Roulette hit American shores in the 1800s as well, where a double zero was added to give the house yet more advantage. The Roulette wheel was bringing in plenty of money, but adding a zero helped the house have a bigger advantage - and helped them cope with their money worries. The reason behind this was that King Charles III of Monaco was having some financial troubles. He made the wheel, which eventually became a favorite casino game and remained unchanged until 1842 when Lois and Francois Blanc added a single zero to it. What he came up with was the Roulette wheel. Physics tells us that perpetual motion machines are impossible, but Pascal tried anyway. When he wasn’t busy writing foundational philosophical treatises, developing modern geometry, blazing new trails in physics, and inventing the theory of probability, it appears he was quite busy building all manner of things.īut frontmost on his list? A perpetual motion machine.
It was invented in the 1650s by a Frenchman named Blaise Pascal. Roulette is the quintessential casino prop…now, how on earth do you play it?īut first, there’s some interesting history behind this game. It’s a beautiful thing - a smooth 360º wooden arc, a perimeter that slopes down to numbered slots.
