Game console with random selection device

Abstract

A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber, an outer chamber receiving the ball-scrambling chamber and an electrostatic discharge mat disposed on a wall of the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball-scrambling chamber accommodates at least one associated ball and includes a ball outlet. The ball guide communicates with the ball-scrambling chamber via the ball outlet. The ball-scrambling chamber includes an air impermeable wall.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0002] This invention relates to a random selection device. More particularly, the invention relates to a device for randomly selecting game balls that are used for bingo or lottery-type games. The device can be employed in a console.

[0003] A traditional bingo console consists of an enclosure containing a ball-scrambling chamber, an analog signal based camera placed on top of the console, a ball tray, a ball holding chamber, and computer electronics incorporating an operator video display. The ball-scrambling chamber typically is dimensioned such that it can contain either 75 or 90 bingo balls sequentially numbered. A blower motor communicates with the ball-scrambling chamber to mix the bingo balls via airflow. Eventually, random balls proceed up a ball extraction tube from the ball-scrambling chamber. The console operator then receives the ball from the tube and places it in front of the camera. The camera provides a direct analog image of the ball to one or more TV monitors located in the bingo facility to provide the players with a clear view of the latest random ball number.

[0004] The operator then places the ball into the ball tray and calls out the ball number to the players. The ball tray contains 75 or 90 holes, each numbered with a sequential ball number. Beneath each hole is a corresponding switch. All of the 75 or 90 switches are typically wired in a switch matrix fashion. The matrix is then cabled to a computer that periodically scans the switch matrix to detect the operator insertion of a ball into one of the holes and the activation of one of the switches. The computer then displays the ball number for the operator on a local display and then transmits the ball information to one or more remote flashboards. The balls are held in the ball tray until the completion of the bingo game. The balls are then manually released into a ball holding chamber. From there, they are manually released back into the ball-scrambling chamber.

[0005] The known random game selection devices or random number generators exhibit many shortcomings. First, there are several issues with a camera placed on the top of the console. The camera requires a power and signal cable to operate and the cable is exposed to the operators. With physical abuse during daily gaming activities, the cable can periodically fail. Second, the spherical white surface of the bingo ball reflects the overhead lighting in the facility into the camera and causes a hot spot or bright white glare to appear somewhere on the camera image of the ball. If the hot spot is located on the number and lettering of the ball, it detracts from the quality of the ball image and sometimes makes it difficult for the player to read the number. Third, the camera is a popular item for use in surveillance systems and often gets stolen from the bingo console.

[0006] Console noise can also be an issue for the operator and players. The high speed blower fan and resulting rushing air noise coupled with the bingo balls bouncing off the ball chamber surfaces, and each other, can make it difficult for the console operator to hear other events.

[0007] Static electricity within the ball-scrambling chamber, created by the high velocity air movement and ambient air conditions, can accumulate on insulating plastic surfaces of the ball chamber and the plastic balls. The attractive forces of the static electricity can become so strong that the bingo ball is attracted to the sidewalls of the chamber and will not move until the static forces are removed. Obviously, with this occurrence on one or more bingo balls, random ball numbers will no longer be, delivered from the ball-scrambling chamber.

[0008] The delivery of the ball from the chamber is via a tube with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the bingo ball. The ball must travel vertically upwards until exiting the end of the tube that is located outside of the ball chamber and somewhere near the operator. There are some variations of bingo games in which the operator calls balls very quickly, on the order of one ball every second or two. This requires that the balls be delivered in rapid succession from the ball chamber. It also implies that the operator must be able to quickly grab the ball, place it in front of the camera, place it in the ball tray, and then quickly grab the next ball from the tube. Typically, when the ball-scrambling chamber has a significant number of balls located in it, the balls are delivered up the tube in a fairly quick manner since multiple ball collisions result in many balls being directed towards the air flow path and the extraction tube opening. However, when the ball-scrambling chamber only has a few balls remaining, minimal or no ball collisions occur. The unrestricted air patterns within the chamber coupled with the back pressure created by the ball tube system make it difficult and time consuming for the last few balls to be extracted from the chamber.

[0009] A bingo gaming session can be quite long, on the order of four or more hours, and operators normally enjoy drinks when seated at the console. Occasionally the drinks are spilled into the ball tray openings, onto the switches under the ball tray holes, and into the bottom of the ball holding chamber. Typically the spilled liquid contaminates the electrical contacts on the ball switches causing switch malfunction.

[0010] Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a random selection game device and a console that overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings and provides better and more advantageous results.

SUMMARY

[0011] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber, an outer chamber receiving the ball-scrambling chamber and an electrostatic discharge mat disposed on a wall of the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball-scrambling chamber accommodates at least one associated ball and includes a ball outlet. The ball guide communicates with the ball-scrambling chamber via the ball outlet. The ball-scrambling chamber includes an air impermeable wall.

[0012] A random gaming selection device console includes a housing, a ball-scrambling chamber attached to the housing, a ball support for supporting an associated ball that has been removed from the ball-scrambling chamber and a camera disposed in the housing. The camera is positioned to picture the associated ball on the ball support.

[0013] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball support communicating with the ball-scrambling chamber, and a light source. The light source is positioned adjacent to and directs light towards the ball support to illuminate an associated ball held therein.

[0014] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball guide is located outside the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball guide includes a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support. The ball guide includes at least one vent opening spaced from the ball inlet and the ball outlet.

[0015] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball support including a ball seat for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide communicating with the ball-scrambling chamber. The ball guide includes a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support. The ball outlet is positioned vertically to the ball seat.

[0016] A random gaming selection device includes a console having a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide. The ball guide is pivotally mounted to the console and located outside the ball-scrambling chamber, the ball guide includes a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support.

[0017] A random gaming selection device includes a ball-scrambling chamber, a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber, an extraction tube disposed in the ball-scrambling chamber, and a ball guide disposed outside the ball-scrambling chamber, wherein the ball guide communicates with the ball extraction tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The invention may take physical from in certain parts and arrangements of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and wherein:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the random selection game device according to the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 2 is a cross section of a console of the device of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a ball guide used for the game device of FIG. 1;

[0022] FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the ball guide of FIG. 3 with an air director attached to the ball guide;

[0023] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an alternative ball guide support bracket of the game device of FIG. 1;

[0024] FIG. 5 is an enlarged, schematic, cross section of a camera and the ball support illustrating optical paths of the game device of FIG. 1; and,

[0025] FIG. 5A is a top view of an LED board of FIG. 5 indicating the approximate placement of the LEDs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for purposes of limiting same, FIG. 1 shows a random gaming selection device 10. The device 10 is used to generate random numbers in games such as lotteries and bingo, and can be used in other environments to generate random numbers or the like. The device generally includes a ball console 12 and an electronics portion 14. The electronics portion 14 can include an operator display 16 and can communicate with the ball console 12. Further description of the electronics portion 12 is found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/409,718 filed Apr. 9, 2003 and entitled “Modular Bingo Console System with Multi-Port Communications and Manual Play Mode,” which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0027] The ball console 12 includes a console housing 20, an inner ball-scrambling chamber 22 attached to the housing, an outer protective chamber 24 also attached to the housing, and a ball tray 26 located at the top of the housing. The ball console 12 and the electronics portion 14 can be in separate, adjacent enclosures, as illustrated in FIG. 1, or integrated into a single console (not illustrated).

[0028] The ball-scrambling chamber 22, as the name implies, contains the balls while they are scrambled under the influence of airflow. The ball-scrambling chamber 22 is defined by a curved front wall 30 made of a solid thermally formed plastic material. The curved front wall attaches to a rear wall 32, which comprises a portion of the console housing 20. The rear wall 32 can include a highly reflective surface, such as a mirror, facing the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The reflective surface on the rear wall 32 of the chamber provides a mirror-like effect in that the ball-scrambling chamber 22 appears to the players to be larger and deeper than it actually is. The reflective surface also gives the appearance of more ball action and more balls being scrambled than what is actually contained within the ball-scrambling chamber 22.

[0029] The ball-scrambling chamber 22 also includes an air inlet 34 formed in a bottom wall 36 of the chamber and a ball outlet 38 formed in an inner lid 150 of the chamber. A second outer chamber lid 40 is hingedly attached to the housing 20 to provide access to the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The air inlet 34 communicates with an air blower (not shown) that generates an air flow in the ball-scrambling chamber 22.

[0030] The air inlet 34 communicates with a duct 44 which is in fluid communication with an air blower (not shown). The air blower or fan can be AC line powered and delivers high velocity air through a perforated metal screen 46 mounted adjacent the air inlet 34. The screen 46 precludes balls in the ball-scrambling chamber 22 from falling into the duct 44. A non-conductive standoff 48 attaches to the center of the metal screen 46 and helps guide the balls upward in a straight line about the center of the airflow path.

[0031] The high-velocity airflow in the ball-scrambling chamber 22 coupled with the numerous balls colliding with the chamber walls 30, 32 and each other results in a substantial amount of noise. The outer protective chamber 24 is defined by a curved front wall 52 also made of a solid thermally formed plastic material. The front wall 52 attaches to the same rear wall 32 as the front wall 30 of the inner chamber 22 and is covered by the lid 40. The outer lid 40 is not physically attached to inner lid 150. The front wall 52 of the outer chamber 24 is spaced from the front wall 30 of the inner chamber 22, which can be on the order of several inches, to create an air gap between the two. The front wall 52 of the outer chamber 24 serves as a mechanical protection for the inner chamber 22. Furthermore, the air gap between the walls 30 and 52 provides a reduction in radiated sound to the operator and players since the balls collide with the solid, air impermeable, inner chamber wall 30 and the wall 52 of the outer chamber 24 is rigid to minimize the transmission of the sound waves through the outer wall 52. This method of construction reduces noise compared to a bingo console otherwise constructed in a somewhat similar manner but having only a single ball-scrambling chamber or a ball-scrambling chamber having an air-permeable wall.

[0032] The high-velocity airflow in the ball-scrambling chamber 22, the plastic material used to make the balls, the plastic material used to make the ball-scrambling chamber front wall 30 and the ambient temperature and humidity conditions all contribute to the accumulation of static electricity in the ball-scrambling chamber. To mitigate the effects of static electricity on the extraction of balls from the ball-scrambling chamber 22, an electrostatic discharge (ESD) or antistatic mat 54 is placed on the bottom wall 36 of the ball-scrambling chamber. The ESD mat 54 can cover the entire bottom wall 36 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The ESD mat 54 includes an opening 56 that surrounds the air inlet 34 to allow air into the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The ESD mat 54 and/or the bottom wall 36 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22 can be sloped toward the air inlet 22 to direct balls that have fallen to the bottom of the ball-scrambling chamber toward the air inlet, and thus toward the air flow leading toward the ball outlet 38.

[0033] The ESD mat 54 can also facilitate noise reduction in the gaming device. Balls that are being scrambled in the ball-scrambling chamber 22 that do not exit the chamber typically fall back toward the bottom wall 36 of the chamber before being redirected upward by the airflow. The ESD mat 54 can be made of a rubberized material that deadens the sound of the ball, further reducing the noise. Furthermore, since balls that do not exit the ball-scrambling chamber 22 typically fall onto the ESD mat 54, the dissipation of static electricity is further aided by having a mat that at least covers a substantial portion of the bottom wall 36 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22.

[0034] To further facilitate the dissipation of the static electricity in the ball-scrambling chamber 22, an ESD or antistatic strip 58 lines the lower internal circumference of ball-scrambling chamber. The antistatic strip 58 is made of any material that inhibits the production of static charges and attraction of the balls toward the ball-scrambling chamber walls 30, 32. The height of the strip 58 is greater than the radius of a typical bingo ball, which keeps the ball from the chamber wall 30 to greatly reduce the static force. The thickness of the strip 58 is significantly less than the diameter of a typical bingo ball so that a ball cannot rest on the top of the strip against the chamber wall. In one embodiment, the antistatic strip 58 is made of rubber, which is durable enough to withstand the constant impact of the balls without wearing out the surface in any reasonable amount of time, yet soft enough that the balls are not damaged by their impact.

[0035] Additionally, a conductive wire 62 can be wrapped around the antistatic strip 58 in a helical fashion over the entire length of the strip. The wire 62 is in contact with a top surface of the ESD mat 54 when placed around the strip. The wire 62 provides that the antistatic strip 58 is at the same voltage potential as the ESD mat 54 and also ensures there is no voltage potential across the surfaces of the strip. The conductive wire 62 is small in diameter and does not present a large enough surface for static electricity to accumulate.

[0036] Returning back to following the path of the balls through the device, the balls exit the ball-scrambling chamber 22 via a ball extraction tube 64 that is aligned with the air inlet 34 of the ball-scrambling chamber. The extraction tube 64 includes a ball cone 66 at an inlet 68 to the tube. The extraction tube 64 mounts to the lid 150 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22 and communicates at an outlet 72 with a ball guide 74 that delivers the extracted ball toward the operator of the device 10.

[0037] As seen in FIG. 2, the ball guide 74 has a substantially right bend so that the ball is delivered along a substantially horizontal path toward the ball tray 26. With reference to FIG. 3, the ball guide 74 is made of wire constructed into a circular form to guide the ball. The ball guide 74 includes a collar 76, preferably metal, that inserts into opening 38 (FIG. 2) in the ball-scrambling chamber lid 40 and defines an inlet 78 for the ball guide. The ball guide 74 can rotate within the opening 38 about the collar 76. The ball guide 74 includes a downward deflector 82 adjacent an outlet 84 of the ball guide. The downward deflector directs a ball traveling along the horizontal portion of the ball guide 74 towards a ball support and seat 86 disposed adjacent the outlet 84. The seat 86 is disposed below the outlet 84 and the horizontal portion of the ball guide 74 so that a ball that resides in the seat 86 does not roll back into the ball-scrambling chamber 22 when the blower is turned off. The seat 86 includes an opening 88 having a diameter slightly less that the diameter of the ball. The ball can rest in the opening 88 of the seat 86. A stopper 92, which is positioned adjacent the seat 86, can stop the movement of the ball along the horizontal path directing the ball towards the seat. A peg 94 is provided at the end of the ball support 86 so that the ball guide 74 can attach to a structure, such as a ball guide support bracket 100, to support the ball guide 74.

[0038] The ball console 12 further addresses the issue of static buildup by employing a ball guide 74 including a metallic material. Any charge accumulated on the balls during their journey from the ball-scrambling chamber 22 is distributed and dissipated into the mass of the metal ball guide 74, and normalized with operator contact with the ball guide.

[0039] The right angle and horizontal extension of the ball guide 74 transports the ball to a more convenient location for the operator. The right angle, however, results in increased backpressure in the extraction tube 64 and hampers quick delivery of the balls from the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The open wire frame design for the ball guide greatly reduces the backpressure at the right angle and at the outlet 72 of the ball extraction tube 64. The open wire frame design, and any ball guide having a plurality of openings therein, results in balls quickly extracting from the chamber because of a high velocity unimpeded upward airflow path. A ball guide 74 having a plurality of openings in its side wall, however, also results in the balls slowly, relative to the vertical velocity, rolling down the horizontal section of the ball guide 74. This is because there is very little air pressure exerted on the ball in the horizontal direction since the airflow exits the extraction tube 64 in a vertical air flow path through the open wire ball guide 74.

[0040] The addition of an air flow director 96 with control air flow slots 98 mounted over the ball guide 74 allow a balance of minimal backpressure at the right angle of the ball guide and sufficient air pressure exerted on the balls in the horizontal section of the ball guide. The air flow director 96 can comprise a shroud that is mounted over the upper periphery of the ball guide 74. The air director 96 includes slots 98, which are spaced from the inlet 78 and the outlet 84 of the ball guide 74, formed through the shroud along the length of the air director.

[0041] The air director 96 covers the entire length of the ball guide 74 between the inlet 78 and the outlet 84 so that any balls that accumulate in the ball guide are not readable to the players. A player's ability to read the ball numbers that have accumulated in the ball guide 74 is perceived as an unfair advantage to players sitting at a distance who cannot see the balls in the guide. Therefore, the design of the slots 98 in the air flow director 96 in this embodiment allow the players to see the balls in the ball guide 74 but not easily read the numbers on the balls. The only important ball is the first ball in the seat 86; once it has been displayed to the players, it has historical gaming significance and must be processed into the ball tray 26.

[0042] A camera 102 is positioned below the ball seat 86 to capture an image of the ball and deliver the image to the electronics portion 14. To alleviate the issues of camera theft, exposed and abused camera cable, and hot spots/glare on the bingo ball caused by overhead lighting, the camera 102 mounts inside the console housing 20 underneath the ball tray 26. In this location, the camera 102 is not casually accessible to theft since it is securely fastened to the inside of the console housing 20. Also, in this location, the camera cable is no longer exposed to operator abuse. A lens 104 of the camera 102 points upwards towards the bottom of the ball seat 86. The ball shades the lens 104 to greatly reduce or eliminate glare on the ball from ambient lighting conditions.

[0043] A light source 106 is provided adjacent the camera lens to light the ball in the seat 86. With reference to FIG. 5A, the light source 106, which in this embodiment is an LED circuit board, positions six LEDs 108 in a circular fashion evenly spaced by 60 angular degrees around the camera lens 104. The LEDs 108 emit a white light in the 500 nm wavelength range. For all practical purposes, each LED 108 generates a point of light. To avoid hot spots on the ball, the six point sources of LED light are diffused and the very bright light emitted on the center line axis of each LED 108 is not be pointed directly at the spherical ball surface. The wider the projecting angle, which in a preferred embodiment is greater than 90 degrees, of the LED source, the more uniform the light intensity becomes over wide viewing angles. Therefore, the combination of wide angle projecting LEDs spaced uniformly and optically overlapping around the camera and the use of a white diffuser 112 mounted above the LEDs 108 results in a uniform lighting source for the ball. The top surface of the LED circuit board has no or very limited solder mask such that the bright tin plating on the top surface of the LED circuit board copper becomes a flat reflector with no focal point to redirect any secondary reflections of LED 108 light back into the white diffuser 112. Since the diffused light source is a constant, the ambient lights can be bright, normal, dim, or even off and the camera ball image shows little effect. Without glare and with constant diffused lighting, the success of optically decoding the ball number is greatly enhanced.

[0044] In an alternative embodiment, a ball guide support bracket 132, as seen in FIG. 4, can support the ball and have the camera 102 (not shown in FIG. 4) mounted underneath an opening 134 in the support bracket. The support bracket 132 includes left, right and center notches 136 to receive the peg 94 (FIG. 3). Since the ball guide 74 can be rotated, the support bracket 132 can receive the ball guide in different locations. The ball guide support 132 can have a matted surface facing the camera lens 104 to minimize reflections.

[0045] The operator removes the ball from the ball seat 86 and places it in a corresponding opening 114 in the ball tray 26. Corresponding ball switches 116 are located under each opening 114 in the ball tray 26. Ball switches 116 are each made of rubber with conductive carbon buttons that come in contact with circuitry on a circuit board 118. The circuit board 118 in this particular embodiment is gold plated, however it could be made from another suitable material. In one embodiment having 75 ball switches, there are 15 ball switches 116 per circuit board and five circuit boards to complete the 75-ball switch matrix. An additional circuit board can be added for a 90-ball console. The rubber switches 116 provide a means of protecting the circuit board contacts if an operator's drink spills thereby increasing the performance of this device over the use of conventional, unsealed switch technology typically used in current products.

[0046] Balls that have been extracted from the ball-scrambling chamber 22 and placed through the openings 114 in the ball tray 26 fall into a ball holding chamber 122 having a sloped bottom wall 124 that is sloped toward the ball-scrambling chamber 22. The ball holding chamber 122 is separated from the ball-scrambling chamber 22 by the rear wall 32 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22. A door 126 that can be selectively opened by the operator is formed in the rear wall so that the balls stored in the ball holding chamber 122 can be quickly transferred back into the ball-scrambling chamber 22. Further static control measures, and also operator safety measures of this device, are the grounding of the metal ball tray 26, the metal ball holding chamber 122, and the metal back plate 32 of the ball-scrambling chamber 22. During the course of the bingo game, the operator is in continuous contact with the grounded metal surfaces of the ball tray 26 and ball guide 74 thereby reducing operator charge build up and neutralizing any charge on the bingo balls as they are handled.

[0047] The device has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the exemplary embodiment be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scrambling chamber accommodating at least one associated ball and including a ball outlet; a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber via the ball outlet; and an outer chamber receiving the ball-scrambling chamber, wherein the ball-scrambling chamber comprises an air impermeable wall separating the ball-scrambling chamber from the outer chamber.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the ball-scrambling chamber and the outer chamber share a wall comprising a reflective surface.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising an electrostatic discharge mat disposed on a wall of the ball-scrambling chamber

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the electrostatic discharge mat comprises a rubberized mat.

5. The device of claim 3, further comprising an air blower and an air inlet defined in the ball-scrambling chamber through which the air blower communicates with the ball-scrambling chamber.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the electrostatic discharge mat includes an opening aligned with the air inlet such that air passes through the opening in the electrostatic discharge mat en route to the ball-scrambling chamber.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising an antistatic strip disposed along an inner periphery of the ball-scrambling chamber.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the ball guide comprises a tube having an approximately circular cross section.

9. The device of claim 8, further comprising a ball extraction tube disposed in the ball-scrambling chamber and in communication with the ball guide.

10. The device of claim 8, further comprising a metal collar attaching the ball guide to the outer chamber lid with a pivotal means.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the ball guide comprises a metal material.

12. The device of claim 1, further comprising ball seat for supporting an associated ball that has exited the ball-scrambling chamber, and wherein the ball guide includes a ball outlet situated vertically to the seat of the ball support.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the ball seat includes an opening.

14. The device of claim 13, further comprising a camera positioned below and aligned with the ball seat.

15. A random gaming selection device console comprising: a housing; a ball-scrambling chamber attached to the housing; a ball support for supporting an associated ball that has been removed from the ball-scrambling chamber; and a camera disposed in the housing and positioned to picture the associated ball on the ball support.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the ball support includes an opening and the camera includes a lens aligned with and disposed underneath the opening.

17. The device of claim 15, further comprising a light source disposed adjacent the camera, wherein the light source directs light toward the ball support.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of LEDs.

19. The device of claim 17, further comprising a ball guide in communication with the ball-scrambling chamber and the ball support, wherein the ball guide comprises a circular cross-section and a plurality of openings.

20. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball support communicating with the ball-scrambling chamber for supporting associated balls removed from the ball scrambling chamber; and a light source positioned adjacent to and directing light towards the ball support to illuminate an associated ball held therein.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein ball support includes an opening where the associated ball rests and the light source is positioned below the opening.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the light source comprises a plurality of spaced lights positioned around a periphery of the opening.

23. The device of claim 22, further comprising a camera for picturing the associated ball supported on the ball support.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the camera includes a lens and the plurality of lights are positioned around the periphery of the lens.

25. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber; and a ball guide located outside the ball-scrambling chamber, the ball guide including a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support, wherein the ball guide includes at least one vent opening spaced from the ball inlet and the ball outlet.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the ball guide comprises a wire form defining a plurality of openings.

27. The device of claim 25, further comprising a shroud mounted to the wire form.

28. The device of claim 25, further comprising a ball extraction tube located in the ball-scrambling chamber, the ball extraction tube including an outlet communicating with the ball inlet of the ball guide.

29. The device of claim 28 further comprising a ball guide that pivots relative to the console and relative to a stationary ball extraction tube,

30. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball support including a ball seat for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber; and a ball guide communicating with the ball-scrambling chamber and including a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support, wherein the ball outlet is positioned vertically to the ball seat.

31. The device of claim 30, further comprising a stopper positioned adjacent the ball seat.

32. The device of claim 31, further comprising a downward deflector positioned adjacent the ball outlet.

33. The device of claim 30, further comprising an antistatic mat disposed on a lower wall of the ball-scrambling chamber.

34. A random gaming selection device comprising: a console including a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber; a ball guide pivotally mounted to the console and located outside the ball-scrambling chamber, the ball guide including a ball inlet for receiving balls from the ball-scrambling chamber and a ball outlet for delivering balls towards the ball support.

35. The device of claim 34, wherein the ball guide contacts the ball support.

36. The device of claim 35, further comprising a ball guide support, wherein the ball guide includes a peg and the ball guide support includes a notch dimensioned to receive the peg.

37. The device of claim 36, wherein the ball support includes an opening where the associated ball rests and the opening is aligned with the notch and a central axis of the ball guide support bracket.

38. A random gaming selection device comprising: a ball-scrambling chamber; a ball support for supporting associated balls that have exited the ball-scrambling chamber; an extraction tube disposed in the ball-scrambling chamber; and a ball guide disposed outside the ball-scrambling chamber, wherein the ball guide communicates with the extraction tube.