» When Appeared The Game Of Keno

Keno, a bingo-like or a lottery-like gambling game, is played nowadays at practically every casino. Keno appeared in China in 187 BC. But the appearance of keno is wrapped in a mystery. There can be found several different opinions.
One theory is that Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty introduced the game when his city was at war for several years and was beginning to run out of money and supplies. The head of state had no money support of his subjects. So the emperor tried to work out a strategy of generating the necessary finances. At last he managed to create a very easy and effective means of getting money. That was the game of keno. Keno was so successful that it can be said to be the reason for Cheung's victory. It is also credited for providing resources and helping to fund the massive undertaking of building the Great Wall! Keno was later given a different name - the White Pigeon game. That was not for nothing: carrier pigeons informed the surrounding towns and villages of the winning numbers.
At first Chinese classic characters instead of numbers were printed on the keno boards. 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. Though the game was considered illegal, the new Chinese immigrants still played it. 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.