Apparatus for progressive jackpot gaming

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6475088
  • Patent Number
    6,475,088
  • Date Filed
    Friday, December 17, 1999
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 5, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
An apparatus including a progressive jackpot component in a live casino table game. In addition to playing a live casino table game, each player makes an additional wager at the beginning of each hand that makes that player eligible to win all or part of a jackpot. If during the play of the hand a player is dealt a predetermined arrangement of cards, the player wins a preselected percentage of the jackpot amount. The jackpot is progressive in that unwon amounts of the jackpot carry over to the next hand. The apparatus is provided to receive each gaming token wagered for the jackpot component. An electronic sensor is operated to sense each wagered gaming token, and an indicator is operated in response to the sensor to produce a signal indicating whether each wagered gaming token was received. The apparatus is also provided to increment the jackpot meter which displays the jackpot amount, to decrement the jackpot meter whenever a winning hand is paid and to reset the apparatus for the next hand.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention generally relates to casino or cardroom gaming involving a progressive jackpot. More particularly, it relates to a progressive jackpot that is available to be played by participants in various casino or cardroom table games.




It has become common practice in gaming establishments to provide a progressive jackpot component in connection with electronic or mechanical gaming devices, such as slot machines, video poker machines or keno machines. Typically a plurality or “bank” of machines are electronically interconnected to a common progressive jackpot meter. As gaming tokens are fed into each machine, the amount shown on the jackpot meter progresses incrementally until some lucky player lines up the winning combination, such as three or four 7's on the game row of a slot machine. In video poker, a Royal Flush normally wins the jackpot, although in some variations, a player must achieve a Royal Flush in an exact order, such as A-K-Q-J-10 from left to right, or in a particular suit, such as Spades. In video keno, a player typically must match 15 out of 15 numbers to win the progressive jackpot.




It is an object of the present invention to provide a progressive jackpot component to typical casino or cardroom table games such as poker or Twenty-One.




It is a feature of the present invention to have each participant in the progressive jackpot component win all or part of the amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter if the participant achieves a particular predetermined playing hand.




It is an advantage of the present invention that when the progressive jackpot component is added to typical table games such as poker or Twenty-One that the players will enjoy these games more and that the amount of play will increase.




It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus useful in providing the progressive jackpot component to casino or cardroom table games such as poker or Twenty-One.




It is a further feature of the present invention to have a progressive jackpot meter electronically interconnected to one or more gaming tables to allow each player at his playing location to participate in the progressive jackpot component by wagering a gaming token which automatically activates an indicator showing the player's participation and also automatically increments the progressive jackpot meter.




It is an advantage of the present invention that the apparatus makes it easy for each player to participate in the progressive jackpot component of the game.




BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The method of the present invention generally involves a typical casino or cardroom game modified to include a progressive jackpot component. During the play of a Twenty-One game, for example, in addition to his normal wager, a player will have the option of making an additional wager that becomes part of, and makes the player eligible to win, the progressive jackpot. If the player's Twenty-One hand comprises a particular, predetermined arrangement of cards, the player will win all, or part of, the amount showing on the progressive jackpot. This progressive jackpot feature is also adaptable to any other casino or cardroom game such as Draw Poker. Stud Poker, Lo-Ball Poker or Caribbean Stud™ Poker.




The apparatus used to practice the present invention comprises a gaming table, such as those used for Twenty-One or poker, modified with the addition of a coin acceptor that is electronically connected to a progressive jackpot meter. When a player drops a coin into the coin acceptor, a light is activated at the player's location indicating that he is participating in the progressive jackpot component of the game during that hand. At the same time, a signal from the coin acceptor is sent to the progressive meter to increment the amount shown on the progressive meter. At the conclusion of the play of each hand, the coin acceptor is reset for the next hand. When a player wins all or part of the progressive jackpot, the amount showing on the progressive jackpot meter is reduced by the amount won by the player. Any number of gaming tables can be connected to a single progressive jackpot meter.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows the apparatus of the present invention using a casino gaming table with coin acceptors at each playing location electronically connected to a progressive jackpot meter.





FIG. 2

shows an alternate embodiment of the present invention using a cardroom gaming table with coin acceptors at each playing location electronically connected to a progressive jackpot meter.





FIG. 3

shows a block diagram of the operation of the present invention.





FIG. 4

shows a schematic diagram of the electronic circuitry of the present invention.





FIG. 5

shows a block diagram of a plurality of gaming tables connected to a single progressive jackpot meter.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




As shown in

FIG. 1

, a casino gaming table


10


is provided having a plurality of playing locations


12


for players participating in the game being conducted, e.g., Twenty-One. A dealer is position at the dealer's location


14


adjacent a chip rack


16


. Adjacent to each player location


12


is a coin acceptor


20


. Each coin acceptor


20


is electronically connected to a main control board


40


to which is connected a number of odometer-type counters


42


corresponding to the number of playing locations


12


provided on the gaming table


10


. As shown in

FIG. 1

, seven playing locations


12


are preferably provided, although the number of playing locations can be more or less than seven. A reset switch


50


is located adjacent the dealer's location


14


and is electronically connected to the main control board


40


and provides a means whereby the dealer can reset the coin acceptors


20


prior to the beginning of the play of each hand. A lockout switch


55


, is also provided adjacent to the dealer's location


14


which is activated by the dealer to prevent later wagering as will be more fully explained herein.




A main control board


40


is electronically connected to a progressive jackpot control box


60


which receives the signals from each coin acceptor


20


and in response to those signals increments the progressive jackpot meter


70


, as will be more fully explained herein. Also electronically connected to the progressive control box


60


is the jackpot reset control


80


which provides means for resetting the amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter whenever a player wins all, or part of, the amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter


70


.




In operation, the present invention operates as follows. A conventional Twenty-One game is conducted on gaming table


10


. At the beginning of each hand, each player, in addition to making his usual wager for the play of the Twenty-One hand, may also make an additional wager to be eligible to participate in the progressive jackpot component of the game during that hand. To do so, a player places a gaming token into the coin acceptor


20


associated with that player's particular playing location


12


. As will be more fully explained herein, the coin acceptor


20


“recognizes” that a gaming token has been placed therein and an indicator signal


22


, preferably a light, adjacent to the coin acceptor


20


is activated showing that that particular player is participating in the progressive jackpot component of the game during the play of that hand.




Besides activating the indicator signal


22


, the coin acceptor


20


also sends an electronic signal to the main control board


40


. This signal is sent by the main control board


40


to the odometer-type counter


42


corresponding to the particular playing location


12


to keep a sequential count of the number of gaming tokens that are placed in the particular coin acceptor


20


.




The main control board


40


also activates the progressive jackpot control box


60


which in turn controls the progressive jackpot meter


70


. Each gaming token placed in a coin acceptor


20


results in the amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter being increased by a predetermined amount. If, for example, each gaming token has a value of one dollar, then the amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter would be increased by any amount up to one dollar for each gaming token placed into a coin acceptor


20


. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the progressive jackpot would be increased between 93% to 97% of the amount of each gaming token being wagered, the balance representing the house's share of the amount wagered for providing the progressive jackpot component of the game.




When each player has had a reasonable opportunity to make a progressive jackpot wager, the dealer activates lockout switch


55


which deactivates each coin acceptor


20


. Any tokens placed in a coin acceptor


20


after lockout switch


55


is activated will not register. This prevents late wagering after the cards are dealt.




The amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter will continue to increase for each gaming token wagered until a player achieves a winning hand. Preselected winning hands earn a player all or part of the amount shown on the progressive jackpot meter. In a preferred embodiment, the preselected wining hands and payoff amounts in Twenty-One game are as follows:



















Winning Hand




Amount of Jackpot













Four 5's and an Ace




100%







Ace, two, three, four,




 4%







five and six







Six, seven and eight




100 tokens







of same suit







Three 7's




 50 tokens















The invention is not limited to these particular combinations of winning hands or payoffs, other winning hand combinations or payoff amounts can be utilized.




When a player achieves a winning hand, the jackpot reset control


80


is manually activated by pushing a button that corresponds to the type of hand that the player achieved. The amount won by the player is thus electronically deducted from the amount showing on the progressive jackpot meter.




When a particular hand is completed at gaming table


101


, the dealer presses the reset switch


50


, which deactivates the indicator signal


22


. Lockout switch


55


is also manually deactivated by the dealer. The coin acceptor


20


is thus readied to receive another gaming token for the next hand.




The progressive jackpot component of the present invention can also be used in connection with other types of casino games, e.g., Caribbean Stud™ Poker, which is the subject matter of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/182,374filed Apr. 18, 1988, which is incorporated herein by reference thereto. Caribbean Stud™ Poker is a modification of conventional five-card stud poker. Each player makes an ante and a dealer deals five cards to each player and to himself. The player's cards are dealt face down and the dealer's cards are dealt four cards face down and one card face up. Each player views his hand then decides whether to continue to play by making an additional bet or to fold or drop, in which case he loses his ante. The dealer then reveals his entire hand; if the dealer's hand does not have a poker value of at least Ace-King, then the dealer is not permitted to continue to play. In that case, the dealer pays even money on the remaining players'antes, and returns their bets to them. If the dealer's hand has a poker value of Ace-King or better, the dealer compares his hand to each player's hand, paying or collecting the bets as appropriate. The dealer also pays odds of more than even money on each winning player's hand of two pair or better according to a bonus payment schedule. This game can be played using the gaming table shown in FIG.


1


. Each player makes a progressive jackpot wager by placing a gaming token in the coin acceptor


20


which makes that player eligible to participate in the progressive jackpot amount shown on the meter


70


. The winning hands and amounts for Caribbean Stud Poker are preferably as follows:



















Hand




Amount













Royal Flush




100% 







Straight Flush




10%







Four of a Kind




 1%







Full House




50 tokens







Flush




25 tokens















Again the invention is not limited to these particular combinations of hands or payoff amounts, other hand combinations or payoff amounts can be utilized.




The invention can also be adapted to other casino or cardroom poker games such as Stud Poker, Draw Power or Lo-Ball Poker. The gaming table


100


used to play each of these games is modified as shown in

FIG. 2

by the addition of coin acceptors


120


and indicator signals


122


at each player's location


112


. The electronics is the same as that shown in FIG.


1


and includes a main control board


140


, an odometer-type counter


142


, a progressive jackpot control box


160


, a progressive jackpot meter


170


and a jackpot reset control


100


. A reset switch


150


and a lockout switch


155


are located adjacent the dealer's location


114


next to the chip rack


116


.




The progressive jackpot meter


170


is incrementally increased in the same manner as that described in connection with

FIG. 1

by each player placing a gaming token in the coin acceptor


120


.




The winning hands and payoff amounts are preselected as appropriate for the type of game being played. In the preferred embodiment, the winning hands and payoff amounts are as follows:




I. Five Card Draw Poker



















Hand




Amount













Royal Flush




100%







Straight Flush




 10%







Four of a Kind




100 tokens







Full House




 25 tokens















II. Five Card Stud Poker



















Hand




Amount













Royal Flush




100%







Straight Flush




 10%







Four of a Kind




100 tokens







Full House




 25 tokens















III. Seven Card Stud Poker



















Hand




Amount













Royal Flush




100%







Straight Flush




 10%







Four of a Kind




100 tokens







Full House




 25 tokens















IV. Lo-Ball Poker



















Hand




Amount













5-4-3-2-Ace




100%







6-4-3-2-Ace




 5%







6-5-3-2-Ace




100 tokens







7-4-3-2-Ace




 25 tokens















These winning hands and payoff amounts are merely preferred embodiments and the invention may be practiced using any appropriate combination of winning hands and payoff amounts.




As an alternative embodiment, progressive jackpot component of the game may be utilized as a consolation payoff for a player who otherwise loses during the play of the regular game. For example, assume the regular game being played is Five Card Stud. Players A and B are both eligible for the progressive jackpot amount because each has placed a gaming token in the coin acceptor prior to the beginning of the play of the hand. Player A holds a hand having Four of a Kind. Player B holds a Full House. Because Player A's hand is higher according to the customary poker hand ranking priority, Player A wins the pot wagered on the Five Card Stud game. As a consolation, however, Player B receives a payoff amount from the progressive jackpot for his Full House, e.g., 25 tokens. Player A does not receive a payoff from the progressive jackpot because he already has won the pot from the regular Five Card Stud game. Thus, under this alternative embodiment, a player only receives a payoff from the progressive jackpot if the player both has a hand of the preselected type and loses to a higher hand in the game being played.




Another modification would have the two players sharing in the progressive jackpot amount; the player with the preselected type of hand receiving a percentage of the progressive jackpot amount and the player with the higher poker hand receiving the rest of the progressive jackpot amount. With reference to the example above, Player B would receive 80% of the progressive jackpot amount for a Full House and Player A would receive 20% of the progressive jackpot amount for a Full House.





FIG. 3

shows in block diagram form the operation of the present invention. Each playing location has a coin a acceptor


210


into which a player places a gaming token in order to be eligible for the progressive jackpot amount. When all players have had sufficient time to decide whether to participate in the progressive jackpot for that hand the dealer activates the lockout switch


220


which prevents late wagers. Each gaming token placed in a coin acceptor


210


energizes the progressive output control


230


which in turn activates three separate devices. An integrated circuit timer is energized which causes an indicator light


250


to be illuminated at the location on the coin acceptor in front of the player. This gives a visual indication to the dealer that that player is participating in the progressive jackpot during the play of that hand.




The signal from the progressive jackpot control


230


also activates an odometer-type counter


255


which increments by one unit for each gaming token wagered through the coin acceptor. This allows the gaming establishment to keep an accurate count of the number of wagers made on the progressive jackpot.




The third signal from the progressive jackpot control


230


goes directly to the progressive jackpot meter


270


. The progressive jackpot meter


270


shows the total amount available to be won by a player who obtains one of the preselected winning hands. The amount of the progressive jackpot meter


270


automatically increases a predetermined amount for each gaming token placed in a coin acceptor. The progressive jackpot meter


270


is programmed to increase a specified percentage of the amount wagered in the coin acceptor


210


. In the preferred embodiment, the progressive jackpot meter will be increased between about 93% to 97% of the amount wagered in the coin acceptor


210


.




The dealer then deals the cards to each player and the hand is played


280


. If a player has a preselected winning hand, the player is paid the amount corresponding to the type of winning hand that the player has. The jackpot reset control


290


is manually activated which results in the amount of the payoff being automatically deducted from the amount displayed on the progressive jackpot meter


270


.




After the winning players have been paid, the dealer activates the reset switch


295


which both turns off the integrated circuit timer


240


and turns off the indicator light


250


and the dealer deactivates the lockout switch


297


thereby activating the coin acceptor


210


for the next hand.





FIG. 4

in schematic form depicts the electronic circuitry to operate the apparatus of the present invention. The coin acceptor circuitry


300


is activated when a gaming token is dropped into the slot on the gaming table where the coin acceptor is mounted. The gaming token passes between an ultraviolet transmitter DS


1


and an optic receiver Q


1


(Model #MRD 300 transistor). This causes a pulse to be passed from the collector of Q


1


to the base of receiver Q


2


. Q


2


is a Model #2N3906 transistor and acts as an emitter follower and sends a pulse which is received by the integrated circuit


322


,


324


of the main control board


320


. The integrated circuit


322


,


324


is a Model #LM-556 Timer. The pulse from Q


2


is received at pin


325


of the lower portion


324


of the integrated circuit and this pulse causes pin


326


of the lower portion


324


to go high and turn on diode DS


2


(a Model P367 diode). This diode DS


2


is the indicator light


22


shown in FIG.


1


and this indicator light


22


stays on until the play of the hand is finished.




The pulse from Q


2


also is received by pin


323


on the upper portion


322


of the integrated circuit and this pulse creates a pulse at pin


327


of the upper portion


322


which causes transistor Q


3


(a Model #T1P120 transistor) to turn on, then off for the duration of the pulse created at pin


327


. The turning on and off of transistor Q


3


causes the odometer-type counter


42


shown in

FIG. 1

to increment one digit. The odometer-type counter


330


is a six-digit non-resetable electronic 12VDC counter WICO Model #31-443400.




The pulse created at pin


327


of the upper potion


322


of the integrated circuit also goes to the opto isolator


340


(which is a Model #H11A16E Opto isolator). The opto isolator


340


passes this pulse to the base of translator Q


4


(a Model #2N3906 transistor) thereby turning on transistor Q


4


for the duration of the pulse. When transistor Q


4


is turned on, the pulse is passed to the progressive jackpot display meter


350


where the amount shown on the display meter


350


is increased by a predetermined percentage of the value of the gaming token placed in the coin acceptor


300


. The progressive jackpot display meter


350


can typically be a Game Technology Model having 3″ LED characters on a 44″ length single progressive display.




After all bets are made, the dealer manually presses a lockout switch


360


which will clamp the output of transistor Q


2


at a low level which ensures that there can be no late wagers made through the coin acceptor


300


. Once the output of transistor Q


2


is clamped at a low level, a gaming token placed in the coin acceptor


300


will not cause a pulse to flow through the rest of the circuitry.




The game is then played and once the game is completed, the dealer will manually press the reset switch


370


which creates a reset pulse that activates pin


320


which resets the lower portion


324


of the integrated circuit. This resetting causes pin


326


to go low which will extinguish diode DS


2


which turns off the indicator light


22


on the gaming table.




The dealer also manually presses the lockout switch


360


to open the circuit and remove the clamp on the emitter of transistor Q


2


which allows another hand to be played. The players commence the next hand by placing gaming tokens in the coin acceptor


300


and the process is repeated.




As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various resistors and capacitors are provided to complete the circuitry. The specifications on the resistors and capacitors shown in

FIG. 4

is as follows:




















Resistors





Capacitors

































R1




-




68




Ohm




C1




-




.1




ufd/35 v







R2




-




3




Kohm




C2




-




.01




ufd/35 v







R3




-




1




Kohm




C3




-




.1




ufd/35 v







R4




-




200




Ohm




C4




-




.1




ufd/35 v







R5




-




4.7




Kohm







R6




-




10




Kohm







R7




-




1




Mohm







R8




-




240




Ohm







R9




-




1




Kohm







R10 




-




4.7




Kohm







R11 




-




240




Ohm







R12 




-




1




Kohm















While the invention has been illustrated with respect to several specific embodiments thereof, these embodiments should be considered as illustrative rather than limiting. Various modifications and additions may be made and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited by the foregoing description, but rather should be defined only by the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A table for playing a wagering game, said table having a plurality of player locations at which a player receives tangible, physical cards from a live human dealer, said table including:(a) an electronic sensor operative to sense the making of a wager by a player; and (b) an indicator operative in response to said sensor to produce a signal indicating whether a player has made said wager.
  • 2. A table according to claim 1 wherein said sensor includes and optical detector to sense the presence of a gaming token.
  • 3. A table according to claim 1 wherein said signal comprises a light signal.
  • 4. A table according to claim 1 further including a counter electronically interconnected to said sensor and operative to count wagers sensed by said sensor.
  • 5. A table according to claim 1 further including a controller electronically interconnected with said sensor and operative to register the occurrence of said sensor sensing said wager.
  • 6. A table according to claim 5 further including a manually operable lock out switch operatively connected to deactivate said sensor such that said controller does not register the occurrence of a player making said wager.
  • 7. A table for playing a wagering game, said table having a plurality of player locations at which a player receives tangible, physical playing cards from a live human dealer, said table including:(a) an electronic sensor operative to sense the making of a wager by a player; and (b) a counter electronically interconnected to said sensor and operative to count wagers sensed by said sensor.
  • 8. A table according to claim 7 wherein said sensor includes an optical detector operative to sense the presence of a gaming token.
  • 9. A table for playing a wagering game, said table having a substantially horizontal playing surface substantially defined by a tangible, physical sheet of flexible material that may be rolled bearing information indicating locations on the sheet where wagers may be placed, said table including:(a) an electronic sensor operative to sense the making of a wager by a player; and (b) an indicator operative in response to said sensor to produce a signal indicating whether a player has made said wager.
  • 10. A table according to claim 9 wherein said sensor includes an optical detector operative to sense the presence of a gaming token.
  • 11. A table according to claim 9 wherein said signal comprises a light signal.
  • 12. A table according to claim 9 further including a counter electronically interconnected to said sensor and operative to count wagers sensed by said sensor.
  • 13. A table according to claim 9 further including a controller electronically interconnected with said sensor and operative to register the occurrences of said sensor sensing said wager.
  • 14. A table according to claim 13 further including a manually operable lock out switch operatively connected to deactivate said sensor such that said controller does not register the occurrence of a player making said wager.
  • 15. A table for playing a wagering game, said table having a substantially horizontal playing surface substantially defined by a tangible, physical sheet of flexible material that may be rolled bearing information indicating locations on the sheet where wagers may be placed, said table including:(a) an electronic sensor operative to sense the making of a wager by a player; and (b) a counter electronically interconnected to said sensor and operative to count wagers sensed by said sensor.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/301,676, filed Apr. 28, 1999, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,878, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/967,849, filed Nov. 12, 1997, and now U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,930, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/695,275, filed Aug. 9, 1996, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,964 which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/486,700, filed Jun. 7, 1995, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,893, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/337,661, filed Nov. 9, 1994, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,341, which is a division of application Ser. No. 07/800,631, filed Nov. 27, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,077; which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/361,276, filed Jun. 5, 1989 and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,405; which is a division of application Ser. No. 07/214,934, filed Jul. 5, 1998 and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041; which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/182,374 filed Apr. 18, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553. The entire disclosures of each of the above-listed applications and patents are hereby incorporated by reference herein. The entire disclosure of copending application Ser. No. 07/814,712 filed Dec. 30, 1991 is also hereby incorporated by reference herein.

US Referenced Citations (4)
Number Name Date Kind
3819186 Hinterstocker Jun 1974 A
4614342 Takashima Sep 1986 A
4643425 Herzenberger Feb 1987 A
6070878 Jones et al. Jun 2000 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
2609169 Sep 1982 DE
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry
The Gambling Times Guide To European and Asian Games, by Syd Helprin, A Gambling Times Book Distributed by Lyle Stuart, Secaucus, NJ © 1986 by Gambling Times Incorporated.
Continuations (5)
Number Date Country
Parent 09/301676 Apr 1999 US
Child 09/466305 US
Parent 08/967849 Nov 1997 US
Child 09/301676 US
Parent 08/695275 Aug 1996 US
Child 08/967849 US
Parent 08/486700 Jun 1995 US
Child 08/695275 US
Parent 08/337661 Nov 1994 US
Child 08/486700 US
Continuation in Parts (2)
Number Date Country
Parent 07/361276 Jun 1989 US
Child 07/800631 US
Parent 07/182374 Apr 1988 US
Child 07/214934 US