Roulette History
Roulette is a game born and developed in France during the 17th century. The invention of the roulette wheel is attributed to Blaise Pascal. He had special interest in the science of probabilities and perpetual engines. His two main interests combined to form the roulette wheel. The early forms of roulette rules resembled little to the roulette wheel we can see nowadays at live or online casinos, but the beginning may be attributed to Pascal.
Soon after the invention of the roulette wheel, the game gained popularity among the rich and the aristocrats of France. This was due to the favorable house edge of the game, which was soon fixed by Francois and Louis Blanc. The Blanc family have an important role in roulette history.
The two engineered a roulette wheel with a Zero slot in 1842. The introduction of the single Zero slot managed to pull the house edge higher without harming the game's popularity. At the time gambling were forbidden in France and so the Blancs presented their roulette wheel, which is also known to many as the European roulette, at Hamburg in Germany. There the Blancs were able to perfect the game and soon an invitation from Charles the Third, Price of Monaco.
Francois Blanc and Camille, his son, went to Monaco and established a luxuries gambling house where European roulette was presented for the noblemen of France. This lay the foundations to Monte Carlo, the notorious gambling capital of France nowadays.
It is said that Blanc bargained with the devil for the esoteric secrets of roulette. This legend is based upon the fact that you get 666, the "number of the beast", when you combine together all the numbers of the roulette wheel. This legend is one out of many myths surrounding roulette history (in fact one might say that all roulette history is one big myth). From that time forward on roulette history continues across the sea, in the U.S.
Roulette games reached the U.S in the beginning of the 18th century. There the game was modified by American casinos and another Zero slot was fixed into the roulette wheel. This was made to increase the house edge of the game and today this type is referred to as American roulette, which can be easily found at live or online casinos.
Along the 19th and 20th centuries roulette gained more and more popularity and the roulette history became a common talk among gamblers, along with other aspects of this game.
During the last decade many online casinos launched their versions of both American and European roulette games to the web and gamblers can enjoy a game of roulette at any online casinos possible. If you would like to learn more about roulette or to play an online roulette game then simply go back to Worlds Best Online Casinos.
Susan McClary - Senior Editor