The Game Outgrows Itself

The ancient Chinese game of keno that Cheung Leung devised was such a rousing success in his own city that it spread like wildfire. As this happened, however, organizational problems developed. The game was close to being unmanageable. You see, it was not that difficult for people in Cheung Leung's own particular city to come to the central location where the drawings took place and the winners determined. Indeed, these drawings were held twice a day, with most of the customers who wished to take part being on the scene (Maybe this was the forerunner of the concept of "instant winners"). However, as demand outside the area started to spread (and it should be noted that Cheung Leung maintained control of the operation in the absence of modern ideas for 'franchising'), such localization was not possible. People simply could not travel long distances to witness the results in person.

Yet they wanted to play anyway, and consequently, they needed to find out the results. Obviously there was no media to speak of, and the news of the lucky winners would certainly take quite a while to make their way to the citizens of outlying villages, which were far away from the location of the central drawing. Leung and his fellow organizers did indeed recognize a very fundamental marketing principle - that they wouldn't be cultivating regular customers if those people had no way of knowing in a timely manner whether they had won or lost. So the question was, how could word of these wins or losses get to the people who were essentially supporting the expansion of the business?

That is indeed a fascinating story.