[ English ]

Keno was first played in two hundred before Christ by the Chinese army commander, Cheung Leung who used this game as a way to finance his declining army. The city of Cheung was waging a war, and after some time seemed to be facing national famine with the dramatic drop in supplies. Cheung Leung had to come up with a rapid response for the financial disaster and to produce income for his military. He, as it follows developed the game we now know as keno and it was a great success.

Keno used to be known as the White Pigeon Game, due to the fact that the winning numbers were sent out by pigeons from larger cities to the lesser villages. The lottery ‘Keno’ was imported to the United States in the 1800s by Chinese immigrants who came to the States for jobs. In those times, Keno was played with one hundred and twenty numbers.

Today, Keno is most often gambled on with just 80 numbers in most of the US brick and mortar casinos as well as internet casinos. Keno is largely loved today because of the relaxed nature of playing the game and the basic fact that there are no expertise needed to enjoy Keno. Despite the fact that the chances of coming away with a win are horrible, there is always the possibility that you could win quite large with a tiny gambling investment.

Keno is enjoyed with 80 numbers with 20 numbers drawn each game. Enthusiasts of Keno can select from two to 10 numbers and gamble on them, whatever amount they want to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the wagers 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 more familiar, American numbers. Lotteries were not covered under the legalization of gambling in the state of Nevada in Nineteen Thirty One. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ utilizing the idea that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to come in. When a law passed that taxed off track gambling, Nevada casinos swiftly changed the name to ‘Keno’.