» Keno Today

One of the most popular games at any casino is Keno. It is a game similar to the big state or provincial lotteries. This game originates from China where it was first introduced by Cheung Leung in 187 BC. Still the origins of the game are really a bit of a mystery. There exist several opinions.
According to one assumption the game was invented during a war in China in order to supply the army with money. The head of state had no money support of his subjects. So Cheung was left scratching his head as to how to generate the necessary finances to continue his brutal battles. Finally, Cheung had the brilliant idea of creating a game that would appeal to the huge numbers of people under his command, while simultaneously generating a bit of cash to cover his expenses. Keno helped Cheung win that war. The Great Wall was also built with the help of the money that gave keno! 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.
In the past rather than having a board of just numbers on the original keno boards, they used classic Chinese characters. 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.
In the middle of the 19th keno was brought to the US. 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.