Graxol Kelvyyn Graxol Kelvyyn was an Anx male slave trader and an obsessive gambler who sold living cargo throughout the Outer Rim Territories around the year 32 BBY . His business was based on the planet Ryloth , but pleasure frequently brought him to the world of Tatooine ; there , Kelvyyn bet on Podracing events . Often on his arm was the Lethan Twi ' lek Shakka , his property and love interest . In 32 BBY , they both attended Tatooine ' s Boonta Eve Classic Podrace and viewed the competition from the private box of Kelvyyn ' s friend , the Toydarian merchant Watto . Kelvyyn initially wagered that the Dug racer Sebulba would win the event . However , impressed with Watto ' s young Human slave Anakin Skywalker , the Anx placed several bets on the boy after the competition began . When Skywalker won the race , Kelvyyn smugly demanded wupiupi from Watto , who had shown little faith in his own slave . Years later , the sentientologist Tem Eliss mentioned Kelvyyn in his academic writings ; although Kelvyyn was a gentle and loving being , Eliss considered him a dishonorable example of the Anx species . Biography . The Anx male Graxol Kelvyyn lived during the waning years of the Galactic Republic . Operating from the planet Ryloth , he was active as a slave trader throughout the Outer Rim Territories , where he sold living cargo to smugglers who in turn shipped the slaves across much of the galaxy . An obsessive gambler , Kelvyyn frequently visited the planet Tatooine to attend and bet on Podracing events alongside his friend Watto , a Toydarian merchant . At the Podraces , the two of them became acquainted with Diva Shaliqua , a Human / Theelin hybrid slave who belonged to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt . Shortly before 32 BBY , Kelvyyn fell in love with his slave Shakka , a Lethan Twi ' lek female . She became a fixture on his arm at social gatherings , and in 32 BBY , both of them attended the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace at Tatooine ' s Mos Espa Grand Arena , wherein they joined Watto and several of the Toydarian ' s other associates in his private viewing box high above the racing track . Confident in the abilities of the Dug racer Sebulba , Kelvyyn wagered 50 , 000 credits that he would win the day ' s event . Anakin Skywalker , a young Human slave of Watto ' s , was also entered in the race , and when his Podracer failed to start , Kelvyyn and his comrades laughed at the boy ' s misfortune . Skywalker persevered and got his vehicle going , but Watto was sceptical that the ragtag machine would be able to finish the race . Kelvyyn and Watto ' s friend Weazel both wagered twenty wupiupi that Skywalker would in fact complete all three laps , and Watto eagerly took the bet . After Sebulba completed the first lap in record time , Watto offered ten wupiupi that he would set a record for the entire race ; Kelvyyn upped the ante to fifteen and accepted . The Anx made one further wager with Watto : that Skywalker would win the entire event . As Kelvyyn watched anxiously , Skywalker overtook Sebulba and emerged the victor . Although a furious Watto argued with his guests , Kelvyyn and Weazel demanded payment . Years later , Kelvyyn was discussed by the Iyra sentientologist Tem Eliss in " The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life " , a book that showcased some of the galaxy ' s myriad sentient species . Kelvyyn was presented as an example of a dishonorable Anx whose gambling and slave trading were cited as vices . Personality and traits . Graxol Kelvyyn was a skilled trader who dealt in slaves and maintained a network of seedy smugglers throughout the galaxy . He was knowledgeable of the workings of criminal organizations and was adept at intimidating others . However , Kelvyyn was also a gentle man and was well - liked by the residents of Tatooine ' s city of Mos Espa , who thought of him as a local . He fell in love with his slave Shakka , but Professor Tem Eliss nevertheless considered him a dishonorable individual and believed that falling for one ' s own property was a mistake that no slaver could afford to make . A known aficionado of Podracing , Kelvyyn enjoyed the risks and rewards of the races and gambled on them obsessively . He was not averse to raising a bet ' s stakes . Kelvyyn made separate wagers on two different racers to win the Boonta Eve Classic in 32 BBY and continued to gamble with Watto after the race began . Although he laughed and clapped when Anakin Skywalker ' s Podracer failed to start , he was afterward impressed with the boy ' s performance and placed multiple bets on him . Kelvyyn taunted Watto when failing to bet on his own slave lost the Toydarian money . Kelvyyn was a hairless male Anx with blue eyes and creamy white skin . He stood considerably taller than 1 . 37 meters . Able to fluently speak , read , and write both the Anx language and Galactic Basic Standard , Kelvyyn could additionally speak Huttese , Rodese , Shyriiwook , Shusugaunt , and Twi ' leki . Although he was trained in the use of martial arts , the Anx carried a hold - out blaster on his person . Behind the scenes . Graxol Kelvyyn was , along with Senator Horox Ryyder , one of two Anx characters created for the 1999 film . Both characters ' origins lie in a piece of concept art drawn by artist Doug Chiang that was later turned into a 3D character maquette by sculptor John Coppinger ; Coppinger added slight details and altered some of the characters ' proportions in order for the transition from drawing to sculpture to work . A nearly eleven - foot - tall Anx costume was then created that required actor Jerome Blake to stand on twenty - four - inch stilts with the costume ' s head resting thirty - six inches above his own . Coppinger stood in for Blake during some of the early Anx costume fittings and demonstrated the costume ' s rig to director George Lucas , who , worried that the character was too tall , saw to it that both Kelvyyn and Ryyder sat down during their scenes in the movie . When Kelvyyn ' s scene was filmed , Blake was busy playing another role , and Coppinger donned the Anx costume in his stead . Coppinger has described the experience as " nearly five hours in an oven , " but still " great fun for a day . " Kelvyyn appeared as an extra , and Coppinger ' s performance went uncredited in the film . It was incorrectly attributed to Blake in the forty - eighth issue of " Star Wars Insider " magazine . An action figure of Kelvyyn was released by Hasbro in 1999 and was packaged with figures of Watto and Shakka in a three - pack called " Watto ' s Box ; " the set was the first licensed " Star Wars " product to provide the character with the name " Graxol Kelvyyn . " At the time , Kelvyyn was the largest " Star Wars " figure that Hasbro had ever produced . More information on the character was later revealed in such works as the 2001 " Coruscant Limited " expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game and " " , an article published in the seventh issue of " Star Wars Gamer " magazine in the same year . Although the Hasbro toy set asserts that Kelvyyn bet on Sebulba to win the Boonta Eve Classic , " Coruscant Limited " states that he wagered Skywalker would achieve victory . As Kelvyyn has been established as an obsessive gambler , this article treats both statements as canon ical . Kelvyyn is involved in several discrepancies between " The Phantom Menace " and the Expanded Universe . In the video game of the film , Kelvyyn and Watto are in the Toydarian ' s box prior to the Boonta Eve Classic when the Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn enters and gambles with Watto on the outcome of the race . This encounter contradicts the events of the film , which sees the bet occur in the Podracers ' hangar and without Kelvyyn present . The game also presents a different roster of characters seen in the box during the race ; although Kelvyyn is among them , he is unaccompanied by Shakka . Furthermore , the 2000 comic " Podracing Tales " , illustrated by Ken Steacy , depicts Kelvyyn with considerably greener skin than in " The Phantom Menace " , and the eighty - sixth issue of " The Official Star Wars Fact File " incorrectly states that the Anx at the Boonta Eve Classic is Horox Ryyder , positing that the Senator ' s presence in Watto ' s box is surprising .