| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20090221363 | Regulated Gaming Trusted Energy Saving - Trusted Energy Saving (TES) methods applied to server based distributed downloadable gaming for allowing casino operators to significantly reduce their energy bills by placing the main controller of selected unused gaining machines into low-power mode while retaining total control and trust. Trusted Energy Saving is accomplished by: (1) establishing a secure “out-of-band” communication (or equivalent) between gaming machines and the casino's management system such that full network security is maintained while the main controller is in low power standby mode, (2) employing intelligent strategies to wake-up and turn-off the main controller of selected gaming machines by anticipating player use, (3) waiving the lengthy security verification required by regulation upon every gaming machine start-up and optionally (4) by displaying video promotional content on each turned-off gaming machine to continue to attract prospective players and to use the timing of each player approach to intelligently structure game menus based on the promotional content that has successfully attracted the player. The mapping of the TES gaming machines that are turned-on and in low-power mode may be periodically forwarded to the air-conditioning management system and/or to the lighting management system for energy optimization. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20100004060 | Methods and Systems for Intelligent Dispute Resolution Within Next Generation Casino Games - A dispute resolution model for next generation action/skill casino games comprising a variety of friendly onscreen methods to demonstrate the fairness of a disputed game or simply to allow the player to eliminate confusion created by fast action wagering. Such methods may include running on-demand instant replays of segments of wagered games to allow both players and operators to verify those games' fairness and providing the player with historical information regarding the operation of the casino game and/or the gaming machine. The historical information includes historical win information to demonstrate the distribution of previous wins; Skill vs. luck historical information to demonstrate the exact role both luck and skill played in a player's game outcome; and peer comparison historical information to enable the player to compare the recent payback history of a given game to identical games on the casino floor, and to show the player which machines have been the luckiest over a given period of time. | 01-07-2010 |
| 20100009742 | Time Based Casino Wagering With Optional Reinvestment - Time Based Wagering with Optional Reinvestment allows casino players to play their favorite casino games in a mixed time-based and credit-based fashion. The player purchases a contract for a window of time on the gaming machine at a set price that guarantees him or her the ability to play at a pace of his choosing over the entire duration of his contract. As the player accumulates winnings dining the execution of the time contract, the player may elect to protect his or her accrued winnings by cashing them out at the end of his contract or may elect to re-invest pall or all of his accrued winnings for the opportunity to achieve even larger wins as the time contract progresses. The player may activate this optional feature by placing additional wagers via a dynamic wager selection menu. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20110053676 | Gaming System, Gaming Device and Method for Providing a Player an Opportunity to Win a Designated Award Based on One or More Aspects of the Player's Skill - In various embodiments, the gaming system, gaming device, and method disclosed herein maintains a designated award which is associated with a variable score for a skill-based game. In one such embodiment, the gaming system enables a player to play a game, wherein the gaming system forms a score for the player. The player's formed score is based on zero, one or more inputs made by the player during the play of the skill-based game (i.e., which tends to measure one or more aspects of that player's skills). If the player's score does not reach the variable score associated with the designated award, the gaming system modifies the variable score associated with the designated award of that skill-based game. If the player's score reaches or exceeds the variable score associated with the designated award, the gaming system provides the player a designated quantity of opportunities to win the maintained designated award. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110111820 | GAMING SYSTEMS, GAMING DEVICES AND METHODS HAVING TIME BASED GAMES AND MAGNITUDES ASSOCIATED WITH WAGERING EVENTS IN THE TIME BASED GAMES - A gaming system receives a total wager for a game session which occurs over a designated period of time. The game session includes a plurality of different wagering events. Each of the wagering events is associated with one of a plurality of different magnitudes. For each of the plurality of different wagering events, the gaming system determines: a portion of the total wager amount, and a wager by modifying the determined portion by the magnitude associated with that wagering event. The gaming system causes the wagering event to occur, determines at least one outcome for the wagering event, determines any awards based on the determined wager and the at least one determined outcome, and provides any of the determined awards to the player. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110118011 | GAMING SYSTEMS, GAMING DEVICES AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING PROGRESSIVE AWARDS - The gaming system, gaming device and method disclosed herein determines whether to provide at least one of the plurality of progressive awards to the player based on that player's measured level of skill in: (i) a plurality of plays of a partial skill-based game, (ii) a skill-based progressive award sequence, or (iii) a plurality of plays of a partial skill-based game and a skill-based progressive award sequence. The determination is based on zero, one or more inputs made by the player which tend to measure that player's level of skill in at least one of a partial skill-based game and a skill-based progressive award sequence. | 05-19-2011 |