The first tip is, when you get to the casino, have a walk around. Know where the keno outlets, monitors, writers (and big board if there is one) are. Stop by the keno booth and pick up the booklet, which they will give you for free. It will answer any questions about specific differences or options available at the casino relating to keno. If you happen to get disoriented it can cost you, as our next tip will demonstrate.

The second tip is, pay attention to your game. If the game ends while you're eyeballing the crowd at the blackjack or craps table, you'll have to make a mad dash for the keno writer! The keno writer is the nice guy or girl who sells you your ticket, and if you don't make it there to cash in a winning ticket before the next game starts (in most Vegas casinos that's five minutes) you don't get to cash it in at all!

The rest of my keno tips directly relate to the previous ones. Many casinos offer 'multi-race' cards (to find out why they are named after races, read up on the keno history page), which allow you to play the same set of numbers over multiple games. There are essentially two types of 'multi' games. One where you can play a single set of numbers over as many as 20 games, at the completion of which the player can check the ticket for any wins. Beyond this you may also purchase something called walk away keno, or stray and play tickets. This method enables patrons to purchase keno tickets for an extended number of games (read, more than 20), forget about them completely, and return at a later time or even a later date to have the tickets checked by a computer for winning games.

This is of course advantageous to the casinos themselves as it allows keno players to sit down at table games without having to get up every five minutes, or to become like the slots player who jealously guards their machine in eager anticipation of a payout.

Which type of game you should play depends on which activities you enjoy doing more. Remember, my number one keno strategy is to enjoy yourself while playing, whether it be gambling at another game while the keno numbers run by in a different part of the casino or watching each number come up and stamping it like bingo or some healthy point between the two. I hope these simple keno tips prove useful for you.