A History of the Game Called Keno

Keno a game of Chinese origin and it was pioneered by Cheung Leung in 200 BC. Leung was a military officer who used the game to finance the necessities of his deteriorating army.

During Leung's time his city was in the turmoil of war and the entire nation was waging hard against famine due to the dwindling supplies. Leung knew he had to act fast in order to solve the economic crisis and to generate proceeds for his militia. He then created what is now known as Keno and it proved to be a successful one as well.

Previously known as the White Pigeon Game, keno was played and the winning number combinations were delivered from cities to villages using pigeons. The lottery version of this game was introduced in the United States by the Chinese settlers during the 1800's. Keno, during the 1800's, was played using 120 numbers.

Nowadays, keno is played with 80 numbers and it is offered in most land-based and internet-based casinos in the United States. The nature of the game is simple and definitely a no-brainer. It is a game of luck and beating the odds is definitely tough for this game. But for those who were able to beat their odds, they got the chance to win huge amounts of jackpots with very minimal wager. Betting on keno is played by choosing from 2 to 10 numbers from the 80 given number set. 20 numbers per game is drawn, and betting on the number choices can wage for as low or as high as the player wants. Keno's payout depends on the wagers made and the roll out of the corresponding numbers.

The history of keno in China evolved more as a tradition rather than a lottery game. The Thousand Character Classic is keno's legacy to the Chinese people which is a poem of a thousand characters. These are independent characters constructed in a rhyme and it used to be a means for teaching children. The original keno boards made use of these characters as well instead of numbers. By the end of the 19th century, keno was already a popular game in the United States and the Chinese characters were already replaced by numbers.

In 1931, because lottery gambling was not yet under the state law of Nevada, casinos renamed the game from Chinese Lottery to Horse-race Keno. The idea was to conceal the original concept of the game as a lottery, into the concept that the game uses numbers corresponding to the horses. The name of the game was promptly changed to Keno when a state law regarding tax issues for track betting was passed.