How Is Gambling Viewed On Your Space Station?

Another way to relax that almost always makes its way where people are is gambling. If it’s not legal, than there is probably an underground game somewhere on station, whether they play for actual money or not. If it is legal than you can bet there is at least a set game with a regular buy in. More likely than not, if gambling is legal there will be a casino of some sort. It may be an underground one the station security pretends to ignore while quietly monitoring the seedy group of people through hidden cameras there or it may be like Quark’s in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 which was the center of social life on the station. Quark’s was the only bar, restaurant, and entertainment complex on station, according to the series writers, and everyone stopped in at one time during the day or night. Security also kept a close eye on the goings on in the casino to keep order and see what scam artists the casino brought in that week. As unlikely as it is that the station would only have one restaurant, bar, and entertainment area, the creators were smart enough to know that they needed at least one area and most of the episodes included Quark’s in one way or another. It may have been a drink at the bar and a conversation with Quark, who not surprisingly was the station gossip and confidant, or it may have been a conversation between friends over dinner or even an episode based in the holodeck. Whatever the story line was, you’d have troubles finding an episode set on station that didn’t involve Quark’s and people enjoying some time off. It just goes to show how important a good relaxation spot is to a story.