The
word "Keno" has
French or Latin roots (Fr.
quine five winning numbers,
L. quini five each), but by
all accounts the game originated
in China over 2000 years ago.
Legend has it that the invention
of the game saved an ancient
city in time of war, and its
widespread popularity helped
raise funds to build the Great
Wall. According to one source,
results of Keno games in great
cities were sent to outlying
villages and hamlets by carrier
pigeon. Eventually, Chinese
immigrants introduced Keno
to the West when they sailed
across the Pacific to help
build the American trans-continental
railroad in the 19th century.
Keno is similar to lotto
games, in that players have
a card or ticket with numbers
that are selected in hopes
of matching the numbered balls
that are drawn during play.
Early Keno games looked for
a match of five numbers to
win. Some Keno dealers used
a large jar with a long, thin
neck to tumble the balls.
The neck was just wide enough
to permit only one ball at
time to flow, thus eliminating
any argument about which number
was drawn. For obvious reasons,
this jar was called the "Keno
goose".
Keno Game Play:
First, players must purchase
a Castle Keno ticket. To buy
a ticket, place a $1 chip
in the circle marked "Place
Bets" on the Betting
Board. None of the betting
options can become active
until a ticket is purchased.
Next, Keno players try to predict
which numbers will be drawn
by marking from 1 to 15 of
the numbered blocks ("Spots")
on the wall. To mark a block
simply mouse over the block
and click it. The block will
change colour to indicate
it has been marked. As you
mark each block, the Spots
counter at the bottom of the
screen will increment. (Note
that it is possible to mark
more than 15 Spots, but the
numbers can't be drawn until
the number of Spots is reduced
to 15 or less). To remove
a mark, just click on the
block and it will change back
to the original colour (and
decrement the Spots counter).
There are five betting options
in Castle Keno. Each option
requires a certain number
of Spots to be marked before
it becomes active. As you
mark Spots, the buttons for
the options will light up
when you have satisfied their
minimum and maximum Spots
requirements (see Betting
Options below).
When you are satisfied with
the arrangement of your Spots,
click the desired betting
option on the Betting Board
to start the game. Twenty
rocks will be hurled toward
the Castle, striking different
numbered blocks at random.
As each rock smashes a block
in the wall, a flag will unfurl
to display the corresponding
number. When a number you
marked on the wall is struck
by one of the rocks, that's
called a "hit".
After the final rock has
found its target, the player
will be paid according to
how many of the rocks hit
marked blocks based on the
payout table for the chosen
betting option.
KENO B ETTING OPTIONS:
Our Keno game is played with
a traditional 80-numbered
ticket and a draw of 20 numbers
whose function is similar
to a standard lottery. The
ticket is sectioned into a
two halves, with numbers 1-40
on the top and 41-80 on the
bottom. We've added a fun
twist to the game by presenting
the ticket as a Castle wall,
with the 80 numbers painted
on granite blocks that make
up the wall. Instead of drawing
balls to announce winning
combinations, we use a rock
thrown from a catapult to
hit the block corresponding
to each number drawn. Will
the rock smash the blocks
you selected? It's fun to
watch the wall crumble as
you find out!
The five different ways to
bet on a Castle Keno ticket
are:
Click on one of the links
above to see a betting option's
description and payout table.
After each game players may
choose to stay with the same
spots they played in the last
game (by clicking on RE-BET
button), or mark new spots
on the ticket. Different betting
options are enabled as you
place your marks, however
you may not mark more than
15 spots on any one game.
KENO BET
The BET option is enabled
once you mark at least one
spot on the Keno ticket. (When
you click BET, the game starts
– so don't click it until
you are finished marking your
numbers.) You can mark up
to 15 of the 80 possible numbers,
but no more than 15. You are
paid if one or more of the
numbers you marked is smashed
by a rock from the catapult.
When a number you marked on
the wall is struck by one
of the rocks, that's called
a "hit".
Let's say you mark 7 numbers.
If any 4 of those 7 numbers
get hit, you are paid $5.
If any 5 of those 7 numbers
are hit, your payoff is $20.
If 6 of the 7 numbers get
hit, it jumps to $250, and
if you hit all 7 numbers,
you win $2000!
The following is the Bet
option payout table for a
$1.00 ticket. The way to read
the table is as follows:
KENO BET
AGAINST
BET AGAINST is enabled once
you have marked at least 8
Spots on the ticket. With
this option you are betting
that none of the numbers you
mark will be hit by any of
the rocks thrown. You are
paid only if none of the marked
numbers get hit. The following
is the Bet Against Payout
table for a $1.00 Castle Keno
ticket.
KENO HIT
ALL
The HIT ALL option can be
played with 2 to 7 Spots marked
on the ticket. You are betting
that all the numbers you mark
will be hit. You will be paid
only if all the numbers you
marked are among the 20 hits
on the wall. The following
is the Hit All Payout table
for a $1.00 Castle Keno ticket.
KENO HIGH
ROLLER
The HIGH ROLLER option is
enabled once you mark at least
one Spot on the Castle Keno
ticket. HIGH ROLLER is played
almost like the normal BET
option, but the Payout is
on a different schedule where
you have to Hit more Spots
in order to get paid, but
when you do Hit them the Payout
is greater. The following
is the High Roller Payout
table for a $1.00 Castle Keno
ticket.
TOP
OR BOTTOM
TOP OR BOTTOM is the only
option that is enabled before
you mark the ticket. You only
need to place your bet to
be able to use this option.
You are betting that the top
or bottom half of the ticket
will have significantly fewer
hits than the opposite half.
You don't mark any spots,
and you don't need to choose
the Top or the Bottom. You're
just betting that there will
be a large difference between
the hits each half gets.
The greater the difference,
the bigger the payout. The
following is the Top or Bottom
Payout table for a $1.00 Castle
Keno ticket.
