A roulette wheel is a solid wooden disk with thirty-six red and black compartments numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. On European wheels a 37th compartment painted green carries the number 0.
Players place their chips on the betting table, choosing either inside or outside bets. Inside bets are placed on individual numbers or small groups of numbers, and offer higher payouts but lower chances of winning.
Origins
The exact origin of roulette is unknown, but most historians agree that it was invented in 1655 by 17th century French mathematician Blaise Pascal. He conceived the game while working on his unsuccessful efforts to create a perpetual motion machine.
It is said that he got the idea from games such as portique, hoca, basseette and even-odd, all of which were based on a wheel of numbers arranged in a circle and had betting areas.
Roulette spread from its French origins to a variety of casinos and gambling dens throughout Europe. It also found its way to America, where it was introduced during the California gold rush. As more and more European immigrants migrated to America, they brought their traditional casino games along with them, including roulette.
