South Korean television series
The Royal Gambler[1] (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.
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
|
| TNmS Ratings[3]
|
AGB Nielsen[4]
|
| 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
|
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.[5]
