America and Europe have two very different ways of approaching the roulette table. True to America’s free-market capitalist philosophy, the American wheel diminishes the player’s chances of making a profit quite substantially. This mirrors, in many ways, each continent’s political and economic consciousness.

1. A Tale Of 2 Roulette Tables
The America / Europe Divide
© MapleCasino.com 2011

2. A Tale Of Two Roulette Tables
There exist two discrete yet closely inter-related styles of playing roulette: one a single-zero, the
other a double. Let’s unpack the concept a bit more and see where it leads us.
Supposedly, roulette stands a something of a fusion of other games, from the English Roly-Poly,
Ace of Hearts, Reiner and EO, and the Italian Hoca and Biribi.
What is clear, though, is that in the mid-nineteenth century, in the German casino town of
Homburg, François and Louis Blanc made a strategic decision about the offering of odds on the
roulette table in order to encourage greater patronage.

3. A Tale Of Two Roulette Tables
Traditionally, roulette made use of the numbers 1 to 36 including both a single zero and a double
zero. In an act of marketing and competitive initiative, and a keen, attentive eye to the lure of
better odds, the Blanc brothers decided to introduce a single-zero-only wheel at the casino in
order to compete against other gambling houses in the area.
It was something of an historic move at the time, because it signified the casino making an
opportunity-cost concession based on the advantages of increased foot traffic.

4. A Tale Of Two Roulette Tables
Roulette soon spread all over Europe and the USA, and quickly earned the title "King of casino
games" because of its unusually large and enduring popularity. In the 1860s, when the German
government decided to abolish gambling (we see these kinds of resorts to narrow value systems
throughout history), the Blanc brothers moved their growing casino empire to Monte Carlo,
where they set up an exclusive gambling house tailored to the elite.
Interestingly, the single zero concept of the Blanc brothers only really endured in the Europe
nations.

5. A Tale Of Two Roulette Tables
It's possibly because the idea originated in Europe in the first instance, and many casinos would
no doubt consciously have altered the construction and layout of their roulette boards in order to
stay competitive with a game (and the market) that was changing either with or without them.
In any event, roulette was forever fissured into two board variations: the single-zero and double-
zero layouts. In America, even today, the double-zero format dominates. It's perhaps a testament
to the historic types of capitalism that characterize the American consciousness that the casinos,
particularly on the Las Vegas strip, maintain a higher house advantage with which to line their
coffers.

6. A Tale Of Two Roulette Tables
Early 20th-century America was very much a free-market, decentralised economy, and
encouraged a non-interventionist, do-it-on-your-own way of doing business. At least in the
modern age, this tends to be in sharp distinction to many of the more national democracies that
dot the European continent.
The point, really, is that the two styles of roulette play mirror, in a fairly interesting way, two
ideological underpinnings, and two ways of approaching the world.

7. A Tale Of Two Roulette Tables
If you're stuck in Las Vegas for whatever reason, and you're desperate to find a single zero table,
remember that many casinos do offer them, but in the minority. Also, the casino will usually
specify a minimum wager for these tables in order to make it worth their while to offer it.
If you're planning a gambling oriented trip any time soon, stay away from the US, South America,
and the Caribbean, as it will affect your odds in a way that isn’t exactly pocket friendly.
VISIT US
Please feel free to distribute and republish this document providing that all links contained herein remain intact © Maplecasino.com 2011