Article on Keno from The Boston Globe
If you believe in miracles, head for the Keno lounge. Jimmy the Greek
When you go to a Casino, one of the games you can play is Keno. You are given a card with numbers from 1 to 80 on it. You mark the numbers you want to play (anywhere from 1 to 15 of them) and indicate the amount of the bet. A bowl contains 80 balls numbered from 1 to 80. The balls are thoroughly mixed and twenty of them are drawn out. You are paid off according to how many of the numbers you have chosen are represented among the numbers on the 20 balls that were chosen.
1. Suppose you mark only one number and bet a $1. Then if your number is drawn you get your $1back plus another $2.20 and otherwise you lose your $1. About how much money could the Casino expect to make when you make this bet 100 times?
2. If you choose two numbers and they are both among the set drawn then you get your $1back plus an additional $12. If not, you lose your 1$. Is this a more favorable, or less favorable bet that betting on a single number?
3. About 80 percent of the play in Casino Keno is based on players marking 10 numbers and being paid off according to the number of matches there are between the 10 numbers they chose and the numbers on the 20 balls chosen. The house pays off the following amounts on a $1bet.
The Casino makes a bit more on the average from people that bet on this than those that bet on a single number. Why do you think so many more people choose this bet? Could the Casino afford to be a bet more generous and pay off $99,999 when a player gets all 10 correct?
Read Chapters 13,14,15 in FPPA and do the following problems to be handed in with your journal on Thursday Nov 18: