Keno’s History
Keno was first played in two hundred before Christ by the Chinese army commander, Cheung Leung who utilized this game as a financial resource for his declining forces. The city of Cheung was at war, and after some time appeared to be facing national famine with the excessive drop in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to develop a rapid fix for the financial calamity and to create revenue for his military. He thusly designed the game we know today as keno and it was a fantastic success.
Keno once was referred to as the White Pigeon Game, seeing as the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from bigger locations to the tinier villages. The lotto ‘Keno’ was brought to America in the 19th century by Chinese expatriates who migrated to the US for jobs. In those times, Keno was played with one hundred and twenty numbers.
Today, Keno is generally bet on with eighty numbers in most of the US brick and mortar casinos along with net casinos. Keno is mainly played today as a consequence of the laid back nature of playing the game and the basic reality that there are little skills required to enjoy Keno. Regardless of the fact that the chances of winning are terrible, there is always the chance that you might win quite big with little gaming investment.
Keno is played with 80 numbers and twenty numbers are selected each round. Players of Keno can select from 2 to ten numbers and bet on them, as much or as little as they are able to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the wagers made and the roll out of matching numbers.
Keno has grown in popularity in the US since the end of the 19th century when the Chinese characters were replaced with more familiar, US numbers. Lottos were not covered under the laws of gambling 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 are wanting your horses to place. When the Nevada government passed a law that taxed off track gambling, casinos quickly altered the name to ‘Keno’.
