The History of the Roulette
Roulette is a French word; it can be translated as “a small wheel”. Most people agree that the first Roulette was invented in 1655 by a French scientist B. Pascal, who was famous for his work on the theory of probability and for his attempt in creating the perpetual motion machine. The Roulette was first played in monasteries in order to get rid of boredom. Later it could be seen in the first casinos in Paris and was considered the game for secular and intelligent people. In 1842, Francois and Luis Blain opened the first casino in Monte Carlo, where according to the legend the brothers sold their souls to the devil in exchange for the secret of the Roulette.
The confirmation of this sinister legend was the fact that the brothers used the numbers from 0 to 36 in the game. If one put all the numbers of the roulette together, he will get 666 – the number of the beast. Certainly, one can hardly believe in most stories about the Roulette, still this game has always been surrounded by an aura of something supernatural.
The first modern Roulette with bets on different colors and on even and odd numbers was first used in Parisian casinos. Some time later, approximately in 1800 the game also appeared in the USA. Initially it was popular with people who were used to pinning their hopes on luck, superstitions and patience. Western miners and
buyers of gold admitted the game cheerfully. Thus, it became popular in the USA, particularly in the west and in the period of the gold-rush.
However, in the USA the Roulette with one “zero” was not admitted, and the history of the game was changed forever. They began making the wheels of the American Roulette with double zero “00”. First they used roulettes only with 31 numbers that gave the advantage to the game bank (because the winning of the game bank with 37 cells is lower when you play the European Roulette). Consequently, if you have a choice, it is better to play the European Roulette.
Though both zero and double zero originated in France, the roulette with double zero got the name “the American Roulette”, as it was admitted with open arms and was retained in the USA. In Europe, the Roulette with zero replaced the Roulette with double zero that is why it is called “the French Roulette”. Today the Roulette is in any casino. The game is so popular due to its simplicity – the ball moves until it stops at one of the numbers.
