Week 7 Storytelling: Watto Loses Everything

Watto was from the planet Toydaria, and despite a difficult youth, he had managed to do well for himself.  Oringally, Watto had served as a soldier for the Ossiki Confederacy Army on his home planet.  After he returned home from war he expected to continue his father's business.  His father owned multiple businesses across the system, but the largest was a food producer known as Monsanta.  Monsanta farmed algae and fish for the Toydarians and had a near monopoly on the planet's food supply.  Instead, when Watto returned home, he discovered that his brother Datto was running the empire.  His father informed him that Watto would be given a small junk shop on the planet Tatooine.  Watto should have suspected as much.  His father had always favored his older brother.  He packed his things and took the next ship to Tatooine.

Watto would not let his father or brother stop him from acquiring fame and fortune.  He set about becoming the best junk dealer in the galaxy.  He began learning about trade from the local Jawas.  Before long, his junk shop was the most profitable on Tatooine.  Around this time he decided to join the slave trade.  He had an uncanny ability to choose the best slaves.  He even found a young boy by the name of Anakin who had a mechanical aptitude and boosted the productivity of his shop by nearly double.  Watto became very wealthy and very happy.  The business almost ran itself with Anakin there.

While everything was going well for Watto, Monsanta was going through a rough patch.  Datto was not nearly as competent as Watto.  In order to make himself feel better, Datto planned a trip to visit his brother.  Datto owned an empire while his brother had a measly junk shop.  However, to his surprise, when Datto arrived on Tatooine, he discovered that Watto was the wealthiest creature on the planet.  Datto grew jealous and hatred burned in his heart.  He decided that he would send his servant Shakuni to win everything from Watto in a gambling match.

If Watto had one weakness, it was gambling.  He loved to wager on the podraces.  Just before the biggest podrace of the year, two groups of foreigners came to Tatooine.  The first was Shakuni and his aides.  The second was Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, Padme Amidala, and a strange Gungan named Jar Jar Binks. Qui-Gon Jinn claimed to have a podracer that he won in a game of chance.  He wanted Anakin to pilot it for him.  If Anakin won, Watto would keep the prize money.  If Anakin lost, Watto would keep Qui-Gon's ship.  It was too good to turn down.  Similarly, Shakuni offered him a deal that was too good to be true.  Watto bet Shakuni that the Dug Sebulba would win the race.

If Sebulba won, Watto would have been the wealthiest man in the system.  But instead Anakin won the race, and Watto lost everything.  Watto spent the rest of his days destitute and alone.

Watto

Original Image

Author's Note:  I watched Star Wars Episode I last night.  Like Yudhisthira, Watto's weakness is gambling.  While Watto is extremely different from Yudhisthira, I thought he would make a good character to retell Yudhisthira's story.

Bibliography:
"Mahabharata" by Peter Brook. Website: YouTube.