<P> Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning little wheel . In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the colors red or black, whether the number is odd or even, or if the numbers are high (19--36) or low (1--18). </P> <P> To determine the winning number and color, a croupier spins a wheel in one direction, then spins a ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular track running around the outer edge of the wheel . The ball eventually loses momentum, passes through an area of deflectors, and falls onto the wheel and into one of 37 (in French / European style roulette) or 38 (in American style roulette) colored and numbered pockets on the wheel . </P> <P> The first form of roulette was devised in 18th century France . Many historians believe Blaise Pascal introduced a primitive form of roulette in the 17th century in his search for a perpetual motion machine . The roulette mechanism is a hybrid of a gaming wheel invented in 1720 and the Italian game Biribi . </P>

How many slots on a european roulette wheel