Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 61 Fighting to the Death at Omaha (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Recommendations)

When Larry returned to the betting shop, he tried his best to avoid attracting attention.

But that's almost impossible, because the two tellers at the counter yesterday spotted him immediately and started whispering to another man in a navy blue suit, pointing at him.

Larry braced himself and went inside, pretending that he was still that little devil who wanted to win more, so he went straight to the price quote board, tilted his head back, and looked at the price quotes with his hands behind his back.

It was just past 10 a.m. when the market opened, and the quoting machine started clicking away as the first batch of paper tapes for the day were being ejected.

Larry was a little nervous. According to his expectations, Omaha should have two possible trends right now. One is that it will open directly higher, jump above $80, and then reach a new high. This trend is consistent with the rapid style of the major shareholders behind the stock.

However, this situation is actually disadvantageous for Larry, because he has already lost his previous low-position positions, and any further rise will make it difficult for Larry to find a suitable entry point.

Even if Larry manages to get a very good entry point, there's an even more difficult problem: will the betting bank still accept his bets?

Therefore, from Larry's perspective, he hoped for another possibility.

Now, the first batch of quotes for today has arrived!
Since it was Friday morning, the first batch of stock quotes focused on bank stocks, with several bank stocks rising, as January is a crucial period for bank earnings. Banks more likely to issue large loans started to rise first.

"Western Frontier Bank, $10.3."

"National reserves, $5.40."

……

After several rounds of appetizers, the main course arrived.

"Omaha, $69 and three-quarters!" The young man reading the note brought Larry the stock quote he had been longing for.

This price is nearly $3 lower than the price Larry closed his position at the end of yesterday's trading session.

Larry was secretly pleased, but kept smiling. He took out $20 from his pocket and walked straight to the counter.

The two tellers behind the counter were keeping a close eye on him. When Larry walked over with a delighted look on his face, they exchanged a glance.
“Buy 20 shares of Omaha! Oh, I was regretting selling too early yesterday, and it’s actually gone down today, this is fantastic!” Larry excitedly handed over his $20.

This action surprised the two tellers. They had expected Larry to be generous again, but they didn't expect him to only take out $20.

A teller glanced at the man in the navy blue suit not far away, then took the $20.

"Going long? Is that right?" Another teller pulled out a transaction slip, ready to fill in the price.

“Of course! I bet this stock will go up!” Larry took out a 25-cent coin and handed it over, urging the clerk to fill out the form quickly.

The teller filled out the form with the words "Buy 20 shares at 69 and three-quarters, with a margin of $1 per share" and then handed it to Larry.

Larry stood by the counter, holding the transaction slip, craning his neck to wait for the next offer from Omaha.

Five minutes later, a new offer came in: "Omaha, $66.50!!"

Larry was startled and quickly turned to the teller, saying, "Please close my position! Quickly, 20 shares."

The two tellers smiled, and one of them bent down and said, "Young man, you only have 1% margin. The latest quote has just dropped below $68, so your transaction order is now worthless."

Larry was utterly shocked. "Impossible! My $20 disappeared in just a few minutes?"

“Yes, kid, there’s nothing we can do about it. These popular stocks tend to fluctuate wildly,” another teller said. Larry looked at the transaction slip in his hand, angrily crumpled the paper, and threw it on the ground.

Then Larry pulled another $50 from another pocket, slammed it on the counter, and shouted, "Someone's playing tricks! This stock price won't keep falling! I don't believe it! Buy again, still Omaha, this time 50 shares!"

50 shares?

The clerk looked at the navy blue suit again.

Before the market opened, the tellers and the front desk manager, who was dressed in a suit, had agreed not to accept his order. However, one of the tellers insisted that this young man, who was probably some Colt executive, was just lucky and said they should accept his order because there were too many people in the betting industry who gambled on luck and would lose all their money, including interest, in a few days.

The result of their discussion was that they had to make a decision on the fly every time Larry placed an order.

At this moment, the two tellers looked at the front desk manager again. The manager was still hesitating, but Larry outside the counter kept urging them on, as if he was eager to recoup his losses.

The front desk manager glanced at Larry's pony badge and nodded discreetly.

The two filled out another order for Larry, this time at a price of $66.5 for 50 shares.

This time, luck was on the betting bank's side again. Omaha's next offer was $65.75, but the offer after that immediately dropped below $64, to $63.75, rendering Larry's trade order worthless once again.

Larry looked at the two tellers with an incredulous expression, pointing to the transaction slip as if to say, "Is the money gone?"

The teller tried hard to suppress her smile and nodded slowly but firmly.

Larry dropped the trading order and took out another $100, but this time he hesitated. He clutched the $100 and stared intently at the quote board, as if he were ready to fight Omaha to the death again at any moment.

The front desk manager breathed a sigh of relief. He had once suspected that the blond boy was a master, but now it seemed that he was not only obsessed with Omaha stock, but also clearly had a resentful attitude. This should confirm one of the tellers' guesses that he was just a kid who got lucky by chance.

The latest Omaha price quote is out, this time at $62.25. The stock price continues to fall and has returned to the price Larry bought yesterday.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this stock has entered a frenzied phase. Stocks that experience consecutive rises and falls are most likely to result in losses on both sides, reaping huge profits from both long and short positions – a favorite of gambling companies. However, seasoned gamblers know that this stock is prone to wiping out margin calls and would absolutely never enter the market.

Larry seemed hesitant; he placed $100 on the counter several times but never gave the order.

During this time, several traders came to buy or sell stocks, and Larry gave up his trading position, but he was reluctant to leave the trading counter.

It was exactly 11 o'clock, and Omaha's latest stock price had risen slightly.
"Omaha, $62.75!" the clerk at the price counter called out. The price clerk then climbed the ladder to erase the original price and prepare to write the latest quote.

Larry, his face ashen, threw $100 into the counter, then tossed down 25 cents, and yelled, "Right now, $100 Omaha, go long!"

The teller looked at the front desk manager again, who nodded with his hands behind his back, and the teller began to fill out the form.

"Buy 100 shares of Omaha at $62 and three-quarters, with a margin of $1 per share!" After writing the order, the teller handed it to Larry, eagerly awaiting the next Omaha quote to cash out his $100.

But the teller was disappointed because the next offer in Omaha had jumped to $65.5, nearly $3.

Larry's face lit up with ecstasy. He patted his pockets, then grabbed the remaining $200 from his pocket and slammed it onto the counter.

"Hurry up, give me another 200 shares of Omaha!!" Larry shouted excitedly at the teller.

The teller then looked at the front desk manager again.

(End of this chapter)