The roulette wheel consists of a flat disk with a number of divisions around its perimeter. These compartments are painted alternately red and black, and numbered 1 to 36 in a nonconsecutive pattern. On European-style wheels, one compartment is green and carries the number 0. On American tables, there are two extra green compartments marked 00.
Origins
The origins of the game of roullete are shrouded in mystery. Various fanciful stories exist, including the claim that it was invented by 17th-century French math wizard Blaise Pascal, or even by ancient Chinese, where it was supposedly discovered by Dominican monks and brought to Europe with slight modifications. The truth is that roullete evolved from earlier games such as hoca and portique, and achieved its modern layout and wheel structure by the early 18th century.