Roulette

4051

Roumania

the Austrians on July 13, 1794, and in the'
Great War it was taken by the German
forces in 1914, was under direct fire in No-
vember, 1917, and was retaken by the French
in October, 1918; p. 26,657.

Roulette, a game of chance played with
the aid of a wheel and a table marked with
numbers and other divisions on both sides
of a wheel, which is in the center. The wheel
is a cylinder, the upper part of which is di-
vided into 37 or 38 sections, each section cor-
responding to a number marked on the
board. The cylinder is balanced on a pivot,
and the croupier spins it. The cylinder re-
volves in a wooden frame shaped like a
shallow basin. The croupier sends by a hand-
throw a little ivory ball round the upper part
of the basin. After describing an irregular
course determined by the studs, it finally
comes to rest and the croupier calls the num-
ber. At Monte Carlo the wheel has one 'zero'
on it and thirty-six numbers from i to 36.
The minimum stake at roulette at Monte
Carlo is five francs. There are eight methods
of staking, shown by the dots on the board.

(i.) En plein.—On one number; the bank
pays thirty-five times the stake. (2.) A cheval.
—On the line between any two numbers; the
bank pays seventeen times the stake. (3.) La
transversde pleine.—Qn the boundary line of
any row of three numbers; the bank pays
eleven times the stake. (4.) En carre.—Qn
four figures. If one appears, the bank pays
eight times the stake. (5.) Transversale simpk.
—On six figures; the bank pays five times

wagering on passe (19 to 36), manque
(i to 18), even (pair), uneven (impair),
black and red. (8.) A stake can be
placed a cheval between two neighboring

Diagram of Roulette.

the stake. (6.) On the first, middle, or last
dozen, by placing the stake on the little

. , PM D

square marked • or —>

12 12 12

or on a column by placing the stake in the
little space below the column. These are 2
to i chances. (7,) The even chances are

Roulette (Diagram of Half of
Table}.

even chances. If both chances win, even
money is paid. If one chance loses and one
wins, the coup is without result. The zero is
the great advantage that the bank has over
the player. If zero appears, the player who
has staked on an even chance has the choice
between his stake being relegated *to prison*
until the next throw, or giving half his stake
to the bank. The imprisoned stakes which
are on the winning spaces when the next coup
is made are set free; the bank takes the
others. Half of stakes .a cheval on even
chances are fortified if the zero appears.

Roumania, or Rumania, an independent
kingdom of Southeastern Europe, with
Ukraine and the Black Sea on the east, and
Hungary and Serbia on the west, Bulgaria
on the south, and Hungary, Poland and
Ukraine on the north. The area has varied
in recent years. Prior to the Treaty of Bu-
charest (see BALKAN WARS), it was 50,720 sq
m. By additions of 1918-1920, it has also
Bessarabia, 171,151 sq. m.; Transylvania, 23,-
792 sq. m.; Bukovina, 4,032 sq. m.; Crisana
and Maramuresha, 8,566 sq. m,; and the Bar-