Big Bet (카지노), formerly known as King Of Savvy, is an original Disney+ South Korean drama series directed by King Yoon-sung (known for helming The Outlaws (2017)), who is also stepping in as the screenwriter. The series stars Choi Min-sik as Cha Moo-sik, Lee Kyu-hyung as young Cha Moo-sik, Son Seok-koo (or Son Suk-ku) as Oh Seung-hoon and Lee Dong-hwi as Jeong-pal in the lead roles.
Premiering on January 4, 2023, Big Bet episode 5 titled “The Game Plan” has a runtime of 58 minutes with a synopsis that reads, “Cha Moo-sik is introduced to a new financier, Jung Suk-woo.”
Disney+ Hotstar describes the series as follows:
CHA MOOSIK RUNS A CASINO BAR, ONLY TO FLEE TO THE PHILIPPINES DUE TO A CRACKDOWN BY THE NATIONAL TAX SERVICE
-Big Bet Episode 5 Recap Contains Spoilers-
As the grand opening of Bolton Casino approaches, so does Moo-sik with his squad before the event as he hopes to put a bid on the hotel. However, the mediator, Mr. Jeon conveys the arising dilemma of many people having put money up for their respective bids more than a year ago, just as Min Seok-jun had told Moo-sik during the final moments of the previous episode.
Moo-sik threatens him to make “his move” if his request isn’t acceded, so Jeon has no choice but to keep the wheel running and starts pondering over how to go about the issue. Moo-sik forwards a deposit of 100 million pesos right away without following the formal procedure, which irks Mr. Jeon.
Some issues arise yet again due to Moo-sik waltzing in late, but he just can’t accept defeat. Eventually, he buys out the entire casino from the other three companies who’d collaborated together for their bid to win it. Meanwhile, Jung-pal can’t stop thinking about his girlfriend, So-jung, and he requests Moo-sik to put in a good word for her to be transferred to their new hotel from Casabee Hotel, where she worked at the moment.
Chil-gu plans on moving to Caliz soon after joining hands with Seok-jun, so he meets up with Yoon-gi, the Korean embassy officer in Manila, who also happens to be his friend. Yoon-gi warns his friends about entering into business with the casino owner, and offers his help in the hour of need, if necessary.
So-jun is transferred to the new hotel after all, but the first meeting foreshadows the doom of her relationship with Jung-pal as she and Sang-gu’s friend, Philip eye each other, which rings a bell for trouble that Jung-pal hasn’t quite noticed yet.
A new element of the casino world is introduced in the form of people who work as “honeybees”. Having lost all their money to the casino, such people are forbidden from leaving the place, and instead start luring in more customers for the place. One such man caught in the cycle is Professor Na, who plans on paying off his debts entirely by introducing a financier to Moo-sik.
As Professor Na organises his meet-up with Jeong Seok-woo, Moo-sik gets to buttering up their latest client. He upgrades his family’s stay at their new hotel and keeps tabs on his wealth status, thus digging into his status as the CEO of Woosam Precision Machines with a profit of 81 billion won and no debt. Moo-sik plays the long game with him, which ultimately leads him to his casino as planned. Professor Na gets his due and takes leave thereafter.
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Moo-sik gradually pushes him to play big, seeing it all as an investment, and ultimately wins him over by lending some chips for the game on his behalf, and supposedly helping him return victorious to Korea.
In the meantime, the Korean Embassy in the Philippines is perturbed by the recent news of two Korean tourists being shot by Filipinos in broad daylight. They think of deploying Korean police officers to lead the case and finalise on taking the matter up with higher organisations for it to be backed up.
Soon enough, Seok-woo reaches out to Moo-sik again as he plans on visiting him again. The latter’s strategy has clearly worked out its magic, and the two decide to head over to the gold club again.
Big Bet Episode 5 Ending
While working at the new hotel, the CEO of Pastella, Ms. Ko catches the eye of So-jung. A young female model creates ruckus at the hotel in front of Ms. Ko, which is cleared up by Philip. Later on, he and So-jung share lunch with the CEO, while So-jung attempts to gain her favour by flattering her.
As expected, So-jung and Philip hook up as the former keeps denying her relationship with Jung-pal. After their time together, So-jung can’t stop bringing up Ms. Ko’s name and tries to get an insight into the lady’s life. They also hint at a rumour going around about her, but it isn’t stated clearly. Right at that time, Jung-pal calls her, but she doesn’t pick up, not knowing that he’s standing downstairs to greet her with flowers. Seeing her silhouette against the window, Jung-pal gets the hint and tosses the bouquet aside and leaves.
Son Suk-ku’s character finally makes his much-anticipated entry as the new police officer in the Philippines from Korea. Yoon-gi comes to pick him up, and the two seem to get along well during their ride back before the credits start rolling.
Big Bet Episode 5 Review
Having set up the stage for Son Suk-ku’s highly anticipated arrival to the show half-way down the road, the final moment of his appearance lights up the mood instantly. It probably has to with the waiting period, but with him coming in, you can already expect to see some big changes in the storytelling tactics. The regularly leading appearances of the show have been boxed in since the beginning as new entries are introduced nearly every episode. So far this hasn’t allowed us to connect with any characters except Moo-sik, but that too barely.
The fifth episode ignites the start of something new, as throughout this chapter, the storyline stuck to following a single timeline instead of rocking the boat by jumping back and forth with multiple narrations. Our gaze is commanded by Choi Min-sik’s (plays Moo-sik) perspective of the entire casino scene, while also letting us catch the drift of Lee Dong-hwi’s character (plays Jung-pal) properly for the first time.
While the former introductions of the casino terminology have been all over the place due to the constant shifts of the calendar, today’s episode takes its sweet time to delve into the concept laid bare to us, thus turning up with an interesting and focussed angle on the actions happening therein.
Big Bet episode 5 is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.