---

Keno is similar to Lotto. It is easy to learn and fun to play. Keno is played in much the same fashion as most national and state lotteries around the world. No casino game is more informal, relaxing and simple to play.

The concept is as follows. There is a large Keno board with numbers from 1 to 80. In a basket, wire cage or plastic bubble there are balls numbered from 1 to 80. 20 of the balls are drawn randomly and it is up to the player to predict which numbers will be drawn and to place a bet on as many as fifteen of those numbers. You may choose to bet on any number of 'spots' (up to 15) for the price of one ticket. The price of the ticket is not dependent on the number of spots chosen. The more spots that you correctly predict the higher the payout. You could win as much as $100,000 on a $1 wager in some Casinos. If there are too many winners they will each get a proportionate share of this sum. The maximum number of 'spots' that can be choosen from one player through 1 round varies in each casino, could be 15, 10 or less.

The round of a Keno game is called a Keno race. In many Casinos, 'multi-race' Keno is featured, where you can play a number of consecutive Keno races at one time.

The house advantage on Keno varies according to the number of spots. It is always around 25-30%. The chances of hitting one number in 80 is 0.25%, making Keno among the worst bets you can make.


THE GOAL OF THE GAME

The player's objective is to win one or more attractive Keno payouts by selecting a group of numbers that match most of the numbers called, and to do so for every single round.


THE PAYOUT

Each house has its own system of payouts, which you will find set out in the Keno brochures or payout schedules around the casino. Note that in Keno you do not get your stake back if you win. The player's payout for a win depends on three significant factors, i.e., the amount he wagers, the total number of 'spots' he makes, and the number of matching numbers he catches. That is, the more he wagers, and the fewer numbers he selects, and the more hits, or catches he gets, the greater his potential payout is. Here I'm going to present an example payout table, but have in mind that in your favourite casino it could be slightly different.

	Number Of Selected Spots
Number of Catches:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1	3	1	1	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	-	9	2	2	1	1	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0	0	0	0
3	-	-	16	6	3	2	1	1	1	1	1	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
4	-	-	-	12	15	3	6	3	2	2	1	1	0.5	0.5	0.5
5	-	-	-	-	50	30	12	6	4	3	2	2	3	2	1
6	-	-	-	-	-	75	36	19	8	5	6	4	4	3	2
7	-	-	-	-	-	-	100	90	20	10	15	24	5	5	5
8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	720	80	30	25	72	20	12	15
9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.2K	600	180	250	80	50	50
10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1.8K	1K	500	240	150	150
11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3K	2K	500	500	300
12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4K	3K	1K	600
13	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6K	2K	1.2K
14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7.5K	2.5K
15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10K

GLOSSARY

• Call - To draw the numbers for each game.
• Catch - To catch a number means that a number you have marked on your keno ticket has been drawn.
• Combination Way Ticket - A ticket in which groups of numbers are bet several different ways, allowing the player to spread money over several combinations.
• Keno Board - A large electronic board that displays the winning keno numbers.
• Keno Lounge - The main area within a casino where keno is played.
• Keno Runner - A casino employee who shuttles your keno bet from wherever you are to the keno writer, and also delivers payment for winning tickets.
• Number Pool - The range of numbers from which you select the ones you want to play. A typical keno pool ranges from 1 to 80.
• Spot - Any number from 1 to 80 that a player selects on a keno ticket. It also refers to the number of numbers that are marked on a ticket.
• Straight Keno - The basic keno game, played by marking individual numbers on a keno ticket.
• Touch Wand - A pointing device used on some video keno machines to select numbers.
• Way Ticket - A ticket that groups different numbers to create more than one way to win.