I heard about a game they used to play called "Buttons"... Niukou ?? I think is what it is.

They would put random hand ful of buttons in a jar or container. The patrons would bet on 1,2,3, or ,4.
They would take and count the buttons in groups of 4. When they got to the end of the 4 count...there would be 1, 2, 3, or 4 buttons left. The people who bet on that number got 2 times their bet. The house took the other 3 numbers money.