Fun Facts

Roulette has always attracted the craziest risk takers for its double-or-nothing charm. Here is a collection of interesting facts about Roulette:

The Perpetual Motion Machine... It was invented by child genius Blaise Pascal in the sixteenth century. He came across the design by accident while trying to create a perpetual motion machine – that is, something that can power itself forever – and decided to develop it as the perfect game of chance.

The Devil's Game... Adding up all the numbers on the wheel gets you 666, which gave Roulette the nickname “The Devil’s Game”. Since it is a game based on chance rather than strategy, it certainly can feel like some diabolical force is working against you when on a losing streak!

Mr Popular... Roulette also enjoyed a slightly more flattering nickname: it was known as the king of the casino. That is because it was wildly popular with the rich and glamorous aristocracy in Europe, especially Monte Carlo where it was first introduced. Since the introduction of the double-zero wheel, which has become more common in casinos because it has a higher house edge, Roulette’s appeal has given way to more competitive games like Blackjack and Craps.

Big Wins... The old song The Man who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo is based on a real live person, Charles Jagger, who was an engineer who spent days secretly watching a single Roulette wheel and going through the statistics of hundreds of spins to discover that it was biased. He used that knowledge to win $400,000 in less than a week in 1873.

Go Big Or Go Home... There have also been more legitimate big winners at the Roulette table. In 2004 a British gambler named Ashley Revell sold all his possessions (even his clothes) and bet his entire life savings on red (watch the video here). He placed his $135,000 bet on one spin of the wheel in a highly publicized event at the Plaza in Las Vegas. Apparently he’d wanted to bet on black but changed his mind at the last minute after hearing that a poll in his home town said that most people wanted him to bet on red. That change of heart paid off big time as he won, raking in $270,600. What did he do with the money? Well, obviously he bought some clothes first, but ended up making the smartest bet of his life: he opened an online poker company! Now he never has to worry about the house edge again.