Keno is a lottery game similar to bingo. It was probably invented by the Chinese thousands of years ago as a way of boosting the coffers of an ancient empire or dynasty (not too dissimilar to the modern lotteries). It is possible that the Great Wall was largely funded in this way.
It is thought that Chinese immigrants then spread the game throughout the Western world, especially in the United States in the 19th century. For example there is a record of Keno being played in a casino in Texas in 1866.
Of course there had been raffles and lotteries before Keno became a popular casino game (it wasn’t really until the beginning of the 20th century that the game took off), but there was something special about this particular game that elevated it above many others.
Unsurprisingly it was in San Francisco that Keno was first universally accepted and played rigorously – albeit still illegally and underground. With its large Chinese immigrant community and its famously liberal attitude to all things seditious and sleazy, San Fran was the perfect home for Keno. Even after gambling was legalised in Nevada in 1931, lotteries were still banned.
But necessity is the mother of invention, so players simply changed the name of the game to racehorse Keno in order to mask the real aim of the game. Each number was changed to represent a different horse, even though no horses were actually involved in the game or the betting!
Online keno is played on a ticket which has the numbers 1 to 80 printed on it. The player selects certain numbers and marks them on the ticket. Up to 15 numbers can be marked.
The player must also keep a record of the amount he is betting on each number (usually the amount is in multiples of the base price of the ticket). Once all numbers are chosen and marked, the casino then selects 20 numbers at random. The player is then paid out depending on how many of his numbers he hits.
The house edge in Keno makes the game rather suicidal if you’re looking for a payout. It ranges from about 4% to as much as 35%! However there is the possibility of winning a truck load of cash if you win big in Keno.
And that is why it has maintained its popularity over the millennia. But treat the game more as a lottery rather than a table game. There is no basic strategy or a way of ‘working out’ the best way to pick your numbers. Do make sure you know the rules before you play, as every casino and every website have slightly different ones.
