# The Royal Gambler

The Royal Gambler (Korean: 대박; Hanja: 大撲; RR: Daebak; lit. Jackpot) is a South Korean historical drama starring Jang Keun-suk, Yeo Jin-goo, Jun Kwang-ryul, Choi Min-soo, Yoon Jin-seo, and Lim Ji-yeon. It replaced Six Flying Dragons and aired on SBS on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) from March 28, 2016, to June 14, 2016, for 24 episodes.

## Plot

This drama is about a prince who is forced to live as a commoner and uses his gambling skills to take revenge on the King. Dae-Gil (Jang Geun-suk) and King Yeongjo (Yeo Jin-goo) enter a match. Dae-Gil bets his life and King Yeongjo bets the entire Kingdom of Joseon on the outcome. Dae-Gil is the best gambler in the Joseon era. He holds deep resentment inside, but is also cool on the exterior. King Yeongjo is a man who never lowers his head without a convincing reason. Meanwhile, Dam-Seo (Lim Ji-yeon) exists solely to take revenge upon king.
It is a fictionalised account of events leading to the accession of the throne by King Yeongjo, and also a fictionalised account of the 1728 Musin Rebellion.

## Cast
### Main cast

* Jang Geun-suk as Baek Dae-gil
* Yeo Jin-goo as Prince Yeoning (King Yeongjo)
* Jun Kwang-ryul as Lee In-jwa
* Choi Min-soo as King Sukjong
* Yoon Jin-seo as Consort Suk
* Lim Ji-yeon as Dam-seo
* Hyun Woo as Yoon (King Gyeongjong)

### Supporting cast

* Im Hyun-sik as Nam Dokkebi
* Ahn Gil-kang as Kim Che-gun
* Song Jong-ho as Kim Yi-soo
* Ji Il-joo as Moo-myung
* Han Jung-soo as Hwang Jin-gi
* Han Ki-woong as Sa Woon
* Han Ki-won as Sa Mo
* Oh Yeon-ah as Jang Ok-jung
* Yoon Ji-hye as Hong-Mae
* Lee Moon-sik as Baek Man-geum
* Jeon Soo-jin as Hwanggoo Mom
* Kim Yoo-chul as Daegari
* Jun Jae-hyung as Gamoolchi
* Baek Seung-hyeon as Jang Hee-jae (Jang Ok-jung's brother)
* Heo Tae-hee as Sang-gil (Yeongjo's bodyguard)
* Lee Ga-hyun as Hwa-jin
* Cha Soon-bae as Jo Tae-gu
* Na Jae-woong as Choi Seok-hang
* Kim Ga-eun as Gye Sul-im
* Kim Sung-oh as Hwanghae-do's Gaejakdoo
* Hong Ah-reum as Yeon Hwa

## Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share |
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | TNmS Ratings | TNmS Ratings | AGB Nielsen | AGB Nielsen |
| Episode # | Original broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area | Nationwide | Seoul National Capital Area |
| 1 | March 28, 2016 | 9.5% | 11.1% | 11.8% | 13.0% |
| 2 | March 29, 2016 | 9.9% | 11.0% | 12.2% | 13.7% |
| 3 | April 4, 2016 | 9.1% | 10.1% | 11.6% | 12.5% |
| 4 | April 5, 2016 | 8.9% | 10.4% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| 5 | April 11, 2016 | 8.6% | 10.4% | 9.2% | 9.8% |
| 6 | April 12, 2016 | 8.0% | 10.2% | 8.4% | 9.3% |
| 7 | April 18, 2016 | 8.1% | 9.3% | 9.1% | 8.9% |
| 8 | April 19, 2016 | 7.7% | 9.2% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 9 | April 25, 2016 | 8.2% | 9.5% | 8.0% | 8.5% |
| 10 | April 26, 2016 | 8.1% | 9.5% | 8.9% | 9.7% |
| 11 | May 2, 2016 | 8.3% | 10.5% | 8.9% | 9.4% |
| 12 | May 3, 2016 | 8.8% | 10.8% | 9.2% | 9.8% |
| 13 | May 9, 2016 | 8.5% | 9.8% | 8.7% | 9.3% |
| 14 | May 10, 2016 | 8.6% | 11.3% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| 15 | May 16, 2016 | 8.1% | 9.4% | 8.4% | 8.3% |
| 16 | May 17, 2016 | 8.0% | 8.8% | 9.6% | 10.4% |
| 17 | May 23, 2016 | 7.5% | 8.7% | 9.5% | 10.5% |
| 18 | May 24, 2016 | 7.6% | 8.6% | 8.5% | 8.8% |
| 19 | May 30, 2016 | 7.6% | 9.3% | 7.7% | 7.8% |
| 20 | May 31, 2016 | 6.8% | 7.9% | 8.1% | 8.1% |
| 21 | June 6, 2016 | 8.6% | 10.2% | 10.3% | 11.4% |
| 22 | June 7, 2016 | 8.9% | 10.8% | 9.9% | 10.0% |
| 23 | June 13, 2016 | 8.6% | 10.3% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 24 | June 14, 2016 | 9.0% | 10.6% | 10.0% | 10.2% |
| Average | Average | 8.4% | 9.9% | 9.3% | 9.9% |

## International broadcast

In the United States, the drama airs in the Los Angeles DMA free, over-the-air on LA 18 KSCI-TV (channel 18) with English subtitles, Mon-Tue 9:15PM, from April 25 to July 12, 2016.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2016 | 5th APAN Star Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Choi Min-soo | Nominated |
| 2016 | 5th APAN Star Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Jang Keun-suk | Nominated |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Grand Prize (Daesang) | Jang Keun-suk | Nominated |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Jang Keun-suk | Won |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Choi Min-soo | Nominated |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Serial Drama | Yoon Jin-seo | Nominated |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama | Yeo Jin-goo | Won |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Best Couple Award | Jang Keun-suk and Yeo Jin-goo | Nominated |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Top 10 Stars Award | Jang Keun-suk | Won |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Idol Academy Award – Best "Drudge" | Jang Keun-suk | Nominated |
| 2016 | SBS Drama Awards | Idol Academy Award – Best Eating | Jun Kwang-ryul | Nominated |