The History of Roulette
The history of Roulette itself is unclear. There are so many myths and facts intertwined with some fantasy that, sometimes, it seems easier to sit back, relax and enjoy the tale rather than attempt to pinpoint the exact creation of the game.
With this in mind, although the creation of the game is uncertain, it is generally attributed to the 17th century French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, whose fascination with perpetual motion led to the first Roulette table, where people gambled for real money. A point that leads to the belief that Pascal was the inventor of the Roulette table is the fact that "roulette" actually means "small wheel" in French.
Roulette, France and Blaise Pascal
Pascal invented the Roulette table in the mid 17th century; by the 18th century there were already a few versions of the gambling game played in England bearing a resemblance to Roulette. However it was not until the mid 19th century that French Roulette was created. France is considered to be the home of Roulette, and in 1842 two French brothers, Louis and Francois Blanc, created the first modern day Roulette table. This table featured the single zero table that is used in French, or "European", Roulette tables today (This version is less stacked in the favor of the house, as opposed to American Roulette, which boasts a double zero table, raising the odds in favor of the house by an extra 2.6 percent!).
At that time however, gambling was illegal in France. The Blanc brothers instead, introduced their table game to gambling halls across Europe as well as the United States. Roulette quickly gained a devoted following and became the most popular table game in the Western world! Many members of royalty played the game, and Roulette was soon called the "King" (or Queen) of casino games!
Roulette in Monte Carlo
In short time, the prince of Monaco, Charles III, invited Francois Blanc and his son Camille to introduce playing Roulette to Monte Carlo. Roulette became such a hit, that it was in Monte Carlo, that the first real casino was created, attributed to the Blanc's! The notoriety of the Roulette game has stood strong over the past hundred and fifty years, and Roulette is still the most favored cash game at the Monte Carlo casino!
Over the years, as gambling was made legal in France, Roulette remained a game restricted to Monte Carlo. Due to this fact, Monte Carlo, and Roulette became even more popular, with a place ensured for both the Monte Carlo casino and the game of Roulette for many years to come. These days, the symbol of the Roulette table is often assigned to both the Monte Carlo casino as well as a symbol of material affluence.
Roulette and The Devil's Wheel
In short deviation, it is interesting to note a tale told of Francois Blanc. It is said that he actually made a deal with the devil in order to gain insight to understanding the secrets of the Roulette game! One of the reasons for this legend is based on the fact that when all of the numbers of the Roulette table are added together, the sum total is 666, the number associated with the devil!
American Roulette and French Roulette
Over time, the single zero version of the roulette table came to be popularly known as European Roulette (although many people still call it French Roulette). In the U.S. a new version of Roulette was created, using the double zero system. As mentioned above, rather than the house advantage of 2.7 percent with French Roulette, the American Roulette version raises the advantage to 5.3 percent. It seems that this may be the reason that American Roulette never became as popular as its European counterpart.
The use of chips in French Roulette is based on the regular chip system, in which each chip is worth a different value, depending on what the player chooses to gamble. In the American version, all chips are of equal value, making the betting system less complicated for the croupier, or dealer.
Internet Roulette
As the years have passed, and gambling has moved to new levels of popularity, Roulette has just as steadily moved along with it. With the advent of online gaming over ten years ago, Roulette was sent to an entirely new height. Roulette, French Roulette in particular, which had previously been considered a game of the rich, became accessible to all who were interested! This caused Roulette to become an extremely popular and widely played game for people from all walks of life, all over the world! Although it is still considered the King of games, Roulette is no longer only available to royalty.
The game of Roulette, with such a humble beginning, has changed little since its inception. What has changed over time is the accessibility of the game. The Roulette wheel has moved from wildly popular amongst the royal and the wealthy, to widely popular for gamblers all over the world. With thanks to modern technology, one simply needs to click on their mouse to bring French Roulette into their homes. The humble beginnings have led to an extravagant game of luck and strategy.
