Roulette is a game played on a green felt table with a wheel in the center and a betting layout on either side. Players place their chips on the table and wait for the dealer to spin the wheel. Each bet has a different payout and odds of winning. Outside bets generally have lower payouts but better odds at winning.

Origins

While the exact origins of roulette are unknown, it is generally believed that 17th Century French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented the game in 1655. It was during his attempts to create a perpetual motion machine that Pascal stumbled upon the idea for the roulette wheel.

Originally, roulette evolved from the popular French games of portique and hoca. Other precursors include roly poly and bassette. However, it wasn’t until the 1810s that roulette found its way to America, settling in New Orleans.

The game’s circular form evokes the medieval “Wheel of Fortune” turned by Fortuna to decide human fates. Its duality – mathematically precise yet existentially random – explains its cultural allure. Even today, the game’s symbolism remains powerful. This is partly because the sum of all numbers from 1 through 36 equals 666, a number that has inspired superstitious gamblers to fancifully speculate about striking a deal with the Devil himself.