Patent Application
20130161904
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a roulette-type game and in particular to a 50 state roulette game.
2. Related Art
Traditional roulette games are played by spinning a roulette wheel in one direction while a ball rolls in an opposite direction in a track of the roulette wheel. The location on the roulette wheel where the ball eventually lands determines the winner. While other wagering games have developed new twists and features to entice players, the traditional game of roulette has remained largely unchanged for centuries.
From the discussion that follows, it will become apparent that the present invention addresses the deficiencies associated with the prior art while providing numerous additional advantages and benefits not contemplated or possible with prior art constructions.
A 50 state roulette game is disclosed herein. The 50 state roulette game provides unique wagering opportunities that are based on the 50 U.S. States and/or characteristics or identifiers thereof. The 50 state roulette game thus provides enticement and player excitement through these wagering opportunities. In addition, the 50 state roulette game offers higher payouts further enhancing the attractiveness of the game to increase game play.
As will be detailed further herein, the 50 state roulette game may be implemented in various ways. For example in one embodiment, the 50 state roulette game may comprise a casino or gaming table. Such table may comprise a playing surface comprising inside wagering areas arranged in a grid with each inside wagering area having a first border in the shape of a U.S. State and a surrounding second border.
Each first border may be a unique U.S. State. In addition there may be 50 inside wagering areas so that all 50 U.S. States can be represented on the playing surface. Also, each inside wagering area may comprise a U.S. State name or abbreviation.
A roulette wheel having a rotatable portion may be included. The rotatable portion of the wheel may have landing areas arranged in a circular pattern, with each landing area configured to receive a roulette ball and to identify a U.S. State on the playing surface.
One or more outside wagering areas may be on the playing surface as well. Each outside wagering area may identify a plurality of U.S. States. At least one of the outside wagering areas may be a dynamic wagering area that identifies a characteristic of a player related to one of the U.S. States. This allows wagers to be placed on a player's home state, state of residency, or the like without explicitly identifying that particular state in an outside wagering area.
The playing surface may be configured to support one or more wagers thereon (such as in the form of tokens, currency, and the like). The first border of each inside wagering area may have an enlarged size greater than any single one of the wagers. This prevents a wager from obscuring the U.S. State associated with an inside wagering area.
It is contemplated that one or more sensors configured to determine if the wagers are within the first border of the inside wagering areas may be part of the table as well.
In another exemplary embodiment, a 50 state roulette table felt may be provided. Similar to above, the table felt may support one or more wagers thereon. Such table felt or surface may comprise 50 inside wagering areas comprising a border of each of the 50 U.S. States and arranged in a grid consisting of 5 columns and 10 rows. Each inside wagering area may have an enlarged size greater than a peripheral size of any single one of the wagers.
The inside wagering areas may have either a first or a second coloring. In addition, the inside wagering areas may alternate between the first and second coloring from left to right across the grid. It is noted that the 50 inside wagering areas may each also comprise a second border surrounding the border of the U.S. State.
50 unique identifiers, each within one of the inside wagering areas, may be configured to identify each of the 50 U.S. States. The 50 unique identifiers may be various identifiers such as U.S. State names or abbreviations or numbers, such as numbers 1-50.
One or more outside wagering areas may be located at the periphery of the grid and identify a plurality of U.S. States. It is contemplated that an outside wagering area that does not identify a U.S. State could also be provided. In addition, similar to above, an outside wagering area that identifies a characteristic of a player related to one of the U.S. States could be provided.
As detailed further herein, the 50 state roulette game could also be embodied in a method. For example, a method of providing a winning award at a 50 state roulette game may be implemented. Such method may comprise providing a casino table layout having each of the 50 U.S. States represented thereon, providing a roulette wheel having landing areas identifying each of the 50 U.S. States, and receiving a wager on the casino table layout at a border of one or more of the 50 U.S. States.
The roulette wheel may be spun to determine a landing area at which a roulette ball has come to rest. It may then be determined if the landing area identifies the of the 50 U.S. States at which the wager was received. A first award may be paid if the wager was received within the border of the one or more of the 50 U.S. States, while a second award (distinct from the first award) may be paid if the wager was received outside the border of the one or more of the 50 U.S. States.
It is noted that the provided roulette wheel may comprise a landing area that does not identify any of the 50 U.S. States and, in such case, the second award may be paid if the roulette ball comes to rest at this landing area. In addition or alternatively, the provided roulette wheel may comprise a landing area that identifies all of the 50 U.S. States and, in such case, the second award may be paid if the roulette ball comes to rest at this landing area.
The method may also include receiving a wager at an outside wagering area identifying a plurality of the 50 U.S. States on the casino table layout. Alternatively or in addition, a wager may be received at an outside wagering area identifying a player characteristic related to one of the 50 U.S. States selected from the group consisting of the player's home state and the player's state of residency.
It is noted that the 50 state roulette game may include various automated or electronic elements. For instance the border at which the wager has been placed may be detected or determined with one or more sensors mounted adjacent the casino table layout. Likewise, the landing area at which the roulette ball has come to rest may be detected with one or more roulette wheel sensors.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
The 50 state roulette game herein includes a table layout comprising the 50 U.S. States at which player wagers may be placed. Individual wagering or wagering areas can thus be readily identified. This is so even if multiple wagers are placed in the same area. In addition, the use of the 50 U.S. States allows payouts at the 50 state roulette game to be higher, thus enticing players to play the 50 state roulette game.
The 50 state roulette game will now be described with regard to
In one or more embodiments, one or more of the wagering areas 108,112 may have multiple borders. For example, as can be seen from
The wagering areas 108,112 may be grouped into categories in some embodiments. In general, such grouping will be made according to the function or purposes of a wagering area 108,112. For example, in one or more embodiments there may be inside wagering areas 108 and outside wagering areas 112. As shown in
In general, the inside wagering areas 108 may be used to wager that a roulette ball will land on a particular U.S. State (or an identifier of the particular U.S. State) on the game's roulette wheel. The inside wagering areas 108 may also be used to wager on multiple U.S. States that are adjacent to one another on the layout 104. This may occur by placing a wager between two or more U.S. States. For example, placing a wager between Florida (#9) and Georgia (#10) means that the player is wagering on the roulette ball landing on either Florida or Georgia. If this should occur, the player would be a winner. As an example of a wager on more than two U.S. States, the player may place a wager at the intersection of the wagering areas 108 for Arkansas (#4), Colorado (#5), Florida (#9), and Georgia (#10). In this example, the player would be a winner if the roulette ball lands on any of these U.S. States.
The inside wagering areas 108 may be used in various ways to receive different types of inside wagers. As alluded to above, an inside wager is generally one where a player wagers that the roulette ball will land on a particular U.S. State or one or more U.S. States that are adjacent to one another on the layout 104.
In one embodiment, the type of inside wager may be determined by the location of the wager (e.g., tokens, currency, or other wagered items) relative to the second border 120 of a wagering area 108. To illustrate, receiving a wager within the second border 120 of a wagering area 108 indicates a wager on the particular U.S. State within the second border of that wagering area. A wager received on the second border 120 may be considered a wager a wager on multiple U.S. States (i.e., the U.S. States that share that second border 120). Wagers on columns, rows, or other border sharing wagering areas may be placed in this manner.
In another embodiment, the type of inside wager may be determined by the location of the wager relative to the first border 116 of a wagering area 108. For instance, if the wager is received within the first border 116, that wager may be deemed a wager on the particular U.S. State represented by such first border. If outside the first border 116, the wager may be deemed a wager on multiple U.S. States. For example, outside the first border 116 of two U.S. States and between the two U.S. states, the wager may be for these two U.S. States. If the wager is received at a location between more than two U.S. States, such as diagonal between such U.S. States, the wager may be deemed a wager on these U.S. States.
It is noted that indicators may be present between the U.S. States to inform players where to place this type of inside wager. For example, a mark or other indicator may be located between the 50 U.S. States on the layout to receive wagers outside the borders of these states (i.e., the first borders 116). In addition or alternatively, in embodiments where the first border 116 defines the type of inside wager, it is contemplated that the second border 120 need not be provided.
In one or more embodiments, outside wagers may be wagers on multiple U.S. States, at least some of which are not adjacent to one another. In general, outside wagers will be received at an outside wagering area 112. The layout 104 of the 50 state roulette game may provide one or more outside wagering areas 112 of various types. As shown in
Other outside wagering areas 112 are also possible based on the characteristics of the U.S. States. For example, U.S. States having particular letters in their name could form an outside wager. As another example, the U.S. States could be divided into regions, such as by time zone or other characteristic. These individual groups may be used to form one or more outside wagering areas 112.
It is contemplated that dynamic outside wagering areas 112 could also be provided. Dynamic outside wagering areas 112 may involve an external characteristic, such as that of a player. For instance, a dynamic wagering area 112 may be labeled “State of Residence”, “Driver's License State”, or the like. A wager received on this outside wagering area 112 would thus be a wager on the player's state of residency (as my be identified by a government identification or other identification acceptable to the venue offering the 50 state roulette game). It is noted that players may also or alternatively be asked to provide their home state, past/present state(s) of residence, or the like before playing the 50 state roulette game. This information may be used in one or more dynamic outside wagering areas 112. For example, a “States Where You've Lived” outside wagering area 112 could be provided with this information.
In addition, the 50 state roulette game may receive combined wagers at locations shared by an inside wagering area 108 and an outside wagering area 112. For example, a wager received at a location on the border or otherwise between at least one inside wagering area 108 and at least one outside wagering area 112 may be deemed a combined wager on the outcomes represented by the inside and outside wagering areas. One or more marks or other indicators may be provided on the layout 104 to identify locations at which combined wagers may be placed.
The ball landing areas 212 may be defined sections or areas of the roulette wheel 208 where a roulette ball may come to rest after the roulette wheel and ball are spun. In one or more embodiments, each landing area 212 may be delineated by a physical border such as one or more ridges. This helps retain the roulette ball once it comes to rest, and prevents the ball from landing between landing areas 212.
In one or more embodiments, there may be at least 50 landing areas 212 on the roulette wheel 208. These landing areas 212 would correspond to each of the 50 U.S. States. The landing areas 212 may comprise a surface pattern or other indicator identifying a particular one of the U.S. States. For example, a landing area 212 could comprise the U.S. State's name, number, shape, or other characteristic/identifier. This associates the landing areas 212 with an inside wagering area 108 having the same U.S. State on the table layout 104. In addition or alternatively, each landing area 212 may have a number, color, or other characteristic to associate it with a particular U.S. State (i.e., inside wagering area 108) on the table layout 104.
It is contemplated that the roulette wheel 208 may have one or more landing areas 212 associated with outside wagering areas 112 in some embodiments. With reference to
It is noted that in some embodiments, the roulette wheel 208 need not have a rotatable portion. In such embodiments, the landing areas 212 may be fixed or non-rotatable. The roulette ball may be “spun” around a track or groove and come to rest on one of the fixed landing areas 212 to determine an outcome in such embodiments.
Operation of the 50 state roulette game will now be described with regard to
At a step 304, a wager may be received via the 50 state roulette game's layout. From a player's perspective, this will typically occur by placing an identifier, such as one or more tokens, at at least one of the layout's wagering areas. Multiple wagers may be accepted from one or more players. An outcome may then be determined at a step 308, such as by spinning the roulette wheel and/or roulette ball. The landing area at which the roulette ball comes to rest can then be used to determine winning and losing players. In general, players who correctly wagered on the roulette ball landing in the landing area the ball actually came to rest in would be deemed winners, as will now be described.
At a decision step 312, it may be determined if any inside wagers are winners. For example, if a wager was received within the border of one of the U.S. States on the layout or within the surrounding second border (of such inside wagering area), and the roulette ball landed on a landing area also bearing that U.S. State, the wager may be deemed an winning inside wager. If the wager was received between two or more U.S. States (such as described above), and the roulette ball landed on a landing area bearing at least one of these U.S. States, the wager may also be a winning inside wager. The winning inside wagers may be paid at step 316. Further details regarding winning payouts of the 50 state roulette game will be described further below.
At a decision step 320 it may be determined if any outside wagers are winners. For example, if the roulette ball lands on landing area having a U.S. State that is identified by the outside wager (i.e., is one of the U.S. States in the group identified by an outside wagering area), the wager may be deemed a winning outside wager. If a WORLD or non-U.S. State outside wagering area is provided, a wager on such area would be a winner if the roulette ball landed on a landing area that does not bear or otherwise identify a U.S. State. For example, if the roulette ball lands on a landing area for 00 or WORLD, such a wager would be a winner. Winning outside wagers may be paid at a step 316.
If combined wagers are available in the particular 50 state roulette game being played, it is noted that decision step 312 may be used to determine if the inside portion of the combined wager is a winner. Likewise decision step 320 may be used to determine if the outside portion of the combined wager is a winner. Payout of combined wagers may thus also occur at step 316.
It is noted that the layout may include various automated elements, such as electronic elements. For example, the layout may detect where wagers are placed on the layout such as to determine if the wager is an inside or outside wager and/or to determine what the wagers is on. To illustrate, a sensor may be used to determine whether a wager is placed within the border of a U.S. State or the surrounding second border of its inside wagering area. The sensor may also determine if a wager is placed within an outside wagering area, and/or if the wager is placed between two or more inside or outside wagering areas. It is contemplated that the roulette wheel may have one or more sensors or detectors as well to automatically determine the landing area at which the roulette ball has landed.
In some embodiments, the 50 state roulette game or portions thereof may be fully electronic. For example, the roulette wheel may be an electronic representation of a roulette wheel implemented via a random number generator and display screen. The layout may be electronic as well. For example, the layout may be presented on a display screen. The display screen may be touch sensitive to accept player input such as wagers. The display screen or other inputs (such as buttons) could receive the location at which a player wishes to place his or her wager. For example, an input device may be used to receive player input identifying the one or more U.S. States a player wishes to wager on in some embodiments.
One or more processors, such as integrated circuits, microprocessors, or the like may be provided to calculate payouts for winning wagers, such as based on the odds of the 50 state roulette game. The processors may execute one or more instructions hardwired into the processors and/or readable from one or more memory or storage devices.
In addition to providing various unique wagering opportunities based on U.S. States, the 50 state roulette game also provides other advantages. For example, use of the U.S. States on the layout allows wagers to be readily identified since one or even multiple tokens would not obscure the entire border of a U.S. State on the table layout. In addition, by presenting the U.S. States as wagering opportunities, players utilize a different thought process in placing wagers. This provides a type of enticement that is at least distinct from traditional roulette games. Fans of roulette style games may thus increase their play as a result of the 50 state roulette game.
Another significant advantage is that the 50 state roulette game offers increased payouts. This provides a strong incentive for players to play the 50 state roulette game (on top of the new wagering opportunities offered through use of the 50 U.S. states in the game). This enticement increases player enjoyment and excitement, while increasing game play. Therefore, both gaming venues and players can benefit from the 50 state roulette game. The players can especially benefit if they win, due to the increased payouts provided by the 50 state roulette game as compared to traditional roulette games.
To illustrate this increase, in one exemplary embodiment of the 50 state roulette game, the following payouts may be provided for traditional roulette wagers. The wager numbers make reference to
While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible that are within the scope of this invention. In addition, the various features, elements, and embodiments described herein may be claimed or combined in any combination or arrangement.
