Roulette

Believe it or not, the pastime of gambling has been around for thousands of years. Although the precise origin is unknown, it is accepted that gambling in some sort took place in every major civilization in history. Evidence of gambling can be found as far back as 2300 B.C. in China, in fact.

One gambling game in particular, Roulette, has an interesting past, and has evolved into one of the most exciting games in the Casinos of the world. There is also a little known superstition surrounding this “little wheel” (the French translation of Roulette) that may surprise you!

The Emergence of the Game

Roulette is a morphing of some early English wheel games and a few French board games. The wheel itself contained slots or sections numbered from one to 36 with a slot for zero and a slot for double zero. Both of the zero slots were for the bank, giving it a statistical edge.

During the early and mid 1800’s, game of Roulette caught on, and appeared all over the United States and Europe.  It was quickly becoming one of the favorite gambling games in existence.  In a German casino town in 1843, a different version of the wheel was invented to compete against the zero and double zero versions.  It had only a single zero slot so it gave the player a little better odds.

Around 1860 the German government banned the game and one of the few remaining legal gambling regions in the area, Monte Carlo, soon became the hot spot for this popular pastime.  Probably in part as an allusion to its prevalence in Monte Carlo, Roulette then became known as the King of the casino games, according to Wikipedia.

Roulette became a popular game worldwide by the 1970’s and to this day the double zero wheels are found in the United States, South America and the Caribbean, with the single zero only wheels elsewhere on the globe.

Roulette Today and the Online Phenomenon

Today Roulette is still one of the most played and exciting casino games offered.  There is probably not a casino anywhere in the world that does not have at least one Roulette Wheel!  Flashy, high-rolling, non-stop, wagering at the tables of the fast-spinning black and red wheel can be found in the famous and highly frequented casino locales such as:

•Las Vegas

• Atlantic City

• Macau (Now often called the “Las Vegas of China” and home to the world’s largest casino)

• Monaco (The popular Monte Carlo)

• Cruise Ships

Not only is Roulette widely played at these and other luxurious gambling resorts, it has found a whole new niche online with the explosion of the Internet in recent years. Great news for the avid Roulette player; one no longer need to wait for that opportunity to go on an expensive getaway to gamble!  Plus, there’s more money in your pocket to “Spin the Wheel”!  Online gambling casinos for Roulette are enticing and so widespread that your choices are nearly limitless with a simple search. Be aware that online gambling is not legal in some countries, states, or jurisdictions; so be sure to know the laws in your area before betting.

Sinister Coincidence or Chilling Caveat?

Whatever the allure of this simple gambling game, it is no doubt one that attracts and “hooks” many gamblers. It has been said by some for centuries that gambling is the work of the Devil.  So you may find the following legendary tale a tad eerie. Legend has it, that one of the contributors to the creation of the “little wheel” made a deal with the Devil himself to gain knowledge regarding the secrets of the game. Consequently, to this day the wheel consists of numbers 1 through 36 which add up to the number 666, the sign of the beast. Sinister coincidence or chilling caveat?  That’s up to you to decide…