Keno’s History

Keno was introduced in two hundred BC by the Chinese military commander, Cheung Leung who used keno as a monetary resource for his failing forces. The metropolis of Cheung was waging a war, and after some time seemed to be facing country wide famine with the drastic decrease in supplies. Cheung Leung had to come up with a rapid fix for the economic calamity and to create money for his military. He therefore developed the game we know today as keno and it was a great success.

Keno used to be referred to as the White Pigeon Game, due to the fact that the winning numbers were broadcast by pigeons from bigger municipalities to the lesser villages. The lottery ‘Keno’ was brought to America in the 19th century by Chinese newcomers who migrated to the States to jobs. In those times, Keno used one hundred and twenty numbers.

Today, Keno is most often played with just 80 numbers in a majority of the US based casinos along with web casinos. Keno is commonly played today as a result of the relaxed nature of gambling the game and the basic fact that there are little expertise required to play Keno. Despite the fact that the chances of winning are horrible, there is always the possibility that you could win quite big with a tiny gaming investment.

Keno is enjoyed with eighty numbers with 20 numbers drawn each round. Players of Keno can choose from 2 to ten numbers and bet on them, as much or as little as they are able to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the wagers made and the matching of numbers.

Keno grew in popularity in the United States near the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese characters were replaced with more familiar, American numbers. Lotteries weren’t covered under the laws of gambling in Nevada State in 1931. The casinos renamed the ‘Chinese lottery’ to ‘horse race keno’ employing the notion that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to come in. When the Nevada government passed a law that levied a tax on off track wagering, casinos quickly altered the name to ‘Keno’.

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