Created by Adrian Ham Creative director(s) 5Creative Network Channel 5 | Developed by Gallowgate Productions Theme music composer Will Slater First episode date 25 June 2005 Language English | |
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Starring Rob Lamarr,Olivia Hill,Anna Jardine,Bryn Lucas,Derek Gibbons,Emily De Cosimo,Helen Shepard,John Mason,Lee Baldry,Stacey Upson,Janine Vermeulen,Shannon Goode,Michelle RhynnesDan Cooper,Aaron Kinney,Laura Staples,James Mooney,Lyndsey Corbally,Phillip Surry,Emma Sauvary,Shanine Levrier Similar Smart Live Casino, Wheel of Fortune, The Joker's Wild, Red or Black?, Joker Poker | ||
Live Roulette is an interactive Gaming show which was launched in June 2005. The programme allows people to place their chips on the roulette table by watching online or on TV and phoning the designated call centre number or playing via the internet. Live Roulette was then rebranded as SuperCasino.com. This new brand encompasses many live dealer games including multiple versions of roulette and blackjack.
Contents
Overview
Live Roulette was the brainchild of Interactive TV format developer David Wainwright and was first broadcast under the name Vegas 24/7 on 23 June 2005 on Sky channel 274 and aired between 3pm and 11pm.
The show began as an experiment to see if a gaming show of that type would work on television and soon moved to a new time slot of 6pm-2am in response to feedback from the players. On 25 September 2006 the show added an additional two-hour extension from 2am-4am, where the presenter based format was replaced by a focus on the wheel and the numbers being spun. Due to its previous contract with Virgin1 and Bravo 2, Live Roulette TV again extended its hours to broadcast until 4am.
The show broadcast on Sky channel 274 until 28 February 2006, when it moved from the Entertainment to Gaming & Dating sections of EPG to channel 847, where it remained up to Monday 7 July 2008, when it moved once again due to another Sky EPG reshuffle to its current 866.
On Monday, 14 August 2006, Live Roulette launched their website which enabled players to play on-line for the first time.
On 8 December 2006, the parent company of Live Roulette, (Vegas 24/7 Broadcasting Ltd.) was acquired by NetPlayTV plc.
On 1 October, the channel of which Live Roulette rebranded to become a programme strand of Super Casino which encompasses Live Roulette, Live Blackjack and many other casino games.
Autowheel appears on the channel at times when it is not presenter led, it is an air powered wheel that recreates the real wheel situation.
Per an Ofcom agreement Live Roulette became the first form of gambling to feature on terrestrial TV, with a slot on Channel 5 between 12-4am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The programme now broadcasts on the channel seven days a week. This caused major divides between politicians that were publicly documented in various mainstream newspapers such as the Daily Mail.[1]
Channels
Live Roulette is broadcast on the Super Casino channel on Sky Digital.
Presenters
Live Roulette has a team of fully trained and licensed croupiers who present the show from the Casino lobby. The presenters are:
The most famous and longest-standing presenter, Christopher Ditchburn, otherwise known as 'The Pitboss' supervised a team of spinners on the Casino floor. He left the show in December 2011
Mr Ditchburn was the man of the first hour when Supercasino (as it is known today) went under the name of "Vegas 24/7". He was the script writer, writing all the explanations for Roulette and Blackjack, trainer and, advised programmers what graphics were required to demonstrate the game. He was also the only member of staff who had actually worked in a casino. It was his unique knowledge of Roulette and his years of experience in television that made the show a success.
From the show's launch in 2005 the presenters acted as both hosts and croupiers up until February 2010 when Live Roulette had a major studio refurbishment and the presenters would since then only present the show and a team of Croupier's were hired to spin the Roulette wheel. Mr Ditchburn was the only presenter who went on to only act as a Croupier up until his departure from the show.
Spinners
Live spinners spin the Roulette wheel live from the casino floor,
Previous presenters
The game
The game of roulette is exactly the same as found in a real casino. Live Roulette uses the single zero European wheel rather than the American double zero version. During most hours, each game is open for two minutes and a new number is spun approximately every three minutes. There are two "turbo hours" each evening at 7pm and 2am where each game is open for one minute, and a new number is spun approximately every two minutes.
Method of Play
Chips are placed on the table by means of either a telephone menu, using the freephone number displayed or via their website where a variety of classic casino games are also available to play.
Originally the betting options were limited to simple plays, such as straights, splits, corners and the outside chances. In response to player feedback, on 18 April 2006 a new menu system was launched which included columns and all the French bets. It also allowed play on zero for the first time, when previously it had been the house number.
The Odds
Roulette is a fixed odds game, and Live Roulette operates in exactly the same way as a real casino.
Restrictions
You have to be 18 years or older to become a member and play roulette on Live Roulette. Live Roulette is not open to players in Northern Ireland the Republic of Ireland or the channel islands.
Free Player Account
Live Roulette offers a fun free player option. When a new players registers on either the website or on the telephone, they are given the option to play for free with 500 chips which can be used in exactly the same way as real chips. However, they have no monetary value. The free play option is available from the Supercasino website to players in all countries where online gambling is legal.
Premium Player Account
A premium player account allows you to take part in the game at any time and place chips, up to a certain house limit, just as you could in a real casino. At present, only players based in the United Kingdom are able to sign up for a premium account.
Being a premium player offers several benefits:-
1) Entry into the 'la partage draw'. This takes place twice each night, at 11pm and midnight. All the VIP members that are playing are put into a hat and a name is drawn out at random. The winner receives half their stake back for bets placed on the even chances every time the ball lands in green zero.
2) Entry in the monthly Grand Prize draw. At the end of each month all premium players who've played that month are entered into the draw, and two names are randomly selected by the computer. The winners are given a weekend break for two.
VIP Player account
Live Roulette offers an extra benefit for players who qualify as VIP Players. These are the 120 most loyal premium players. Some of the VIP benefits include:
1) VIP Manager that deals exclusively with VIP players.
2) Entry into exclusive VIP prize draws including most recently an all expenses paid trip to watch Ricky Hatton fight in Las Vegas
3) Tour of the London TV studios and a chance to meet Live Roulette presenters.
4) Bonus money for their continued loyalty.
Winners
After each spin, every winner from that game is displayed on screen, along with the amount of chips won, and the names are also read out by the presenter.