The Fascinating History of Roulette

Let me spill some fascinating tea about the history of roulette. Among historians, there are different theories about when and where this game first popped up. According to Eric Bell, the prototype of roulette was invented by Blaise Pascal. This guy who was working on a perpetual motion machine. Apparently, in 1655, Pascal came up with a primitive version of roulette as a spinoff of that crazy contraption or as a way to solve some probability puzzle with 36 lottery tickets, you know?

Now, another possible origin story for roulette involves this game called "hoca" or even "biribi." It goes way back to 1716 when people played it at a joint called Hotel de Soissons. Basically, players would bet on which section a ball thrown on a spinning wheel would land in. Sounds familiar, right?

And check this out, there were actual records of roulette being banned! In 1745, King George II of Britain was like, "No more of that roulette business!" Then in 1758, the authorities in New France (now Quebec) were like, "We're banning all those gambling games like dice, hoca, faro, and roulette!"

The modern version of roulette as we know it today emerged in Paris around 1796. It was even described in a French novel called "Roulette, or the Story of a Gambler" by Jacques Lablee, published in 1801. This version had a wheel with two slots to hold the game's bank and 38 numbered sectors in red and black, including "zero" in red and "double zero" in black.

Casinos faced multiple bans, but that didn't stop the evolution of roulette. In 1842, the Blanc brothers bounced to Germany. First, they went to Hamburg, snatching up shops and turning them into gambling halls. Then they headed to Bad Homburg, where they not only opened a new casino but also introduced a new kind of roulette with 37 sectors. They made "zero" green, and they ditched the "double zero," giving players slightly better odds. Fancy, huh?

By the mid-19th century, roulette gained insane popularity in Monte Carlo, the capital of Monaco. Prince Charles III legalized gambling and allowed the Blanc brothers to open a casino in 1860. Meanwhile, roulette also made its way to the US, starting in New Orleans and then spreading to the Wild West, becoming a hit among miners.

But here's the deal: the American version of roulette had a little twist. They brought back the "double zero," giving the house an edge of 5.25%. In the early American versions, the wheel had numbers from 1 to 28, "zero" and "double zero," and a symbol of an eagle, which gave the house an insane edge of 12.9%. If the ball landed on any of those sectors, the banker would scoop up all the player's bets. Talk about hustling, right?

Things got even more intense when the US had a nationwide ban on gambling from 1919 to 1932. But the American Mafia was like, "Nah, we got this!" and organized underground gambling joints. Finally, in 1931, the ban was lifted in Nevada, paving the way for the creation of the legendary casinos in Las Vegas, with a little help from Meyer Lansky.

So, there you have it, peeps! The wild and crazy journey of roulette, full of ups and downs, bans and developments. It continues to captivate players worldwide with its thrilling atmosphere of chance and the hope of hitting that lucky number. Today, roulette stands tall as one of the most popular casino games, keeping us on the edge of our seats with its endless possibilities.