The origins of keno are a bit of a mystery, but there are a few stories floating around out there. What’s the truth? Sadly, as with all history, the truth is a matter of opinion. Apparently ancient Chinese scrolls indicate that Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty introduced a game similar to keno around 200 BC. Cheung’s city was at war for several years and was beginning to run out of supplies. Rumor has it that the citizens of his city refused to contribute any more to the war fund, so Cheung created a game of chance to produce revenue for his army.

This online casino game, a numbers game not unlike keno, was an instant success and played a great part in saving the city. Quickly spreading throughout China, keno was also used to help fund the building of the Great Wall. The game also became known as the White Pigeon Game because carrier pigeons were used to send the winning numbers from the keno games in the larger cities to small villages and hamlets. Online poker games.

468 ad