Patent Grant
8292732
Gaming machines, such as slot machines placed in wagering/betting environments are often characterized as being “hot” or “cold.” U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2008/0026822 (Walker et al.) describes various metrics that may be used for determining whether a gaming machine is hot or cold, such as coins paid per unit time, the number of winning outcomes per unit time, the number of consecutive outcomes of a particular type (wins, losses), and the percentage of all wagers paid out as winnings (e.g., per unit time).
Standard slot machines do not technically get hot or cold because the odds of hitting a winning combination are determined by a random number generator (RNG) contained in the machine's software and is exactly the same with every spin. Stated another way, a standard slot machine is not more likely to hit a winning combination if it hasn't paid out a jackpot in a long time, nor is it less likely to hit a winning combination shortly after hitting one.
In one preferred embodiment, a gaming machine provides for random winning payouts for game plays. The gaming machine includes a game score module and a visual indicator. The game score module tracks previous game play results including all winning and losing game play results, and determines from the previous game play results the degree in which the gaming machine is currently playing hot. The visual indicator is on the gaming machine or physically mounted to the gaming machine and indicates the degree in which the gaming machine is currently playing hot. The visual indicator may be a thermometer-type gauge.
Each game play has a payout value, such as the value of game credits won divided by game credits wagered. The payout value may range from zero to a predetermined maximum value. The game score module determines the degree in which the gaming machine is currently playing hot by comparing an average of the payout value of a predetermined number of previous game plays (e.g., 100 game plays) to a plurality of ranges of benchmark values. The highest range of benchmark values indicates a hot gaming machine. If the visual indicator is a thermometer-type gauge, a hot gaming machine shows a full thermometer.
In one preferred embodiment, the predetermined previous game plays are consecutive game plays immediately preceding the current game play, and the game score module further comprising a circular buffer for storing the predetermined number of previous game plays.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. However, the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
In the drawings:
Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention.
The present invention describes gaming machine devices that instantly communicate to the player whether the gaming machine devices are hot or cold, even though such a gauge may have no statistically significant relevance to the likelihood of the next play being a winner. Providing such a gauge directly on a gaming machine or proximate to a bank of gaming machines may entice additional game play compared to having no gauge at all on the gaming machine.
By providing a degree of hotness directly on a gaming machine, some players may be enticed to play a hot gaming machine believing that it will continue to be hot, other players may be enticed to play a cold gaming machine believing that it is overdue for a win, while still other players may be enticed to play a gaming machine that is neither hot nor cold, believing that a hot machine will not continue to be hot and a cold machine will continue to be cold. Such a gauge thus appeals to a wide variety of players for different psychological reasons.
In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gaming machine is a pull-tab machine, such as a machine commercially available from Diamond Game Enterprises, Inc., Chatsworth, Calif., and more specifically, a Lucky Tab II pull-tab dispenser. Such a dispenser releases one pull-tab ticket at a time off a roll contained inside the cabinet. A barcode scanner reads the back of the ticket as it is dispensed and displays the contents of the ticket on a video monitor. Examples of pull tab machines are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,771 (Haste, III) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,299 (Clapper, Jr.).
In one preferred implementation, each game is scored as the value of “credits out divided by credits wagered.” This process helps to normalize play at different lines/bets. Also, in one preferred implementation, the thermometer score is the average value of the last 100 games and the thermometer displays the current score value. (The “score” refers to the “score” shown in
The scope of the invention includes other algorithms for determining the degree of hotness of game play such as those discussed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2008/0026822.
The visual indicator may be a visual display on the gaming machine such as shown in
The gaming machine is described herein as a pull tab machine, but the scope of the present invention includes other types of gaming machines, such as slot machines.
As discussed above, the visual indicator may display the degree of hotness of the current gaming machine or a bank of predefined gaming machines. Preferably, the bank of machines is identified to the game players so that they can decide which bank of machines they wish to display. The visual indicator may be proximate to the bank of gaming machines, such as in an overhead display that is associated with the bank of machines, or the visual indicator may be physically mounted to each of the gaming machines in the bank. In the latter embodiment, the visual indicator in each gaming machine in the bank would have an identical value.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/098,520 filed Sep. 19, 2008.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5348299 | Clapper, Jr. | Sep 1994 | A |
| 5941771 | Haste, III | Aug 1999 | A |
| 7824259 | Walker et al. | Nov 2010 | B2 |
| 20060211471 | Walker et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
| 20080045288 | Moshal et al. | Feb 2008 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100075733 A1 | Mar 2010 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61098520 | Sep 2008 | US |
