The History of Keno
Keno was introduced in 200 BC by the Chinese military commander, Cheung Leung who utilized this game as a finance resource for his declining forces. The city of Cheung was waging a war, and after awhile of war time appeared to be looking at a national famine with the excessive drop in supplies. Cheung Leung needed to come up with a fast fix for the financial disaster and to create revenue for his army. He therefore developed the game we now know as keno and it was a great success.
Keno was 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 towns. The lotto ‘Keno’ was brought to America in the 19th century by Chinese migrants who headed to the States to jobs. In those times, Keno was played with one hundred and twenty numbers.
Today, Keno is most often wagered on with just 80 numbers in a majority of the US land based casinos along with online casinos. Keno is commonly enjoyed today because of the laid back nature of playing the game and the simple reality that there are little skills needed to enjoy Keno. Despite the reality that the odds of getting a win are terrible, there is always the hope that you will win quite big with little gaming investment.
Keno is played with 80 numbers with twenty numbers picked each round. Players of Keno can choose from 2 to 10 numbers and bet on them, whatever amount they are able to. The pay out of Keno is dependent on the bets made and the roll out of matching numbers.
Keno has grown in popularity in the United States since the end of the 1800’s when the Chinese letters were replaced with more familiar, American numbers. Lottos weren’t covered under the legalization of gambling in Nevada State in Nineteen Thirty One. The casinos altered the name of the ‘Chinese lotto’ to ‘horse race keno’ utilizing the concept that the numbers are horses and you want your horses to place. When a law passed that levied a tax on off track gambling, casinos quickly changed the name to ‘Keno’.
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