Keno was first played in two hundred before Christ by the Chinese military leader, Cheung Leung who used this game as a way to finance his declining forces. The city of Cheung was at war, and after awhile of war time appeared to be facing national famine with the dramatic drop in supplies. Cheung Leung had to come up with a quick response for the financial disaster and to produce income for his army. He thusly created the game we know today as keno and it was a wonderful success.
Keno used to be referred to as the White Pigeon Game, seeing as the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from larger cities to the lesser towns. The lotto ‘Keno’ was brought to the United States in the 19th century by Chinese immigrants who migrated to the US for work. In those times, Keno used 120 numbers.
Today, Keno is normally played with just 80 numbers in most of American brick and mortar casinos along with web casinos. Keno is largely played today because of the laid back nature of betting the game and the simple fact that there are little expertise needed to play Keno. Despite the fact that the odds of getting a win are horrible, there is always the hope that you might win quite big with a tiny gambling investment.
Keno is enjoyed with eighty numbers with 20 numbers drawn each round. Gamblers of Keno can pick from two to 10 numbers and wager on them, whatever amount they want to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the bets made and the roll out of matching numbers.
Keno has grown in acceptance in the US since the close of the 19th century when the Chinese characters were changed with more familiar, US numbers. Lotteries weren’t covered under the legalization of gaming in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos changed the name of the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ utilizing the concept that the numbers are horses and you are looking for your horses to come in. When a law passed that taxed off track betting, the casinos quickly adjusted the name to ‘Keno’.