The history of Keno
Keno is basically a Chinese game but it did manage to invade the gambling market of America in the middle of the nineteenth century. It occurred when the workers from China went to the U.S in order to work on the construction of the railroad and as miners.
What is Keno
Keno is basically a lottery game but it has quite a few differences from the common lottery games that are present in many countries and states. It is known for having very bad odds but what attracts thousands of players is the high chance of winning a very high payout with a very small bet. It is also used as a side game at internet casinos while players are busy playing other gambling games on the website.
This is not the only form of Keno games as some online gambling operators offer Keno in the form of a slot machine. The best thing about this version of Keno is that there is no waiting period between Keno races as you can play it as much as you want and you will get the results instantly.
How is Keno played?
Keno is very simple. All you need to do is select from 4 to 10 numbers. The numbers start with 1 and end with 80. The more you choose the higher the chance of winning. Also if you choose 10 numbers you will become eligible to win the biggest jackpot win.
The History of Keno
Keno is a word that has Latin and French origins but there is no doubt that the game originated and came from China. According to the legend, the invention of this game has managed to save an ancient city during a war and that the widespread of this game across China helped raise funds in order to build the Great Wall of China. In modern China, the usage of lotteries and keno in order to find any kind of public institute was prohibited and it was only permitted in the late nineteenth century.
The Chinese lottery dates back to 1847. It was documented when the government of Macao, the Portuguese Government decided to grant licenses to the lottery operators. Some say that Keno cards and tickets were distributed to the hamlets and the far villages by carrier pigeons which was the reason behind the Chinese name because it translates to the White Dove Ticket. The form of Keno that was played by the Chinese is slightly different from the Keno version played nowadays as the tickets did not contain numbers that varied between one and eighty. Instead, they contained characters, it contained the first eighty characters from the Thousand Character Classic.
The game entered the Western civilization by the Chinese people who immigrated to these parts and sallied across the Pacific in order to build the Transcontinental railroad in the nineteenth Century.
What Is Keno?
Keno is a bingo and a lottery gambling game that can be found in modern casinos and it is sometimes offered as a game of luck in many state lotteries. A live casino keno would utilize a glass enclosure, usually circular. This enclosure is called the bubble. This bubble contains a total number of eighty balls. Each ball will have a number from one to eighty. When it is the time for the draw, a mechanical machine is going to push air into the machine in order to mix all of the balls to make it fair for everyone. There is a person who is called the caller, he is going to press on a lever that will open a tube where twenty balls will be lifted, one ball at a time into the tube that has a V shape, this V tube is entitled “rabbit Ears”.
After the balls are drawn, the caller and another person who is entitled the verifier are going to verify the 20 numbers that the machine has drawn and they are going to record and enter these numbers in the keno computerized system. This system is going to calculate all of the wagers that players have placed according to the numbers that the machine has drawn.
The Wagers
Players who want to participate in the Keno game will purchase a blank keno ticket that has eighty numbers printed on it (1 to 80). Each player will mark an S in the spot choices that is found beside each number. After players do that, the casino will draw twenty numbers in the form of balls like the procedure that was mentioned above. Most casinos call the numbers in set intervals whether players are waiting to wager or not.
The payouts differ from one casino to another as each gambling venue sets its own pay scale choices which is referred to as “Paytables”. Each player will be paid according to the numbers that he matched according to the paytable that is set by the casinos. The house edge and the paytable vary greatly between one casino to another and players will notice a great deviation in the edge that the house has set. Also, casinos would offer players numerous paytables that they can choose from, each one has its own house edge. Some casinos can offer up to twenty or thirty paytables for players to choose from including specialty wagers.
The house edge varies between four percent and up to thirty-five percent. The usual house edge for casino games, excluding slots is usually between zero and five percent.
Players can choose from one to twenty numbers but this can change according to the rules of the casino. This is because some casinos would restrict players into choosing up to ten or fifteen numbers.
Online Keno
Like any popular casino game, it can be found online. The Keno version available at internet casino is much simpler because there are no other players. Players would select the cards and the draw will occur instantly and the players will be paid according to the numbers he matched. Unlike land-based casinos, players do not have to wait between Keno draws as online Keno allows players to avoid the waiting periods and enjoy the game of Keno at any time. Keno can be found at most major online casinos such as Jackpot City, Mr. Green, Gaming Club and more.
There are other websites that are not casinos that might offer Keno but instead of offering money, they can offer a virtual currency or points that can be used on that website only. These websites may run the draw every hour or every other hour. Of course, since it does not give real cash, players will not purchase these tickets with real cash but with the virtual currency that is used on that website.
Like the websites that only specialize in offering bingo games, there are also online websites that only offer keno games. Some of them offer rewards that can amount to one million.
Where to Find Keno Games?
For land based Keno games, they can be found at gambling venues such as casinos or at bingo venues and there are venues that offer Keno only. As for online Keno games, they can be found at major online casinos, Keno rooms and Bingo rooms