In China, the majority of gambling took place in foreign enclaves near the coast. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the same sorts of thing happened in foreign communities in the United States. Large numbers of Chinese workers came to America in the years following the Civil War.

These workers were generally men by themselves, without their families, with little money. Because of linguistic and cultural barriers, these workers tended to keep to themselves in “Chinatowns.” Gambling was seen not only as a way to make some extra cash, but also a way for those in a foreign land to bond with their countrymen.

Mah Jongg

An American by the name of Joseph P. Babcock, who lived in Shanghai, introduced mah jongg to the West after the First World War. He developed a set of rules for Western players, provided English titles for the tiles, and added index letters and numerals similar to those on playing cards.

The game became very popular in England, the United States, and Australia during the mid-1920s. In 1923, for example, sales of mah jongg sets in the United States were $1.5 million. The fad wore off eventually, but remained popular, especially with Jewish women in the United States.

Keno

Chinese immigrants brought Keno to North America, though at first they played it mostly among themselves. It was known as "Chinese Lottery," and it was quite popular, even though gambling was technically illegal. Many kinds of gambling were legalized in the early 1930s, though lotteries were still against the law.

As a way of getting around this, casino owners referred to it as "Horse Race Keno." The implication there was that each number stood for a horse, and the player was merely betting on a horse to come in.

Pai Gow

To make the domino game Pai Gow easier for Western players to understand, an American version was developed which used a deck of 52 standard playing cards and one joker. Pai Gow is slower than most conventional versions of poker. The ranking of hands were based on poker hands. This is called Pai Gow poker.

The joker in Pai Gow poker can be employed as an ace or as a wild card only to complete a straight, a flush, or straight flush. As many as six players and a banker can play. Usually, the casino acts as the banker although players can chose to bank the game themselves if they want.