Keno’s History

Keno was introduced in 200 before Christ by the Chinese army leader, Cheung Leung who used keno as a way to finance his failing army. The metropolis of Cheung was at war, and after awhile of war time seemed to be facing country wide famine with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to create a rapid fix for the economic calamity and to create revenue for his army. He, as it follows designed the game we know today as keno and it was a fantastic success.

Keno was referred to as the White Pigeon Game, seeing as the winning numbers were sent out by pigeons from bigger locations to the smaller villages. The lotto ‘Keno’ was brought to America in the 19th century by Chinese migrants who migrated to the States to work. In those times, Keno was played with one hundred and twenty numbers.

Today, Keno is generally wagered on with just 80 numbers in just about all of American based casinos as well as net casinos. Keno is commonly played today as a result of the relaxed nature of wagering the game and the simple reality that there are no skills required to play Keno. Despite the fact that the chances of winning are horrible, there is always the hope that you might hit quite large with a tiny gambling investment.

Keno is enjoyed with eighty numbers with twenty numbers drawn each round. Players of Keno can choose from two to 10 numbers and bet on them, as much or as little as they want to. The payout of Keno is dependent on the wagers made and the matching of numbers.

Keno has grown in universal appeal in the US since the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were changed with more familiar, US numbers. Lotteries weren’t covered under the laws of gambling in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos adjusted the name of the ‘Chinese lottery’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the notion that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to come in. When a law passed that taxed off track betting, casinos swiftly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.


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