History of Keno

Keno, a game similar to the big state or provincial lotteries, is easy to play and one of the most popular games in any casino. The game itself was first developed in China in 187 BC by the head of state, Cheung Heung, and involved the selection of 10 out of 120 Chinese characters. Aside from that, (which is also contested) the origins of the game are really a bit of a mystery. Several different versions exist.

One theory is that Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty introduced a game that is very similar to modern Keno in about 200 BC. Apparently, Cheung's city was at war for several years and was beginning to run out of money and supplies. The citizens refused to contribute additional funds to the fruitless cause, and Cheung was left scratching his head as to how to generate the necessary finances to continue his brutal battles. Finally, Cheung had the brilliant idea of creating a game that would appeal to the huge numbers of people under his command, while simultaneously generating a bit of cash to cover his expenses. The game was a success and it is cited as a major reason for the victory of Cheung's forces. It is also credited for providing resources and helping to fund the massive undertaking of building the Great Wall!

The game soon became known as the White Pigeon game, since carrier pigeons were used to inform surrounding towns and villages of the winning numbers. What came out of this historical event is a Chinese poem of a thousand numbers. The thousand character classic, as it is known, is a set of independent characters placed in a rhyming form. Originally, it was meant as a new way for children to learn, but the poem became so well known that the characters are often now used as a romantic numbering system. So, rather than having a board of just numbers on the original Keno boards, they used these characters. Originally, as many as 120 characters were used in the game, and only after it left China would the number drop to a more familiar 80.

The game arrived in the US in the mid 1800's when thousands of Chinese immigrants came to work in the mines and on the railroad. Although initially outlawed, Keno continued to be played in secrecy by these new immigrants. Its popularity spawned the name the "Chinese Lottery", mainly in cities with large Chinese populations, such as San Francisco. It continued to use Chinese characters and thus, obviously didn't enter popular mainstream American culture until it was modified to include the numerical system.

In classic Wild West style, when gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada in 1931, the fact that lotteries were not covered under the legislature discouraged no one. All that was necessary was to change the name ('Chinese Lottery') to something else, which didn't imply a link to a lottery-style game. Thus, it became known as horse race 'Keno' which played off of the idea that the numbers are horses and you simply want your horses to finish first. As the government passed a law that taxed off-track betting, Nevada quickly changed the name again, shortening it to just Keno.