The background of Keno

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Keno was first played in two hundred BC by the Chinese military leader, Cheung Leung who utilized this game as a way to finance his declining forces. The city of Cheung was at war, and after awhile of war time seemed to be facing country wide famine with the dramatic drop in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to come up with a quick fix for the economic disaster and to produce money for his army. He, as it follows designed the game we know today as keno and it was a great success.

Keno once was referred to as the White Pigeon Game, because the winning numbers were delivered by pigeons from bigger municipalities to the lesser villages. The lottery ‘Keno’ was brought to America in the 19th century by Chinese expatriates who came to the US to jobs. In those times, Keno used 120 numbers.

Today, Keno is typically gambled on with 80 numbers in almost all of the US brick and mortar casinos along with net casinos. Keno is largely played today as a consequence of the relaxed nature of wagering the game and the simple reality that there are no skills needed to enjoy Keno. Despite the fact that the odds of getting a win are horrible, there is always the possibility that you will win quite large with a tiny gaming investment.

Keno is played with 80 numbers with 20 numbers selected each round. Gamblers of Keno can choose from two to 10 numbers and gamble on them, as much or as little as they want to. The payout of Keno is dependent on the wagers made and the roll out of matching numbers.

Keno grew in popularity in the US near the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were changed with more familiar, American numbers. Lotteries were not covered under the legalization of gambling in the state of Nevada in 1931. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the concept that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to place. When the Nevada government passed a law that taxed off track wagering, the casinos swiftly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.