| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20090124316 | GAMING SYSTEM, GAMING DEVICE, AND METHOD PROVIDING A CARD GAME WITH PAYOUTS BASED ON ODDS OF ACHIEVING CERTAIN EVENTS - A gaming device includes a poker game where two cards are dealt face-up to at least one player and to a dealer. The gaming device enables the player to place an optional wager based on the initially dealt two card hand. A pay out for the optional wager is determined based on the probability that the final player hand will outrank the final dealer hand. The pay out is inversely proportional to the probability that the player will win. Therefore, if the player has a high probability of winning, the associated pay out will be relatively small. Also, if the player has a low probability of winning, the associated pay out will be relatively small. The gaming device enables the player to place multiple wager after each of a plurality of community cards are dealt, where the associated pay out changes according to a revised probability of winning. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090124320 | GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TEAM PLAY - A gaming system where in one embodiment, as players play the primary games of the gaming devices, players are enabled to join one of a plurality of teams associated with a secondary team game. Each of the teams includes a plurality of players. The gaming system periodically monitors at least one factor or parameter of each player's gaming activity to determine a score for that player. In one embodiment, the scores for each of the players on each team are accumulated to determine that team's cumulative score. If a team's cumulative score reaches a winning value, the gaming system provides a prize to one or more of the players on that team. The gaming system enables players to switch from one team to another in attempt to be on a particular team when that team's cumulative score reaches a winning value. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090124351 | GAMING SYSTEM, GAMING DEVICE, AND METHOD HAVING ANCILLARY PRIZES - A gaming system and method disclosed herein is operated by a casino or other gaming establishment. The gaming system and method disclosed herein enable players to earn entitlement offers for goods or services at gaming machines at a reduced cost to the players and the casino. The gaming system displays entitlement offers to one or more players after a designated threshold or criteria is met or exceeded. The entitlement offers give the players a right to purchase a good or service at a reduced or discount price. In one example, the gaming system generates or displays one or more entitlement offers to a player after a credit meter of one of the gaming machines changes by a designated amount. In another example, the gaming system generates or displays one or more entitlement offers to a player after an award threshold is met. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090124363 | GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TEAM PROGRESSIVE AWARDS - A gaming system and method which forms, tracks and maintains one or more groups or teams. The gaming system and method also maintains at least one team progressive award. At any designated point in time, each group or team includes one or more players, wherein as a player plays one or more games at one or more gaming devices, the player accumulates or builds up equity in their current team or group. Upon a determination to provide a team progressive award to a player of a designated team, each eligible player actively associated with the designated team (i.e., each player actively belonging to the team) is provided a portion of the team progressive award. Each player's provided portion of the team progressive award is based on that player's relative accumulated equity in the designated team compared to each other eligible player's accumulated equity in the designated team. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090124384 | GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD PROVIDING THIRD PARTY PROMOTIONS - A gaming system and method disclosed herein enable players to earn promotional awards at gaming machines without sacrificing or surrendering player tracking points. The gaming system and method also provide value to players without the casino absorbing the cost of such value. The gaming system and method disclosed herein creates a new type of currency redeemable for a good or service (or a discount on a good or service) associated with a point-of-sale independent of the casino. In one form, the player tracking currency does not cost the casino or the player anything. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20100041468 | GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD PROVIDING AN AWARD FOR DESIGNATED LOSING CONDITIONS - The gaming system and method disclosed herein provides an award to one or more players for a non-occurrence of a designated event. The gaming system monitors a plurality of games played at a plurality of gaming devices. If the designated event occurs, the gaming system resets an event counter associated with tracking the non-occurrence of the designated event. If the designated event does not occur, the gaming system: (i) increments the event counter to account for the non-occurrence of the designated event, and (ii) determines if the quantity of games played since the last event occurred at least equals a predetermined quantity of games played. If the quantity of games played since the last event occurred at least equals the predetermined quantity, the gaming system provides one or more of the players an award for the non-occurrence of the designated event. | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100113138 | PROVIDING ALTERNATIVE GAMING PAYOUTS - An apparatus is provided including a display unit configured to provide game images to a player, an input unit for receiving a wager from a player, a memory area for storing a threshold value and a processor coupled to the display, input unit and memory area. The processor is programmed to control a game for display to the player, determine the outcome of a game, determine the payout value based at least partially on a wager placed by the player, compare the determined payout value with the threshold value and determine a plurality of payout options where at least one of the options includes a cash payout less than the threshold value. Embodiments of the invention may reduce a player's tax liability, attract players to a particular machine, attract repeat players, and enable a gaming operator to offset a cash payout by offering non-cash prizes. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100117299 | GAMING SYSTEM, DEVICE AND METHOD INVOLVING A ROLE-BASED GAME AND SIDE GAME - The gaming system, table method and device includes a base game and a side game. The base game involves a gamer's selection of one role or another role. The gaming system includes a side game and a side game bet tracker which enables the gamer to bet on a predicted outcomes of the base game. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100120486 | GAMING SYSTEM, GAMING DEVICE AND METHOD PROVIDING SERVER BASED CONFIGURABLE GAME PRESENTATIONS - The gaming system and method disclosed herein provides a player with the opportunity to simultaneously make separate inputs for a plurality of different games. In one embodiment, the gaming system includes a first input device and a second input device which, at a first point in time, each enable a player to make separate inputs associated with a first game. At a second point in time, such as after a designated event, the first input device enables the player to make an input associated with the first game and the second input device enables the player to make an input associated with a second, different game. That is, after the designated event, the gaming system changes the functionality of the second input device to enable the player to simultaneously make separate inputs in association with the first and second games using the first and second input devices. | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100120494 | GAMING SYSTEM, GAMING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING GROUP EVENT WITH INDIVIDUAL GROUP EVENT ELIGIBILITY TIMERS - A gaming system and method which provides a community group event to a plurality of players at a plurality of the gaming devices in the gaming system. Each gaming device participating in the group event is associated with an individual group event eligibility timer. Such individual group event eligibility timers regularly decrement based on time and may increment based on one or more aspects of the player's gaming experience, such as wagers placed. If the individual group event eligibility timer associated with a gaming device participating in the group event lapses before the conclusion of a group event timer or mode, that gaming device is eliminated from the group event. Upon the conclusion of the group event, a group event award is shared amongst the players at the remaining or non-eliminated gaming devices (i.e., the gaming devices associated with individual group event eligibility timers with any amount of remaining time). | 05-13-2010 |
| 20100124971 | GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING THE AVERAGE EXPECTED PAYBACK ASSOCIATED WITH A PLAY OF A WAGERING GAME - A gaming system and method which provides a player with a higher average expected payback for making a gaming system wager on a gaming system wagering event in addition to making a primary game wager on a primary game. If the player places the gaming system wager on the gaming system wagering event, the player obtains the chance to win a gaming system award in addition to the player's chance of winning an award based on the outcome of the primary game, wherein the gaming system award is based, at least in part, on the primary game outcome. By placing a gaming system wager on the gaming system wagering event, the overall average expected payback associated with the play of the game increases, without changing the average expected payback of the primary game. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100124973 | GAMING SYSTEM, GAMING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR ENABLING A CURRENT BET TO BE PLACED ON A FUTURE PLAY OF A WAGERING GAME - The gaming system, gaming device, and gaming method disclosed herein provide an opportunity for a player to place a replay wager for a group or set of a plurality of plays of a wagering game. In one embodiment, the replay wager activates a replay feature which the player can use a designated number of times (such as one time) over the plurality of plays of the wagering game. The player's use of the replay feature causes the gaming system to redisplay the previous play of the wagering game, and provide any awards associated with the previous play of the wagering game. After the player uses the replay feature over each of the designated number (such as one) of the plurality of plays of the wagering game, the player cannot use the replay feature for any of the remaining plays of the plurality of plays of the wagering game. | 05-20-2010 |
| 20100222140 | GAME VALIDATION USING GAME PLAY EVENTS AND VIDEO - Validation of gaming operations is described. One method includes receiving a video signal depicting a game from at least one video device, receiving game play events from a gaming apparatus, combining a graphical representation of the game play events with the video signal into a combined video signal, and storing the combined video signal such that one may search for game play events and receive, with each search result, a corresponding portion of the combined video signal. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20110039610 | GAMING APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING ONE OR MORE GAMING SESSIONS - A gaming system tracks the outcomes of a plurality of plays of a primary game. For example, for each of a plurality of blackjack hands, the gaming system tracks the sum of the cards of that hand. The plurality of tracked primary game outcomes form a gaming session. During the gaming session, the gaming system aggregates (such as by adding) the outcomes of the plurality of plays of the primary game, and determines a corresponding gaming session outcome. The gaming system provides a primary award is provided for any winning primary game outcomes, and a secondary award based on the gaming session outcome. In one embodiment, the gaming system tracks the outcomes of a plurality of simultaneous gaming sessions. In one embodiment, the gaming system enables a plurality of players to participate in at least one of the gaming sessions. | 02-17-2011 |
| 20110111826 | GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SYMBOL COMBINATIONS WITH DYNAMIC AWARDS - The gaming system and method disclosed herein provides a plurality of symbol combinations that are each associated with a dynamic award. Such dynamic awards increase based, at least in part, on one or more random events which occur in association with one or more plays of a game. In one embodiment, the gaming system increases the dynamic award of a designated symbol combination based on the random generation of another, different symbol combination. In this embodiment, if the gaming system randomly generates the other symbol combination, the gaming system: (i) provides any award associated with this other symbol combination, and (ii) increases the dynamic award of the designated symbol combination. Additionally, if the gaming system randomly generates the designated symbol combination, the gaming system provides to a player the dynamic award of the designated symbol combination. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110117990 | RAPID BONUS FEATURES USING OVERLAID SYMBOLS - A gaming machine includes an electronic display device and a controller coupled to the display device. The controller is configured to present a base game via the display device, wherein the base game includes a plurality of base game symbols, and to transmit display coordinates of at least a portion of the plurality of base game symbols to a bonus controller via a network. The display device is configured to display, under control of the bonus controller, an overlay image including at least one bonus symbol having substantially similar display coordinates as at least one of the at least a portion of the plurality of base game symbols. | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110117991 | TIME-BASED AWARD SYSTEM WITH DYNAMIC VALUE ASSIGNMENT - A coupled to at least one server via a network includes a display device configured to display a base game to a player playing at the gaming machine, and a controller coupled to the display device. The controller is configured to determine an outcome during play of the base game, and award at least one token based on the outcome of the base game, wherein a value of the token based on as additional play of the base game by the player. | 05-19-2011 |
