Maybe I misunderstood What you said in the first Place. The way I see it that coupon Represents a bet whether you paid for it or not. That way there is still 2 bets on the table with only 1 winning.

Here is one that any casino will let you do. Put 1 chip on every number from 00 to 36. 1 of them WILL win and they will pay back 35 to 1 so now you have 36 chips. It took 38 chips to get 36 back. My origional point was it is easy to guarantee a win and still lose money.