Sharon had laughed at the idea. ‘Who the hell is going to burgle or raid the casino, knowing who owns it, and what would happen to them if they did?’ she had said.

Tony took her point but didn’t care; he wasn’t taking any chances. There was a lot of money involved; this could make or break him. Security monitors had been placed everywhere, on the insurance company’s instructions, and he was leaving no stone unturned.

Opening day finally arrived. Tony was nervous and his palms were sweaty. He and Jake had decided to go to the casino early, to make sure everything was ready for the customers. They were surprised to see that Graham had all the staff lined up like soldiers on parade, awaiting their inspection. It was a long process and, thankfully, they all wore name badges. Graham walked with them, introducing the staff and explaining what area they would be working in. Tony and Jake remained poker-faced, as though it was all matter of fact and they had done this numerous times, even though inside, their hearts were pounding.

After the inspection, they walked upstairs to the main office and both gave a sigh of relief, once they were out of sight. ‘Bloody hell, Tony, my arm is aching with all that hand-shaking. I didn’t realise how many employees there were.’ Jake was rubbing his arm and shaking it.

Tony ignored him and went and sat down on the huge leather swivel chair at his desk. Jake’s desk was at the other side of the room.

‘We’ve made it, Jake. Did you see all those people? They looked at us like we were gods.’

They both sat in silence, deep in thought, taking in everything that was going on around them. They had come a long way from the old days, leg-breaking for the protection money the bossman had demanded from the local publicans.

An hour later, Graham came up to inform them it was time to open the doors to the public. They were ready for business. Tony stood up, straightened his tie and swept his hair back. ‘Graham, just a minute please.’ His voice was genuine and sincere; he had a lump in his throat and fought to contain his feelings. ‘It might be our casino, but this is your opening night. Thank you, we couldn’t have done it without you.’

Tony and Jake both walked up to him and shook his hand. They could see how much Graham appreciated their acknowledgement of all his hard work.

‘Thank you, Mr Lambrianu, fingers crossed all goes well.’ He also felt a little humble that these well-known, much-feared men had graciously taken the time to thank him.

‘Call me Tony, and this, of course, is Jake. You’re the manager of this empire, this is your baby. Good luck, Graham.’

Again, Graham nodded at them both, then he left.

Jake poured two glasses of whisky and handed one to Tony. He felt they both needed it. ‘To us, boss,’ he said, and raised his glass in the air for a toast.