[ English ]

Keno was created in 200 BC by the Chinese army commander, Cheung Leung who utilized keno as a way to finance his failing forces. The metropolis of Cheung was at war, and after some time seemed to be facing national famine with the excessive drop in supplies. Cheung Leung had to create a rapid response for the economic adversity and to acquire revenue for his military. He therefore developed the game we know today as keno and it was a fantastic success.

Keno once was referred to as the White Pigeon Game, because the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from larger cities to the smaller villages. The lottery ‘Keno’ was brought to the US in the 1800s by Chinese expatriates who migrated to the United States for jobs. In those times, Keno used one hundred and twenty numbers.

Today, Keno is typically bet on with eighty numbers in almost all of American brick and mortar casinos along with net casinos. Keno is mainly liked today as a result of the laid back nature of gambling the game and the simple fact that there are no skills needed to play Keno. Despite the reality that the odds of getting a win are horrible, there is always the hope that you could win quite large with a tiny gambling investment.

Keno is enjoyed with 80 numbers with twenty numbers drawn each game. Players of Keno can select from two to ten numbers and gamble on them, as much or as little as they want to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the bets made and the matching of numbers.

Keno has grown in popularity in the US since the close of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were replaced with more familiar, US numbers. Lotteries weren’t covered under the laws of gaming in the state of Nevada in Nineteen Thirty One. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the idea that the numbers are horses and you are wanting your horses to come in. When the Nevada government passed a law that taxed off track gambling, Nevada casinos quickly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.