» Keno Principles Of The Game

A lot of modern casinos offer an opportunity to play keno - a lottery-like or bingo-like gambling game. A traditional live casino keno game uses a circular glass enclosure called a "bubble" containing 80 ping pong-like balls which determine the balldraw result. Each ball has a number (from 1 to 80) imprinted on it. The balls are mixed by a blower when it pushes air into the bubble. A "caller" presses a lever opening a tube, where the balls lift one at a time into a "V" shaped tube called the "rabbit ears". Each of 20 balls drawn are recorded by the caller and a "verifier" and all wagers based on the numbers drawn are calculated by the computerized keno system.
An "X" is put over the "spot" choices on a blank keno ticket form with 80 numbered selection boxes (1 to 80). 20 balls at random are drawn only after the players wagers are placed.
The series of pay scale choices called "paytables" are set by each casino. The player is paid based on how many numbers drawn match the numbers selected on the ticket and according to the paytable selected with regard to the wager amount. There is a wide range of keno paytables from casino to casino and a large deviation in the house edge set for each of those paytables. Two identical keno paytables can hardly be found.
The house edge can vary from less than 4% to 66%.