 
HISTORY OF KENO
Keno, a game similar to the giant
state or provincially run lotteries, is easy to play
and one of the most popular games in any casino. The
game of Keno was first introduced in China in 187 BC
by the head of state, Cheung Heung, and involved the
selection of 10 out of 120 Chinese characters. The origins
of the game are a bit of a mystery, really. As is usually
the case with very old things, several different versions
exist.
One lingering theory is that Cheung Leung of the Han Dynasty introduced a game that is very similar to modern keno in about 200 BC, which indeed puts it in the very old things category!! Apparently, Cheung's city was at war for several years and was beginning to run out of money and supplies. The citizens refused to contribute any more funds to the fruitless cause, and Cheung was left scratching his head as how to generate the necessary funding to continue his brutal onslaught. Finally Cheung had the brilliant idea of creating a game that would appeal to the huge numbers of people in his command, and would generate a bit of cash to cover his expenses. The game was a notable success and it is cited as a major reason for the victory of Cheung's forces. The game is also credited for providing resources and helping to fund the massive undertaking of building the Great Wall!
The game became known as the White Pigeon game, since carrier pigeons were used to inform surrounding towns and villages of the winning numbers. What came out of this historical event is a Chinese poem of a thousand numbers. The 'thousand character classic' as it is known is a set of independent characters placed in a rhyming form. Originally it was meant as a new way for children to learn, but the poem became so well known that the characters are often now used as a romantic numbering system. So rather than having a board of just numbers on the original keno boards, they used these 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.
The game was brought to the US in the mid 1800's when thousands of Chinese immigrants came to work in the mines and on the railroad. Although initially outlawed, Keno was continuously played in secrecy by these immigrants. Its popularity spawned the name the "Chinese lottery", mainly in cities with large Chinese populations, such as San Francisco. 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.
In classic Wild West style, when gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada in 1931 the fact that lotteries were not covered under the legislature discouraged no one. All that was necessary was to change the name of the 'Chinese lottery' to something else, which didn't imply any link to a lottery-style game. Thus, it was formally changed to 'horse race keno', playing off of the idea that the numbers are horses and you simply want your horses to finish first. As the government passed a law that taxed off-track betting, Nevada quickly changed the name again, shortening it to just keno.
History of gambling
History of Baccarat
History of Caribbean Stud Poker
History of Blackjack
History of Craps
History of Keno
History of Pai Gow Poker
History of Roulette
History of Slots
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