» Keno Modern Version

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. Keno appeared in China in 187 BC. Still the origins of the game are really a bit of a mystery. There exist several opinions.
The generally accepted theory is that the game was invented during some war in China when the army needed money badly. The citizens refused to contribute additional funds to the fruitless cause of the war. Cheung had nothing else to do but to develop some new way of taking money out of the people. After some considerations he created the game of keno, which immediately got very popular and thus profitable for the state. Thus Cheung's army was saved. It also contributed resources to 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.
The keno board didn't always look the same way. The Chinese classic characters were used instead of numbers. 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. The fact that gambling games were forbidden didn't prevent the Chinese from playing and spreading it all over the States. 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.