| Casino
Roulette games is primarily a European games with
a huge following on the Continent and in Great Britain.
For centuries it has been the gambling games at
places like Monte Carlo and at other elegant casinos.
In the United States, though played in practically
every legitimate gambling house of major size, its
popularity has been nil.
This lack of interest in American roulette can easily
be explained. The major reason is the American roulette
wheel, which has, in addition to the thirty-six
standard numbers (1-36) not one zero, as on the
European wheel, but two.
Two zeros raise the house advantage to 5.26 percent
on practically all bets but one, and that other
bet, a five-number wager, gives the house better
than a 7 percent edge over the player.
There may be other reasons for the unpopularity
of the games in America. Americans are fascinated
by two things-speed and numbers-and they get these
in two very American games, craps and blackjack.
Certainly the games of craps as played in a casino
is the fastest of all gambling games and the one
in which the most money can be won in the shortest
period of time.
And while there may be numbers all over the roulette
layout, they are, in essence, dead numbers, whereas
in blackjack every card number is crucial, ratios
and point counts abound, and, above all, it is a
games in which at times the player has an advantage
over the casino.
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