Empire of Shadows

Chapter 585: Change [666+27]

From Lance's perspective, the operating style of Goldport Casino was still a bit too conservative.

Of course, this couldn't be blamed on Bandy's lack of ability. Some states still considered gambling illegal, so they might be slightly conservative in their advertising.

For someone who wanted to launder their reputation, they didn't necessarily have to be outstanding, but they certainly couldn't offend too many people.

However, from the perspective of Lance, a modern person, these business strategies seemed too conservative and failed to take advantage of the conflicts in federal and local laws.

Simply put, how to better attract those gamblers from areas where gambling was illegal to Goldport City was key.

If they were just to come here to gamble, they might not be willing to do so. The reason was simple.

Since they were gamblers, they definitely had a small group in their local area to participate in gambling games with. They could gamble locally and didn't necessarily need to come to Goldport City to gamble.

Pure gambling lacked appeal to them, so more content and more attractive things needed to be added.

For example, consider coming here for leisure as a "compensation for family affection," bringing the family for a trip and playing a few rounds here.

"A few rounds" was not a noun, nor did it represent anything actual.

This could give gamblers a feeling that... although they gambled, they also did something good for the family.

This kind of business strategy seemed useless, but in reality, it was because those who thought it was useless were not true gamblers.

True gamblers actually felt guilty towards their families and loved ones, and this was an opportunity to make up for their guilt while also enjoying more trendy ways to play.

Lance briefly explained his plans for the upcoming changes, including considering building a large water park and rebuilding "Palace Casino," a more Lance-style and ultra-luxurious integrated casino.

The governor listened very carefully, as this not only represented his interests but also his political achievements.

If Councilor Williams and Lance developed well in Goldport City, they would be able to provide more tax revenue, giving the state government more independent decision-making power.

Instead of relying on federal financial allocations and looking at Congress's face, they could make their own decisions if they had money.

He thought Lance's ideas were excellent.

"Furthermore, Governor..."

"You can call me Dylan."

Dylan was the governor's name, and it was said that his ancestors also appeared in that photograph!

He said this as a sign of closeness. Lance's performance had earned his approval, which made their relationship closer.

Federal people could sometimes be very formal, mistakenly leading many foreigners to believe that they always maintained this respectful and not-so-close relationship in official matters.

In fact, it was just that those who thought so hadn't become familiar with federal people. If they did, they would find that it was no different from their own country, or even worse.

"Mr. Dylan!" Lance corrected his address. There was no need to be overly humble at this time. Addressing him as he suggested was essentially an acknowledgment of their relationship.

Of course, he added the common honorific to at least make it seem like he wasn't really on equal footing with the governor.

"The development of Goldport City can promote the development of the surrounding tourism industry. Creek Valley City's film industry is developing very well now."

"People who come to Goldport City will also be willing to take a stroll in Creek Valley City if there is enough publicity."

"Would they want to try hunting? Would they want to try some acting, even if their scenes don't end up in the movie theater?"

"If they see the beautiful Creek Valley City and Goldport City, will they be more interested in other surrounding cities, thus embarking on a new journey?"

"I think it's very possible, and very likely!"

"Federal people are full of adventure and curiosity. They will leave more consumption here before they leave."

The governor looked at Lance with some surprise. He didn't expect Lance to be able to say such things and have such insights.

At this moment, Lance was more like a politician than a gang leader.

And those ideas he said were indeed likely to be realized.

"Your ideas are great. I believe Mr. Williams can cooperate with you."

Councilor Williams also glanced at Lance with some surprise and then nodded. "Indeed very good, these ideas are full of flexible creativity!"

The purpose of Lance saying so much was actually to get that large piece of land to build his "Palace," and it would be located behind the beach area. There was still a large area of vacant land there, connecting the beach area and the bay area's long beach.

Whether it was building a water park or building a new casino next to it, there were endless possibilities and the ability to continue to expand outwards.

This was a major project, but there would definitely not be a long construction period.

"Federal speed" was shocking the world. Those buildings in New Gold City that could be called world-class took an average of just over a year. The construction difficulty of the new casino would not be greater than those buildings, only lower.

With Goldport City not lacking labor, it would be completed at a rapid pace, including the water park and the like.

Only by persuading the governor would Councilor Williams's approval of this plan be faster.

The group arrived at Teeing Ground I. The first to tee off was Councilor Williams. He was old and couldn't use too much force when hitting the ball, so naturally, he couldn't hit it very far.

While he was teeing off, Lance and the governor were still chatting about some issues and matters concerning Goldport City.

As the tee-off ended, the three continued to move forward.

While walking, the governor said, "Some of Lance's words just now gave me some inspiration. I will support your work!"

He paused for a moment, then took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Lance, "The list is on this. If you have any objections, you can contact me at any time."

"Now, let's finish this game!" He came to his ball's landing point, took a club from James's hand, straddled his legs, looked at the distant green, and swung hard!

After taking care of the governor, the remaining people were very easy to deal with. That night, Lance made an appointment with Attorney General Terry to meet.

Compared to the previous two, Attorney General Terry's attitude was more enthusiastic. After all, his purpose was not only to share the money but also the congressional circles behind these two.

He didn't give Lance or Councilor Williams any tests and simply gave them the list, "If you need to cross out anyone, tell me first."

"So I can rearrange things," he slightly emphasized his tone. If he didn't emphasize this matter, they might just cross them out, and he could have arranged for one more person to benefit from it, but he would lose this benefit, which was not worth it.

Lance took the list and glanced at it briefly, then didn't put it in his pocket but placed it on the table.

This action was a bit special, suggesting that he seemed to have some dissatisfaction with this list?

"What's wrong?" Attorney General Terry asked.

He realized that Lance might have some additional "deals" with him, so he asked.

However, he couldn't ask too directly, so he could only frown and pretend to be stupid, "Is there someone who is not suitable?"

Seemingly neither shaking his head nor nodding, he just put the list on the table, "Yesterday, a friend of mine met me at the hotel."

"He is a businessman, and he told me about some problems he encountered in Menton. His legitimate business has been subjected to harassment."

Who Lance met yesterday was no secret. From the moment they arrived in Menton, countless eyes had been watching them.

Yesterday, he met with the leader of a local gang, an Imperial immigrant.

Some people at the bottom always believed that Lance was an illegal immigrant who changed his identity, but for those at the top, they firmly believed that Lance was a federal person!

He must just be friends with these people!

After giving himself an explanation, Attorney General Terry thought about it and gave Lance a number, "You can call him and have him help you solve this matter."

Lance nodded and put the list in his pocket. Attorney General Terry's face showed some smiles.

The slightly tense atmosphere just now suddenly became relaxed.

"You did a great job this time, Lance. Even though I'm in Menton, I know that you hardly did anything wrong and completed everything."

"I hope the people I arranged to go over helped you!" He was implying that he also had credit for Lance taking care of the Bandy family.

Councilor Williams had been sitting quietly beside him, without saying a word.

The governor and deputy governor were both contacted directly or indirectly by him, so he had to occupy a more important position.

But Attorney General Terry was contacted by Lance himself, and he was not suitable to be the dominant topic here.

Lance could naturally understand Attorney General Terry's meaning. He nodded, "You're not the first person to praise me like that."

"I'll be going to New Gold City at the end of the year. If they don't mind me bringing someone over..."

Attorney General Terry's face showed even more smiles. He moved his butt closer to Lance, "You're too polite, Lance. Actually, that's not what I meant..."

He looked at Lance's teasing eyes, then couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, then should I thank you?"

“You're welcome!” Lance directly cut short the thank you process, which also ensured that Attorney General Terry wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

For him, the number three figure in the state government, to say “thank you” to a local city's gang leader, even if he could say it, he would definitely feel a bit awkward or uncomfortable in his heart.

But now that Lance directly skipped this process, not only did he not feel dissatisfied with Lance, but he actually liked him even more.

After separating from Attorney General Terry, Congressman Williams reminded Lance, “The matter you mentioned about New Gold City, are you referring to the gathering on the senator's side?”

Congressman Williams is about to become the mayor soon, and he is also qualified to participate in such gatherings, but he is still only a marginal figure.

Lance did not deny it, and nodded, “Yes, what's wrong?”

He said cautiously, “Wouldn't this be too rash?”

“Bringing someone who doesn't belong to that circle?”

He was considering Lance's situation, afraid that Lance would be too reckless to bring Attorney General Terry along just like that.

Just like the insignificant small characters in his own family, if they brought a stranger over during the New Year, saying they wanted to join his circle, he would also feel annoyed and dislike it.

Considering Lance's situation was also, to a greater extent, considering his own situation. He would be partnering with Lance for quite some time, so Lance's stability also equaled his own stability.

If Senator Cleveland developed emotions like dislike towards him because he randomly brought people to New Gold City, then Congressman Williams would also be affected.

Lance smiled and said thank you, “I know what you mean, but you don't need to worry too much. I will figure things out before going.”

“And I don't think this matter is reckless.”

“Whether it can be accepted doesn't depend on what impact my or Terry's appearance will have on the senator.”

“But depends on how much funding I can provide for them in the two quarters of the second half of the year!”

Congressman Williams pondered Lance's words for a moment, then nodded and stopped discussing.

He was right, Lance was even more important than him, the future mayor, at this stage!

Just a mayor, with the senator's political circle, how many mayors want to cozy up to them?

One more mayor, one less mayor, will not change the dynamics of Senator Cleveland's circle.

But Lance is different. Although he cannot provide any concrete political assistance, he can provide a large amount of money.

And this money, through their magical means, can be quickly and effectively transformed into political assistance!

When Congressman Williams is not weighty enough, money is obviously more important!

Having understood this, Congressman Williams no longer discussed whether Lance's actions were appropriate. As long as he provided excessive money, everything he did would be appropriate.

If he failed to complete the plan of transferring benefits, then even if he was careful and cautious, he would still annoy the senator for any reason.

Thinking of this, he ended the topic.

The conversation with Attorney General Terry was also successfully completed, followed by the Secretary of State, and more people!

These people didn't need to solemnly choose a separate day to meet them in a separate high-end private setting.

Of course, if they had already made arrangements, there would be no problem.

Lance and Congressman Williams met and talked with people almost one after another.

Many people received promises from them that everything would be done according to the past regulations and lists.

But there were also some people who were rejected. At the moment when the new era began, they had been abandoned in the old era.

They didn't make a fuss, because when there were no disturbances from the governor's side, they knew that the governor also supported them.

During this period, Lance also met the local police chief, who didn't seem as… untamed as Rhodes had described.

He was clearly very easy to get along with and didn't put on any airs, just like Charlie, the Bay Area hound, meeting his Bay Area masters.

If it was said that a week ago, perhaps not many people had heard of Lance in Manton.

Then now, almost everyone in Manton had heard of Lance, and even officials of his relatively low level knew what had happened recently.

He was just a police chief, who might be an amazing person in the eyes of those at the bottom of society.

But when he rose to a higher level, the way the big shots looked at him was not much different from the way he looked at those mud dogs!

So when someone called and said that Mr. Lance invited him to meet, he eagerly ran over and saw a familiar person, Rhodes, next to Lance.

At this point, as the police chief who had the most contact with the upper and lower levels, how could he not know what had happened?

If he was so stupid that he didn't realize anything, then he wouldn't be able to sit in such a position.

Soon, under Lance's matchmaking, he and Rhodes became good friends, and he expressed that as long as he was still the police chief, no one would discriminate against Rhodes and his company.

At the same time, he also hoped that Rhodes could work with him to contribute Rhodes' strength to the city's security and stability!

What a noble sentiment, even after get off work, they are still discussing work matters.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the Federation is more advanced than other countries. They always humbly and morally complete every task seriously, even after get off work!

After this matter was over, Lance believed that Rhodes and his gang would be able to develop rapidly soon.

The original plan was to stay in Manton for a week, but it ended up exceeding the plan.

Too many people wanted to meet with Lance and Congressman Williams, after all, it was related to their interests for the next four to eight years.

Those who were kicked out of the list were also trying their best to find ways to get back on the list—losing their position on the list not only meant that they would not get any money, but also meant that they had been abandoned by the Likalai State political group.

There was no foolish behavior such as "scolding Lance for not knowing how to appreciate favors" and then "one day Lance will pay the price for this." When those people knew that they could not return to the list, they could only leave dejectedly.

After staying for nearly two weeks, they returned to Goldport City from Manton.

This trip was very important, re-constructing the blood transfusion situation of one of the major arteries of interest in Likalai State.

The next period of time will be a calm and peaceful time. Although the Dangerous Goods Administration is still a bit annoying, overall, it is very peaceful.

Almost all areas of the city have cancelled various regulatory fees and switched to Lance Company's management fees. Even Anderson, that stubborn old man, honestly paid the money.

At the end of June, the Dantra Republic lodged a serious protest with the Federation, protesting their military presence in Goldport City, believing that this was a sign that the Federation intended to interfere in the Tanfite mainland war by force.

And expressed to the Federation that if they insisted on stationing a naval fleet in Goldport City, then they would not rule out unilaterally declaring the Federation's behavior as a declaration of war against them.

For a time, some news that happened in Goldport City was once again suppressed by this international news, and everyone was discussing it!