| Keno
History |
 Keno
is in many ways similar to a lotto game. That's
because keno is in fact lotto. During the
3000-years of keno history the name has been
changed a few times, mostly to get around
the law or taxes or both. The one thing everyone
agrees on is that the Chinese invented the
game to fund their army and The Great Wall.
Keno
started out using 120 Chinese characters.
Before the game left China, that number was
reduced to 90. Keno came to America in the
19th century, together with the wave of Chinese
immigrants. These were mostly the Chinese
railroad workers of folklore. About this time
the game was reduced once again, this time
to 80 Chinese characters.
Although
illegal (or maybe because), keno flourished
among Chinese immigrants, especially around
big cities like San Francisco. It became known
as the Chinese lottery. English speaking Americans
became interested in the game, but had difficulty
differentiating the Chinese characters used
in the game (who wouldn't). Around the beginning
of the 20th century, keno operators replaced
the Chinese characters with Arabic numbers
to attract more players.
Although
Nevada legalized most forms of gambling in
1931, the legislature did not legalize lottery.
And the Chinese lottery was definitely a lottery.
To avoid this trouble, operators simply changed
the name to Race Horse Keno (simply genius).
Each number was regarded as a horse. Today
many keno operations still call their games
"races". When the U.S. Government passed a
law taxing off track betting, the name was
once again changed, this time to just Keno.
In
1963 the total keno payout limit in Nevada
was $25,000. In 1979 it was changed to $50,000.
In 1989 the Nevada Gaming Commission removed
the limit, and casinos are now free to set
their aggregate limits as they wish.
So
when you're sitting at the keno lounge or
more comfortably at home with the computer,
waiting for the board to flash the numbers,
just think what a long tradition you are continuing,
sit back, relax and enjoy the game.
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