Roullete is one of the most popular casino games in Europe, although it has relatively low popularity in American casinos, especially when compared to slot machines, video poker, blackjack, and craps. Nevertheless, roulette is a major attraction at the Monte Carlo resorts and other European casinos.
The game consists of spinning a ball on a revolving wheel with numbered slots. Players place bets on single numbers, various groupings of numbers (such as odd or even), colors red or black, and whether the number is high (19-36) or low (1-18). The modern form of the game probably evolved in 17th century France from earlier games such as rolophane and Biribi.
The roulette wheel consists of a solid wooden disk, slightly convex in shape. Around its rim are metal partitions, called separators or frets, and the compartments between these are painted alternately in red and black and numbered nonconsecutively from 1 to 36. In addition, on European-style wheels, a green compartment carries the sign 0; on American-style wheels, two green compartments carry the signs 0 and 00. The ball is spun in a random direction, and the player’s bets win or lose depending on where the wheel stops. If the player bets on a winning number, the player’s wager is returned to them.