History of Roulette Games

Early nineteenth-century roulette had both a single and double zero, very much like the wheels used in Las Vegas today. When the ball dropped into the red single 0, all bets on red were considered bars, and no money was won or lost. Conversely, when the ball landed in the black 00 pocket, all bets on black were barred. Interestingly, the same principle and terminology are used today in casino craps with its Don't Pass Bar 12 line.

The single-zero wheel so prevalent in Europe today was introduced in 1842 by Francois and Louis Blanc. Both men left France to operate a casino in Hamburg, Bavaria, because gambling had become illegal. Their new wheel, which cut the house edge from 5.26 to 2.70 percent, decimated the competition, as the Blanc brothers had correctly forecast that reducing the odds would increase the attractiveness of the game and ultimately result in greater profits. After his brother died, Francois Blanc accepted an invitation from the Prince of Monaco, Charles III (for whom Monte Carlo is named), to purchase a franchise to operate his opulent new casino for nearly two million francs. The Blancs' roulette quickly became the most popular game, particularly with the social elite. Gambling was still outlawed in France, and Monsieur Blanc, referred to as the "most brilliant financier of his time" by Lord Brougham, high chancellor of England, successfully financed the opposition to legalized casinos in Italy. Along with his son Camille, Francois Blanc (who left a fortune of 200 million francs) operated Monte Carlo for nearly 65 years; this father and son are credited for its development into the world-famous resort it is today.

Although the precise origin of roulette-the oldest casino game still in existence-appears to be lost in antiquity, there's ample evidence that men have gambled by spinning wheels for centuries. Ancient warriors whirled shields on the Online Poker Guru Tips of their swords, and Romans turned over chariots to spin the wheels on their axles. The invention of roulette (from the French word roue, meaning "wheel") has been attributed variously to prehistoric Chinese, to French monks, to an Italian mathematician identified only as Don Pasquale, and to a brilliant seventeenth-century French scientist, Blaise Pascal. In all likelihood, roulette simply evolved from other games of chance.

In 1765, a police official, Gabriel de Sartine, who wanted a gambling game that would thwart the cheats then plaguing the city, introduced the present form of roulette in Paris. Its acceptance was almost instantaneous, and its popularity in France continues to this day. Just a little earlier, in 1739, a similar game called E-O (for even-odd) was first played in the city of Bath, England. However, the game became obsolete by about 1820, when refugees from the French Revolution introduced roulette, with its greater variety of bets.