DABO - GAME OF CHANCE PLAYED IN QUARK'S BAR

Dabo is a game of chance played on a roulette-like wheel in leisure suites. One is located in Quark's Bar on the Promenade of station Deep Space Nine in the Alpha Quadrant. Dabo is similar in design and style of play to roulette. Its appeal lies in the fact that bets can be placed on the outcome, and gamblers can turn one strip of latinum into 100 strips, or more, in just a few seconds.

Table key: A A winning bet is greeted witha shout of "dabo!" B The wheel is spun for several seconds. Once it has stopped it displays a random selection of colours and symbols. These will determine the players' winnings.

Play begins with the placement of bets on the possible combinations of winning symbols. 'Double down' and 'triple over' are among the wagers that can be made in dabo, and 'Pass 5' was a possible outcome [DS9: Starship Down]. After betting has taken place the dabo wheel is spun. The wheel revolves for several seconds, then gradually slows to a stop, randomly revealing a combination of symbols and colours. Players who correctly guessed which symbols and colours would be revealed are paid the amount of their bet, multiplied by the odds they took against correctly picking that particular winning combination. Those who guess incorrectly lose their bets, and must choose to either play on or quit the table. After the winners are paid out, the betting begins anew. The game continues until closing time or until the 'bank' is broken, and the table can pay out no more.

The two basic hardware components that comprise the dabo setup are the table and the wheel. The dabo tabletop is large enough for half a dozen people to gather around, but still compact enough for players to comfortably reach the centre to place their bets. Quark's table is decorated with colorful inlaid lights, and is situated on a raised platform, placing it, literally, at centre stage. The wheel is operated by the game officiator, usually a dabo girl, who announces the scoring results to the cheers of the winners and the groans of the losers. As with most games of chance, the odds are in the house's favour, and few dabo players have the wisdom to quit after collecting sizeable treasures. As Quark noted: "Everyone knows the odds are against them, but they don't care - they're here because they want to believe they can win."

The dabo girl acts as a croupier, diplomatically enforces the rules, outwits potential cheats, gracefully collects losing bets, and instantly calculates winnings. She does all this without losing the appealing smile or bubbly personality that keep customers playing and happily paying.

Beautiful women of various species who were employed as dabo game operators by Quark at his bar on Deep Space 9. Quark correctly believed that scantily-clad dabo girls significantly enhanced his revenues [DS9: Captive Pursuit]. One of them, a Bajoran dabo girl called Leeta, married Quark's brother Rom. Another, called Leosa, was employed by Ferengi Nunk who, together with two other Ferengi called Gegis and Yeggie, plotted to obtain Seven of Nine's (dead) body in order to sell the nanoprobes contained therein and divide the huge latinum profit between them [#152 Inside Man]. Leosa was promised ten per cent of the profits.

The wheel on Quark's dabo table resembles a stylised model of the Deep Space Nine station, with three arched arms rising from a circular, stationary ring, terminating in lights that illuminate the details in the catchment bowl area below. The stationary ring is also the platform on which bets are placed. In the center of the wheel is a relatively plain disk that is decorated with a series of symbols. This is the portion of the wheel that is grabbed and spun to begin a play. As the wheel turns, all ring lights flash and a clicking sound rises above the noise of the people in the bar. Within a few seconds, the time between clicks and flashes increases, indicating that the wheel is slowing, and betting is prohibited.