America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 512 Kardashian

If we were to rank the world's most complex sports leagues by rules, the NFL would definitely be one of them, so complex that even Ernst almost got completely confused.

"The National Football League has 32 teams, which are divided into two leagues: the American League and the National League. The 16 teams in the two leagues are further divided into four divisions based on geographical location: the East, South, West, and North.

There's nothing wrong with dividing the league into sections; even high school leagues in the United States are basically conducted in this way.

What Ernst didn't expect was that the two leagues were not an internal loop.

He used to think that each team would play against the other teams in the league, compete for a championship, and then the two league champions would face off again to make up the Super Bowl.

If Massim hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known that the two leagues meet every season.

All I can say is that a fake fan is a fake fan. They know the rules of football, watch the Super Bowl every year, and that's no different from those who stay up all night every four years to watch the World Cup.

"Take the New England Patriots, for example. They play 16 regular season games. They play two games each against the other three teams in their division, one home and one away. Then they play one game each against the four teams in the same division of the league, two away and two home."

"In the remaining six league games, it will play one game each against four teams from one division of another league, also two home and two away. In the final two games, the New England Patriots will play one game each against one team from each of the two divisions that did not play each other in the league and who finished the same last season."

"What do you mean by 'same ranking'? Does that mean there are three eighth-placed players?" Ernst was a little confused.

Massim, as if he had finally caught Ernst red-handed, looked at him mockingly and said, "You don't even know the rules of the NFL, yet you've bought a team?"

It was said in a very subtle way, but it was clearly an insult to Ernst, calling him a bloodsucker capitalist.

There are many team owners like Ernst who don't understand the rules. They acquire teams with only one purpose: to treat the team as a profit-making tool. They try to obtain huge short-term profits through the operation, commercial development, and even asset resale of the team, just like vampires constantly sucking profits from the team. Therefore, they are angrily called bloodsucking capitalists by the majority of fans.

Of course, in the context of the commercialization of professional sports, almost all team owners hope to make a profit by operating the team, which is a normal demand of commercial investment.

However, the essential difference between bloodsucking capitalists and other bosses is that they are extremely short-sighted, completely disregarding the team's performance, reputation, and long-term development prospects, and only pursuing the maximization of short-term profits.

Driven by profit, they might allow their team to consistently finish at the bottom of the standings, and they might even sell off promising and talented superstars acquired through the draft.

"It's the division ranking, not the league ranking," a girl nearby explained.

Her voice caused everyone in the private room to react with varying expressions.

The adult sitting next to her glared at her with fear, then bowed his head and gave Ernst an apologetic smile.

Massim glanced at her indifferently, then looked around at Ernst, his eyes filled with an ambiguous and teasing look.

Ernst didn't even look at them, but he found it quite amusing.

As expected of the top family in the US with extremely high exposure and media attention, they never miss any opportunity to improve their status and expand their network.

They really know how to seize every opportunity to climb.

Ernst's trip to Boston was originally just to check on the newly acquired team out of boredom, and also to lend a hand to Craig.

To his surprise, he encountered the Kardashian family, the future number one defensive family in American sports, here.

The one who spoke just now is Kourtney Kardashian, the eldest daughter of the Kardashian family, and the girl next to her is Kim Kardashian, the symbol of the Kardashian family, who became famous worldwide with a single videotape.

Judging from their appearances, Kourtney and Kim Kardashian at this time still had a touch of youthful innocence and naivety, which contrasted sharply with their later mature and glamorous images.

After all, their ages are different; one is 19, and the other has just come of age.

However, in terms of physique, one can already see the shadow of later generations.

What Ernst didn't expect was whether this family's drive to climb the social ladder was ingrained in their very being.

At such a young age, she's already so cunning.

Every time Ernst's gaze swept over the two of them, regardless of whether he actually saw them, they were all displaying their advantages.

He took in every movement: chest out, buttocks lifted, and the unintentional licking of lips.

He could feel the undisguised greed and heat in the eyes of the two wildcats in heat.

Since that's the case, he decided to teach these two whimsical girls a lesson.

Suppressing his thoughts, Ernst acted as if he hadn't heard Courtney's words and said to Massim, "Get in touch as soon as you get back. I don't want to wait any longer."

Massim dropped his mocking expression and said seriously, "This is not something that can be resolved in a short time."

Ernst's proposed real estate project was indeed very attractive.

If it can truly be built as he described, a complex integrating sports, entertainment, consumption, luxury homes, resorts, and casinos, it would be incredibly attractive to the wealthy throughout New England.

The basin Ernst found was indeed large enough to hold a lot of water.

But this pot has a hole, which is what he called the spinach industry.

Sports and entertainment can both attract wealthy people, but what attracts them most is gambling.

Only when the spinach industry flourishes will the commercial center within it become more valuable, attracting major high-end brands to compete for a foothold.

"You haven't given me any information. How am I supposed to talk to those people and get them to believe me? By being sincere?" Massim said in a low voice.

Currently, there are only two places in the United States where casinos are legal: the famous gambling city of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Las Vegas is a lawless place in America for the wealthy, while Atlantic City is entirely a product of historical legacies.

Apart from these two places, any offline casino is illegal.

It is possible for a state to bypass the national level to lift the ban, but that would require a nationwide referendum with a high approval rate, which is impossible.

"I think you just want to know the answer so you can have peace of mind, right?" Ernst thought the other party's reason was too lame.

Seeing Massim's slightly embarrassed expression, he continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter if I tell you the method now. In any case, this matter will ultimately rely on the power of your Boston consortium to push it forward. You will know the key to it sooner or later."

Ernst didn't say anything earlier because he was stalling for time, trying to see if there was anything he could profit from.

But after thinking it over, it seems that the Boston Consortium still needs to step in, since this is their territory.

"So how exactly did you circumvent federal law and openly operate your casino?"

Massim's eyes gleamed with a keen curiosity about Ernst's ideas.