Keno was first played in 200 BC by the Chinese army commander, Cheung Leung who used this game as a way to finance his failing forces. The city of Cheung was waging a war, and after a bit of time seemed to be looking at a country wide famine 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 forces. He, as it follows designed the game we now know as keno and it was a fantastic success.
Keno used to be known as the White Pigeon Game, because the winning numbers were sent out by pigeons from larger cities to the tinier villages. The lotto ‘Keno’ was brought to America in the 19th century by Chinese newcomers who came to the United States to work. In those times, Keno used one hundred and twenty numbers.
Today, Keno is typically bet on with just 80 numbers in a majority of the US based casinos as well as web casinos. Keno is largely enjoyed today because of the laid back nature of playing the game and the simple fact that there are no skills needed to enjoy Keno. Despite the fact that the odds of getting a win are terrible, there is always the chance that you might win quite large with little gaming investment.
Keno is played with 80 numbers and twenty numbers are picked each game. Gamblers of Keno can choose from 2 to 10 numbers and wager on them, as much or as little as they are able to. The payout of Keno is according to the wagers made and the roll out of matching numbers.
Keno has grown in popularity in the US since the close of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were changed with more familiar, American numbers. Lottos weren’t covered under the legalization of gaming in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the concept that the numbers are horses and you are looking for your horses to come in. When a law passed that levied a tax on off track wagering, Nevada casinos swiftly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.
