Roulette – it’s the beating heart of the casino, the adrenaline-fueled ride that keeps us coming back for more. It’s the first-date jitters, the rollercoaster rush, and the unpredictable thrill that even celebrities can’t resist. UFC President Dana White once confessed to those at Gambling Insider, “I love it. I love to play.”
Early Years
Our journey starts in 17th century France with Blaise Pascal, a mathematician with a wild mane and even wilder ideas. In his quest for a perpetual motion machine, he inadvertently birthed the prototype of the roulette wheel. As Albert Einstein famously stated, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
By the late 18th century, it had become the darling of European casinos. Like a hit song covered by countless artists, the game evolved into a variety of thrilling versions, with several different countries and continents all having their say on how the game should be played. Online roulette for real money has taken over the virtual gambling world, with variants, such as European Roulette, American Roulette, and Live Roulette, allowing players to dive in with the assistance of a professional live dealer.
Demystifying the Basics
For those new to the game, think of the game as a high-stakes version of musical chairs. The wheel is your dance floor, divided into numbered pockets colored in alternating red and black. You place bets based on your predictions, and the dealer spins the wheel, sending a small ball in the opposite direction.
Something For Everyone
Each variant of roulette brings a unique flavor to the game. In Europe, like a comforting scoop of vanilla ice cream, features a wheel with 37 pockets: numbers 1-36 and a single zero. This version is player-friendly, offering better odds than its counterparts.
Over in the Land of the Free, they have to do everything bigger and better, and naturally they have added an extra pocket with a double zero (00), which increases the house edge but also the thrill factor.
And finally its birth place, L’hexagone, home of back-to-back FIFA World Cup finalists Les Bleus and their explosive hitman Kylian Mbappe, the French have naturally created the sophisticated sorbet of the game, mirroring their European neighbours but adding two unique rules: “La Partage” and “En Prison.” These can offer a pleasant surprise in a tough game, like finding a forgotten twenty in your jeans pocket.
Strategies for Success
Roulette may be a game of chance, but it doesn’t mean you can’t arm yourself with a solid gameplan. The Martingale method, for example, involves doubling your bet after each loss, hoping to recoup your losses when you finally hit a win. However, as gambling expert Richard A. Epstein cautions in his book, “The Theory of Gambling and Statistical Logic,” this approach can lead to “catastrophic losses.”
Alternatively, the Fibonacci system uses a mathematical sequence to guide your betting. It’s more of a leisurely country drive than the high-speed highway of the Martingale – slower, but still gets you where you need to go.
Celebrities at the Wheel
Dana White is known for his love of gambling, a passion so deep he has been known to set up casinos even on his boat. The UFC President’s favorite game isn’t roulette but rather blackjack, and he’s had notable wins and losses in equal measure. Despite some losses sending his “anxiety through the roof,” the 54-year-old’s enthusiasm remains undeterred.
The Octagon’s main man’s high-stakes adventures shouldn’t be surprising because he decided to purchase the Ultimate Fighting Championships alongside his old business partners – the Fertita Brothers – despite most other organizations not being willing to touch it with a ten-foot barge pole. But that purchase certainly paid off, and his exploits at the tables haven’t been too bad either.
Even Ben Affleck has had his ups and downs with casinos. Known for his card counting skills in blackjack, he revealed in an interview with Details magazine, “I took some time to learn the game and became a decent blackjack player. And once I became decent, the casinos asked me not to play blackjack.” So next time you feel down about a loss, remember, even superheroes have off days at the casino.
Biggest Wins
Las Vegas is no stranger to big wins, and roulette has seen some of the most dramatic. Here are a few of the biggest ever roulette wins that have been recorded in Sin City. One of the most notable wins was by Chris Boyd in 1994. An Englishman with a dream and $220,000 in savings, he wagered everything on red at Binion’s Gambling Hall. The ball landed on a red seven and walked away with $440,000. Not bad for a few second’s graft.
Another memorable moment came courtesy of Ashley Revell, who sold everything he owned, including his clothes, to bet on one spin of the roulette wheel. Revell placed his $135,300 bet on red at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in 2004. The ball also landed on red seven, and he too doubled his money. Maybe there is something behind the lucky number seven after all.
While these wins are impressive, it’s important to remember that gambling should be fun and responsible. These stories are the exception, not the rule, and many gamblers walk away with less than they started.
