‘Keno' is a well known game nowadays. It is frequently played and appreciated by people in America. However, the game was not born in America. It is a gift of China. The game has a long history, which also reveals the benefits that people of China accrued of this game. Keno is an invention of a Chinese named Cheung Leung. Through the revenue of this game he wanted to help the soldiers of his town with arms and other material to ward off an attack. He succeeded in his motive and the game started to spread and develop. For some time the game was also known as the ‘White Pigeon Game' when a white pigeon acted as a postman carrying the list of results of the game from village to village. But the game was not of numbers at that time as it is today. It was in fact based on a traditional Chinese poem called- “The Thousand Character Classic”. Later the game traveled to the land of America with the Chinese immigrants. There it was widely known as ‘Chinese Lottery' and then ‘Horse Race Keno'. The term ‘horse' was coined as a code word to numbers in the game. The language of the betting was in term of horses and not numbers. This was done to keep aside any legal action for playing an illicit game.

The Present Scenario-

Keno is a game of chance. It is one of the most simple and easy game to play. The game is played with numbers. It can be played with a ticket or on board when you are online. There are eighty squares on the card that are marked one to eighty in a sequence. A player has to mark any number of spots not exceeding fifteen. Players most often are contended to mark sixty percent spots i.e. ten spots. The cards are then given for a copy along with punching the marked spots. In many casinos the betting is done after marking the numbers while in others the amount you bet should be decided prior to the marking of spots or numbers.

The result of the game is then determined through eighty ping pong balls in a blower. These balls too are numbered one to eighty. The balls are shuffled via compressed air followed by the removal of twenty balls consecutively. The numbers are these balls are displayed on a large electronic Keno board. The players match their numbers and see how much have they won. The more the amount of numbers that match, greater are the winnings.

Unlike other games, Keno actually has no winning strategies. Yet some people formulate their own criterions. Like many players deem that the Keno machines display a regular set of numbers every morning. They are under the myth since these machines are shut down every night, they start off the day with the same sequence of numbers. A vigilant eye on this repeated set can lead a player to a big victory.

Setting apart these legendary stories what should be acknowledged is the fact that the amount a player wins varies from casino to casino and is different in different Keno software. Not just this but the number of spots a player is allowed to mark is also at the discretion of the casino.