I Suddenly Became Rich, But I Have No Idea How to Spend the Money

I made a huge profit, which was great, but…

Going through the hassle of opening an account, handling the money, and all that, like I did in Las Vegas—yeah, that’s just too much trouble.

So, I had the casino staff deduct the taxes from my winnings, and what I was left with was this 100 million Hong Kong dollars I now had in hand.

For now, to exchange this large sum in Japan, I had them issue a check from a bank that also had branches in Japan. As for the leftover amount, I took 1 million Hong Kong dollars in cash.

Since the highest denomination bill in Hong Kong is the 1,000-dollar note, a million Hong Kong dollars ends up being about the same size as a stack of ten million yen in Japan.

Thinking it was quite a hefty bundle, I took a paper bag from the hotel adjacent to the casino, shoved the cash inside carelessly, and, feeling uneasy about carrying it alone, returned to The Ritz-Carlton with a couple of casino staff members.

At the entrance, I thanked the two staff members and handed each of them a 1,000 Hong Kong dollar bill as a tip.

As I stepped into the lobby floor, the casino had apparently already contacted the hotel, as the GM came out to greet me.

“Good evening, Mr. Kirishima.

I am Jack Wong, the General Manager of this hotel.”

The GM spoke to me in cheerful Japanese.

Just like with the taxi earlier, I was a little taken aback by the unexpected language, but I was also grateful for the hospitality in Japanese. I responded accordingly.

“Thank you, GM.

I was just starting to miss hearing Japanese, so this is a great help.

Where did you learn it?”

“My father worked at Yokota, so I lived in Japan from elementary school through high school.

After that, I went back to the U.S. for university, so I’ve been using English ever since.”

Yokota refers to Yokota Air Base.

I see, so one of his parents was in the military.

As I was absorbing this information, Wong continued making small talk while naturally escorting me to my room.

Internally, I couldn’t help but admire his effortless hospitality—this was what set top-tier hotel staff apart.

When we arrived at my room, Wong simply said, “Please enjoy your stay,” before departing.

Once inside, I took the cash out of the paper bag, placing half—500,000 Hong Kong dollars—into the safe inside the dresser drawer.

I stuffed the remaining 500,000 into my wallet and pockets, then decided to go shopping.

Inside Galaxy Macau, world-famous luxury brand stores lined the walkways, packed in tightly.

Might as well buy a bag or two, I thought, and started making my way through the brand stores one by one.

Eventually, the 500,000 I had on me wasn’t enough, so at some point, I started charging my purchases to my hotel room and enjoyed the shopping spree.

In total, I spent about 1 million Hong Kong dollars, including the cash I had on hand, buying up luxury goods and having them shipped to my parents’ house. I figured they’d be pretty surprised.

After finishing my shopping, I had dinner at Lai Heen, The Ritz-Carlton’s main dining establishment.

The Chinese characters in the name were complicated, so I wasn’t sure how to pronounce them, but I gathered that saying “Lai Heen” would get me to the right place.

When one imagines a Chinese restaurant, they might picture tables overflowing with dishes, but as expected of a high-end establishment, the experience here was different. The dishes were elegantly plated in small, refined portions.

The service was impeccable, attentive without being intrusive, making for a truly wonderful evening.

I charged this meal to my room as well.

After satisfying my hunger, I indulged in a leisurely bath in the room’s all-marble bathtub, ordered some Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label and snacks through room service, and lost myself in the view of Macau’s night skyline.

Draped in a bathrobe, glass of Veuve in hand, I admired the cityscape, enjoying my own moment of self-satisfaction. On a whim, I set up my phone’s timer and took a photo of myself basking in the ambiance. Then, I sent it to Hitomi.

Her response came quickly:

“You’re way too into yourself. Also, the fact that you actually set a timer and posed for this alone is just cringe.”

That stung a little, but in a way, it was also amusing.

And with that, my first day in Macau came to an end.