Great Wall of China

Reply #7

Rip Snorter — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:52:27 GMT

I wonder if this is the earliest time on record, the Great Wall, of a public project being funded by lotteries.

Searching through the Digitized Bible I'm not able to find any references there to the ancient Hebrews doing it. It's a lot more difficult searching the ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

But if it happened in China so early, it almost seems a certainty it would happen elsewhere.

J

Reply #6

Rip Snorter — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 00:45:49 GMT

If there were written records we might find Stonehenge, Sphinx, Chichen Itza were also built by lottery money.

Reply #5

bellyache — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 17:47:42 GMT

Thanks for the links Goldrush.

Reply #4

WIN D — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 14:32:25 GMT

I always found the name the Chinese gave that Keno game ....even way back then.... interesting ....and very insightful.

It's so wise and so typical of eastern humor..... they simply called it....

Chase the(crazy) Donkey LOL

Reply #3

Coin Toss — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 14:20:55 GMT

In one of John Scarne's books on gambling there's a drawing of one of those Chinese Keno tickets that helped to build the Great Wall, it was Chinese characters from their alphabet, not numbers that were played.

Reply #2

Rip Snorter — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 12:09:43 GMT

So Keno built the great wall.

There's something deeply satisfying in knowing that.

Good thread.

Thanks

J

Reply #1

goldrush — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 10:04:49 GMT

1957

NOVEMBER: To finance the building of the Sydney Opera House, tickets in Opera House Lottery No.1 went on sale. Tickets were 5 each ($10) with a first prize of 100,000 ($200,000).

http://www.nswlotteries.com.au/about/history.html

Great Wall of China

goldrush — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 09:55:38 GMT

The first signs of a lottery trace back to Asia, where ancient Keno slips were discovered. First played in China, the lottery has helped finance major governmental projects like the Great Wall of China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottery