Triple zero roulette has been introduced at two casinos in Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood and New York-New York.

Venetian got the first triple zero roulette table (two, actually) on The Strip back in Oct. 2016, and it seemed inevitable the much-reviled game would proliferate.

That it has.

Here’s a look at the triple zero roulette table at Planet Hollywood.

How does American roulette work? An American roulette wheel has 38 equal-sized divisions. First there are the numbers 1 through 36.These are joined by a pair of zeros – featuring the numbers ‘0’ and ‘00’. In other versions of the game, such as European and French roulette wheels, you’ll find just a single zero. Roulette is tied into a series of video consoles allowing you to play with lower minimums against the wheels in other parts of the floor. Oddly enough they call it 'American Roulette,' but it is what in the USA is called 'European Roulette,' (i.e., only '0' but not '00' on the wheel).

On the bright side, one of the “fun facts” about roulette stays the same: The numbers on a roulette table add up to 666.

“What is triple zero roulette?” you ask.

Well, a typical roulette table in U.S. casinos has two zeros.

On a table with two zeros, the house edge is 5.26%. That’s one of the highest house advantages in the casino.

On a triple zero roulette table, the house edge jumps up to 7.69%.

See, that’s what makes a much-reviled game so reviled.

Given the odds are worse on a triple zero table, why would people play it? You ask great questions!

Typically, the minimum bet on a triple zero roulette table is lower than on a double zero table.

Yes, there are some single zero tables in Las Vegas casinos, but they tend to be reserved for big spenders. An exception is the single zero table at Cromwell. There’s a premium to be paid for the better odds, of course. The minimum bet at Cromwell is $25.

The house edge in a single zero roulette game is 2.7%. You go, Cromwell.

How did we know more triple zero games would make their way to Las Vegas casinos? Another excellent question!

We knew because players at Venetian’s triple zero roulette table (see below) didn’t care at all about the less favorable odds.

Triple zero roulette tables are often packed when double zero tables are empty.

It was the same at Planet Hollywood during our visit.

Planet Hollywood has eight roulette tables. Seven have a $15 minimum, one has a $10 minimum. The lower table minimum is more than enough to entice recreational gamblers, and casinos couldn’t be happier about it.

Before you start calling triple zero roulette players stupid, consider this: They’re not gambling to make money. They’re playing to have fun.

And here’s a confession: We had fun playing triple zero roulette at Planet Hollywood, too. And we won money to boot.

We even made money on one of the bets you’ll only find at a triple zero roulette table. It’s a bet on any of the zeros, and it pays 11-to-1.

Big thanks to Planet Hollywood for not asking security to Taser us for taking photos.

Oh, and while we’re at it, here’s another counter-intuitive fact about triple zero roulette: It can actually make your money last longer.

It’s true!

Despite disadvantageous odds, the lower table minimum at triple zero roulette means a typical player (assuming they make the minimum bet) will lose less over time than someone betting more at a double zero roulette table.

That’ll teach you to be less judgy.

So, no, not everything is ruined. But that doesn’t mean we have to like triple zero roulette.

Triple zero roulette is a symbol of an evolution taking place in Las Vegas casinos. As gambling revenue declines, casinos have to find new and clever ways of bolstering their bottom lines.

If guests play games with a higher house edge, casinos will continue to find ways to raise them even higher.

The irony, of course, is gambling revenue is declining because the perceived value of gambling has declined. Casinos tighten their slots, so players play slots less. Casinos change 3-to-2 blackjack games to 6-to-5, so fewer play the game. It’s a vicious cycle.

Our strategy is to play the games where we have the most fun. That way, we can spend our time being entertained rather than doing math.

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you care about the number of zeros on your roulette table?

Thanks to our friends at the You Can Bet on That podcast for alerting us to the triple zero roulette table at Planet Hollywood.

Updated (4/26/18): Park MGM has also introduced triple zero roulette.

Updated (4/13/19): Since this story, a number of Las Vegas casinos have introduced triple zero roulette. Las Vegas casinos with triple zero roulette:

• Venetian and Palazzo
• Planet Hollywood
• Circus Circus
• Golden Nugget
• Park MGM
• New York-New York
• Harrah’s Las Vegas
• Luxor
• Wynn Las Vegas
• Linq
• Binion’s
• Four Queens
• Aria Las Vegas
• Caesars Palace
• Green Valley Ranch
• Palms

Roulette Zero

The number zero. Is it even a number? Or is it a non-number?

Well, we always talk about the number zero, so let´s say for the sake of argument that it is a number. If you halve something, and then halve it again, and then halve it again, you are going to have a smaller and smaller number. If you did this an infinite number of times, you´d arrive at zero, but of course that isn´t going to happen in the real world. And that´s the thing about zero, much of what we talk about when we talk about the number zero is theoretical- it´s all in the mind.

But back to roulette. The zero is the only green number on the roulette wheel, and it marks the difference between a European Roulette wheel and an American Roulette wheel, as a European wheel has one zero pocket and an American wheel has two zero pockets (the 0 and the 00).

Play the Zero Bet at Luxury Casino

0 00 Roulette Wheel

Play American Double Zero or European Single Zero.

On a European Wheel, the 0 sits between black 26 and the red number 32. Over in Vegas on the American wheels, the 0 is located between black 2 and black 26 and the 00 has red 1 and red 27 as neighbours.

How to Play the Number Zero in Roulette

You can bet on the number zero in the same way as you can bet on any individual number on the roulette wheel- just place a single number bet on the number and you´ll get a 35:1 payout if it comes in (plus your original bet back).

The zero is often seen as an unlucky number (well it is called the zero)- especially in roulette, as many bets will not pay out if the ball lands in this pocket, such as the outside even money bets, the column bets and the dozens bet and so on.

In a way, that´s a little bit unfair on the zero, as if you bet on the red, you´ll lose if a black number comes up OR the zero comes up, but players tend to feel unlucky when the zero lands and they are playing the even money bets. There are ways of insuring yourself against this happening. You could play a roulette variant like Next Gen European Roulette that plays La Partage. This is a rule that forces the casino to return half of your even money bet if the ball lands in zero. It´s a good one to look out for, as it will reduce the house edge down to 1.3% on these bets. You may also find this rule played on many French Roulette games.

Roulette Zero Tips

The zero is what gives roulette its House Edge. If you play an Outside Bet like Evens or odds, for example, you have less than a 50:50 chance because if the ball happens to land in the zero pocket (or pockets in the case of American variants), you lose the bet. You can mitigate against this by playing French Roulette, or “Money Back” games that play La Partage rule. You will get half of your bet back in this case- the house edge is half of that you will get in standard European Games.

You could also lay a small side bet on the zero to cover yourself for those times when the 0 hits. We´d advise against it- it´s better just to run the gauntlet and trust your luck.

The only rule that we suggest you stick to with the zero, is to only play on single zero roulette wheels. Avoid the double zero roulette wheels (the American ones). If you think it’s bad news when the ball lands in the single zero, how bad are you going to feel when it lands in the double zero? There’s a reason that European Roulette is more popular online than the American game. There’s more choice and the odds are better on the former.

A popular way of covering the zero is with the Voisins du Zero bet. This covers the numbers from 22 to 25 including the zero. These are the Neighbours or Voisins of zero.

Double 00 Roulette Wheel

If you are playing American Roulette (I thought we told you to avoid it!), you could also play the worst bet in roulette, which covers 0,00, 1, 2 and 3. But why would you? The odds are the worst in roulette.

Another neat way of covering the zero on a European table is with a Jeu Zero bet, which is kind of like a mini Voisins du Zero bet. It just covers 6 neighbours of zero with 4 chips.

Let´s Talk About the Zero

Zero is one of those numbers that is known by a number of names including nothing, none, nought, nil, zip, zilch and nada. In cricket, if you are bowled for a duck you scored zero runs and if you are 40 love down in a tennis game you haven’t scored any points.

The zero hasn´t always been recognised- the Ancient Greeks had no word for it and were sceptical as to whether it was a number at all. How can something be something if it is nothing? You can see their point.

The idea of zero is thought to have been fully developed on the Indian sub-continet where it appeared around A.D. 458 in mathematical equations that were spelled out or spoken in poetry or chants. In 628, a Hindu mathematician called Brahmagupta came up with a symbol for zero — a dot underneath numbers.

It was through the Arabic world that we came to use the zero as a placeholder and number in calculations. The Hindu–Arabic base 10 system for numbers that we use to this day reached Europe in the 11th century, thanks to the Moors in Spain.

Zero is an even number as you can divide it by 2 without getting a remainder and is the smallest no-negative integer.

The number zero really started to come into its own with the development of computers, as it represents the “off state” in a binary system, where 1 is the “on state”.

Summary

So is zero a number? Can you have a number that’s nothing? That´s getting into philosophy, so we are going to say that yes, 0 is a number, at least in roulette. It has its own pocket and space on the betting layout, and there are even 2 of them on some wheels.

Just remember, the odds of the ball landing in the zero are exactly the same as the odds of the ball landing in any other number!

Double 00 Roulette Wheel

Play the Zero bet at Royal Vegas Casino

Stick to European Wheels with one zero. The odds are better.

FAQs

• Is there such a game as Zero Roulette?
  Betfair used to offer a game called Zero Roulette with a wheel that was just filled with numbers from 1 to 36. They discontinued it, probably because the house edge was zero (that extra pocket gives the house its advantage). At the time it was probably used as a promotional tool to get players to try the casino (Betfair is still well worth a visit for roulette by the way).
  It’s a shame they discontinued it.