Roulette is a casino game where players place bets by placing chips on the table. The precise placement of the chips determines the bet being made. The croupier then spins the wheel. When the ball lands in a slot, winning bets are paid out.

The roulette wheel consists of thirty-six compartments painted alternately red and black and numbered from 1 to 36. An additional green compartment carries the number 0.

Origin

There are many fanciful theories about the origin of roulette, which is widely played in casinos and gambling houses around the world. The most commonly believed story is that 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal inadvertently created the game while working on a device to produce the first perpetual motion machine.

However, it is more likely that roulette grew out of the earlier games Roly Poly, Even-Odd, and Biribi, all of which involved betting on the outcome of a spinning wheel. It is also probable that the game emerged in France in the 18th century, combining elements of these older games with its present structure and appearance. The modern roulette wheel has 37 (or 38, if you play Latin American) numbered slots and a red and black background.