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The exact
origin of roulette is lost.
 There
was likely some form of a wheel based game going
back almost as far as the origin of the wheel
itself. There are stories that the game was invented
in China and brought to Europe by traders who were
trading with the Chinese.
Several versions of a wheel
and spinning ball were invented in the mid 17th and
18th centuries in Europe. The first roulette game
was introduced in the mid l7th Century by a French
scientist, Blaise Pascal during a "monastic retreat"
and played for the first time in a Paris casino.
This game contained all of the features that we have
today with the one exception, the single zero was
colored red while the double zero was colored black.
This led to some confusion for players and the color
green was introduced for the zero and double zero.
Frenchmen Francois and Louis
Blanc invented the single zero roulette game in
1842. Because gambling was illegal in France during
this time, the game was introduced in Hamburg,
Germany where it became very popular and replaced an
earlier, lower odds version. When gambling was
outlawed in Germany the inventors of the single zero
machine Louis Blanc and Francois went to Monaco to
establish and operate a casino. The casino set the
standards for roulette in Europe, and roulette
remained exclusive to Monte Carlo until 1933. As a
result, the luxurious, world-famous resort of Monte
Carlo was developed.
When roulette came to the
United States in the early 1800s, the
improvements were deleted, and a double zero
returned. The double zero roulette wheels or
"American Wheels" were very popular in the old west
of America. The penetration of the single zero wheel
or "European Wheel" were and still is wider in
Europe then in United States.
 In
Europe and Atlantic City the casinos introduced
another refinement to the game that increased the
odds for the player, the option of “En Prison” or
"la partage rule" was offered. With the en prison
option if the player has made an even money bet (bet
on Even or Odd, Red or Black, 1-18 or 19-36) and
zero or double zero is the next outcome the player
has two options: "imprison" the bet (the bet stays
where it is and the next spin determines if the bet
is lost or returned to the player) or surrender half
of the bet.
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