Author: Matt Pelc | Article Posted at: March 16, 09 - 3:37 pm

Keno Gaming Gaining Popularity

A growing number of casinos across the country are offering in-house keno. The game which combines some of the elements of bingo and is a random number based game like lotteries is becoming increasing popular as an addition to state the games featured in state lotteries.

With more and more lottery players discovering keno, many casinos have added the game to their lineups as they try and lure those daily or weekly lottery players into their casinos.

Keno has become also common in surprising places, such as bowling alleys. There the “drawing” is simulated over television screens in a computer program. Some casinos have adopted this practice while others allow their patrons to experience the true gaming experience by staging a live game.

In a live game, players receive a blank keno ticket with numbers 1-80 listed. The player will pick 20 numbers with an X over the number or the oval beside the number.

Once all wagers have been entered, numbers are drawn from a glass enclosed bowl with 80 ping pong balls. Each ball contains a number from 1 to 80 imprinted on it. Much like the local lottery does when picking numbers while broadcasting on television, air is blown into the bowl causing the ping pong balls to mix. The casino employee, called a caller, running the drawing will then open a tube where 20 balls are sucked up.

The caller will announce the numbers of each ball and he or she is overseen by another casino employee, usually called a verifier. After the numbers are recorded, a computerized system calculates all wagers.

The computerized system will also help determine payouts. Each casino has different payouts in live keno games, known as paytables.

Keno rules clearly state that “the player is paid based on how many numbers drawn match the numbers selected on the ticket and according to the paytable selected with regard to the wager amount.”

But with that said, each casino is on their own to figure out the payoff for each odd. In gaming communities such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Reno, the higher end casinos will offer several different paytables and specialty bets in which the gamer can choose.