666 Lucky or Unlucky? (or, The Invention of Roulette)
Francois Blanc was a Frenchman who introduced the single "0" style roulette wheel that became the European version; together with his brother Louis, Francois invented the single-zero wheel to compete with other casinos in 1843 in the German spa casino town of Homburg.
Gambling had become illegal in France and so, after moving to Homburg, Francois and Louis Blanc hoped to cut the house edge from 5.26 to 2.70% to reduce the odds, thus increasing the game’s attractiveness to bring in higher profits. Sure enough, the Blancs’ alteration to the game made them rich.
The Prince of Monaco, for whom Monte Carlo was named, ultimately offered Francois some two million francs to operate his new casino. Blanc accepted and roulette would go on to become the favorite game of the elite.
Legend says that Francois bargained with the devil to obtain the secrets of roulette, not a bad supposition, particularly should you factor in a little numerology: Did you know that the sum of all the numbers on the roulette wheel from 1 to 36 is 666? Yes, the number 666, sometimes known as 'the number of the beast' is infamously known as the symbol of the devil. How's that for trying to spoil your fun?
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