The essence of the game of keno is as simple as one could possibly wish. The player select anywhere from one to fifteen numbers on a piece of paper marked with the numbers 1 to 80. Late, the casino conducts a drawing n which it selects twenty different numbers form 1 to 80. If the player has succeeded in picking any of the choices among the numbers he marked on his ticket, he may win some money, depending on how many numbers he had marked all together and how many of those were drawn by the casino. Throughout the lounge, the player will find blank keno tickets and crayons for use in filling them out. The keno ticket consists of the numbers 1 to 80 printed in sequence eight rows of ten numbers each.
To play the game, the player marks off any numbers of his choice by drawing an X through each one. He may select anywhere from one to fifteen different numbers in this manner. Each number so marked is called a spot. The player then writes the number of spots he has played in the right margin of the ticket and notes the amount of money he wishes to wager in the box in the upper-right-hand corner of the ticket. Finally, he takes the ticket to one of the windows at the keno counter at the front of the lounge. There one of the keno writes will collect the ticket along with the wager. The bet can be in the form of either cash or casino chips, although payoffs are always made in cash. The writer will also issue the player a duplicate ticket on which he has marked with a brush and ink the same numbers the player selected on the original ticket. In casino parlance, the original ticket, which the casino retains, is called the inside ticket, while the duplicate, which the player retains, is called the outside ticket. The duplicate ticket given to the player acts as his receipt for the bet and also his record of what numbers he bet on.
The keno writer will stamp both the original ticket and the duplicate with the date, the number of that particular game - all keno games conducted throughout the day are sequentially numbered - and a serial number unique to that ticket. All tickets are sequentially numbered as they are accepted by the house, and the last number issued is recorded prior to each drawing. Within a few minutes of turning in one's ticket, the drawing for that game will begin. Twenty numbers ranging from 1 to 80 will be randomly selected. These twenty numbers determine whether the player is entitled to payoff and, if so, how much.
THE DRAWING
The drawing of the winning numbers is conducted by a casino employee known as the caller. These numbers are chosen by means of device sometimes called a goose. Goose is a round, clear plastic container containing eighty ping-pong balls numbered from 1 to 80 to correspond to the numbers on the tickets. When a blower at the bottom of the goose is turned on, a current of air mixes the balls by bouncing them around. Some casino use a rotating mesh-wire cage to mix the balls instead of blower. Eventually, balls are randomly forced into the two glass rabbit ears (tubes) at the top of the goose. Each of these rabbit ears holds ten balls. These twenty balls supply the winning numbers for the drawing.
As each ball is selected, the caller announces the number over the public address system that cover the keno lounge. The numbers also light up on the electronic keno board at the front of the keno lounge. This board contains the numbers 1 to 80 in order just as they appear on each keno ticket, and it also shows the number of the game being called; this is the same number that is stamped on each player's ticket. As each winning number is called, a casino employee punches the number out of a book of blank tickets so that the tickets are left with holes where the winning numbers should be. These punched tickets are known as draw tickets. One of these tickets is put on file as a permanent casino record of the drawing. The others are distributed to the writers and keno runners.
The most important point to remember about payoffs is that they must be collected as soon as the game has been called, or the ticket will be disqualified. If you have a winner, don't waste time before presenting it. If you do, your $50,000 winner may turn into a worthless piece of paper.
Or Choose The Other Game You Wish To Play
Because keno offers the possibility of such large winnings in return for such a small investment, it will always be popular among some players. The kind of person who can't resist playing the state lottery at home is going to play keno when he vacations in Las Vegas. The lure of a $50,000 payoff is just too great for some people to resist. That is just what the casinos are counting on. It has helped to make some of these casinos among the most luxurious edifices found anywhere in the world.
