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Keno
Origin
It's always a
good idea to get
familiar with the
origins of the
game before
attempting to
understand it; it
gives us a bit of
a background as
well as an answer
to some of our
whys and hows and
the reasoning
behind the game.
Although not the
most popular game
around, keno has
been played for a
long time and its
history is quite
interesting; it
might just have
the richest
history of any
casino game.
According to
an ancient scroll,
keno history
started in China
over 2000 years
ago. It was a man
named Cheung Leung
who invented this
game of chance
wanting to save
his city. With the
residents refusing
to give any more
financial support
towards the war
fund, the army
quickly ran out of
supplies and the
city was in
danger. Leung's
game produced
enough revenue to
supply his army
with all that they
needed, and so the
city was saved. In
the years that
followed, the game
spread vastly
throughout China,
and raised enough
money to fund the
building of the
Great Wall, which
has become a
world-renowned
wonder. The game
became known as
the White Pigeon
Game because
pigeons were used
to communicate the
winning results of
the game from the
greater cities to
the small villages
in the country.
Leung's
version of the
game differed
slightly from the
one we know and
enjoy nowadays.
Instead of using
the numbers 1
through 80 on the
ticket, each field
was represented
with a character,
all of which were
taken from the
famous poem 'The
Thousand Character
Classic'. Many
years ago, the
poem was used as a
means of teaching
children reading
and writing
skills. The fact
that not one of
the thousand
characters was
mentioned more
than once was
recognized as a
great achievement.
The characters
were organized in
a way that rhymed
and made the poem
easier to remember
but being able to
recite it on your
own was a skill in
itself. The poem
was so popular
throughout China
that some people
used it as a way
of counting from
one to a thousand.
So, having used
the first 80
characters from
the poem, Leung
did in fact use
one through eighty
as they are
represented today.
The history of
keno in North
America started
with the Chinese
immigrants who
worked on the
railroads. As part
of their customs
and individuality,
they brought the
game over to keep
themselves
entertained and to
carry on some of
their Chinese
traditions. At
first, the game
was illegal
because of the
anti-gambling
laws; still, it
was very popular
among the Chinese
immigrants, where
it was known as
Chinese lottery.
When the country
legalized most
types of gambling
in 1931 though
still not
lotteries, the
name was simply
changed to 'horse
race keno',
suggesting that
the numbers were
horses and you
were betting on
the one that would
come in. The
game's association
with horse racing
earned it the name
'racing game',
which is still
largely used among
keno operators
today. A few years
later, the
American
government decided
to tax off-track
betting, so the
name was changed
once again to
offer a better
profit. And that's
how the game got
its name - Keno. |
