History of Keno

Keno is a very popular casino lottery style game, and like many other popular casino games, the history of the game is generally shrouded in mystery, with many different countries and people claiming its invention. However, it is generally accepted that the very origins of the game 'Keno' lay with the ancient Chinese civilizations. Thousands of years ago, during the Han Dynasty, the Chinese general Cheung Leung is said to have developed the game as a means of funding his troops and producing sufficient money to cover the cost of the most basic provisions for his army. Then, from its invention in around 200 B.C, the game spread throughout China, and historians now comment that it was the winnings of the Keno game that actually enabled the Great Wall of China to be built. The original Keno game began using one hundred and twenty Chinese traditional characters, all of which were derived from the classic Chinese poem 'The Thousand Character Classic'. So in essence, the players would have been betting on characters rather than numbers, as one would assume from a modern day lottery. However, these 120 characters were gradually reduced, first down to ninety characters and then by the time that the game reached the shores of the United States in the nineteenth century, it was down to just eighty characters.

The first real wave of Chinese immigrants to reach America was in 1850, when large numbers of Chinese came to work the mines of California. The game, as was the case with all gambling, was actually illegal, yet it thrived in the concentrations of Chinese immigrants, especially in cities such as San Francisco. The game earned the name 'Chinese Lottery' by the many English speaking onlookers, who were very much intrigued by the game but were deterred from playing, simply because they did not recognise or therefore understand the Chinese characters that were involved in game play. It was around this time that the Chinese characters were abandoned for the Arabic number system, in a bid to attract more players to the game. Gambling was finally legalised in Nevada in 1931, but this new gaming legislation did not apply to lottery type games, and so for the most part Keno still remained illegal. The game operators attempted to resolve this issue by changing the name, from 'Chinese Lottery' as it had become known, to 'Race Horse Keno', in that a player would place bets on a 'racehorse' rather than a number. The game then earned the nickname 'Races', which is still sometimes used today . However, the United States government responded by placing new taxation laws on all off track betting activities. It was at this point that the name was finally changed to be simply 'Keno'- the name which has stuck up to the present day.

Initially after its introduction into the legal gambling industry, caps, or limits were placed on the maximum amount of money that could be won through playing Keno in a casino. In 1963 this payout cap stood at $25,000, but in order to encourage more players into the game and therefore into the casinos, the cap was doubled and raised to $50,000 in 1979. Finally in 1989 the Nevada Gaming Commission decided to completely eliminate the gambling cap, and so now casinos are free to set their own limits on the winnings that can be made with the game of 'Keno'.

In reality, the game of Keno does actually have relatively poor odds, yet this has not deterred millions from enjoying this game, both at the casino tables, as well as in 'on-line' casinos. Although the odds may be high, the winnings to be had are equally as high, if not higher, and so they are definitely sometimes worth the risk.

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