The Chicago American Play Keno

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Keno is a gambling game played with cards or tickets that is similar to a lottery. Players pick numbers from a set range, the house calls numbers from the range, and a player can receive a payout based on how many numbers match. Typically, the range goes from 1-80, a player will pick up to ten numbers within the range, and the house will call twenty numbers. The game is believed to have come from China, the earliest references from 1847 when the Portuguese government at Macau licensed lottery operators. Chinese immigrants brought the game with them to America. The Chicago American advertised their Keno contest in Midwestern newspapers in February 1959. $21,000 were given away weekly as prizes with no subscription or entry fee required and no minimum age.