Roulette is a gambling game in which a small ball drops into one of 37 or 38 compartments on a revolving wheel and pays off according to the odds. Players make bets on a number, section or color of the wheel. Outside bets cover larger categories of numbers and pay out at higher odds if winning.
Origin
The exact origin of roullete is unknown, but a few theories have emerged. One is that the game originated in China, and was brought to Europe by Dominican monks. Another is that it was invented by the 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal. While he was trying to develop a perpetual motion machine, he created a wheel with numbered slots that eventually came to be known as the roulette wheel. The game was then modified by Europeans and was introduced to gambling houses in the 1700s. This version was based on older games like hoca and portique. It featured a table with 36 pockets that was marked red and black, and rules similar to those of modern roulette.