European Roulette originated in France. In fact, roulette is a French word that translates as "little wheel". It is believed that the famous mathematician Blaise Pascal invented the game in the seventeenth century. However subsequent developments took place outside France, because gambling was then outlawed in France. In 1842 Francois and Louis Blanc launched the game with a '0' to create a house edge in Hamburg in Germany. Francois then took the game to Monte Carlo by establishing the first of the Monte Carlo casinos. It was here that the game acquired its resounding popularity. There is a very interesting legend that Francois learned the secrets of roulette from the devil. When all the numbers of the roulette wheel are added the total obtained is 666, which is the number of the beast. Hence roulette is also known as the Devil's Game.
American Roulette
Roulette came to America in the early nineteenth century. A '00' was added to increase the house edge. Hence the American wheel has 38 compartments as against 37 in the European wheel, and is less favourable to players. In some American wheels an American eagle replaces the 00.
Roulette Online
In the mid 1990s roulette went online, thanks to the developments in Internet technology and gaming software. The Random Number Generator, which replaces the physical spinning of the wheel, is the heart of roulette software. Though, due to improvements in animation and graphics, the online players can still see a spinning wheel on their screens. Online casinos have mushroomed all over the Internet and players can play for free or for stakes from their homes. These online casinos offer all kinds of information on roulette including history, rules, odds and strategies.
Roulette in the Movies and TV
One of the memorable roulette scenes from movies was in Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart. The trick roulette wheel can be made to stop at the number 22. Bogart advises a down and out Bulgarian to put his last three chips on 22 and tells the croupier to let him win. The Bulgarian lets his winnings ride and is allowed to win again. The same sequence is repeated in Run, Lola, Run. Lola uses all her money to buy a 100-mark chip, which she bets on the number 20. She wins and lets her winnings ride and wins again. In this movie there is no trick wheel and Lola is really lucky. She wins 129,600 Marks. But everyone is not as lucky. In Red Man's Greed money is needed to save the town. The townsmen bet $10,000 and win. But then they let it ride and lose everything.
