The game was invented by Cheung Leung in an attempt to save his city.
The legend has it that during the Hang dynasty, a town in ancient China was about to vanish. There were turbulent times, the citizens refused to pay for the war fund, the army was lacking supplies, and the city was in great danger.
It was then that Chang Leung invented a game which “made“ enough money for the army as well as for the whole town to be saved.
Furthermore, in the years which followed, the game of keno raised funds in order to build a world-renowned building: the Great Chinese Wall.
The game fever took the world by surprise, from the big cities to the villages where the game was delivered by white “traveler“ pigeons, and was known as “white pigeon game“. As most of the gambling games, the game of keno crossed the ocean and arrived to the new world, together with the Chinese immigrants working on the railway.
Known as the “Chinese lottery“, although the game was highly popular with the immigrants, it was ruled out by the law which forbidden gambling. In 1931, when the USA legalized most of the gambling, the game became “keno, horse races“, thus suggesting the idea of betting. After the American government ruled in favor of the taxation of gambling, the game became simply Keno.
But what is keno? It is a lottery game, somewhat like bingo, which can be played for pleasure or winnings. The premises of a keno game consist of a big wheel with 80 numbered balls.
The gamblers must choose between one to fifteen numbers, and for keno microgaming up to fifteen numbers. Once the bets are placed, the wheel starts turning (or the computer chooses the numbers) and the winners are displayed on the screen. The prize depends on the number of gamblers and numbers guessed.













































ARTE VIZUALE/MEDIA