The History and Evolution of Keno
Keno has been played for thousands of years by people in all parts of the world. Where did this game originate and how did it come to be the modern casino game that it is today? There is a lot of mystery surrounding the history of this popular game, which goes back over three thousand years. However, what is known about the game proves quite interesting. Read on to learn more.
The game of Keno dates back to the Han Dynasty in China, three thousand years ago. It is said that the ruler of the Han Dynasty, Cheung Leung, was running out of money to fund a war that had been going on and in order to raise money he developed Keno. Keno was used as a lottery system and the money raised from citizens buying tickets was used to help fund the war. It is also said that Keno was used to raise money to build China’s Great Wall as well, although this story cannot be proven for sure.
When Cheung Leung invented the lottery game of Keno it was not exactly the same game as is played in casinos around the globe in the present day. Today’s Keno is played on cards with 80 numbers and Cheung Leung’s Keno was played on cards with 120 Chinese letters. The letters were replaced with numbers when Keno was introduced to the western world, to make things easier for non-Chinese speakers. However, in China the game still utilizes Chinese letters, although the number has been lowered from 120 to 80.
The game of Keno was introduced to the United States by Chinese Sailors in San Francisco in the early 20th century. When the casinos of Nevada caught wind of the game, however, there were issues because although gambling was legalized lottery games were not. As a result, the game was disguised as a racing game. It was called Racehorse Keno and the numbers on each Keno card represented different racehorses. After lottery games were legalized in Nevada many Las Vegas casinos got rid of the racing aspects of the game, although some casinos still refer to Keno drawings as “races”.
Since the advent of online casino gaming Keno has come even further. Today gamblers from all over the world are able to play Keno from the comfort of home for fun or for real money. However, Keno is not only a popular casino game. Many state and country lotteries offer Keno to their citizens as a way to raise money, just as Cheung Leung did three thousand years ago.