History of Roulette
Roulette was originally a French game and was invented in the 17th
century, by Blaise Pascal, a mathmatician who was obsessed by objects
that approached perpetual motion.
The game has been played from as early as 1796 in Paris and in 1842,
Frenchmen François and Louis Blanc added the "0" to the wheel so
that they could get a house advantage.
In the early 1800s, roulette crossed The Pond into the United States
where a second zero, "00", was added to further increase the house
advantage.
(Tip: Always play European Roulette!)
In the 1800s, roulette became popular all over Europe and the United
States, becoming one of the most well known casino games. It´s
often known as the "King of Casino Games", thanks to the glamour of the
casinos on the French Riviera and Monte Carlo.
Roulette took off in Monaco thanks to Prince Charles, the ruler of
Monaco in the 1800's, who introduced gambling to the principality. .
Together with Louis Blanc, hes established the Casino Monte Carlo which
is considered the holy grail of European casinos are measured.
Even though gambling subsequently became legal in France, roulette in France was only played in Monte Carlo, making its casino popular, and surrounding roulette with a certain glamour.
Weird fact.....if you add up
all the numbers on the roulette wheel (from 1 to 36), the resulting
total is "666" The number of The Beast- some say that´s because
François Blanc made a pact with the devil to secure the secrets
of roulette.
There have been theories that the game actually began in China, and was
carried to Europe thanks to trading between the Chinese and Dominican
monks. Another theory is that the Romans played games by spinning their
chariot wheels when they were on their sides, and this led to roulette
(but it seems more like Wheel of Fortune!)
"En Prison" is an option offered in many French casinos, which lowers
the house edge for even money wagers down to 1.35%. The en prison rule
applies to the outside bets and only when 0 or 00 pops up. If you have
a $20 bet on black, for example and zero shows up the dealer gives you
the choice of losing half your bet or going "en prison". If you choose
to go into o prison the dealer will put a marker on top of your bet
that reads "En Prison." On the following spin:
If zero or double zero show you lose the $10.
If red shows and you have black you lose the $10
If black come up, the dealer removes the "En Prison" marker and you can now do what you want with that $10.
Roulette became popular up until World War II when Americans began to
lose less to the game of craps and they found interest in the fact that
blackjack was a beatable game. At that point, roulette became less
popular. Despite that, many people still play roulette, and it is the
oldest existing game in casinos today.
Even though America's double-zero, and Europe's single-zero version
roulette were developed in France, The double zero wheel is called the
American wheel, as it has survived the longest in the U.S., while
Europeans still prefer the single-zero version.
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