Keno was introduced in 200 before Christ by the Chinese army commander, Cheung Leung who utilized keno as a finance resource for his declining forces. The city of Cheung was at war, and after some time seemed to be looking at a country wide shortage of food with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung had to come up with a quick fix for the financial adversity and to acquire revenue for his forces. He therefore designed the game we now know as keno and it was a great success.
Keno once was well-known as the White Pigeon Game, seeing as the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from larger municipalities to the tinier towns. The lotto ‘Keno’ was imported to the USA in the 19th century by Chinese immigrants who migrated to the United States to jobs. In those times, Keno was played with 120 numbers.
Today, Keno is regularly wagered on with 80 numbers in most of American land based casinos along with online casinos. Keno is largely loved today because of the laid back nature of wagering the game and the simple fact that there are no expertise needed to enjoy Keno. Despite the fact that the chances of getting a win are horrible, there is constantly the chance that you might hit quite big with little gambling investment.
Keno is played with eighty numbers and 20 numbers are picked each game. Enthusiasts of Keno can choose from two to 10 numbers and bet on them, whatever amount they are able to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the bets made and the matching of numbers.
Keno has grown in popularity in the US since the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese characters were replaced with more familiar, American numbers. Lottos were not covered under the legalization of gaming in the state of Nevada in 1931. The casinos changed the name of the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ utilizing the idea that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to come in. When a law passed that taxed off track wagering, casinos quickly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.
