Roulette Winning Streaks

Dear Mark, I believe in your theory that each spin of the roulette ball is an independent event. So betting streaks is futile. But leaving common sense behind for just a moment, is there any minute reason to bet a streak? And if so, with it, or buck the odds? Harry C.
You know me well, Harry. You‹and, I hope, most readers‹recognize that no amount of past history (looking backwards from a streak) on a random, non-biased wheel predicts the outcome of the next spin. Each spin is, as you say, an independent event, and the law of averages says nothing about a single spin. (Another name for the law of averages is "the law of very large numbers"; and there's a reason for that.)
A streak is nothing more than a welcome, momentary flutter in an endless time-line which will soon be canceled by one or more unwelcome flutters. But okay, Harry, for interesting discussion's sake, and with your pistol at my temple, I will confess that I would bet with a streak, not against one.
Why? Any gambler who's racked up some playing time knows that the improbable can and will happen on any game, on any given night. I have personally seen red appear more than 20 times in a row, and I once dealt to a lady who won 32 straight hands at blackjack (at only a deuce per hand; too bad), and on craps have witnessed players making their "point" for what seemed like eternity.
In such as these cases, if you bet the streak and are wrong, you lose only that bet. But if you bet consistently against a streak, you¹re heading for tapped out and home for the holidays. That is why, in my right mind, I wouldn't buck the odds.