History of Keno

Keno is a lottery type game which originated from China and arrived in the United States with the Chinese railroad workers. This simple and exciting lottery type game is popular in both land and online casinos.

An ancient Chinese rhyming children’s poem is believed to be the source of keno. The poem, known as “Thousand Character Classic” used to teach children to read because it consisted of one thousand different characters. Around 200 BCE, the famous Chinese general, Cheung Leung needed extra funding for the ongoing battles in the state and the people would not let another tax increase go by peacefully. Cheung Leung understood that unless he found extra funds for the war, the enemy would conquer his kingdom. Cheung Leung developed an idea to construct a large wall separating his kingdom from the attacking barbarians in the north, but he was still left with the problem of how to fund its construction.

Legend has it that Cheung Leung created a game, using the first 120 characters of the “Thousand Character Classic”, in which participants had to select a set of characters. Cheung Leung then chose indiscriminate characters and created a winning combination. The game became a huge success and people from all over the kingdom began playing it. The general’s coffers began filling up and the money was in used to construct the Great Wall of China and to finance Cheung Leung’s battles.

The Chinese remained faithful to the game’s roots and continued playing it through the centuries. Keno ultimately made its way to America with Chinese immigrant railway workers in the 1850s. Keno began spreading across the country with the workers as they laid the tracks from the east to the west.

Despite its illegal status, keno was extremely popular and became known as the Chinese Lottery. San Francisco was the focal point of the game, whose popularity increased when the Chinese letters were replaced by regular numbers. The 120 characters were also downsized to 80 numbers, facilitating an even greater interest in the game.

When gambling was legalized in Nevada in the 1930s, keno also appeared in the casino lounges. This move was facilitated by Warren Nelson, who had played keno in Montana during the ‘illegal’ period. Nelson opened the first keno game in the Palace Club in 1936 and later on Joe Lydon introduced the first keno game at the Fremont in Las Vegas.

During this period, lotteries were considered illegal under Nevadan law and keno (known as Chinese lottery) therefore had to undergo an identity change. Casino operators renamed the game “Horse Race Keno” and this slight adjustment allowed keno to be included in Nevadan casinos’ game line up.

Horse race keno was played with each of the 80 numbers representing a horse and players needed to forecast which number horse would ‘win the race’. A slang name for keno was ‘the races’ and this term is still used today. Nevadan officials eventually heard of keno’s success and began taxing off-track gambling. The casino operators, however, were still able to outsmart the officials and simply shortened the game’s name to keno.

In 1963, Nevada officials again decided to clamp down on keno operators and limited the maximum payout to $25,000. By 1979, this figure was increased to $50,000 but this still annoyed the casino operators. Finally, in 1989, the limits on maximum payouts were done away with and casinos were allowed to pay out jackpot prizes to lucky winners.

Keno is a much-loved game in the online format and is very popular with new players because of its simplicity and easy-to-understand rules. A visitor to an online casino site will be able to pick up the rules of keno in no time and the huge potential payout from very small minimum bets is what continues to attract millions of people to the virtual keno booths.