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 Roulette is one of the most popular games to be played within a casino. The word “Roulette” is said to be based on the French word which means “small wheel”. To play the game in a casino, a croupier will turn the roulette wheel in which a specific ball must land in a numbered space of the wheel. There are many theories as where roulette originated, however, it is generally agreed that it was either invented by a famous French mathematician called Blaise Pascal or that it was invented in China and adopted by Dominican Monks who brought the game to Europe.
Historically, there have been many versions of the modern game of roulette, the first seems to have been from an 18th Century game which uses a bouncing ball and spinning wheel and was called “Roly Poly”. Others state that Romans played the game in Ancient Rome using spinning chariot wheels. Whichever tale is true, the French version was seen in Paris around the end of the 18th century although the date is not precise. It appears that this early version contained a single zero and double zero. These were denoted by colour, the single zero being marked as red and the double zero marked as black. To differentiate between the zero places and numbered places, the colours of the zero places where quickly changed to green to avoid any confusion for players.
The single zero roulette wheel is the favoured version that the Europeans use and was invented by fellow Frenchmen, Francois and Louis Blanc in 1842. At the time of the addition of the single zero to the Blanc’s roulette wheel, gambling was becoming prohibited in France and the Blanc’s quickly took their invention over to Hamburg in Germany. As prohibition came about in Germany, the Blanc’s were offered the chance to go to Monaco with their single zero invention to showcase their game. It was sometime in the 1860’s that Prince Charles 3rd of Monaco allowed the Blanc’s to design a Casino where they established the European roulette game that was to increase in status and attract a vast crowd of aristocratic players.
European Roulette is an extremely popular casino game and is seen as one of highlights of a casino environment. It differs from American Roulette in that the European version has 37 numbers, marked 1 to 36 with 1 single zero. The American counterpart has 38 numbers on the wheel, 1 to 36 and also 2 zeros. Regardless of which version is being played, each individual numbered space will be colour coded in alternated red and black with green being designated for the zero spaces.
Roulette has become modernized by the introductions of the internet. It is through these technological advances that the gaming industry as a whole has moved forward. Casino games in general have become more accessible and roulette in particular has grown in popularity with players choosing to play from the comfort of their own homes. Players are able to play online through gaming and casino websites that allow players to play at their own level and pace without having to visit a real casino.
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