Late night Keno purchase turns into a $95,900 prize

An anonymous lottery player was recently enjoying a night out with some friends at Doc 'N Rays, located at 221 County Road in Holts Summit, when he decided to buy a Club Keno ticket. He picked his own random combination of numbers and was shocked to find that he'd won.

In an interview with the Missouri Lottery, the winner said:

We go out normally on Friday nights and we always play Keno.

When he and his wife traveled to the Missouri Lottery headquarters to claim their prize, they were in for another surprise. Their prize amount was $95,900. 

“I couldn't believe it,” the winner said. “We didn't think it would be nearly that much.”

The winning Keno ticket was an 8-spot ticket that matched eight of the numbers drawn. That earned a base prize of $10,000. But the winner added the Bulls-Eye feature, which boosted the prize up to $50,000. The total prize amount was hiked up to $95,500 because the game was played during the Club Keno Bonus Hours promotion with an additional progressive jackpot prize.

Club Keno 101

Club Keno drawings are held every four minutes. You can play the game at your local lottery retailer and many bars, restaurants, and convenience stores throughout Missouri and other states. Each Club Keno drawing begins with 80 numbers. Every four minutes, 20 numbers are drawn starting at 5 a.m.

To play, select between 1 and 10 spots for each game and the numbers for those spots. Then, choose the amount you'd like to wager for each drawing. Each game starts at $1. The more numbers you match, the higher your prize. You can also add one or more of the following features:

• Multiplier: The multiplier is chosen randomly at the start of each Keno game. If you choose this option, you can increase your prize amount by 2X, 3X, 5X, or 10X. 
• Bulls-Eye: One red and one green BULLS-EYE number is chosen randomly from one of the 20 winning numbers at the end of each drawing. If you add this feature and the Bulls-Eye number matches any of your numbers, you win the Bulls-Eye prize as well as any additional prize you have won. 
• Double Bulls-Eye: If you choose Double Bulls-Eye and both of the Bulls-Eye numbers match your numbers, you win a higher prize.

Is there a Keno strategy

Although Keno is a game of chance, some experienced players believe that player certain strategies can increase your odds. Here are some of the common ones:

• Hot number strategy: Hot numbers are ones that are drawn frequently. People who use this strategy believe that these numbers have a high chance of being drawn again. 
• Number pattern strategy: Some players prefer to look for number combinations that they think have a higher probability of being drawn. This strategy could include choosing numbers in a specific shape or diagonal line.
• Winning streak strategy: Other players believe that when they experience a series of wins, their luck is hot, and the streak will continue. 

Whether these strategies work or not is up for debate.