Wandering through the casino at Caesars Palace recently, we were surprised and borderline giddy to see European roulette is now being offered in the iconic casino.

That’s right, European roulette. Which means Caesars Palace is one of the few casinos on The Strip that offers topless roulette! Which would be even more awesome if we weren’t just making it up. Well, the topless part, anyway.

Looks funky. Feels so good.

What’s European roulette, you ask? Well, primarily, European roulette means that instead of a zero and double-zero on the table, there’s just zero. Why does this matter? Because having just one zero lowers the house edge, and that’s always a good thing.

In American roulette, with zero and double-zero, roulette’s house edge is 5.26%. Having just a zero lowers the house advantage to 2.7%. This difference in percentages is music to a roulette player’s ears.

Other casinos on The Strip may have European-style roulette, but they tend to keep the tables tucked away in their high roller salons. Caesars Palace has European roulette in both its high roller area and on its main casino floor.

European roulette also offers some additional bets you don’t see in American roulette. These are “call bets,” and you should probably ask your dealer what they mean, because we pretty much have no clue. They’re in a foreign language, after all.

We are a blog, not a linguist.

From what we can gather, call bets in European roulette cover different number combinations. On the table we visited, the call bets are called “0-Spiel,” “Voisins,” “Orphelins” and “Tiers.” The “Voisins” bet is our favorite, because while we don’t know what it means, it does have “sin” in it, and Las Vegas is Sin City, so we’re kind of biased.

We looked it up. "Voisins" means "neighbors." That certainly clears things up.

Because these European-style call bets cover a variety of numbers, the betting increments and payouts vary. So, again, inquire with your dealer.

Have fun, and always make the most of your gambling allowance by knowing the odds. The house ultimately has the advantage, but a game like European roulette can get you a step closer to cashing out a winner.

Everyone seems to have an opinion about what the luckiest number on a roulette wheel is. But here’s a fact about roulette you probably didn’t know: The funniest number on a roulette wheel is 32.

Now, we know what you’re thinking. It’s something along the lines of, “Despite your being an award-winning Las Vegas blog, which orifice did you extract that from?” Actually, we didn’t just make that up. The number 32 has been deemed the funniest number on a roulette wheel by none other than a group of the most acclaimed comedy professionals in the history of funny.

The undisputed funniest number on a roulette wheel.

One of the most lauded shows on television, ever, was “Your Show of Shows.” It starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, and the show’s writing staff was a who’s-who of the greatest comedic inkslingers ever to put yucks to paper.

Back in 1996, the Writers Guild of America gathered the former “Your Show of Shows” (and “Caesars Hour”) writers for a free-wheeling panel discussion. The panelists included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin, Aaron Ruben, Danny Simon, Sheldon Keller and Gary Belkin.

During their discussion, these masters of their comedic domain revealed they’d explored the question of which number on a roulette wheel is funniest, and landed upon 32. Take a look.

Ultimate insider trivia: After the Writers Guild event, the “Caesar’s Writers” panel was made available on VHS tape. The photo on the packaging was taken by none other than this very blog, who served as the official photographer at the event. We are not making this up. Ah, the circularity of the universe. And don’t even get us started about the fact our roulette wheel photo, in a post about “Caesar’s Writers,” was taken at (wait for it) Caesars Palace.

So, now you know! Some always bet on red or black when they’re in Las Vegas, but this blog always bets on 32.

Roulette is one of the most appealing games in a casino. The gleaming, spinning wheel. The variety of bets. The relatively simple rules. The camaraderie. The repeated leaning forward of well-endowed patrons to place their bets, if you know what we’re saying.

An interesting aspect of roulette is how the game’s chips work. Unlike other table games in the casino, roulette chips have no inherent denomination or value. What you “buy-in” for is what a given chip is worth. Your chip could be worth $1 or $100. Your dealer keeps track of your chip value, and different players at a table could be playing with chips of different values, all at the same time.

Yes, these were actual bets on black. And, yes, they won. We are not making this up.

So, say you leave the casino after playing roulette, and you take a chip with you. When you return a day or week or month later, what’s that chip worth?

For the most part, your chip is worth the minimum roulette chip value for that casino. In the case of, say, Caesars Palace, that’s $1. You won’t be able to take your chip to the casino cashier, but at the roulette table, you’d probably receive a $1 chip for your roulette chip.

So, what if you were playing with chips valued at $100 each? For the most part, the casino can’t keep track of what your chip value was in the past, so the policy is to pay the minimum amount the chip could have been worth. The lesson here: Always cash in your roulette chips before you leave the table!

It's easier to remember to cash in your chips when they're worth $100,000, like this baccarat chip at Paris Las Vegas.

Here’s another tip we got from a pit boss (a casino floor manager): Always buy-in at roulette using your player loyalty card (such as Total Rewards, the loyalty club of hotels in the Caesars Entertainment family). Why? If your play history is in the loyalty program’s computer system, a manager might be able to confirm you were playing at a higher level consistently and exchange your chip for an amount that’s more than the table minimum.

This is less likely to work if your chip denomination varies, but if you always play with, say, $5 value chips, and your play is tracked, you might swing the higher amount when you try and cash in that stray chip.

Thanks for the tip, random casino pit boss we forgot to write down the name of, definitely not because we were enjoying a free casino cocktail at the time. You know who you are, and consider yourself thanked.

When the beloved O’Sheas casino closed (in April, 2012) to make way for The Linq project, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. We know, because we were in the building, gnashing along with all the other O’Sheas fans.

As the end neared, the table games were shut down, one-by-one. At the roulette table, the wheel was spun for a final time.

The moment of truth.

This blog took note of the last number to hit (hint: it wasn’t the one with the big stack), for posterity, but haven’t shared it, until today.

The last spin of the O’Sheas roulette wheel was 31, black. Now, you know.

We miss you, O’Sheas, our sticky, boisterous, bedraggled, slurring old friend. Read more.

These Interwebs can be a funny place. It all started when poker player Jeff Romano Tweeted the photo below, sparking rumors that an odds-defying roulette streak had taken place at Rio Las Vegas.

Just hold your horses.

The photo made the rounds and created a lot of buzz, but either fortunately or unfortunately, it was a streak that never happened.

Romano was apparently on a break from playing in the World Series of Poker, noticed some players making noise at the roulette table and snapped a pic. But reps for the hotel confirm the “streak” was a glitch in the numeric display only, not an actual seven-time run on the number 19.

The odds of hitting the number 19 seven times in a row in roulette, by the way, are three billion to one.

The numeric displays on roulette tables are more of a convenience for players, and their number sensor thingys sometimes get it wrong. These displays have nothing to do with the roulette wheels, and are no reflection on the integrity of the game. They’re more decoration than anything, for the more superstition-y (possibly not a real word) among us.

Displays can have glitches related to the ball reader device (the aforementioned “thingys”), software, electrical connections and power surges. None of these things influences where the ball lands, of course. That’s up to chance.

This is probably a good time to read more about the Gambler’s Fallacy. (Quick version: “It’s hit black nine times, so this time it has to hit red!”

Anyhoo, it was fun while it lasted. This blog actually took another photo awhile back of what we think was the same roulette display at Rio Vegas. We noticed it because it was showing a long streak of black hitting, a streak not necessarily reflective of the results on the wheel.

We would calculate these odds, but we are a Las Vegas blog, not a supercomputer.

Reports of the display being tested at the time of Romano’s photo, as well as reports of the table not being in use at the time of the photo, were incorrect. It happens.

Thanks to Jeff Romano for use of his photo. Find him here on Twitter.

Want to see something even more awesome? Diligent Pulse of Vegas blog reader Eric Becerra send along this gem, also taken at the Rio. On Friday the 13th (January 2012), no less.

Freak, meet out.

Now, back to your regularly-scheduled Las Vegas nonsense.

This blog is always up for trying its luck at casino games like roulette, blackjack and slots, and now those games are available free on Facebook with the Caesars Casino game.

Free coins do, indeed, make us feel welcome, guy-in-a-suit. Thanks.

The realistic roulette, blackjack and video slots games are completely free to play, with more games coming soon. Sorry, no craps yet! Nothing’s perfect in life.

Hmm, which game do we choose to crush first?

With the Caesars Casino app, it’s all the excitement of playing in your favorite casino, with none of the risk (or cigarette smoke), so what’s not to love? Oh, and nobody’s trying to high-five you without your permission. This blog hates that.

No nasty looks from other players if you split 10s. Yeah, baby!

We’re liking the bonuses, and as you play, you get other perks, and different game levels can be unlocked along the way, just to keep things lively. There’s a handy FAQ to quickly get you up-to-speed on the various games, but everything’s pretty intuitive if you’ve played the live versions of the games.

We're betting on red and black and green. It's not real money, so what do we care?

As you might suspect, since it resides on Facebook, the Caesars Casino is a fairly social game. You can gloat about your virtual casino accomplishments to friends, as well as being able to send them additional coins and video slot spins, blackjack hands and roulette spins. And unlike with games such as Farmville, your friends will actually enjoy hearing from you when you share your Caesars Casino updates. And if they don’t, are they really the kind of friends you want? We’re just saying.

We’re just kidding about the Farmville thing! (Actually, we’re just kidding about kidding about it. Farmville is annoying. This is a casino, not a farm. Casinos are fun. Farms smell. Moving on.)

Not annoying! Well, you might want to turn the sound off after the first six or eight hours. Just saying.

If you’re digging the Caesars Casino experience, and deplete your virtual coins, you can purchase more with real-world money. Yes, quite a few people do this, actually. Hey, fun’s fun. Twenty thousand coins for $5 is a pretty inexpensive form of entertainment when you get right down to it. But there’s no obligation. Just be lucky, and you’ll never need to purchase a Caesars Casino coin in your life. Or have lucky friends who can give you coins. That works, too.

Roman society, from what we can tell, was based largely on grapes and water features.

So, check out the new Caesars Casino. And if you’re curious: This blog is currently raking it in at roulette, having its posterior handed to it at blackjack, and holding steady at the “Road to Riches” and “Roman Triumphs” video slots.

Play in the Caesars Casino on Facebook, already.

Roulette is one of the most appealing games in any Las Vegas casino. It’s relatively easy to learn, and it’s a social game. Oh, and there’s usually free liquor involved. Like we were going to forget that one.

One of the things that makes roulette so fun is the wide variety of bets you can make. You can bet “straight up” (on one number, which pays 35-to-1), split a bet between two numbers (paying 17-to-1) or make a “corner bet” (on the corner between four numbers, which pays 8-to-1). There are also “neighbor” bets, “street” bets and “stream” bets.

Freaky roulette fact: All the numbers on a roulette table add up to 666.

Of course, in a casino, the house always has the edge (known in gambling parlance as the “vig”). In the case of roulette, the house edge is 5.26%. Not too shabby!

That percentage applies to the typical Vegas roulette table, one with both a zero and double zero. Several casinos in Vegas have single-zero, European-style tables, but those are generally reserved for high limit salons, rather than the main casino floor.

This blog loves it some roulette.

So, what’s the “worst” bet at roulette? It’s all about probability in roulette, and while just about all bets in roulette keep to that 5.26% house edge, one has an edge of 7.89%.

The least player-friendly bet in roulette is the “basket bet,” or a bet that covers five numbers: 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. Now you know!

Does that mean you shouldn’t bet it? Of course not. If you’re feeling it, go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you how to work your mojo. It’s Vegas, baby!

We aren’t completely sure we know what fanfare is, but we are sure there was a good bit of it as the much-anticipated Margaritaville Casino opened its doors at Flamingo Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2011.

Yay, Vegas newness.

What kind of Las Vegas blog would we be if we didn’t amble on over to the new casino to spend upwards of four hours taking photos of just about everything we could lay our hands on. (Complaints pending with Human Resources.)

Just the right amount of sarong.

The first thing one notices at the new Margaritaville Casino is the energy. The laughter, the enthusiasm of the dealers, the boisterous revelry.

The energy could result from the casino being brand-spanking new, or it could just be it resides on the Las Vegas Strip (built-in boister). Perhaps it’s that the fun-filled atmosphere of the adjoining Margaritaville restaurant naturally flows into the new casino and 5 O’Clock Somewhere bar.

But no matter what the reason, the Margaritaville Casino has a great vibe, and you feel right at home the second you step through the door.

Yes, that security guy wrestled us to the ground. We're fairly sure he meant it in a playful way.

The Margaritaville Casino is teeming with references to what’s commonly called the “Buffett Lifestyle,” including clever winks to Jimmy Buffett songs on custom banks of slot machines.

Next time, we go with a "Parrothead," so they can explain all the song references.

The new casino features 22 table games and 220 slot machines.

Of course, we made a beeline to the craps table. We love the smell of fresh casino felt! Even the craps table works in a reference to the Jimmy Buffet hit, “Come Monday.”

We played craps and got lucky at Margaritaville Casino! (That line's on the house, T-shirt department.)

The centerpiece of the Margaritaville Casino is the aforementioned 5 O’Clock Somewhere bar. Kind of like a shoreside shack, but with better hooch.

See? Who says there aren't clocks in Vegas casinos?

Flair bartenders get their flair on (see below), entertaining guests enjoying a variety of signature cocktails.

Beer is always top-of-mind at the Margaritaville Casino.

The drink menu has no prices on it, which is always a great sign, but they run in the $12 range, so not bad for a bar that has to be one of the best people-watching spots on the Strip. Cocktails include the Bahama Mama, Incommunicado, Shark Bite, Who’s to Blame, Woman to Blame and the Uptown Top Shelf Margarita (see below).

The Uptown Top Shelf Margarita. Photographers can do flair, too, you know.

Gambling nerds like us will enjoy stumbling (literally, in some cases) upon some high-tech aspects of the table games, including the whiz-bang chip separator machine at the roulette table (below).

We're adding this chip sorter to our list of great shows in Las Vegas.

Technically, the opening on Oct. 1 was what Vegas casinos refer to as a “soft opening.” We didn’t see any kinks to get out, but the official Grand Opening is slated for Oct. 14, 2011. Including, we assume, even more fanfare. We should probably look that word up at this point.

The Grand Opening will feature an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest margarita in history. That’s 2,125 gallons of tequila, by the way. This blog is so there. Read more.

Insert this blog's stunning, yet gratuitous, photo of the Flamingo here.

Stay in the loop about all the Margaritaville Casino Las Vegas news, including street parties on Oct. 15 and 22 between O’Sheas and Flamingo, by following Flamingo on Twitter or by liking Flamingo on Facebook.

Of course, you’ll want to skinny dip in our exclusive photo gallery of the Margaritaville Casino’s opening weekend.

Roulette is one of the most enjoyable games in a casino. No time-consuming learning curve, a variety of bets, not too much math, and a social atmosphere where fortunes can be won if Lady Luck smiles.

This painting hangs in the corporate office of Caesars Entertainment. It's pretty.

Roulette, like many casino table games, has its own set of slang terms.

For example, when you bet on an individual number in roulette, it’s called a “straight-up” bet. A bet between two adjoining numbers is called a “split.”

You can also make a “street” bet, which is a bet on three numbers in a single horizontal line. Depending upon the table’s layout, a street bet is made on the line at the end of the three numbers, either to the right or left. (Ask your dealer for help.)

Hey, we can see our street from here!

A “trio” bet is on made on three numbers at once.

A “basket” bet is a bet on five numbers, and is placed at the intersection of 0,00,1,2,3. This bet, by the way, has a house “edge” (or advantage) of 7.89%, whereas others have an edge of 5.26%, so it’s not the best bet in roulette, but hey, if you hit a lucky streak, there are no bad bets.

A “snake bet” zig-zags across the layout, covering the numbers 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32 and 34.

We’ll see you at the roulette table!

We can just imagine the product-development brainstorming session.

“Jim, we want to develop a product that combines everyone’s favorite things into one thing.”

“Jim? Why, Jim? Not every product-development brainstorming session has a Jim involved, you know.”

“Right, Jim, any ideas?”

“Yes! How about if we combine roulette with hard liquor?”

“You mean like they do in Vegas, pretty much every day of the year, Jim?”

“Yes, and the Jim thing is getting pretty old. My name is Hannah. And I’m calling Human Resources.”

The rest is history! Behold the ultimate Vegas-friendly holiday gift: Shot Roulette.

Does anyone know how to replace eyeballs that just burst out of our head?

This incredible conjoining of two great pastimes comes from Urban Outfitters, and the instructions are simple. “To play, simply turn the wheel to see whose number is up. If your shot glass corresponds to the number played, empty the glass and spin it again.”

To sum up: Unmitigated genius. This baby is sure to put the “happy” in “Happy Holidays!”

Did you know that in Vegas casinos, roulette is the only table game where chips don’t have a denomination specified on them?

We're fairly sure this roulette chip cost us $1. The things we do for you.

Bonus roulette factoid: In roulette, a “basket bet” is a five number bet that includes zero, double zero, 1, 2 and 3.

Our winner for the most eye-pleasing roulette layouts in town: Planet Hollywood. (Proximity to the Pleasure Pit doesn't hurt.)

Take a look at more roulette trivia before your next visit to Vegas.

On the Oct. 13, 2010 episode of “Hell’s Kitchen,” starring Gordon Ramsay, Rio headliners Penn & Teller made a surprise cameo, bringing their subversive sensibility to the popular reality show.

Penn and Teller drop in unannounced on the "Hell's Kitchen" contestants.

Vegas played an integral part in the episode, with a cooking challenge inspired by a roulette wheel.

Hey, Chef Ramsay, you might be a great chef, but you just violated 46 gaming regulations.

The “red team” won the challenge, and got the ultimate reward: A trip to Las Vegas. In the immortal words of contestant Nona, “We’re going to Vegas! Ve-gas!”

The lucky group of aspiring chefs stayed at Rio Las Vegas, and received the VIP treatment in one of the hotel’s 14,000-square-foot, high roller Palazzo Suites. Nona’s reaction to the extravagant suite? “The most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” We’re liking us some Nona! (With the tat, below.)

The contestants react as they enter their high roller suite. Bonus points if you find the one getting "bleeped." (That's usually Chef Ramsay's domain!)

The contestants were each given a two-night stay at Rio at a time of their choosing, and nabbed a group photo with Penn & Teller (with the suite’s butler doing photography duty).

Bonus factoid: Penn & Teller hang out after their shows to sign autographs and have photos taken with fans. Every show.

The Penn & Teller drop-in installment marked the show’s 100th episode. Man, we love us some “Hell’s Kitchen,” almost as much as we love us some Vegas. Almost.

Think you know Vegas? Here’s today’s puzzler. Check out this super close-up of a gaming chip from one of Sin City’s most talked-about resorts. It could be a vintage chip or one currently in circulation. Think you know which resort it’s from? Post your guess in the Comments section. We’ll even give you a hint.

Hint: The denomination of this chip is $1.

What, that doesn’t help?

Roulette has a long and storied history. It’s thought to be an amalgam of the English wheel games Ace of Hearts, E.O., Roly-Poly and Reiner.

Also in the mix were the Italian board games of Hoca and Biribi. Oh, and there was also a French board game called “Roulette” that preceded the advent of roulette as we know it today.

Bonus factoid: The first time a modern roulette wheel was used in a casino was in Paris in 1796. (No, not this Paris.)

Bonus bonus factoid: "Roulette" is French for "little wheel."

We snagged that photo yesterday at Caesars Palace, which, like roulette, also has a long and storied history. Ah, the circularity of the universe.

Roulette was invented by French mathematician Blaise Pascal, a byproduct of his experiments with perpetual motion.

Around and around she goes. At least we think it's a she.

The French version of roulette has a single zero, while the American style has a double zero. (Although you can still find wheels with one zero in some American casinos, even on the Strip!)

In some forms of early American roulette, an American eagle was used instead of the double-zero.

Roulette has been called the “King of Casino Games.”

In 2004, Ashley Revell of London sold all his possessions and brought $135,300 to the Plaza Hotel in Vegas and put it all on “red.” Revell walked away with his net-worth doubled.

The cloth covering with the betting areas on a roulette table is known as a “layout.”

Roulette has been featured in a number of successful feature films, including “Diamonds are Forever” and “Casablanca.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, “roulette” is French for “little wheel.”

A bet on an individual number in roulette is called a “straight-up” bet.

The plastic marker a roulette dealer uses to signify the winning number is called a “dolly.”