Online Keno Glossary

Aggregate Limit – The total amount that casino is liable to payout in a single round. If reached, players may have to accept reduced winnings

Balls – Ping pong balls labeled with the numbers from one to eighty. Drawn at random to determine the winners of any given Keno round.

Bankroll – A players available sum of money for use in Keno.

Bet – The total amount of money wagered by a player in a single round of Keno.

Caller – The casino employee that literally calls out the winning numbers during a Keno game.

Closed – The time right before Keno balls are drawn. No casino tickets can be written while closed.

Draw – The panel of twenty Keno balls that are “drawn” in any given round.

Field – A collection of unmarked, circled spots.

Flashboard – The digital display that shows which numbers make up the draw.

Goose – A slang term for the device used to mix up and, ultimately draw, the Keno balls.

Hit – A Slang term for a winning spot. Achieved when one of your spots matches a number in the round’s draw.

House – A slang term for the casino.

House Edge – The percentage of any given wager that the casino is statistically expected to retain over the long run. A high house edge is bad for players but good for the casino. Keno has a house edge of approximately 30%.

Mark – Appears on a Keno ticket as a way to show which numbers are spots. Often made with a black crayon provided by the casino specifically for this purpose.

Open – The opposite of closed. Any point in time when the casino is accepting more Keno wagers.

Pay Table – The diagram that explains exactly how much any given win is worth.

Punch Outs – A template offered by the house. A punch out matches your original Keno ticket, but all of the numbers from the draw are punched out. This makes it significantly easier for players to quickly check for winning tickets.

Random Number Generator – A mechanism in video Keno games, including online casinos, that is used to randomly create the draw. A completely fair and unpredictable tool for operating a Keno game.

Spot – A slang term for any of the numbers that have been marked on a Keno ticket.

Ticket – The piece of paper that players use to make their Keno wagers. It has a grid with eighty numbers (from one to eighty) and players can mark their spots and choose their bet size on this document. A copy should be given to the player after the wager is made.

Tournament – A popular way of playing Keno which is set up by the host casino. A series of games are offered and players compete to outperform each other and win the overall prize money.

Way Ticket – Any Keno ticket that contains two or more distinct bets.

Writer – A casino employee that interacts with the casino players. Responsibilities include accepting completed Keno tickets, creating the official digital ticket, accepting the money for all wagers, and paying any players with winning tickets.