Patent Grant
7824264
This invention pertains to bonus prizes, and more particularly to bonus prizes awarded randomly during a bonus session.
When gambling as an industry was in its infancy, the lure of the possibility of winning big money was enough to attract players. Casinos as envisioned today were a concept yet to be considered, gaming machines were relatively sparse, and the expense of travel (both financially and temporally) limited players' options.
The growth shown by Las Vegas, Nev., Atlantic City, N.J., and other gambling hot spots, the variety of different gaming devices, and the ability to travel long distances quickly and cheaply have conspired to change the player's perception of the industry. There are near infinite variations of gaming devices, and the increasing number of casinos provides players with many choices as to where to spend their time (and money).
In an effort to distinguish themselves from each other, casinos have started to offer players advantages for being loyal. Player tracking databases, which store information about players and track their activity levels over time, can be used to reward loyal patrons. After a player has played enough (measured either in time or money), the casino can reward the player for his loyalty: for example, a complimentary meal, show, or room. In return, the casino has a player that is more likely to play the casino's machines than elsewhere.
Other ways to encourage customer loyalty lie in giving players bonuses. For example, if a player hits a particular combination of symbols at a particular time, the player can receive a bonus on top of the ordinary jackpot associated with the symbol combination. The chance to win even more than the typical jackpot can attract players to a casino.
A problem is that they often provide only a short-term increase, which can even be temporary. Other casinos follow suit with promotions of their own, again leveling the playing field and giving each casino little to distinguish themselves. Therefore, casinos are always looking for new ways to attract patrons.
The invention is an apparatus, system, and method for giving players a bonus award. A set of bonus awards includes at least two awards. A criterion defines the condition(s) under which a player can receive a bonus award. If a player meets the criterion, then a selector selects one of the bonus awards, and an awarder delivers the selected bonus award to the player.
The foregoing and other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Gaming machines 105, 110, and 115 are connected to network 120. Network 120 acts to allow the gaming machines to communicate, typically with servers that monitor the operations of the gaming machines.
Gaming machine 105 is also capable of identifying a player (although typically gaming machine is only involved in the process and does not completely identify the player by itself). In
Although
Although
Finally, gaming machine 105 includes awarder 130. Awarder 130 is responsible for awarding the player any bonuses to which the player is entitled. The operation of awarder 125 is described further below with reference to
In contrast, bonus server 210 is responsible for managing information about bonuses to be awarded. Bonus server 210 includes criterion 220 and selector 225. Criterion 220 adds a criterion to be used in determining whether a player is to receive a bonus award. If the player meets the criterion at the time the bonus is awarded, the player receives the bonus; otherwise, the player does not receive the award. Criterion 220 can be any of a variety of different criteria. One type of criterion that can be used is one that relates to a player's status. For example, criterion 220 can be simply that the player has an account in player tracking database 215. Or, criterion 220 can be that the player has just been identified by the gaming machine. Or, criterion 220 can be that the player has wagered at least $100 in the past three months. Or, criterion 220 can be that the player's account in player tracking database 215 indicates that the player is a VIP player. A person skilled in the art will recognize other types of criteria that relate to a player's status.
Another type of criteria that can be used is one that depends on the player's actions at the gaming machine. For example, criterion 220 can be that the player has a current coin-in of $200. Or, criterion 220 can be that the player has lost $100 in the current session. Or, criterion 220 can be that the player has just hit a particular winning combination on the gaming machine. A person skilled in the art will recognize other types of criteria that relate to a player's actions.
In addition to criteria that depend on a player's status or actions, other types of criteria can be used. An example of a criterion that is external to a player's status or actions is the player being identified by the gaming machine. For example, after the player sits down at the gaming machine, but before the player has begun to play the gaming machine, the player identifies himself to the gaming machine. As discussed above with reference to
Other example criteria that can be used include:
A person skilled in the art will also recognize that criterion 220 can be a compound criteria (that is, that two or more criteria be used in some combination, conjunctively and/or disjunctively), and that the compound criteria can combine criteria relating to both a player's status and a player's actions.
Selector 225 selects a random bonus award for players. The operation of selector 225 is discussed further below with reference to
Although
Bonus server 210 also includes default awards and non-default awards. The default award, as shown by box 310, is set at $1.00. As indicated in box 315, there are 90 default awards. Although
Table 320 shows the non-default awards. Using entry 325 as an example, the entry is in the first position in table 320. Entry 325 stores a $25 award, which is considered a level 1 award. As there is no checkmark in the used column, this award is still available for use. In contrast, entries 330, 335, and 340 are indicated as used.
As shown, there are two $25 awards, three $10 awards, and five $5 awards, for a total of ten non-default awards. But a person skilled in the art will recognize that there can be any number of non-default awards, and each award can have any desired value.
Although storing the non-default awards in a table is one possible representation, a person skilled in the art will recognize other ways in which the non-default awards can be stored.
Typically, the number of default and non-default awards are determined by having the casino select the desired values for the default and non-default awards. Then, initial probabilities for the awards are determined by the casino. The appropriate number of non-default awards (at each level) necessary to establish the desired odds are defined in bonus server 210, using whatever data structure is desired. Then, the appropriate number of non-default awards are defined in box 315. For example, if the initial odds on winning one of the $25 non-default awards are to be 2%, then (given that there are a total of ten non-default awards) 90 default awards are needed. On the other hand, if the odds of winning one of the $25 non-default awards are to be 1%, then 190 default awards are needed.
The reader may have noticed that the non-default awards are managed individually, whereas the default awards managed communally. The reason for this distinction is that in one embodiment, default awards, even if selected, remain available for future use. That is, if a non-default award is selected, it is removed from the list of available awards, but if a default award is selected and awarded to a player, the number of default awards remains unchanged. This means that, using the non-default awards of
Selector 225, discussed above with reference to
A real-world analog that may be useful to consider is that of a jar filled with colored marbles representing the different award levels. When an award is to be made, a marble is pulled from the jar. If the marble color indicates a non-default award, the award is made and the marble set aside (that is, not returned to the jar). But when the marble color indicates a default award, after the award is made the marble is returned to the jar. This means that the odds of receiving one of the higher level awards decreases as time passes, since only the marbles representing the higher level awards are set aside after they are drawn from the jar.
A person skilled in the art will recognize that other methods can be implemented to eliminate “used” awards. For example, instead of marking an entry in non-default awards table 320 as used, the entry can be deleted and the random number generator set to draw from a pool size reduced by 1. Or, if linked list 405 is used instead of non-default awards table 320, when a non-default entry is selected, it can be removed from the linked list. A third possibility is to use linked list 405, but randomly populate the list with the available non-default awards. Then, when the random number generator selects a number representing a higher level award, the award at the head of the list is awarded, and that award removed from the list. Eventually the list will be empty: at that point, the random number generator is no longer needed.
As discussed above with reference to
Although
If credits are awarded instead of cash or non-monetary awards, the credits are available to the player for use, but do not have to be used while playing the game in which the credits were awarded. In one embodiment, the credits do not expire: the player can use them at any time (although he cannot cash them out). In another embodiment, the credits can be made to expire. That is, at some point (for example, when the session ends), any credits awarded to the player that he has not used are lost.
Not shown in
Now that the components of embodiments of the invention have been explained, the operation of embodiments of the invention can be explained. In one embodiment, the system checks to see if a bonus session is active for the gaming machine used by the player. If no bonus session is currently active, then no award is determined according to the description contained herein.
The bonus can be awarded at varying times. In one embodiment, the bonus award is determined at the time the player is identified by the gaming machine. In another embodiment, the award is determined only after the player has played a required number of credits. In a third embodiment, the award is determined only after the player has played for a predetermined amount of time. A person skilled in the art will recognize other triggers that can be used to set off the bonus award.
In one embodiment, the player can receive only one bonus during a bonus session. This is typically accomplished by storing in the player tracking database identifiers of bonus sessions in which the player has received a bonus. In another embodiment, the player can receive multiple awards. For example, the bonus award can be given every time the player is identified during the session. (The system would also watch to make sure that the player does not take advantage by repeatedly stopping and re-starting play, to receive a new bonus.) Or, the player can receive an additional award after playing a required number of credits or for a predetermined amount of time. A person skilled in the art will recognize other variations that can be implemented.
Once an award has been selected for the player, information about the award is sent to the player's gaming machine in a message. The message can include a text field that can be displayed to the user. The message can also include the value of the award.
Although
In one embodiment, the machine simply notifies to the player that he has won an award. In another embodiment, the machine presents the user with the illusion that the award is being determined at the machine (as opposed to having been determined by a random number generator at the bonus server). The machine can display a varying list of awards, for example on a spinning wheel. The machine makes the display stop on the selected award. So, if the user is awarded a default award of a $1 credit, the display stops on a symbol representing a $1 credit. This gives the player the illusion that the outcome is not determined in advance of the message announcing the award. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/104,145, filed Jun. 23, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,567, issued Apr. 23, 2002, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/411,273, filed Sep. 16, 2002, incorporated herein by reference, describe other ways in which the award can be presented to the user.
In an ideal world, the player information can be retrieved from the player tracking database and the award determined instantaneously. The real world, however, is not so idyllic. It takes some (small) amount of time to locate the player information in the player tracking database, and it takes some (small) amount of time to determine the player's award, if he is entitled to one. It is possible that, during the time needed to identify the player from the player tracking database, determine an award, and send the results back to the machine, the player has stopped playing. In that case, the award should be discarded. Especially where it is possible that a second player can be identified before the award is made, the award generated for the first player should be dropped. In that case, the award can be returned to the pool of available bonuses. Thus, if the award is a non-default award, it can be made available to another player at a later time.
At step 706, at least one non-default bonus award is defined for the types of gaming machines. At step 709, the desired proportions (that is, initial probabilities) for the non-default bonus awards are identified, and at step 712, enough bonus awards (both default and non-default are created to establish the initial proportions. At step 715, a consolation award is defined for the types of gaming machines. As shown by arrow 718, step 715 can be omitted.
At step 721, a criterion is identified for each type of gaming machine. At step 724, a player of a gaming machine is identified. At shown by arrow 727, step 724 can be omitted. If step 724 is omitted, then the criterion identified in step 721 is based on the player's actions and not his status (since the player's status cannot be determined without identifying the player). Thus, for example, the criterion could be that the player have a total coin-in of $100, but not that the player have an account in the player tracking database. (Where the player is not identified, the criterion is usually based on a session determined by the player's actions: that is, a sequence of plays sufficiently close together to make it likely that all plays were made by the same player.) At step 730, the type of the gaming machine being used by the player is determined. As shown by arrow 727, step 730 can be omitted. For example, if the random bonus award does not depend on the type of gaming machine being used, step 730 can be omitted.
At step 733 (
At step 742 (
At step 754, the gaming machine verifies that the player still meets the criterion. As discussed above, it can happen that between when the system selects the award for the player and when the gaming machine tries to give the player the award that the player no longer qualifies for the award. Having the gaming machine double-check the player's eligibility at step 754 protects against the problem. If the player still meets the criterion to receive the award, then at step 757 (
At step 772, the system checks whether the selected bonus award should be returned to the system as if it had not been given to the player. Aside from the situation where the player is no longer eligible for the bonus award (as checked at step 754), the award can be expired for other reasons. For example, if the player does not accept the bonus award within a certain amount of time, the award can be withdrawn from the player and returned to the available awards. If the award is to be expired, then at step 775 the award is withdrawn from the player (if the player received the award), and at step 778 the selected bonus award is returned to the set of available bonus awards. As shown by arrow 781, step 778 can be omitted, in which case the selected award is not given to anyone (it is withdrawn from the player to which is was initially delivered, but not available for anyone else to win).
At step 820, the system determines whether it is using video to notify the player. If so, then at step 825, a display associated with the gaming machine is selected, and at step 830 the video is displayed on the selected display. At step 835 (
At step 845, the system determines whether it is using audio to notify the player. If so, then at step 850, the system generates an audio message, and at step 855 the audio message is played.
A person skilled in the art will recognize that an embodiment of the invention described above can be implemented using a computer. In that case, the method is embodied as instructions that make up a program. The program may be stored on computer-readable media, such as floppy disks, optical discs (such as compact discs), or fixed disks (such as hard drives), and can be resident in memory, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), firmware, or flash RAM memory. The program as software can then be executed on a computer to implement the method. The program, or portions of its execution, can be distributed over multiple computers in a network.
Having illustrated and described the principles of the invention in a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. All modifications coming within the spirit and scope of the accompanying claims are claimed.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/415,207, filed Sep. 30, 2002, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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