History of roulette 
Roulette is named after a French word, which means "small wheel". To determine the winning number in a roulette game, a croupier would spin the wheel in one direction, and spins the ball in an opposite direction around the circumference of the wheel. The ball would eventually lose momentum and land on one of the 37 numbers (European roulette - single zero) or 38 numbers (American Roulette - double zero).
There are generally two theories of the origination of roulette. The first is one where the game was invented in China, and brought to Europe by Dominican Monks. The second, is that roulette was invented by a man named Blaise Pascal who through an infusion of different English Wheel games such as Roly-Poly, Ace of Hearts and Italian board games such as Hoca Biribi brought about Roulette.
Roulette was first documented as early as 1796 in Paris. Jaques Lablee, a French Novel Writer described a roulette wheel in Palais Royal in Paris in his novel "LA Roulette, ou Le Jour". But it was not until Prince Charles of Monaco who introduced the game to his kingdom did Roulette's popularity exploded.
Slowly but surely, the French double zero version made its way to American shores. It made its way up from Mississippi to New Orleans and eventually westward. It was in America where a more simplied version of the betting layout was created, and known as American Roulette. This version now dominates most casinos around the world through its single and double zero wheel.
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