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Keno
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Keno has the distinction of being the casino game with the highest house edge. But it also plays the slowest, so the player's per-hour expected loss is in line with the other games. If you're going to play keno, be sure to play the live game to take advantage of this slow pace. Video keno has a lower house edge, but the speed more than makes up for this to make it a more expensive option.
Since the poker craze took over, many former keno lounges have been sacrificed in order to make room for new or expanded poker rooms. But there are still a number of casinos in Las Vegas that offer you the chance to play keno in the comfort of a lounge, rather than simply in the coffee shop. Here's the current list of properties that still have a keno lounge, together with where to locate them within the casinos:
Video Keno
Fortune smiled on a lucky woman at the Palace Station when she hit 10 out of 10 on a 5¢ progressive video keno machine for $57,000. A $57,000 win for a 20¢ investment. Smart play, right? Not really. The casino edge with the jackpot standing at $57,000 was 10.2%. The woman’s expected result was a loss of about $6 per hour. Nickel progressives can really fool you. The chart here depicts a standard 5¢ machine that takes 1-4 coins. By subtracting the return percentages (bottom line) from 100, you can see that the house advantage holds steady around 15% no matter what you play (except for the progressive 10-spot). Like all video machines, it’s the speed at which you play that really kills you. At the next level up, quarter video keno machines usually return about 92%. A fast player's expected loss on quarter machines can easily run $20 per hour. You are far better off playing regular keno in a keno lounge for $1 per game.
