Keno was introduced in 200 BC by the Chinese military commander, Cheung Leung who used keno as a finance resource for his declining forces. The city of Cheung was waging a battle, and after awhile of war time appeared to be looking at a national famine with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to create a fast fix for the financial adversity and to acquire revenue for his military. He therefore created the game we know today as keno and it was a fantastic success.
Keno once was known as the White Pigeon Game, seeing as the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from bigger cities to the lesser towns. The lottery ‘Keno’ was imported to America in the 1800s by Chinese immigrants who migrated to the United States to work. In those times, Keno was played with one hundred and twenty numbers.
Today, Keno is most often bet on with just 80 numbers in a majority of the US land based casinos along with net casinos. Keno is mainly enjoyed today because of the laid back nature of playing the game and the basic reality that there are no skills required to play Keno. Despite the reality that the chances of getting a win are horrible, there is constantly the possibility that you might win quite large with little gambling investment.
Keno is played with eighty numbers and twenty numbers are selected each game. Players of Keno can select from 2 to ten numbers and wager on them, as much or as little as they want to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the bets made and the roll out of matching numbers.
Keno grew in popularity in the US near the close of the 1800’s when the Chinese characters were changed with , American numbers. Lotteries were not covered under the laws of wagering in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lottery’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the idea that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to come in. When the Nevada government passed a law that levied a tax on off track wagering, Nevada casinos swiftly changed the name to ‘Keno’.