Question

ROULETTE is a casino game where a numbered wheel spins and a steel ball falls into a location marked by one particular colored number. In the United States there are 18 locations colored red, 18 locations colored black and 2 locations colored green. The red and black locations are numbered 1-36 and the green locations are labeled "0" and "00" as shown in the picture to the right. The wheel therefore has 38 locations in total. Note that the odd and even values are not evenly distributed within each color. For any particular wager a player makes, an expected profit can be calculated from: Expected profit = (Prob. of winning) x (winning payout amount) - wager

(c) Another potential wager is to "bet on odd" which has the same payout as betting on black, but wins only when the ball lands in a location with an odd number of either color. If the ball lands on an even numbered location or a green space you lose your wager and the payout would be $0. What is the expected profit from placing two bets on a single spin - $17 on black and $19 on odd? (round to closest penny)

Answer 1

Solution: