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The History of Keno

[ English ]

Keno was created in 200 before Christ by the Chinese army leader, Cheung Leung who utilized this game as a finance resource for his failing army. The city of Cheung was waging a battle, and after a bit of war time appeared to be facing national famine with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to develop a rapid response for the economic disaster and to acquire revenue for his military. He thusly developed the game we know today as keno and it was a fantastic success.

Keno used to be known as the White Pigeon Game, because the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from larger municipalities to the smaller towns. The lottery ‘Keno’ was imported to America in the 19th century by Chinese migrants who migrated to the US for jobs. In those times, Keno used one hundred and twenty numbers.

Today, Keno is regularly bet on with eighty numbers in most of American brick and mortar casinos as well as online casinos. Keno is mainly played today because of the relaxed nature of playing the game and the simple reality that there are little skills needed to play Keno. Despite the reality that the chances of coming away with a win are terrible, there is always the hope that you will win quite large with very little gaming investment.

Keno is played with eighty numbers and twenty numbers are picked each game. Enthusiasts of Keno can choose from 2 to 10 numbers and bet on them, as much or as little as they want to. The payout of Keno is according to the wagers made and the roll out of matching numbers.

Keno has grown in popularity in the United States since the close of the 19th century when the Chinese letters were changed with more familiar, US numbers. Lotteries were not covered under the legalization of gambling in the state of Nevada in 1931. The casinos adjusted the name of the ‘Chinese lottery’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the concept that the numbers are horses and you are looking for your horses to place. When the Nevada government passed a law that taxed off track gambling, Nevada casinos swiftly altered the name to ‘Keno’.

Posted in Keno.


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