Methods and systems for documenting a player's experience in a casino environment

• US 20020196342A1
• Filed: 06/20/2002
• Published: 12/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Jorasch, James A., Fincham, Magdalena M., Gelman, Geoffrey M., Walker, Jay S.
• Application Number:
  US10/176,765
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196342A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/157
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3253 involving articles, e.g. paying in bottles, paying out toys
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A method and system is provided wherein events experienced by a player is documented and the documentation of an event is stored in association with an indication of the event. One example of an event experienced by a player is an outcome obtained by a player on a gaming device. In such an embodiment the documentation of the event may comprise an image of the player'"'"'s reaction to the outcome and the indication of the outcome may be a representation of the symbols comprising the outcome. In accordance with some embodiments of the present invention a player may purchase an output of the documentation and corresponding indication of one or more events experienced by the player (e.g., in the form of a digital or tangible scrapbook).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a player playing a slot machine;

identifying a plurality of outcomes obtained by the player during play of the slot machine;

capturing a plurality of images, each image representing the player upon the occurrence of an outcome of the plurality of outcomes;

determining that one of the plurality of outcomes satisfies a predetermined condition;

selecting a set of the plurality of outcomes and corresponding images,

wherein the set is selected based on the one of the plurality of outcomes that satisfies the predetermined condition, and

wherein the set includes the one of the plurality of outcomes that satisfies the predetermined condition and the corresponding image; and

outputting a representation of the set of the plurality of outcomes and the corresponding images to the player.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ordering the set of the plurality of outcomes and corresponding images based on the one of the plurality of outcomes that satisfies the predetermined condition.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of capturing comprises:

capturing a plurality of images, each image representing a reaction of the player upon the occurrence of an outcome of the plurality of outcomes.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of capturing comprises:

capturing a plurality of images, each image representing a facial expression of the player upon the occurrence of an outcome of the plurality of outcomes.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of capturing comprises:

capturing a plurality of images, each image representing a position of the player'"'"'s body upon the occurrence of an outcome of the plurality of outcomes.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of capturing comprises:

capturing a plurality of images, each image representing a change in at least one of a facial expression and a body position of the player upon the occurrence of an outcome of the plurality of outcomes.

7. A system comprising:

means for identifying an occurrence of an outcome on a slot machine;

means for capturing a reaction of a person to the occurrence of the outcome at a time that is substantially simultaneous to a time the outcome is displayed to a player who is playing the slot machine;

means for storing an indication of the outcome in association with an indication of the reaction of the person and in association with a player identifier.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for capturing a reaction of a person comprises a microphone that captures an audible reaction of a person to the occurrence of the outcome.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for capturing a reaction of a person comprises an image capturing device that captures an image of a person reacting to the occurrence of the outcome.

10. The system of claim 7, where the means for capturing a reaction of a person comprises:

means for capturing a reaction of a player who is playing the slot machine at the time the outcome is displayed,

wherein the reaction is the reaction to the occurrence of the outcome at a time that is substantially simultaneous to a time the outcome is displayed to a player who is playing the slot machine.

11. The system of claim 7, where the means for capturing a reaction of a person comprises:

means for capturing a reaction of a person that is located near the slot machine and is looking in the direction of the slot machine at a time of the occurrence of the outcome,

wherein the reaction is the reaction to the occurrence of the outcome at a time that is substantially simultaneous to a time the outcome is displayed to a player who is playing the slot machine.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for capturing comprises:

means for capturing a reaction of a person to the occurrence of the outcome,

wherein the capturing of the reaction begins at a predetermined time before the outcome is displayed to the player who is playing the slot machine, and

wherein the capturing of the reaction ends at a predetermined time after the outcome is displayed to the player who is playing the slot machine.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a command from an operator, wherein the command indicates that the image capturing device is not to be focused on the area in which the slot machine is located; and

wherein the step of causing is only performed if the command is not received.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

outputting to an operator, before the step of causing, an indication that the image capturing device will be focused on the area in which the slot machine is located.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying the occurrence of a predetermined outcome on the slot machine.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of identifying the occurrence comprises:

identifying that the predetermined outcome is about to be displayed to the player;

wherein the step of causing comprises;

causing, in response to the identification that the predetermined outcome is about to be displayed to the player, an image capturing device to be focus on an area in which the slot machine is located; and

wherein the step of capturing comprises;

capturing an image of a person'"'"'s reaction to the outcome as the outcome is displayed to the player.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of capturing an image comprises:

capturing an image of a person'"'"'s reaction to the outcome,

wherein the capturing begins at a predetermined time before the outcome is to be displayed to the player and

wherein the capturing ends at a predetermined time after the outcome is displayed to the player.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of capturing an image comprises:

capturing an image of the player'"'"'s reaction to the outcome as the outcome is displayed to the player.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying a win of a payout amount that is greater than a predetermined amount on the slot machine.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying a change in a balance of the slot machine that is of a predetermined magnitude.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying the occurrence of a predetermined condition of game play at a first slot machine, and

wherein the step of causing comprises;

causing, in response to the occurrence of the predetermined condition, an image capturing device to focus on a second slot machine that is associated with the first slot machine.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the second slot machine is associated with the first slot machine based on a location of the second slot machine relative to a location of the first slot machine.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying a request from a player to focus an image capturing device on the area of the slot machine.

25. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying an outcome that was nearly achieved.

26. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying a second occurrence of an outcome that has been obtained within a predetermined amount of time from a first occurrence of the outcome.

27. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of identifying an occurrence of a predetermined condition comprises:

identifying an initial hand that is associated with a potential payout of a predetermined magnitude.

28. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving payment from a player in exchange for capturing the image,

wherein the image is captured in response to the occurrence of the predetermined condition of game play at the slot machine.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

providing the selected image to the player in exchange for a payment from the player.

13. A method comprising:

determining an occurrence of a predetermined condition of game play at a slot machine;

causing, in response to the occurrence of the predetermined condition, an image capturing device to focus on an area in which the slot machine is located;

capturing an image of a person associated with the game play of the slot machine; and

storing the captured image in association with

a player identifier of a player playing the slot machine at a time of occurrence of the predetermined condition and

an indication of the occurrence of the predetermined condition.

29. A method comprising:

determining an occurrence of a predetermined condition of game play at a slot machine;

selecting, in response to the occurrence of the predetermined condition, an image from a plurality of images each corresponding to a respective image-capturing device;

storing the selected image in association with a player identifier of a player playing the slot machine at a time of occurrence of the predetermined condition and in association with an indication of the occurrence of the predetermined condition.

31. A method comprising:

determining an occurrence of a predetermined condition of game play at a slot machine;

selecting, in response to the identification of the occurrence of the predetermined condition, a portion of an image captured by an image capturing device,

wherein the image was captured at a time that is substantially the same as a time at which the predetermined condition of game play occurred;

storing an indication of the portion of the captured image in association with a player identifier of a player playing the slot machine at a time of occurrence of the predetermined condition and in association with an indication of the occurrence of the predetermined condition.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

providing the portion of the captured image to the player in exchange for a payment from the player.

33. A method comprising:

determining an indication of an event that occurred in a casino and a corresponding image of a person'"'"'s reaction to the occurrence of the event; and

providing the indication of the event and the corresponding image to a player who experienced the event,

wherein the step of providing is performed in exchange for a payment from the player.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

accessing data comprising a set of indications of events that occurred in a casino; and

accessing data comprising a set of images.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the set of images comprises a video.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein the set of images comprises a set of still photographs.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of determining comprises:

determining an indication of an event that occurred in a casino; and

determining an image of a set of images that corresponds to the occurrence of the event.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of determining an image comprises:

determining an image of a set of images based on a time at which the image was captured.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

determining a time at which an event in a casino occurred; and

determining a corresponding image by determining an image that was captured at a time that is substantially the same as the time at which the event occurred.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the step of determining a corresponding image comprises:

determining a corresponding image by determining an image that was captured within a predetermined period of time from the time at which the event occurred.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of determining an image further comprises:

determining the image based on an association of the image with a documenting device.

42. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of identifying an image of the set of images that corresponds to the occurrence of the event comprises:

determining a first identifier that is associated with the determined indication of the event; and

selecting an image that is associated with a second identifier, wherein the first identifier corresponds to the second identifier.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the second identifier is the first identifier.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein at least one of the first identifier and the second identifier comprises an identifier that identifies a player who experienced the event.

45. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of identifying an image of the set of images that corresponds to the occurrence of the event further comprises:

receiving an input from an operator, wherein the input indicates an association between the occurrence of the event and the image.

46. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of identifying an image of the set of images that corresponds to the occurrence of the event comprises:

determining a location of a documenting device that captured a set of images;

analyzing each image of the set of images to determine which image of the set of images is an image of an area associated with the occurrence of the event.

47. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of determining an indication of an event comprises:

determining an indication of an outcome that occurred on a gaming device and a corresponding image of a person'"'"'s reaction to the occurrence of the outcome.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of determining an indication of an outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of a set of outcomes based on predetermined criteria.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of the set of outcomes based on whether the particular outcome corresponds to a predetermined outcome.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of the set of outcomes based on whether the particular outcome matches a predetermined outcome stored in a database.

51. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of the set of outcomes based on a request from a player.

52. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of the set of outcomes based on a player identifier associated with the outcome.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of the set of outcomes further based on a rule associated with the player identifier.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome of the set of outcomes based on at least one outcome that was obtained by a player before the particular outcome was obtained.

55. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome based on a payout amount associated with the outcome.

56. The method of claim 48, wherein the step of selecting a particular outcome comprises:

selecting a particular outcome based on a balance of the slot machine at a time associated with the particular outcome.

57. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of determining comprises:

determining an indication of an occurrence of an event in a casino and a corresponding image of a player'"'"'s reaction to the occurrence of the event, wherein the player is a person experiencing the event.

58. The method of claim 57, further comprising:

determining an identity of the player; and

verifying that the determined image is an image of the player.

59. The method of claim 58, wherein the step of verifying comprises:

contacting the player; and

receiving a confirmation from the player that the determined image is an image of the player.

60. The method of claim 58, wherein the step of verifying comprises:

retrieving a stored image of the player; and

comparing the identified image with the stored image.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the step of comparing is performed by means of face recognition technology.

62. The method of claim 33, wherein the step of determining comprises:

determining an indication of an event that occurred in a casino and a corresponding image of a person'"'"'s reaction to the occurrence of the event,

wherein the person is a person other than a player that is experiencing the event.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the person is a person associated with the player that is experiencing the event.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the person is associated with the player that is experiencing the event based on a location of the person relative to the player.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the person is associated with the player that is experiencing the event if the person is looking in the direction of the player at a time the player is experiencing the event.

66. The method of claim 62, further comprising:

obtaining permission from the person to output the image in association with the indication of the occurrence of the event.

67. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

outputting an offer to sell the image and the corresponding indication of the event to the player.

68. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

including the indication of the event and the corresponding image in a compilation of images.

69. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

annotating the determined image and the corresponding indication of the event with an annotation; and

outputting the determined image and the corresponding indication of the event with the annotation.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the annotation comprises a textual annotation.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein the annotation comprises an audible annotation.