HISTORY OF ROULETTE

You must know this famous game! Even people, who had never been in a casino, easily recognize the green table and the wheel in lots of movies or pictures. "Placing bets", this vital part of the game, which can provide you with wealth or take all your money away is something extremely exciting and almost magical. For as long as mankind can remember, the instinct to take risks in the form of gambling has existed in us. Whether it has been playing for money, property, reputation or even life, gambling has always been a part of human nature. Roulette players come from many different backgrounds, cultures, ages. The wheel goes round and round, swirling eyes are focused on the ball, the air is filled with greed - this is unique and specific gambling environment. Never fear - the game is here! But how did it all start? Here, take a look at the history…

The game has fascinated casino patrons for almost 300 years. Although no one seems to know all of the details connected with its origin and development, some forms of the game seem to be as old as the wheel itself. There are proofs that the Roman soldiers played a similar game, by spinning wheels of their chariots, for amusement. The modern system was born in 17th or maybe 18th century. It is believed, that a famous French scientist Blaise Pascal, during his study of "perpetual motion devices", developed the rotating wheel system. Accidentally, his work was the base for "probability", which is now a big, mathematical field. The rolling device and jumping ball were first notified in the year of 1720, in the game called "Roly-poly". However the Gaming Acts of 1739 and 1740 banned that kind of game. Numerous attempts to evade these laws were made, by making innovations or changing the game name. Those innovations have been consequently outlawed in 1745. During the next 50 years, the game evolved underground into the one we would recognize today. The "modern" wheels were first noticed in Paris at the end of the 18th century, and contained all of the familiar elements that we have today, which are the alternating red and black colors, numbered pockets from 1 to 36, and two zeroes - a single one and a double one. The only major difference was that the single zero was red (although the casino barred any "red" bets from winning if 0 appeared) and the double zero was black (the same for "black" bets). To alleviate the confusion, the zeros were "green". Due to banning it all over France, the roulette has been established in New Orleans by French colonists. The game became quite popular there and it quickly started to spread all over the continent. Meanwhile, in Europe one major change has been made to the game. The two Frenchmen, innovative brothers Francois and Louis Blanc presented a new table, with one 0 only. The new single zero wheel, with a 2.70% edge instead of the double zero's 5.26% edge, was an instant hit. It decimated the competition. After few years, Louis Blanc (meanwhile Francois died) received an invitation from the king of Monaco and established the first giant, magnificent casino that sets all the standards in Europe. The single zero table was not powerful enough to overrun America and became known as the "European" type of roulette (the French roulette). Double zero survived in the United States where it became known as "the American roulette". Of course those names are not relevant to the exact situation, because both roulettes were developed in France. In Europe, the option of "En Prison" was offered, further lowering the house edge down to 1.35%! No wonder the game accounts for over 50% of revenues in European casinos as compared to about 5% in American casinos. Casinos today in Atlantic City do offer En Prison for even money bets on double zero wheels. This reduces the casinos' edge from 5.26% to 2.63% for those bets but this still is not the satisfactory edge. In Europe, the game of roulette (by the way the oldest casino game still available in casinos) now is in full bloom, generating large profits for houses of hazard. In America the game is not that much popular, but if single zero tables replace double zero ones, the previous glory might return.