News
Imagine winning so much money that the casino goes broke.
We don’t know much about how it happened.
In fact, the news and documents of the time are quite suspiciously vague about the actual happenings.
In that he may have won through pure blind luck, but that is highly unlikely.
After collecting the money, Wells disappeared and relocated to Britain.
In 1873,Joseph Jaggerdrew huge publicity for being the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo.
By modern standards, that is around 7.5 million.
Wells entered the casino in June of 1891.
Back then, the casino would receive a daily 100,000 francs to top up the cash reserve.
This amount was known as the bank.
Different accounts have different facts, and the information varies greatly.
But here is a broad outline of how Wells did it.
Wells spent anywhere from 5 days up to 11 days at the Monte Carlo Casino.
Most sources state he had abankrollof 4,000 francs (around 20-25k) to play with.
Other reports suggest this was 26 from 30.
In later life, he was charged for his crime related to selling dodgy patent schemes.
Historians still speculate over the legend of Charles Wells.
Few details exist about his life beyond his schemes and gambling exploits.
Our guess is, he probably bet on a specific portion of the wheel.
For instance, placing straight bets on 4+ adjacent segments.
He probably had a way ofpredicting where the ball would land, and then covered the hottest area.
The trick here is that you have to look at the wheel, and not the paytable.
Surely if there was such a blatant bias, the other guests would also notice.
These dealers are trained to spin the wheel and throw the ball in a mechanical motion.
After conducting hundreds of rounds of roulette, surely they will spin and throw by routine.
But he couldnt make that calculation unless the croupier had already released the ball.
Players nowadays have used this tactic by employing computer software and lasers to calculate where the ball will land.
Precise timers and technology that is way beyond what Wells could have sourced at the time.
In truth, there is a very small possibility Wells could have used this method.
Unless he had a very good eye to track the ball movements and precise timing.
Or, if the roulette wheels were spun a lot slower back then.
Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible.
Collusion Theory
Our most likely guess is that Wells was not alone in his endeavors.
The most talented dealers could, theoretically, aim for certain regions or segments on the table.
Of course, they will need to be highly skilled and be extremely familiar with the table.
And in doing so, the house edge is diminished as theprobabilitiesare all changed.
Was it a Betting System All Along?
Gamblers develop many biases, most of whichdistort the facts.
Say the ball lands on red 10 times in a row.
Some people will think the red numbers are hot or that they can make more money betting on red.
Both are gambler’s fallacies.
For example, a baseball team wins 15 consecutive games.
We look at that and think, they are on fire and are unbeatable.
And not to look back at their results and see how much luck was needed to get there.
We tend to also big up the larger wins, and downplay losses.
So maybe the details about Wells' feat are a little blurred.
Perhaps he just used astrategic betting systemand dazzled the spectators beyond belief.
How could this be done?
Well, in any number of ways.
Just think about it.
Say Wells played 5 rounds, losing 3 in a row, but won the 4th.
But in actual fact he was staking big sums of money and on relatively safer wagers.
After all, when he came back later that year he lost big money.
That is, just under the chance of hitting a split bet in roulette (5.55%).
We say that with lots of ifs and buts.
Before anyone starts thinking whether it can be done again, we would warn you.
In modern casinos, you’ve got the option to’t pull off such a feat for numerous reasons.
It all boils down to good old fashioned luck.
Daniel has been writing about casinos and sports betting since 2021.
Roulette and Physics: Can You Predict the Wheels Spin?
Roulette Bankroll Management: Tips for Longer Sessions
Betting Systems: Do They Really Work?
