Keno was first played in two hundred BC by the Chinese military leader, Cheung Leung who used this game as a way to finance his declining army. The city of Cheung was at war, and after some time seemed to be facing national shortage of food with the dramatic drop in supplies. Cheung Leung had to come up with a fast fix for the economic disaster and to produce revenue for his army. He thusly developed the game we now know as keno and it was a fantastic success.
Keno was referred to as the White Pigeon Game, due to the fact that the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from bigger municipalities to the lesser towns. The lottery ‘Keno’ was brought to the USA in the 1800s by Chinese expatriates who headed to the United States to work. In those times, Keno used 120 numbers.
Today, Keno is normally bet on with just 80 numbers in almost all of the US based casinos along with net casinos. Keno is mainly enjoyed today because of the laid back nature of wagering the game and the basic reality that there are no skills required to play Keno. Despite the reality that the chances of succeeding are horrible, there is always the possibility that you will hit quite large with very little gambling investment.
Keno is enjoyed with 80 numbers and 20 numbers are drawn each game. Players of Keno can choose from two to ten numbers and wager on them, as much or as little as they are able to. The payout of Keno is according to 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 letters were replaced with , US numbers. Lotteries weren’t covered under the legalization of gambling in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the idea that the numbers are horses and you are looking for your horses to place. When a law passed that taxed off track betting, the casinos swiftly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.
