Twenty Fun Facts about Roulette that Players will Love

Roulette, which means “small wheel” in French, is the third most popular casino game in the world. The table game is one of the go-tos in most land-based casinos and it is also hugely popular in the online gaming world. In this article, we take a look at the basics of roulette and some fun facts that fans of the game are sure to love.

An Introduction to Roulette

There is no way that you can fully appreciate our roulette fun facts without having a solid understanding of the game. So just in case, let’s go over the basics. A roulette wheel is made up of either 37 or 38 numbers, depending on which version you play (European or American). European roulette wheels feature the numbers 0 to 36 inclusive while American roulette wheels have an additional 00 segment. Obviously, European roulette is more favorable as the house advantage is smaller.

When placing a wager in roulette, you are betting on where a ball will stop within the wheel. There are several types of bets available, giving you far more options than betting on a single number (although doing so offers the biggest payout of 35:1). For instance, you could opt for a color – either black or red. If the ball lands on the color you bet on, you’ll double up your money. Alternatively, you could place wagers on odd or even numbers, which also offer even money payouts. There are several other groupings of numbers you can bet on, some formed by the design of the wheel/betting area, others by shared properties. All these types of bets can be used together to build advanced betting strategies.

20 Roulette Fun Facts

  1. Did you know that roulette is the third most popular casino game in the world? It is only narrowly behind slots and craps.
  2. Roulette’s second name is “the devil’s game”. It gets this name from the fact that if you add up all the numbers on the wheel, you’ll have exactly 666.
  3. After a spin of the wheel, a marker is placed on the betting area to show the winning number. This is called the “dolly”. Players are not allowed to place or remove bets from the table when this is active.
  4. Just as the marker is known as the “dolly”, the little walls that separate the numbers on the wheel are called “frets”. Be sure to use these terms next time to impress the other players at the table.
  5. The dealer at a roulette table is called a “croupier”.
  6. Some casino games, like blackjack and craps, allow you to drink at the table. However, it is considered to be rude to drink at a roulette table. Therefore, make sure you only drink once you’ve left the roulette table area.
  7. The universally most lucky number on a roulette wheel is 17. There are many reasons why it is considered to be the favorite but perhaps the most important one is that James Bond famously plays that number. Other reasons include because it occupies the central position on the table.
  8. The chance of each number and color falling are exactly the same. Each spin is independent from the last and has no influence on future spins. Thus, next time you’re in a casino and looking at the previous rounds, don’t be swayed into allowing that to manipulate your next bet.
  9. Building from the last point, there is an equal chance of the same number of type of number landing multiple times in a row. The record for the most colors in a row was in a casino in Bristol, England. A staggering total of 36 reds hit in a row.
  10. The highest known record for the same number hitting consecutively is 7 times in a row. In Rio Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip, the number 19 made an incredible feat of consecutive appearances. For our dear mathematician enthusiasts out there, that is a likelihood of 1 in 3 billion.
  11. Roulette uses a different type of chip to other casino games. The chips in roulette are bought from the table with the croupier handing them out to the player who is buying in. The reason for this is to ensure that the croupier has an easier task seeing which player has bet on what. Obviously, this is not the case for online roulette.
  12. Roulette was invented in 1657 by French mathematician Blaise Pascal. He had established a device to measure probabilities and the element of chance.
  13. California is one of those states with funny gambling laws, one of them being that wheels of fortune are banned. Thus, should you happen to visit the Golden State, get ready to play roulette with a deck of cards. The odds and payouts of the game are exactly the same as both European and American roulette. The only difference here is the method used to determine the outcome of a round.
  14. As much as 17 is the go-to choice for most roulette players, 22 is also a popular choice. The number was famously used in the movies Indecent Proposal and Lost in America. Thus, don’t be surprised if you notice players placing wagers on 17 and 22 next time you show up at a roulette table.
  15. Roulette wheels are quite pricey. They retail for anything in between $5,000-$7,000 on average. However, the most expensive roulette table on the planet costs a staggering $500,000. The table is made of gold and silver, 14kgs of the metals to be precise.
  16. Back in the day, the original roulette wheels didn’t have the number 0. This was changed by German casinos in the 19th century.
  17. Originally, roulette balls were made from ivory. Currently, ivory is not available for purchase as it is derived from an elephant’s tusks. Nowadays, roulette balls are typically made out of plastic.
  18. Whilst movies and marketing material may suggest that roulette is a male-dominated casino game, the statistics show otherwise. According to a survey, 46% of online roulette players are women.
  19. Mike Ashley, who is the owner of football club Newcastle United, is reported to have won £1.3 million once at a roulette table. He placed a staggering £480,000 on a special type of bet known as a complete bet on the number 17. When 17 landed, his wagers all paid off. On the odd occasion that he turns up to a Newcastle game, he wears the number 17.
  20. Ashely Revell, a madman from Kent in England, once sold all his earthly possessions to place everything on red. It was the ultimate double or nothing bet. Thankfully for him, the wheel landed on red 7 and he doubled up everything he previously owned. The expression “go hard or go home” probably originates from his wager back in 2004. The only minor adjustment in his case would’ve been “go hard or go homeless”.

Closing Remarks

We hope that you’ve thoroughly enjoyed skimming through our fun roulette facts. As a player, the most important one to note is that each spin is individual and independent from those that came before. The good news is, this means that if you have a lucky number, then there is a real chance that it could win on any spin. 

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