Since its inception, this type of game has played a prominent role in the casino world. Although the years go by, the interest in roulette does not seem to diminish, since it is one of the most appreciated modalities by players around the world. Some players who think they know everything there is to know about roulette, but the reality is that most do not know the interesting history of their favorite game. For this reason, we tell you the most interesting facts and anecdotes from the exciting history of roulette.
No one knows for sure, and we probably never will, what the origin of roulette is. For most historians, European roulette was created in France by the mathematician Blaise Pascal , at least that is the theory most accepted by the historian community. In fact, roulette owes its name to the French word “roulette”, which means small wheel, which gives credence to this current of thought. The French mathematician, one of the men who contributed the most to the field of science and humanities in history, was trying to create a perpetual motion machine, that is, a machine that never stops moving, but he ended up inventing the roulette, which would end up being the most balanced game of chance in the seventeenth century.
Devil’s Game
François Blanc and his brother Louis installed roulette in the Monte Carlo Casino, avoiding the bankruptcy of the Monegasque gambling establishment and making it a gaming mecca. According to legend, François Blanc had to sell his soul to the devil to learn the secrets of roulette. For this reason, the 36 numbers on roulette add up to 666. Beyond this legend, it was Blaise Pascal himself who devised roulette with 36 numbers (without the zero) to establish a balance in the position in which each number is placed. In addition, he also arranged the numbers in such a way that they had the same chances of coming out in the same percentage of probabilities. In 1842, the Blanc brothers modified this primitive roulette by adding a new number, 0.
Zero And Double Zero In Roulette
The rules of roulette modern are the same that were applied in the first casinos of Germany, France and the Principality of Monaco. This also applies to the rules of American roulette, although there is a significant difference between the two versions of this game of chance. While the European version has a zero, the American version has a double zero. The zero of the European version was introduced by François Blanc to increase the payout for the player and attract more bettors to his casino in Hamburg. When roulette landed in the United States, American casino operators added double zero, which adds a greater edge to the bank by reducing the odds of single and multiple bets. In this way, while zero gives the casino an advantage of 2.7%, double zero raises that advantage to 5.26%.
The Advantage of American Casinos
Unlike European casinos, American establishments have a greater edge at roulette. An advantage that dates back to the 19th century, when the first courses of American roulette wheels had numbers ranging from 1 to 28, along with a zero, a double zero and a box with the American eagle. These three boxes generated a house edge of 13% on all single number bets. Unsurprisingly, these measures were really unpopular with players, as they felt they were receiving unfair treatment from the casinos. For this reason, the American eagle box and zero were eliminated , leaving the double zero as the only box favorable to the bank.
The Riskiest Bet In History
The history of roulette is full of risky bets, but none of them have been as shocking as that made by Ashley Revell. The English gambler, a regular gambler and lover of the thrill of gambling, traded in all his belongings for just over $ 136,000 in chips to try his hand at roulette at the Casino Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. He had only one goal: to change his life and create an online poker business that had been on his mind for years. Revell came to the gambling establishment with the intention of betting everything on black, but a hunch led him to bet on red. Finally, the red 7 came out and the Englishman converted the $ 136,000 into $ 270,000. A risky bet with which he changed his life forever.
ROULETTE AT THE CINEMA
Roulette has had a prominent presence in the history of cinema, as has poker . This mode is one of the most exciting games of chance in the casino world. For this reason, most roulette scenes feature an exciting atmosphere that makes viewers fall in love. Without going any further, Casablanca , one of the great films in the history of cinema, has several scenes with the game of roulette as the protagonist, specifically in Rick’s Cafe (Rick’s Cafe Americain in English) owned by the protagonist of the film .
The Jump To The Digital World
The popularity of roulette has multiplied in recent years with its leap into the digital world. Today, gambling fans can play roulette in practically every country in the world. In fact, there are an estimated 70,000 live roulette tables and many more at online casinos. A worldwide phenomenon that has fallen in love with millions of players, being the game of chance par excellence.