“Keno parlors”
throughout the west. Keno was known as the “Chinese
Lottery,” and like any lottery it was a boon
to its owners and a bane to its players. At one
time just about every town in the west had its Keno
parlor. Still, for those of you who enjoy playing
lotteries, or local charity chance books, or if
numbers are your thing, the casino game of Keno
might hold some interest for you. It is indeed the
equivalent of a lottery but much faster! You don’t
have to wait a few days for the results, just a
few minutes. Of course, like the lottery, Keno comes
in with very high edges for the house – 25
percent, more or less, depending on the casino where
the game is being played and the type of wagers
being pursued.
The players’ tickets
are numbered one through 80. You can choose to play
between one and 20 numbers on a given ticket. The
numbers to be played are “X’ed” out
in crayon (back to childhood we go!). To win a multi-number
bet, you often don’t have to select all the
numbers, just some of them. Here are some of the
most popular betting options at Keno:
Types of Bets at
Keno
Straight Ticket:
A player can mark one, two, or more numbers on a
ticket.
Split Ticket:
A player can bet on two or more groups of numbers
on a single ticket by circling the groups to be
played.
Way Ticket:
Combining several groups of numbers on the same
ticket.
Combination Ticket:
The player selects two or more groups of numbers
and indicates how the groups are to be combined
to form many tickets within one ticket.
King Ticket:
One number is selected to be used with all the other
groups that have been indicated.
Multi Race Ticket:
This is a ticket that indicates that it will be
played for two or more sessions in a row.
Sometimes I receive
mailings from individuals who are selling systems
to beat Keno. They claim that they have found patterns
to the numbers that can be exploited by their “super-seven
Keno buster” or their “Keno pyramid”
method or their “ping-pong power play.”
The costs of these systems are – to say the
least – exorbitant. The claims of the systems
are – to be frank – bogus. Is there a
magical system for beating Keno? Sorry, no. The
system sellers are scamming us. The Keno numbers
are selected randomly, either by air-driven ping-pong
balls (just like many state lotteries) or by computer.
The fact that some numbers may have hit several
times and other numbers may not have shown their
faces for quite awhile is no indication that a number
will continue to hit or is due to hit. Picking numbers
is sheer guesswork.
So why play Keno? First,
it offers a relaxing atmosphere. Keno lounges are
usually pleasantly appointed places, with comfortable
chairs. You can drink a cup of coffee, pick your
numbers in a leisurely fashion, and not worry about
other players telling you what to do or what not
to do. Played properly for small stakes, Keno, even
with its abominably high house edges, will not drain
your gambling bankroll any time soon as it is the
snail of casino games.
And like anything in life, there are better and
worse ways to approach a Keno game. Walter Thomason,
in his excellent book 109 Ways to Beat the Casinos
(Bonus Books, $13.95), gives some great advice when
it comes to Keno. “Don’t select more than
eight numbers on a straight ticket. The odds of
hitting all eight are 230,000 to 1 – but the
odds of hitting all nine out of nine numbers are
1.3 million to 1! Bet way tickets rather than straight
tickets. The odds are the same, but you’ll
hit more payoffs.”
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