But, we need to add another "but" here—what if Nevada lifts part of the Prohibition within its state? What difference would that make?
The simple truth is, the big bosses of the mafia have keenly noticed that the sale of counterfeit alcohol is collapsing. Even if the government lifts the Prohibition, the market for alcohol would still be limited. Even if it is available, most of it would be very cheap ginger beer, which isn't really considered alcohol—this drink, with an alcohol content of 0.5%, was already considered a beverage during Prohibition.
Even with the resumption of alcohol taxes, the government still won't collect much revenue, and it might even end up spending more by hiring additional public servants, ultimately leading to a fiscal deficit.
This is a long process, and with President Hoover passing new tariffs, the economic crisis in the U.S. would further deepen, making the social situation even worse. By then, there would be thirty-four million urban residents with zero income, and eleven million rural residents with zero income—around 42% of the U.S. population, if not more.
Everyone would be broke, and broke people don't have money to scrape!
So now, the only way to scrape money is to target the rich, or at least those with some assets.
"I personally think that Nevada might legalize casino gambling through a bill!" Neyl spoke again, his words enough to make Meyeransky's eyes widen.
"Impossible... Commercial casinos have always been illegal," Frederick immediately asked. It's always been the case that gambling and prostitution are inseparable. They run hotels, and there's always some gambling involved.
What he said wasn't wrong. Playing poker with a few friends at home is harmless. It falls under the freedom to dispose of personal property, and the law doesn't interfere.
However, setting up a large-scale commercial casino would not only violate public morality, but it would also provide a legal source of funds for the mafia, money laundering, and even strengthen the mafia's power. More importantly, casinos are hard to regulate, and money flows in and out so quickly that the government can't collect taxes from them!
With the current taxation methods, it's incredibly difficult to completely track the transactions and accounts of a large commercial casino. If the government can't collect taxes from the casino—or if it can't collect all the taxes—it definitely won't be happy about letting private individuals and mafias make money from it.
A classic case of "I can't live comfortably, so you shouldn't either."
"As long as a decree is issued to legalize it, it will work. There will always be gamblers willing to go to casinos chasing their fantasies of sudden wealth, and that money will just keep flowing in," Neyl shrugged.
Given the current situation, with the government's revenue sharply decreasing, they are at a point where they will take whatever they can get. Even if casinos are full of vices and crime, as long as they can provide the government with abundant tax revenue, the government will begrudgingly allow commercial casinos to operate.
"Is it really possible?" Meyeransky was almost convinced, but still wasn't entirely sure.
"It requires five million dollars to make it possible!"
Neyl recalled that Las Vegas, the world-famous "gambling city," was created when Nevada's government was on the verge of bankruptcy. The state passed a law to legalize commercial casinos to save itself.
Now, the governor and lawmakers in Nevada must have already considered opening up the gambling industry, but they haven't fully made up their minds. Neyl believes that the best catalyst to push them into making this decision is five million dollars.
With five million dollars, what do the governor and lawmakers need to do? They could just buy a little island in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, build a villa, and live a wonderful retirement life.
In the movie The Shawshank Redemption, the protagonist Andy Dufresne takes the warden's thirty-odd thousand dollars in bribes and buys land along the Gulf of Mexico to live a leisurely life. Keep in mind, that was in the 1960s, and the value of the money was less than half of today's worth. This just goes to show the potential.
Good wine to drink, beautiful women to embrace, and heaps of cash to spend. That would still be the worst-case scenario. It's also possible that, thanks to the tax revenue from gambling, they could use the money to build bridges and roads, win voters' forgiveness, or even earn more support. In that case, they would gain both wealth and political power, and continue to be re-elected. Isn't that a beautiful outcome?
"I understand!" Meyeransky nodded.
Five million dollars is indeed a huge deal. For anyone, that's an astronomical sum. Meyeransky still needs to discuss with Charlie Luciano, because he might not be able to come up with the full amount by himself.
As for bribing the governor and lawmakers of Nevada, it's not just about making commercial gambling legal in the state—it's even more important to buy out the casino licenses!
Even if they can't buy out the licenses, they need to control how many are issued, ideally limiting them to three or five. A certain family made a fortune by holding a single license in Macau. The man died, and his wives and children fought bitterly, creating a "self-destructive" situation.
Now, if Nevada is going to legalize casinos, they would certainly issue licenses and tax the license holders to fill the state's coffers and avoid bankruptcy.
But the problem is, if the politicians don't have a plan and issue too many licenses—like ten or twenty—the result will be infighting. In the end, everyone loses.
And that would lead to violent conflicts, assassinations, arson...
No money made, and lives lost.
The license quantity must be controlled, ideally in Meyeransky and Charlie Luciano's hands. Then, all the mafias would sit down and negotiate how to divide the shares. Everyone should be able to make a profit, instead of fighting for small gains and ending up killing each other.
This also aligns with Charlie Luciano's strategy: no more infighting within the mafia. Let's expand the business together, coexist peacefully, and achieve real prosperity.
Historically, Charlie Luciano managed to resolve disputes between more than twenty big mafias and invested in developing Las Vegas. The question is, can Meyeransky manage to get all the big mafias to sit down and discuss?
But that's a problem for later. For now, they must first convince Nevada's politicians. They need to vote, sign, and make it official. Until that process is complete, nothing will happen.
After a moment of contemplation, Meyeransky apologized and left, clearly intending to call Charlie Luciano.