| Wheel of Fortune, also known as the Big Six Wheel, is a game of luck and chance. It’s concept revolves (pun intended) around a large rotating wheel. This wheel is divided into sections around the center, separated by pins or spokes. Each section has a number allocated to it. Gamblers bet on what number they think the wheel will stop at when it is spun, and the winning section is indicated by a rubber or leather pointer that helps to eventually slow down the spinning, and specify the winning section once the wheel has ceased to spin.
There are a number of variants available for the Big Six- including designating the sections with a different number of sections, perhaps making some larger than others, using different symbols instead of numbers or changing the odds for winning sections.
The Money Wheel is the variant most popular in land-based casinos in the United States. Subsequently, there are a great number of online Money Wheels to be found via the internet for home based play. In this game, the wheel is divided into sections marked with the symbols for $1, $2, $5, $10, and $20- the American bills of each. There are usually two other symbols: the house casino’s logo and a joker, each present on the wheel one time. Players bet on the symbols, which they think the wheel will stop on. The amount of the symbol is the payout- betting on and winning $5 will pay 5:1. The additional symbols, joker and house casino logo, typically pay either 40 to 1 or 45 to 1, depending on the casino itself, and its region.
Casinos love to offer Wheels of Fortune to their patrons mainly because the house advantage is the highest on this game than on nearly any other. In the U.S., it can range from 11% to 24% for the special symbols. In Australia, the house advantage is 7.69%.
Another variation you may encounter in online casino is a Dice Wheel. In this game, the symbols on the wheel will stand for some of the 216 combinations possible if you were to roll three standard dice. There are wheels that duplicate combinations, as well. In this game, instead of players betting on a specific segment of the wheel, they bet on the numbers ranging from 1 to 6 (those possible on a die.) If the number they’ve bet on appears in the combination chosen on the spinning wheel, the dealer pays 1:1. If it’s a duplicate, (you bet on 2 and the combination is 2, 2, x) the dealer pays 2:1. If the result is a triplicate, dealer pays 3:1.
An example of this game in particular, and how it might play out:
One model of the game manufactured by H.C. Evans and Co of Chicago, Illinois is separated into 54 sections. Each of the triplets (ie, one number 3 times) appears 4 times. These doubles each appear four times as well: (2,1,1) (2,2,1) (4,3,3) (5,4,4) (6,5,5) and (6,6,3). These combinations appear three times each: (1,2,3,) (4,5,6). For this game in particular, there are 54 possible results for a single spin of the wheel. For any number that you may choose to bet on, there are 7 sections that would mean only one die would match. There are also 4 ways that two will match. And there are 4 ways where three will match. With the odds being 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1 for the possibilities, the house advantage sits at about 22.2% for this game in particular. Great for the casino. Not so hot for the gambler.
Wheel of Fortune or the Big Six are reminiscent of games like chuck-a-luck, sic-bo, and other luck games played with three dice. But even taking these games into consideration, the house advantage remains higher on Big Six and Wheel games, than any other. | | 
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