Because roulette operates according to a predefined mathematical matrix, it's a given that over the long haul the casino will exact an incredibly lucrative profit from its patrons. You can't fight against the system: the house's advantage is maintained both in the basic operation of play and the payout ratios. Typically, there is a very definite financial distinction between true odds and casino odds. The player plays for true odds, but when he or she wins, the casino pays at slightly below par. So even when you win, you're not really winning...well at least you're not winning is much as you should according to the statistics.
Glancing over the historical expanse of roulette gives us two particularly interesting historical anomalies - men who veritably "broke the bank", men who were the casino's equivalent of a Black Thursday, men who defied rationality either through blatant luck or daring subterfuge.
We'll start with Charles Wells. Wells had built up a certain reputation for being a man would do almost anything for a quick buck. Did he just land unlucky street? Apparently so. Wells used 4000 in defrauded money (using something called a musical jump rope scam... it's probably best not to ask) and broke the bank 12 times over a weekend at a Monte Carlo casino, winning 1-million francs. In a later statement, Wells claimed that he used the martingale system to absorb any potential losses while simultaneously betting aggressively on certain numbers. It probably wasn't a very wise move, because a win on such a grand scale quite obviously attracts a fair amount of attention. Not the best idea when you're wanted for fraud. Wells was eventually arrested and sent back to New England. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. Later on, Wells would need to serve another three for fraud and another five for his various financial scams in France.
Joseph Jagger wasn't quite as unsavoury as Mr Wells. But he certainly took the casino for everything he could. By taking advantage of an error in one of the roulette wheels, Jagger was able to discern a noticeable bias from nine particular numbers on the wheel. By taking advantage of the increased probability of these nine numbers cropping up, and betting accordingly, Jagger amassed an incredible 60,000 over three days. The casino, obviously incensed by Jagger's financial success, rearranged all of their roulette wheels. Jagger, however, remembered there was a slight etch on the biased wheel and so returned the next day and kept winning. The casino, desperate to trace the source of their snowballing financial drainage decided to replace each and every fret on each and every wheel... each and every day. It was an arduous task, but an essential one if they were going to plug their monetary leakage. This put an end to Jagger's roulette career, for without knowledge of where the bias was on any particular day, his odds leveled out to the same point as everyone else's.
Anomalies? Yes, and in the modern age with the aid of technological tracking systems and wheel verification systems, it's much harder to get away with it.
Glancing over the historical expanse of roulette gives us two particularly interesting historical anomalies - men who veritably "broke the bank", men who were the casino's equivalent of a Black Thursday, men who defied rationality either through blatant luck or daring subterfuge.
We'll start with Charles Wells. Wells had built up a certain reputation for being a man would do almost anything for a quick buck. Did he just land unlucky street? Apparently so. Wells used 4000 in defrauded money (using something called a musical jump rope scam... it's probably best not to ask) and broke the bank 12 times over a weekend at a Monte Carlo casino, winning 1-million francs. In a later statement, Wells claimed that he used the martingale system to absorb any potential losses while simultaneously betting aggressively on certain numbers. It probably wasn't a very wise move, because a win on such a grand scale quite obviously attracts a fair amount of attention. Not the best idea when you're wanted for fraud. Wells was eventually arrested and sent back to New England. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. Later on, Wells would need to serve another three for fraud and another five for his various financial scams in France.
Joseph Jagger wasn't quite as unsavoury as Mr Wells. But he certainly took the casino for everything he could. By taking advantage of an error in one of the roulette wheels, Jagger was able to discern a noticeable bias from nine particular numbers on the wheel. By taking advantage of the increased probability of these nine numbers cropping up, and betting accordingly, Jagger amassed an incredible 60,000 over three days. The casino, obviously incensed by Jagger's financial success, rearranged all of their roulette wheels. Jagger, however, remembered there was a slight etch on the biased wheel and so returned the next day and kept winning. The casino, desperate to trace the source of their snowballing financial drainage decided to replace each and every fret on each and every wheel... each and every day. It was an arduous task, but an essential one if they were going to plug their monetary leakage. This put an end to Jagger's roulette career, for without knowledge of where the bias was on any particular day, his odds leveled out to the same point as everyone else's.
Anomalies? Yes, and in the modern age with the aid of technological tracking systems and wheel verification systems, it's much harder to get away with it.
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