"Ring, ring, ring~!"

The phone on the desk rang.

Hardy picked up the phone, "This is Jon Hardy."

"Hardy, this is Siegel. I'm back in Los Angeles." Siegel's somewhat low voice came from the phone.

"Where are you, Mr. Siegel?" Hardy asked.

"I'm here with Fred."

Even if the Flamingo Casino failed, Siegel still had the Jewish Gang and the Bill Gang, a nominal branch gang, so he was not completely destitute.

"I'm going there now."

Hardy drove to Fred's house. Fred's house was similar to Taylor's house. Although it was not a manor, it was also a large villa.

In the study,

Siegel was smoking a cigarette and looked a little lonely. He was full of passion when he first started building Las Vegas, but later encountered countless problems and ended up in failure. Even Siegel, who had a strong personality, felt uncomfortable.

"So many things happened on the opening day. I had a feeling that this time we would fail. And in the end, we really failed. Alas," Siegel sighed.

"It's not too bad. At least the casino is still there and it can be reopened in the future," Hardy advised.

"Yes, that's what I think. I will continue to build Flamingo according to the previous plan. I believe Flamingo will be reborn from the ashes." Siegel said gritting his teeth.

After hearing what Siegel said, Hardy suddenly had a premonition that this guy might ask him to borrow money again.

"Hardy, I have contacted many friends, but they all said there is no way. I hope you can help me." Siegel looked at Hardy and said.

"You mean Mr. Siegel," said Hardy.

"Lend me 2 million US dollars and use all the Flamingo shares I have as collateral. I believe that once the construction is completed, the casino will be profitable and I will return the money to you soon." Siegel said.

I really guessed it right.

And he asked for 2 million.

Siegel must have approached others before, but they probably didn't agree to lend him the money. In the end, he had no choice but to use his last shares as collateral.

However, the Flamingo Casino had already failed once, and no one was optimistic about its future, so Siegel was unable to lend money.

"Each of the three families owns 13%. You bought 18% of the shares before, and I still have 43% of the shares. This time I plan to use this 43% of the shares as collateral to lend you 2 million. What do you think, Hardy?" Siegel said again.

Hardy was silent.

He can definitely afford 2 million.

His industries have basically been making money recently, and the stock price has been soaring. This is one of the reasons why Siegel approached him, knowing that he could come up with the money.

As for the money to invest in filming a movie, you can ask the film company for an investment loan. As long as your film company is well managed, the bank is willing to lend you money. The eight major film companies also use this model to make movies. How many of them can come up with the money out of their own pocket?

But can Siegel succeed?

"Mr. Siegel, I don't have that much money right now. How about this? I'll let Playboy magazine lend you the two million. How about a money mortgage agreement between you and Playboy magazine?" Hardy said.

Hardy needs to pay taxes for taking money from the company, so it would be better for him to let Playboy magazine directly take the money for investment.

Hardy is the largest shareholder of Playboy, holding more than 90% of the total share capital. Playboy's investment in casinos is equivalent to Hardy's investment.

Siegel smiled, "Thank you, Hardy."

"You are very kind."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became relaxed, Siegel smiled more, and talked to Hardy about Playboy magazine.

"Hardy, I have to say that your idea is really great. I have also read Playboy. The photos of beauties therein are indeed attractive. Unlike the feeling of being naked, the half-covered and sexy feeling is even more irresistible." Siegel said with a smile.

"By the way, Playboy should make a lot of money, right?" Siegel asked.

"Earn $1 per book."

“How many copies are sold per issue now?”

"More than 200,000."

Siegel was a little surprised when he heard this. "That year, there was a profit of more than 2 million. I worked hard to run the casino and invested more than 8 million, but I am still losing money now. You just published a magazine and made more than I did. Hey."

Siegel sighed. He no longer regarded Hardy as his little brother. He had developed to this level in just one or two years. How many people with such ability could he find in the whole United States?

In fact, I have benefited more from the relationship between him and me. If I didn't have such a little brother, I probably wouldn't be able to hold on until now.

"Mr. Siegel, why don't you live in the manor? I've renovated it, but we haven't moved in yet. Would you like to get used to living there?" Hardy invited.

Siegal shook his head.

"Forget it, I'll go back to Las Vegas soon after I get the money," said Siegel.

"Then I'll let Playboy's accountant and lawyer handle the formalities as soon as possible," said Hardy.

The next day, Siegel mortgaged his 43% stake in the Flamingo Casino, received $2 million in funding from Playboy, and rushed back to Las Vegas.

So far.

Hardy already controls 61% of Flamingo Casinos.

Of course,

The 43% stake in Playboy was just mortgaged. When Siegel repays the money in the future, these shares will be returned and only interest will be charged.

However, there was a stipulation in the agreement that if Siegel failed to repay the mortgage and interest within three years, the casino shares would belong to Playboy magazine.

......

March 13th.

The annual Oscar Awards are held.

The location is at the Los Angeles Divine Civic Auditorium.

It was more grand than the Golden Globe Awards two months ago. Countless spectators and reporters gathered outside the auditorium, and every time a star appeared, there was a burst of cheers from the audience.

The female stars were all dressed beautifully, becoming the most beautiful scenery tonight.

"Wow~~~, it's Ingrid Bergman, the holy goddess in my heart." Ingrid Bergman got off the car and the audience cheered loudly.

"It's Vivien Leigh, Scarlett, Scarlett we love you!"

Vivien Leigh smiled and waved to the audience.

"Wow, it's Rita Hayworth, my sexy goddess."

When it was Hardy's turn to enter, Hardy got out of the car first and made a gentleman's gesture, and then Ava Gardner came out.

It's not over yet.

Next, another person came down, Elizabeth Taylor, who was also wearing a beautiful princess dress today.

The third person came down next, Hedy Lamarr. She was dressed a little more solemnly today, but still charming.

Hardy walked the red carpet with three women.

The four walked forward, and the audience cheered when they saw Ava Gardner. Many people shouted Ava's name. Ava is undoubtedly one of the most dazzling actresses this year. Her movies are successful, and her songs are even more successful. Her song "Scarborough Fair" has become a classic. Ava is definitely a strong contender for the Best Original Song Award tonight.

Hedy Lamarr also has her fans, especially the first issue of Playboy, which brought the somewhat outdated Hedy Lamarr back into the public eye. Although she is over 30 years old, she is still a sexy goddess in the hearts of many people.

In comparison, the future Queen of Hollywood, Elizabeth Taylor, seems a little dim. After all, she is just a child star, and she has not produced any good works in the past two or three years. People are almost forgetting about her.

Walking into the venue, Taylor tugged at Hardy's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Hardy, from now on, I want everyone to greet me by my name."

Hardy smiled and whispered in Taylor's ear: "I believe you can do it, and I will help you."

Taylor's little frustration was smoothed out by Hardy's words, and she became the happy Elizabeth again.

Because of Hardy, their seats were closer to the front, which was considered a good position. Other actors did not have this treatment.

The awards ceremony begins.

"Red Dead Redemption" received a total of 7 nominations this time, including Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.

It's a pity that both Eastwood and Nolan missed out on the Best Actor and Best Director awards, but they are very happy to have been nominated for an Oscar, which is a great affirmation for them.

The Best Picture award went to "The Golden Age".

He also won the Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing awards.

However, "Red Dead Redemption" did not have any air forces and won the Best Screenplay and Best Original Song awards.

Hardy went on stage to receive the award and received warm applause. Now HD Films has become a very large company ranked very high in Hollywood. Hardy also controls so many industries, and all of this was created in just two years, making him a Hollywood legend.

Next, Ava Gardner took the stage to accept the award.

Holding the golden statuette, Ava choked up a little, "The person I want to thank the most is Mr. Hardy. He discovered and trained me. Otherwise, I would not have the opportunity to stand on this stage."

After that, she wiped her tears and said with a smile: "Let me tell you a little secret. The company has never revealed who the lyricist of "Scarborough Fair" is. Today I want to announce it. It is actually Mr. Hardy."

Wow wow wow~~!

The stars in the audience cheered in surprise.

Almost everyone here has heard of Scarborough Fair and they all like that song very much. Who would have thought that such a beautiful song was created by Hardy.

"Oh, and the whistle in Red Dead Redemption, I wonder if anyone still remembers it, it was also Hardy's work."

Wow~~!

There was another round of gasps from the audience.

I thought that this big boss of HD Security is really multi-talented.

Then people thought of Barbie dolls and Playboy. How could the person who could create these two things not have talent?

.......

There will be a cocktail reception at the end of the awards ceremony.

With hundreds of stars attending, it was a grand event. Hardy met many stars he had never met before, and many of them came over to greet him, wanting to take the opportunity to get to know this new Hollywood mogul.

When he returned, Hardy was already a little tipsy.

After sending Taylor and Hedy Lamar home, Hardy and Ava returned to their residence. The woman carefully helped Hardy take off his clothes and change into pajamas.

Before going to bed, there were two little golden men placed on the bedside. Ava looked at the little golden men and smiled foolishly. Her biggest dream in life was fulfilled.

Get up early in the morning.

Ava was wearing a halter dress and making breakfast when the bedside phone rang. Hardy picked it up in a daze.

"I'm Hardy."

"Hardy, this is Mike, I need your help." Mike Corrion's deep voice came from the other end of the phone.

Hardy woke up at once.

"Mike, what happened?"

"My father was assassinated yesterday. Two assassins fired more than ten shots at him. My father was shot five times. Fortunately, he survived and is still in a coma.

I went to the hospital last night and found out someone was still trying to harm him. There is no one around me I can trust. Hardy, can you help me?" Mike said in a deep voice.

Hardy was shocked. The Godfather was assassinated. Was it because of the Godfather plot?

"Mike, don't worry. I promise to be in New York tonight and protect Mr. Corrion. We can discuss other matters after I arrive in New York," said Hardy.

"Thank you Hardy."

"No thanks, we are best friends!"