Live keno was a staple in Las Vegas casinos a couple of decades ago. Casino guests could play the game anywhere from a spacious keno lounge to the cafe, where someone would take wagers right at the tables where guests were dining.
The game might have been most popular in my lifetime around the time it made an appearance at the end of the movie “Vegas Vacation” in 1997. This keno lounge no longer exists at MGM Grand.
Playing keno in casinos has changed a lot over the years. The few Las Vegas keno lounges remaining are nowhere near the size of the one at MGM Grand in the late 1900s.
Today, keno is most often played at casino bartop machines. Video keno is also one of the most popular choices on multi-game machines at bars and around the casino floor. In addition to keno, both types of machines offer poker, slots, or table games adopted for this type of game.
While preferences have changed over the years so have Las Vegas casino floors. Since most keno lounges have closed, the play has moved to machines or vice versa.
New casinos aren’t opening with a keno lounge at all. Fontainebleau, Durango, Resorts World, Mohegan Sun at Virgin, and Circa are all without keno lounges. Guests looking to play the game can play video keno at a bar or on the main casino floor at the newest Las Vegas casinos.
Keno is a small business for a few Las Vegas casinos
Last year Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, only had 18 casinos reporting live keno revenue. This number will decrease as there are fewer casinos with live keno in FY 2024.
Keno isn’t a big money maker for Las Vegas casinos despite its large house edge. Last year Clark County casinos won 31.86% of the money wagered on the game. The remaining casinos in the area with live keno won just over $12 million from the game in 2023, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s December 2023 revenue report.
For comparison, this is less than half the money Las Vegas casinos won from bingo, which was available in a similar number of casinos last year.
This is a reason that the casinos with keno lounges don’t dedicate much space for the game on their casino floors.
Las Vegas live Keno lounges
There are still a few casinos around the Las Vegas Valley that still have live keno lounges. Unfortunately, most people looking for this experience will have to venture away from the Vegas Strip.
Vegas Strip Keno
The Vegas Strip lost half of its keno lounges last year when Harrah’s closed its space dedicated to the game in November.
The only Vegas Strip casino with a live keno lounge is Horseshoe (formerly Bally’s). The 1,336 square foot keno lounge is located near the WSOP Hall Of Fame Poker Room.
Downtown Las Vegas Keno
Despite El Cortez closing its keno lounge, there are still a few downtown Las Vegas that have space for the game.
- California (The Cal)
- The D
- Plaza
The Cal has the largest keno lounge in the area. However, The D might have the most well-known keno lounge.
The refreshed keno lounge on the second floor of the Fremont Street casino is promoted by lights outside of the property with an escalator that leads up to the neighboring bar at the property.
More Las Vegas Keno
There are 10 more Las Vegas casinos with Keno according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s most recent square footage report. One takeaway from this report is that Las Vegas locals still enjoy relaxing in a casino and playing live keno.
- Arizona Charlie’s Decatur
- Boulder Station
- Gold Coast
- Green Valley Ranch
- Jerry’s Nugget
- Orleans
- Palace Station
- Red Rock Casino
- Santa Fe Station
- Sunset Station
Station Casinos (NASDAQ: RRR) operate six off-strip keno lounges. Santa Fe Station is home to the largest live keno lounge in Las Vegas. The casino dedicates 4,000 square feet of space to its keno lounge.
This lounge occupies almost as much space as traditional table games at Santa Fe Station. Blackjack, craps, roulette, and other table games are spread over 5,376 square feet of the casino floor.
How to play Keno
While live keno lounges are waning in popularity many people still enjoy the game. In Las Vegas casinos, players tend to enjoy video keno machines. Around the country, some players enjoy keno at their favorite online casino.
Keno remains popular in different forms because it’s a simple way to gamble. In live Las Vegas keno lounges players simply fill out a ticket with a certain amount of numbers.
Players typically select somewhere between four and eight numbers in live keno. Once a player selects their numbers, they’ll place a wager with the keno ticket writer.
Once the wagers are submitted, players can sit back and watch the keno board to see if their numbers hit. Many of the live keno lounges have comfortable chairs to sit in, relax, and have a drink while watching the numbers.
If the numbers hit, the player can walk right back to the ticket writer to collect their winnings.
The game moves quickly and this process can be repeated often – or a player can make multiple wagers so they don’t have to keep getting up.
That’s it. That’s keno. Easy peasy.