We doubt we have to spend time familiarizing anyone with the Star Wars franchise. Even if you haven’t watched any of it – do people like this still exist? – you must have at least heard about the story that happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Through the years, Star Wars has expanded from films to comics, TV shows, and games, and so did its universe. And even though it depicts a reality much different from ours, there are always similarities to be found.
One of them is gambling: Yes, it exists, even in the fantastic world of Star Wars. And even though putting Star Wars in the casino movies genre is a bit of a stretch, the franchise features plenty of gambling scenes.
So how does space-betting work? What are the most popular games, and which character is the most likely to develop a gambling disorder? Let’s find out.
Did You Know That Star Wars Has a Whole Planet Dedicated to Gambling?
Gambling appears in several scenes throughout the series; however, with The Last Jedi, we’re introduced to a whole new gambling planet – Cantonica. Cantonica is covered by the city of Canto Bight – a sprawling metropolis of casinos and racetracks. Canto Casino looks much like our Las Vegas or Monte Carlo, with restaurants and game rooms around taking up every free inch of space.
Gambling plays a vital role in the Star Wars series, as some of its most notable scenes unfolded around games of chance. For instance, Qui-Gon Jinn bets on young Anakin Skywalker and uses the Force to skew the result and win the child’s freedom from slavery in The Phantom Menace. And there’s the Last Jedi golden dice scene, which left many fans confused.
What Are the Star Wars Casino Games?
Gambling in Star Wars resembles gambling on Earth: The Swoop races held at Canto Bight are similar to horse racing, or Formula 1. And for those who really love danger, Star Wars created Podracing, the fastest test of speed in the known universe. Anakin himself is a Podracer, and where there’s racing, there’s betting too: Characters throughout the series staked their money or their lives on one contest or another.
Casino staples, such as slot machines, seemed to have stood the test of time and changing universes, as well. Unfortunately, Star Wars slot machines on Earth were discontinued and recalled from casinos a few years ago when Disney purchased the franchise.
Those who enjoy blackjack will be glad to hear Star Wars has the same game, under a different name: Sabacc, a game of skill and luck, is a card game where the player whose hand was closest to 23 wins. Fans will remember that through this game, Han Solo got the Millenium Falcon from Lando Calrissian.
You’ll also probably remember Han’s famous line: “Never tell me the odds.” Sounds very cool, but it’s actually terrible gambling advice.
Have You Heard About the Golden Dice?
If you aren’t an avid fan of the Star Wars series, but watch it just for fun and leisure, then you didn’t get the appearance of the golden dice at Han Solo’s funeral in the Last Jedi.
You see, when Han won the Millenium Falcon from Lando, he wasn’t playing traditional Sabacc – he was playing Corellian Spike, a version of Sabacc that uses dice instead of cards. Of course, as you might suspect, these dice are the ones that appear at the funeral. Some will even remember the scene in Cloud City when Han Solo reminds his frenemy that he lost his ship “fair and square.”
The dice appear in the Last Jedi several times. First, when Luke takes the dice as a memento of Han, only for his Force illusion to give them to Leia on Crait. Then, they reappear in the hands of Kylo Ren, but we find out they were just imaginary this time, serving only as a reminder of Han to instill a deeper sense of regret in Kylo.
The interesting thing is that the golden dice were originally just like those we find on Earth, with numbers ranging from one to six. However, they were redesigned for The Last Jedi, and in that movie, they contain symbols similar to those used in the Canto Bight casino city.
Wrapping Things Up
The Star Wars series is beloved by many generations, and it might even be the most-loved epic franchise of all time. Like all good things, the Star Wars series is multi-layered and detailed – we can see this in the consistency of its gambling motif throughout the movies.
What uncommon detail did you find interesting about the franchise?