Legends & Fables about Roulette

The game of Roulette evokes feelings of awe, mystery and wonder, with players, despite what science and math say, still believing that there is some magic or luck involved in the results. This same feeling will be rekindled when examining the origins of the game.

Even with a cursory overview, one will see that Roulette history is replete with fascinating stories and legends that attempt to explain the origin of the game. One of the things that historians agree upon is that the word is French, meaning "small wheel".

One of the most curious aspects of Roulette history, is that there are so many legends that link the game with monks. It is known, and widely accepted, that the game was played in monasteries during the late 18th century. But some believe that the connection between the two is much deeper.

For example, one Roulette legend is that the game was invented by Blaine Pascal while staying at a monastery. According to other accounts, the wheel was invented in a casino, but not by Pascal, but by the monks themselves as an instrument for their own amusement.

Another Roulette legend places the origin of the game in ancient China. Some legends state that some members of the royalty played a game involving 37 statuettes of different animals that had to be arranged in circle.

A variation of this Roulette legend is that some magicians would participate in a ceremony using the same 37 statuettes but that they had to be assembled to form a magical square of 666. Whether it was a game or ritual, the myths also say that it was conducted in Tibet.

How this came to be associated with Roulette is not clear, but it would seem to be that as time went by, the statues were changed into numbers and put in a wheel.

One more Roulette legend states that the game began as nothing more than a pastime of the Roman Legion, who, when bored, would take one of the wheels of their chariots and spin it. In time this practice evolved to include numbers and betting.

In any event, by 1720 ,a game called roly poly had appeared in various European states. It featured both the ball and the wheel, and soon enough, variants emerged, leading to the development of the modern Roulette in 1795.

Most Roulette players are not aware of these legends, but they add color and life to the game itself. The next time you play, you will no doubt, stop and think for a while, marveling at the fables and myths that surround the game.