Roulette

From ArticleWorld

Roulette is a casino gambling game. A numbered, and pocketed, wheel is spun with a dropped ball falling into one of the pockets.

History

Roulette began in 17th century France. Roulette is the French word for small wheel. Originally the wheel contained the numbers one through thirty-six, the number zero being added in 1842. Upon introduction to the United States, the double zero, or in some cases an American Eagle, was also added. Legends exist about François Blanc, who supposedly bargained with the devil to obtain the secrets of the roulette wheel. The legend is based on the fact that if you add up all the numbers on the roulette wheel, the resulting total is 666, which is known as the Number of the Beast, and represents the devil.

Types of roulette

There are two types of roulette being played today, American roulette and European roulette. The difference between the two is the number of zeros on the wheel. American roulette wheels have two, zero and double-zero, which increases the house advantage to 5.3%. In European roulette there is only one zero, giving the house an advantage of only 2.7%. The two versions use chips differently as well. American roulette uses non-value chips, meaning that all chips, belonging to the same player, are of the same value determined at the time of the purchase. The player cashes in the chips at the roulette table. European roulette uses standard casino chips, of differing values. This can make the game more confusing for both the croupier, and the players. A traditional European roulette table is also much larger than an American roulette table. The croupier uses a long tool, called a rake, to clear out the chips and to distribute winnings. In American roulette the croupier collects and distributes chips by hand.

Famous bets

• In 2004, Ashley Revell of London sold all of his possessions, and brought $135,300 to the Plaza Hotel, in Las Vegas. He and put it all on Red, at the roulette table, in a double-or-nothing bet. The ball landed on Red 7, and Revell walked away with his net-worth doubled to $270,600.
• In the music video for Palace & Main by the swedish band Kent, guitarist Harri Mänty goes to Las Vegas and bets the entire video budget on black. He wins, and the profits are donated to charity.