he saw Link, he smiled and said before he could sit down, "I saw the newspaper that the movie you invested in finally came out at the box office." ”

"I've seen the movie, it's wonderful!" he said with a smile as he sat down. "The performance of our hotel has increased in the last two months, and it seems to have something to do with this movie. ”

Link smiled and said, "Really, can the dividends in those years be tilted towards me?"

"I can suggest that the shareholder meeting give you an extra dollar!"

They laughed for a while, and Tommy Cockline started the meeting and said, "OK, gentlemen. You will see the hotel's financial statements for the first two months. As I said earlier, the occupancy rate of our hotel in these two months has increased slightly compared to the same period in previous years. Although the growth is less than 2%. But I'm sure we're the best of all the casinos in the whole of Las Vegas. Other hotels are still in a year-on-year decline. ”

Las Vegas has recovered from the water crisis, but the number of visitors to Las Vegas is still not at the level before the water crisis. This has resulted in a lower occupancy rate for most hotels than ever before.

Tommy Cockline said, "This proves that MGM is the fastest hotel in the entire Las Vegas hotel to return to growth. ”

He certainly has reason to proudly declare this fact. The impact of the water crisis is far greater than the previous crises in Las Vegas. There was a period of shrinking tourist numbers in 17 years because of the shootings, but this water crisis has even caused Las Vegas residents to relocate. The shooting was just a reduction in the number of foreign tourists, and it was not the same thing at all.

He then discusses the reasons for the growth: "After the release of the film "God of Gamblers" in Las Vegas, our hotel's turnover was relatively good. "MGM originally started out of the gimmick of movies, so Tommy Cockline was not averse to casinos entering movies. This time, "God of Gamblers" made MGM show his face in front of Americans. This attracts more American tourists.

The most important thing is that these tourists have seen the gambling scene of the gambling god, and many of them want to make a fortune in the casino. And the casino is MGM's biggest profit point.

"In the last two months, the total number of chips redeemed at the casino has increased by 40% compared to the same period in the past. This is a very gratifying achievement. Perhaps we need to re-examine the influence of the film and television industry on us. ”

One director said: "It seems that casinos are in contact with Hollywood and intend to invest in making gambling movies." ”

Another proposal said, "Maybe we can invest in the Nolan Brothers and make a series of movies called God of Gamblers." ”

Tommy Cockline also means this, but it depends on Link's opinion.

Link looked into his eyes and knew what he was thinking.

He shook his head and said, "There won't be a series of movies for 'God of Gamblers in Las Vegas'. "Although that movie made him a lot of money. As of yesterday, the North American box office has earned $350 million, and the global box office has also reached $800 million. But he doesn't plan to license the series anymore.

"God of Gamblers" stated that it was filmed based on him when it was promoted. No matter how the movie is made in the future, even if the producer states at the beginning that the plot is "pure fiction", as long as there is a gambling plot, his image will be considered a professional gambler. That didn't do him any good.

In fact, he invested in the filming of "God of Gamblers", and many people are already saying that he teaches bad boys.

Listening to Link's words, Tommy Cockline knew that it was impossible to invest in the "Las Vegas God of Gamblers" movie series. However, he really wants to take advantage of this popularity to shoot film and television works to boost the performance of the casino.

So, he proposed, "Maybe we can look for a collaboration to shoot the same type of TV series or movie." I think as long as you have money, there will always be screenwriters who can write good scripts. ”

Link, of course, would not object to this, and as he had always agreed, he agreed with Tommy's proposal.

Although the other directors also made some suggestions, such as affecting the operation of the casino or something.

"If you shoot a TV series inside a casino, it's going to be a long cycle and it's really going to affect the casino's business," Link said. If you set up the set of the casino scene for the TV series, the investment is too high, and the risk is very high. If you shoot a movie, the impact period is short. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, I would recommend filming a TV series. Work with the TV station to set up a new set, and as long as the first season is a success, the investment on the set will be spread out. ”

If MGM takes the initiative to cooperate with the TV station, it will definitely have to pay something. Like investing or something.

His advice is exactly what Tommy Cockline has in mind. If you shoot a movie, the popularity is a few months at most, and although the TV series does not have such a big impact, it can be filmed well for a few seasons and can have an impact for several years.

As for the risks, there are no more to making a movie.

Link laughs, "We probably shouldn't just think about shooting someone and winning money. We can photograph the management of the casino, the beauty and service of the casino, the wits of the casino and the professional gamblers, the luck of the gamblers, and so on. ”

Of course, he knows that filming such a TV series may bring more people to Las Vegas, and it may make more people addicted to gambling. But what does that have to do with him? He's very closely associated with Las Vegas now, and if Las Vegas is good, he's going to be good for him.

As for instigation? They are all adults, who can teach whom?

It's all about self-control. If not, who can blame it?

The other directors also agreed with Link's and Tommy Cockline's proposal. As for how it works, Link doesn't care about it.

This seems to be the main agenda of the meeting. Tommy Cockline then gave a formal briefing on the hotel's performance, and then the meeting was dismissed.

It didn't take much time for the board, and Link went to Martha's team's studio to talk to Martha and Dill about their plans to start a business for low-rent apartment residents.

"So, less than a hundred and fifty people can participate in my program?"

"From the analysis of their answers, it is like this. Dill nodded. "If you feel that the number is insufficient, we may be able to relax the conditions. If you choose more than seventy, the number can reach two hundred and fifty. ”

Link thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Forget it, there's no need to change it." He put the list down and said to Martha. "Martha, you're in charge of training these people with Song. I think it should take half a month for them to understand how to run a noodle shop. ”

Martha nodded and said, "Okay, I'll communicate with Song to do this job." ”

"I'm going to New York tomorrow and I don't know how long it will take to get back. So I didn't participate in this training. You explain my plan to these people. ”

His plan is that all residents who plan to start a business can open Song's noodle franchise stores in the United States, preferably in western cities in the United States.

He set a franchise fee of $50,000 to renovate the store in accordance with regulations. They can apply for up to $100,000 in investment from Ozette Investment Bank, and up to $100,000 in low-interest loans. If you only apply for a loan, the shares of the noodle shop go to the entrepreneur. If you also want to apply for an investment, you will have a corresponding stake in the pasta shop in proportion to the amount invested.

According to Link's standards, a $100,000 loan, used for franchise fees and renovations, will basically be used about the same. And the rent of the store and the living expenses in the initial period after leaving Las Vegas, the entrepreneur did not have it, so they had to apply for investment.

Each person's plan may have their own ideas. Either way, owning 50% of a pasta restaurant is better than losing their jobs and being homeless.

And he also has an incentive program, that is, if the loan is paid off, he can apply for investment and loans again to open a branch. That gives them a chance to make their business bigger.

He believed those people would agree!