History of Roulette: The Birth of the Small Wheel

Roulette is popular game in casinos. Its hard to watch a casino movie without seeing the colored wheels and spinning white ball surrounded by entranced onlookers as they breathlessly wait to see where the ball ends up.

YUp, roulette has an allure all on its own, but despite the popularity of roulette, few know about where the game originated.

'Roulette' is French for little wheel. The most common theory on who created this game is that it was created by Blaise Pascal, that famous mathematician who spent his life exploring the laws of probability. Other people believe that the game started in China, and was brought to Europe by European monks who traded with Chinese merchants.

However, other versions are also floating around, and different people may give out different answers on who really created the roulette.

If you are familiar with the roulette you will know that there are odd and even colored 'spokes' laid out alternately on the wheel. It was first used in a Paris casino in 1796. It was a favorite casino game of the prince of Monaco, Prince Charles, who introduced the game to his kingdom in the desperate hope that the game would gain enough revenues to prevent the economy from collapsing.

The Europeans brought the wheel to the States in the 1800s, and the game enjoyed a huge boom during the Gold Rush. When the Americans discovered that the European-introduced roulette wheel gave a small house edge, they decided to modify the wheel by adding an extra pocket, which is now known as American roulette. The extra pocket lessened the player's chances of winning, which is good for the house and not for the player. SO if you are a serious player and you are bent on winning, be sure to steer clear of American roulettes

The American and European roulettes, although they came from one source, have developed different rules and pay outs over the years. Other difference are the color of the chips, and they way the dealer removes the chips from the table. In the European roulette, the dealer removes the chips with a stick, while the dealer uses his hands to do the same in American roulette, all very small differences, since both games offer the same level of fun.

Roulette is one of the more popular casino games around and there is no evidence that its popularity will fade away soon.