Keno was introduced in two hundred BC by the Chinese army leader, Cheung Leung who used this game as a way to finance his failing forces. The city of Cheung was waging a war, and after some time seemed to be looking at a country wide shortage of food with the drastic drop in supplies. Cheung Leung had to develop a fast fix for the financial disaster and to create money for his army. He, as it follows developed the game we know today as keno and it was a wonderful success.
Keno once was referred to as the White Pigeon Game, because the winning numbers were delivered by pigeons from bigger locations to the tinier villages. The lottery ‘Keno’ was brought to the US in the 19th century by Chinese migrants who came to the United States for jobs. In those times, Keno used one hundred and twenty numbers.
Today, Keno is generally gambled on with just 80 numbers in a majority of the US based casinos along with internet casinos. Keno is largely enjoyed today as a result of the laid back nature of gambling the game and the simple fact that there are little skills required to play Keno. Regardless of the reality that the odds of succeeding are terrible, there is constantly the possibility that you could hit quite big with little gaming investment.
Keno is played with eighty numbers and 20 numbers are picked each round. Gamblers of Keno can choose from two to ten numbers and bet on them, whatever amount they want to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the bets made and the matching of numbers.
Keno grew in acceptance in the United States near the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were replaced with more familiar, US numbers. Lottos were not covered under the legalization of gaming in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ utilizing the idea that the numbers are horses and you are wanting your horses to place. When the Nevada government passed a law that levied a tax on off track betting, casinos quickly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.
