Triple Zero Roulette: The Game You Should Never Play

The last time I was in Las Vegas, I noticed that the main pit area in the casino I visited had two regular double zero roulette wheels, and also two triple zero roulette wheels. 

What was notable to me was that both were equally busy. 

I suppose I wasn’t that surprised, because when I was part of the opening corporate crew for the Stratosphere (now The Strat), we had double zero wheels and single zero wheels, and the double zero wheels were busy, and the single zero wheels were dead. 

Why is that such a notable thing?   

Because the House Advantage on a Single Zero wheel is approximately half of the House Advantage of the Double Zero wheel. 

What that tells me is that many players don’t understand, or don’t care about, the implications of how many zeroes are on the wheel. 

Today, we’re going to explore the implications of the Triple Zero roulette wheel. 

When you have finished reading this article, you will know why triple zero wheels are not good for the players, how that extra zero changes the odds in a bad way for the players, what the wheel and layout looks like to accommodate the third zero and why a casino would add that third zero. 

Want a quick overview first? Watch this short video before diving into the article:

What Is Triple Zero Roulette

For decades, there were two types of roulette wheel found in the US, the American wheel, with its single and double zero, and the European wheel (often called the French wheel), with its single zero. 

About 8 years ago in 2016, the Venetian in Las Vegas offered a wheel with an additional space on it, called the Sands Wheel.  There was the Sands logo in the space.   

Essentially, they had added the third zero on a standard double zero American wheel.
 
What it did was add an additional space to the wheel and increased the House Advantage against the player from 5.26% to 7.69%.

Subsequently, the additional space became the third zero and many casinos in Las Vegas followed the Venetian’s lead by offering this variation to the wheel.

Here’s how it has changed the wheel and the layout:

Triple Zero Roulette Wheel Layout

The triple zero wheel I saw was a Huxley single zero wheel with two additional spaces having been added to each side of the single zero for the double zero and the triple zero.   

Huxley wheels are very high-quality English wheels, made to exacting tolerances and are highly regarded in the casino business worldwide.  

So the casino hadn’t just gone to some fly-by-night manufacturer to get their wheels made, they had employed one of the best manufacturers of roulette wheels, with the corresponding cost of approximately $22,000 for each wheel.

This was serious business.

The additional two spaces were all green, so the wheel had a triple green space where there used to be a single green space.

The other numbers were in the same order as a standard single zero European wheel.

The layout was changed to accommodate the additional zero, and also to add another bet.  The additional bet was incorporated into the Outside Bets, with a third color being added to the layout.   

As you can see from this layout, there is the ‘Green’ bet that pays 11 to 1.  It is a bet that one of the three zeroes will hit, and because there are three of them, it pays the same as any other ‘trio’ bet on the layout, which is 11 to 1.

Triple Zero Roulette Payouts, Odds and House Advantage

The payout odds don’t change on a Triple Zero wheel.

• Straight-ups still pay 35 to 1.
• Splits still pay 17 to 1.
• Corners still pay 8 to 1.
• Streets still pay 11 to 1
• Six Lines still pay 5 to 1.

What does change is the number of spaces for the ball to come to rest in, and therefore the chances of hitting a winning number.

On a Single Zero wheel, there are 37 spaces for the ball to land in, 1 through 36, and the Single zero.

The odds of the number hitting changes on the Double Zero wheel and on the Triple Zero wheel, because on the Double Zero wheel there are 38 spaces for the ball to land in, and on the Triple Zero wheel there are 39 spaces for the ball to land in.

The odds of winning something are reduced, depending on what bets you have made, and how many spaces there are on each of the different wheels.

This table below shows the chances of the bet hitting on each of the different wheels:

*NB – the basket bet may not be available on some Triple Zero games.

House Advantage on Each of the Three Wheel Types

Type of Wheel	House Advantage
Single Zero European wheel	2.70%
Double Zero American wheel	5.26%
Triple Zero American wheel	7.69%

Where Can You Play This Type of Roulette in Las Vegas?

The game first debuted at the Venetian on the corner of the Strip and Sands Avenue/Spring Mountain Road, but quickly spread all over town.   

Now it is available in most of the Strip casinos, including the Palazzo, the Wynn, the Luxor, the MGM, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Caesar’s Palace, The Strat, Planet Hollywood and many others. 

It is also available in many of the off-Strip casinos, and a few downtown casinos.

Why Have So Many of the Las Vegas Casinos Gone to The Triple Zero game?

Is it because of player demand?  Is it because it’s a better game for the players?  Is it cheaper to staff, so the labor cost is reduced?

No – the only reason they would change from a double zero wheel to a triple zero wheel is to make more money.

How do they make it more attractive to the players if it’s such a bad game to play?  

By making it the lowest minimum game on the retail floor.  

By offering the triple zero game with the lowest minimums and raising the minimum on the double and single zero wheels, the casino drives their low end retail play to the triple zero wheel, with its increased House Advantage.

Quadruple zero roulette - if it was invented, what would it be like?

Hmmm – well that’s an interesting question, isn’t it?  

First of all, would the players play it?  I believe they would – but it would be the same players who play the triple zero game now, not the knowledgeable players, but the retail tourists who don’t understand how the math works.

And just how does the math work, anyway?   

Well, by adding the fourth zero, there are now 40 numbers instead of the 39 that appear on the Triple Zero wheel, so the House Advantage would now be 10%.  

A massive negative for the players.

How do you calculate that?   

There are 4 possible winning numbers out of the 40 total numbers on the wheel, so:

4/40 = 0.1 x 100 = 10%

The ‘green section’ on the layout would pay 8 to 1, just like a corner.

When I started doing the research for this article, I looked up Quadruple Zero Roulette just to see if anyone had even thought of going there.

I was shocked to discover that not only had someone thought of it, but one of the major manufacturers even had a wheel with quadruple zeros laid out on it.

Which means that they have had at least one casino enquire about the availability of a quadruple zero wheel – and indeed, there may be one in operation as you’re reading this! 

The four zero spaces are set up on opposite sides of the wheel, two on one side and two on the other side.

It will take a few years for the players to get used to ‘the new normal’ with the triple zero wheels.   

And then a few more years will go by before a casino puts the quadruple zero game on to their floor to ‘see what happens’. 

Of course, it will be with the lowest buy in and minimums to attract the players who can’t (or won’t) play the higher minimum games, but the quadruple zero wheel is probably coming. 

And in my opinion, it’s going to be a very sad day when it finally arrives.

Expert Advice / Tips

The best advice I can give you about Triple Zero Roulette is find a wheel that has a Double Zero, or better yet, a wheel that only has a Single Zero on it and play that.

And ‘Don’t Play Triple Zero Roulette’. Ever.

There is no benefit to playing this game. None.