by Pesach Kremen | Gaming Today
There still seems to be an opinion out there that keno is a poor game to play, that it is a sucker’s game, and should be avoided due to its “high” house advantage (house edge). Is this really true? On the surface, maybe, but in reality, no. In fact, in some cases the house edge at keno is actually competitive.
As this column is being written there are keno opportunities with practically no house edge. The 9-spot progressive at The Atlantis Reno is over $1,200,000 thus is close to 100% return. The 10-spot Mega Keno is over $2,000,000 and climbing and may approach break even before it is hit. The other progressives get to positive territory at times.
On top of this, casinos such as The D offer returns of 85% on special tickets (Deano rate), throw in comps and offers, especially tourneys, and you are close to break even as well. In some tournament situations you might even have a mathematical advantage.
Those who worship lowest house advantage are neglecting another part of the equation, game speed. If you play a $5 keno ticket every 10 minutes with a house edge of 15%, in an hour you would lose, on the average (ignoring comps), $4.50.
If you are an average blackjack player with standard rules at a $5 table, you would lose about $10. If you have a fair concept of basic strategy you would lose about $5.
Betting $5 on the pass line at craps would yield similar results.
Game speed is just as important as house edge. Thus, before one bad mouths keno they should do their research. You may say many keno tickets hold 20% to 30%, which is true, but just like you look for the best bets at craps to lower the house edge, the keno player can do the same by looking for tickets and special rates that return more.
For example, the 80-cent rate downtown in many casinos averages about a 25% house edge, but if you play the 5-spot the house edge drops to 18%. This rate is available at the California Hotel (Island Rate), Fremont (pop 80 rate), El Cortez (40 cent rate) and The D (Deano rate).
Of course, just like there are very poor bets at many table games there are poor bets at keno. Just avoid them, and look for the better returning tickets.
If you are from out of town, plan your vacation around a keno tournament and you really have the best of it. The tourney prize fund basically eliminates the house edge and you still get free or discounted rooms and meals, and often a small gift as well. This can be the best that Las Vegas has to offer.
Use the excellent transit system to get around while in town, subscribe to Las Vegas Advisor to get their excellent coupon book and The Casino Guide and you definitely have the best of it. Thus, you will find playing keno within your means is not a bankroll buster or a game to be avoided, but a good game to play and be enjoyed.
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Are you guys kidding me? Oregon keno is one of the worst odds game in the world. What the state takes off the top of winning tickets is criminal. One small example is a five spot that pays well under 500.00. most places in Nevada or even Indian casinos pay on average $ 820.00 . You need to research state run games
Please keep in mind that the object of state lottery is to raise money for the state and that a good chink of the bets will go for that purpose thus expect a lower return than in a casino where competition and in some places gaming regulations require a higher return. That being said, please keep in mind that you must look at all pays on a ticket to evaluate the return. Some pay more for intermediate hits and less for a SOLID hit. Keep in mind that frequency of a hit is just as important as amount. On the mentioned 5 spot you get about 141 hits of 3 out of 5 for every 5 of 5 and about 19 four out of five hits for every SOLID 5. Multiply the frequency of each hit per cycle (a cycle is the average number of plays to hit a ticket SOLID) by the pays, total all of them (the amount returned for the 3,4,and5s) then divide that total by 1551 (the odds of a SOLID 5 hit expressed as 1550 to 1) t0 get the return. Hope this helps