Keno was introduced in two hundred before Christ by the Chinese army commander, Cheung Leung who used keno as a way to finance his failing army. The city of Cheung was at war, and after a bit of war time appeared to be looking at a national shortage of food with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to come up with a rapid fix for the economic calamity and to create money for his army. He therefore created the game we now know as keno and it was a great success.
Keno once was known as the White Pigeon Game, seeing as the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from larger locations to the smaller villages. The lottery ‘Keno’ was imported to America in the 19th century by Chinese expatriates who headed to the US for jobs. In those times, Keno was played with 120 numbers.
Today, Keno is typically enjoyed with 80 numbers in a majority of American based casinos along with internet casinos. Keno is largely played today because of the laid back nature of wagering the game and the basic reality that there are no skills required to enjoy Keno. Regardless of the fact that the odds of winning are appalling, there is always the chance that you might hit quite large with little gaming investment.
Keno is enjoyed with 80 numbers with 20 numbers selected each game. Players of Keno can select from 2 to ten numbers and gamble on them, as much or as little as they want to. The pay out of Keno is according to the bets made and the matching of numbers.
Keno has grown in universal appeal in the United States since the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were changed with , American numbers. Lottos weren’t covered under the legalization of wagering in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos changed the name of the ‘Chinese lottery’ to ‘horse race keno’ utilizing the idea 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, casinos quickly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.