Roulette Legends
The casino game, roulette, has been in existence for hundreds of years. With such a long history, it is no surprise that the game also comes with its own legends. Most of these legends do have strands of truth that comprise them. However, it is difficult to completely determine the full validity of the legend. Regardless, these legends also are a testament to how prolific this casino game has been throughout history.
One legend in roulette centers on its origin. The exact location has been unable to be determined with all certainty. Some historians lean toward France or Italy as the birthplace of roulette. However, many other historians truly believe that the roulette game was played in even earlier civilizations. Specifically, they believe roulette was played in China and some other civilizations in the Far East. These historians say that the game’s presence in Europe came when traders to the East brought it back. Regardless of the place of origin, it is suffice to say the game has been around for a long time.
Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, is also a part of another roulette legend. Whilst the invention of the roulette wheel as we know it today occurred after Pascal’s time, many of the design principles used in the wheel’s construction can be attributed to Pascal. While performing studies on the concept of perpetual motion, Pascal created a wheel similar to the roulette wheel. Many of Pascal’s friends urged him to let this design be used for gambling. Pascal declined to do this but his ideas were later used in making today’s roulette wheel.
Another Frenchman by the name of Francois Blanc is the center of another roulette legend. Francois, along with his brother Louis, created a roulette wheel that featured only one zero on it. This wheel is known today as the European roulette wheel. These brothers used their wheel to establish the first casinos in Monte Carlo. The legend says that Francois made negotiations with the devil in order to try to unlock secrets about the wheel. Francois discovered that when all the numbers of the wheel were added up, they resulted in the number 666, which has been associated with the devil.