History of Roulette
Roulette came from a French game. Blaise Pascal invented it in the 17th century. He was a mathematician obsessed by objects which approached perpetual motion.
Roulette has been played since 1796 in Paris, and the "0" was added to the wheel by Frenchmen Francois and Louis Blanc so that they might get a house advantage in 1842.
In the early 1800s, the game crossed The Pond into the USA where they added a second zero, "00", to increase further the house advantage.
In the 1800s, roulette became one of the most popular casino games all over Europe and the USA. It's frequently known as the "King of Casino Games", due to the casinos glamour on the French Riviera and Monte Carlo.
Thanks to Prince Charles Roulette took off in Monaco, the ruler of Monaco in the early 19 century. He introduced gambling to the principality. He and Louis Blanc established the Casino Monte Carlo that is considered to be the holy grail of European casinos.
Even though gambling became legal in France, Monte Carlo was the only place where roulette in France was played, that makes its casino popular surrounding the game with a certain glamour.
Weird fact ... if you sum up all the numbers (from 1 to 36) on the roulette wheel, the result is "666", the number of The Beast. Francois Blanc is said to make a pact with the devil to secure the roulette secrets.
According to some theories the game really began in China, and thanks to trading between the Chinese and Dominican monks it was carried to Europe. Another theory says that the Romans played games by spinning the chariot wheels that led to roulette (but it is more like Wheel of Fortune!)
"En Prison" is a rule offered in lots of casinos in France. It lowers the house edge to even wagers of money down to 1.35 percent. This rule applies to the outside bets only when 0 or 00 shows up. For example if you have a USD 20 bet on black, and zero pops up the dealer gives you the choice to lose half your bet or go "en prison". If your choice is to go into a prison the dealer will place the "En Prison." marker on top of your bet. On the following spin:
You lose the $10 if zero or double zero show.
You lose the $10 if red comes up and you have black.
If black shows, the dealer removes the "En Prison" marker and then you can do what you like with that $10 free casino bonus.
Roulette became popular up till World War II when Americans started losing less to the game of craps and they got interested in the fact that blackjack was a beatable game. Roulette became less popular then. In spite of that, many people still play it, and roulette is the oldest existing asino game nowadays.
Despite the fact that American double-zero, and European single-zero version casino roulette were played in France, the double zero wheel is called the American wheel, because it has survived the longest in the U.S.A, whereas the single-zero version roulette is still preferred by Europeans.