Keno History

Legend has it that Keno, or at least a similar version of the game dates back 2000 years to ancient China. The inventor of the game was a man named Cheung Leung. During a harsh war, Leungs city was facing heavy difficulty as its inhabitants were refusing to donate more money to their war fund, causing the city to run out of funds needed for supplies and the city face great danger. Leung came up with this idea for a game, Keno, which quickly gained popularity and resulted in plenty of money to fund the cities army with the supplies they required. The city was saved.

After the war, the game continued to see success and quickly spread throughout China. Enough money was raised to help the country in times of need and it is said that it even aided in the construction of a world famous landmark, The Great Wall of China. In these days, the game of Keno was referred to as the White Pigeon Game. The reason for this was the fact that pigeons were used to communicate results to the smaller villages that would take part in the fun.

Although the basis of the game was the same, it differed slightly in these days than what we know today. The main difference was the numbers. In China they did not try to match up the numbers 1 – 80, but they used specific characters. The characters represented a famous poem titled. “The Thousand Character Classic”. This poem is very important in Chinese culture as it was and is used to teach children how to read and write. The poem is comprised of a thousand characters, none of which are repeated within the poem. The first 80 characters were the ones used in Leungs game.

It was in North America that the game got the Keno. When the Chinese immigrants came to America they brought the game with them. The Chinese railroad workers played the White Pigeon game to help pass the time and to carry on with their traditions. The Americans referred to the game as the Chinese lottery game and soon began to take part in it themselves. But since all gambling games were outlawed this game had to be played under the radar. In 1931 gambling was legalized but lottery games were still not allowed. The name of the game was simply changed to “Horse Race Keno” and it was said that the numbers represented horses and the object was to guess which horses would come in. This allowed for the game to be legal and enjoyed. It also explains the “racing game” term which is often associated with the game.

However, the United States Government decided, a few years later, that they would tax all bets and profits on any off track horse betting. So the name of the game switched once more. All references to horse betting were dropped and the name became, simply, what it is today, Keno.