Blaise Pascal, Roulette and Roulette History

Blaise Pascal, who was born in France in 1623 and died in 1662 at the young age of 39, was a brilliant mathematician, a scientist, an inventor and a philosopher. However, many people do not know that Blaise Pascal was the inventor of the Roulette wheel and, therefore, in Roulette history, he is known as the Father of Roulette. We would never have had the casino game of Roulette as we know it today without Blaise Pascal's invention.

As a mathematical genius Blaise Pascal was the creator of the Pascal Triangle which illustrates the expansion of binomial coefficients, still a subject taught in math classes today. He is also the creator of the Theory of Probability which establishes the numerical odds of a future event occurring or not with mathematical precision. These are complicated sounding subjects but to mathematicians today they are in common use.

As a scientist, Blaise Pascal developed a theory which has since been called Pascal's Law. This theory states that pressure applied to a confined liquid at any point is transmitted equally undiminished throughout the fluid in all directions. This is best understood when thinking of a barometer, and Pascal's Law is used in many hydraulic machines.

Getting back to Roulette and Roulette history, it was while Blaise Pascal was experimenting with and trying to develop a perpetual motion machine that he invented the Roulette wheel with 36 numbers and a ball that turned in the opposite direction of the wheel. It was at this time, also, that he created the pendulum. Had Pascal succeeded with his perpetual motion machine, we would not have the game of Roulette as we know it, because his wheel would turn without stopping! Therefore, as the Father of Roulette, Blaise Pascal is the most important figure in Roulette history.

Changes in the Roulette Wheel

Blaise Pascal's Roulette wheel underwent a change about 100 years after his invention when the game was already being played in whatever gambling establishments were available in those days. Two Frenchmen, brothers, Francois and Louis Blanc, added the 0 pocket to the wheel in order to increase the house odds, and, today, this Roulette wheel is called the French or European Roulette wheel.

When the game of Roulette crossed the Atlantic to the United States, Las Vegas casinos added another double zero pocket (00) to further increase the house odds and that wheel is designated as the American Roulette wheel.

Although throughout Roulette history the game is described as elegant, glamorous and elitist, today anyone can play the game of Roulette online and enjoy the excitement. However, none of these options would have been possible without Blaise Pascal and his invention of the Roulette wheel.