Are you one of those addicted to Keno? Have you ever been lured to try out your luck in a Keno game? If you have then I'm sure you'd like to know where the game came from. Let's go back in history and find out.

Keno is said to have originated in China at around 200 BC. It is said to have come from a Chinese poem entitled called "The Thousand Character Classic." If in a classic lottery people bet on numbers, in the original Keno players bet on characters. These characters were inspired from the poem and have fun sounding character names such as 'Dew', 'Cloud,' 'Stupid Loser' and many others.

It is believed that Keno was invented to raise funds for building the Great Wall of China and for the expeditions of the Chinese army. Keno began with as many as 120 characters being used. Before it left its homeland, it was reduced to only about 90 characters.

At around the 19th century Keno arrived at the shores of America through the waves of Chinese immigrants. At that time, the Keno characters were reduced to only 80 characters.

Through the years, Keno remained a popular game especially with Chinese immigrants. Despite the fact that it was illegal, Keno continued to grow especially in cities like San Francisco.

Soon thereafter, the game of Keno became known as the Chinese lottery. At around the 20th century Americans became interested in the game but because the characters were Chinese, many did not understand it. Therefore, the characters were changed to Arabic numbers to lure more players.

The name of Keno or Chinese Lottery was changed to Race Horse Keno to get around the fact that lottery was illegal at that time. Each number is believed to be a horse and the game as a race.

The US government, however, passed a law against track betting so Keno's name had to change again. Keno finally stuck to its original name of Keno.

Keno's maximum legal payout in 1963 was $25,000 in Nevada. This was raised to about $50,000 in 1979. In 1989, the Nevada Gaming Commission finally took out the limit and casinos were tasked with setting their own limits.

So, the next time you bet on Keno, think of all the people that have been enticed to bet as you. The game of Keno has lasted for 3000 years and it will probably stick around for 3000 more.

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Keno: An Overview
Keno is a game of numbers that originated from China 3000 years ago. It is said that the game of Keno was devised to lure players for greater profit and help raise funds in building the Great Wall of China. Keno spread to other parts of the world including Europe and America. Keno even became a very popular game in Italy. Keno was theorized to have reached America through the Chinese immigrants that went there to build railroads and work in silver mines. Through the years the game of Keno became more and more popular.

Keno changed its name many times to evade the law and to prevent from being closed down. At one point, it was even called "Race Horse Keno" where the numbers are horses and the Keno game as a race. Up to now some players still refer to Keno as a race.

So how do you exactly play Keno? The main objective of the online casino game is to correctly guess either 1 to 12 numbers from the 20 numbers randomly selected. The price to play in the game varies from $1 to $10. The price in playing keno greatly affects the amount of winnings you get if you correctly guess the numbers.

All you need to do is first choose how many numbers you are going to guess. You may select to correctly guess 1 number in 20 randomly selected numbers or you can guess up to 12 numbers from 20 randomly selected numbers. The 20 numbers are selected from a list of 80 numbers. There is a minimum amount of numbers you have to correctly guess to receive the winnings. For example, in choosing to guess 12 numbers you must correctly guess at least 6 of the 20 numbers to get the prize money.

Prize money varies depending on the initial amount you pay to play Keno. If you paid $1 to play Keno and selected to choose 12 numbers and guessed 6 numbers correctly you'll get $8 prize money. If you bet $2 you'll get $12 for correctly guessing at least 6 numbers and so on.