keno

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three are games of chance where players bet on randomly drawn numbers or tickets. Bingo is played socially in a hall with a caller announcing numbers and players marking them off on pre-printed cards; the winner is the first to complete a pattern. Keno is closer to a lottery but faster-paced, played in casinos where players pick their own numbers before a random drawing of 20 balls from 80. Lottery tickets are typically bought for a single fixed drawing on a specific date, with much larger potential jackpots. Raffles are fund-raising events where each ticket has a unique number and one or a few winners are drawn from all sold tickets. For example: 'He won fifty dollars at the keno table but lost it all at the slot machines.' 'She bought a lottery ticket for the Powerball drawing on Saturday.' 'The school held a raffle and the first prize was a bicycle.'

Etymology

The word 'keno' comes from the French 'quine' meaning 'five winning numbers', which was borrowed into English in the 19th century. The game itself traces back to an ancient Chinese lottery called 'báige tú' (白鸽图), brought to the United States by Chinese immigrants during the California Gold Rush and later adapted into a casino game under the French-influenced name.