I didn't know the minimum to start was $100,000 until I got to the table. Damian, wanting to show how strong he was, bought 20 million worth of chips at once. I sat uneasily next to him. Alex sat across from him with the same amount of chips.
Richard, the Titans Federation representative, and his daughter were also at the table, along with three other strange men. Sarah purposely sat next to Alex, her eyes hovering between Damian and Alex with a look of amusement.
Damian whispered to me that the other players were family representatives. Now I understood why he had to exchange such a staggering amount for chips. This looked like an ordinary game, but in fact it was a hidden battle between families.
It was all about the merger case the Italian gas merger. The interest wasn't in natural gas itself, but in the massive energy trading behind it. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the cards like a pack of wolves circling fresh meat.
Every family was desperate for the merger.
