Method and apparatus for providing customizable player bonuses

• US 20050037841A1
• Filed: 09/16/2003
• Published: 02/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Friendly Matrix Internet Company, LLC, IGT (International Game Technology), Western Money Systems
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology), Western Money Systems
• Inventors: de Waal, Daniel J., Bullard, Bryan, Little, William C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,766,744 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/12 involving interaction between a plurality of game devices, e.g. transmisison or distribution systems protocols for networked virtual reality, networked games H04L29/06034
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/30 Interconnection arrangements between game servers and game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game devices; Interconnection arrangements between game servers
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A method and apparatus for tracking play of a game is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of receiving a first set of game outcomes from play of a game associated with a first enterprise, storing the first set of game data in a database, receiving a second set of game outcomes from play of a second game associated with a second enterprise independent from the first enterprise, and storing the second set of game outcomes in the database. The apparatus comprises hardware and software modules and other means for performing the above operations.

Claims

1. A method of tracking play of a game, comprising the steps of:

receiving a first set of game outcomes from play of a game associated with a first enterprise;

storing the first set of game data in a database;

receiving a second set of game outcomes from play of a second game associated with a second enterprise independent from the first enterprise; and

storing the second set of game outcomes in the database.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of game outcomes are stored in the database associably with an identity of a player of the game and the second set of game outcomes are stored in the database associably with the player of the second game.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is maintained by an enterprise organizationally distinct from the first enterprise and the second enterprise.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

awarding a bonus based on the stored first set of game outcomes and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with a player.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the awarded bonus is further based on a bonus parameter set.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the bonus parameter set includes:

a time period in which the outcomes in the first set of game outcomes occurred and the outcomes in the second set of game outcomes occurred.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the bonus parameter set includes:

a minimum qualifying wager.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

awarding a progressive bonus that is incremented based upon the stored first set of game outcomes associated with a set of participating progressive bonus players and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with the set of participating progressive bonus players, and a progressive bonus parameter set;

the progressive bonus parameter set including a time period in which the outcomes in the first set of game outcomes occurred and the outcomes in the second set of game outcomes occurred.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the bonus parameter set includes a first award bonus parameter set and a second award bonus parameter set;

a first portion of the progressive bonus is awarded to one of the participating players based upon the stored first set of game outcomes associated with the one of the participating players and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with the one of the participating players and a first award bonus parameter set;

a second portion of the progressive bonus is awarded to a subset of the set of participating progressive bonus players based upon the stored first set of game outcomes associated with a subset of the set of participating bonus players and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with the subset of the set of participating bonus players and a second award bonus parameter set.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second portion is the remaining portion of the progressive bonus.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the first award bonus parameter set includes a first qualifying outcome;

the second award bonus parameter set includes a second qualifying outcome;

wherein the first game and the second game are poker games and the outcomes are poker hands;

the first qualifying outcome is a first number of qualifying poker hands; and

the second qualifying outcome is a second number of qualifying poker hands.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

qualifying players selected from the set of participating progressive bonus players for a second bonus based upon the first set of game outcomes and the second set of game outcomes and a second bonus qualifying parameter set;

awarding a second bonus to at least one of the qualified players based upon the first set of game outcomes and the second set of game outcomes and a second bonus parameter set.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first set of game outcomes and the second set of game outcomes comprise winning outcomes and losing outcomes; and

the stored first set of game outcomes and the stored second set of game outcomes include the winning outcomes and losing outcomes.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the game is a live table game.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of receiving the set of game outcomes from play of the game comprises the steps of:

reading a player identification device; and

manually entering the first set of game play outcomes in a device communicably coupleable with the database.

16. A method of providing an award based on play of a game, comprising the steps of:

accepting a plurality of game play outcomes, the plurality of game play outcomes potentially including winning outcomes and non-winning outcomes including losing outcomes;

recording the game play outcomes associably with an identity of the player; and

comparing the recorded game play outcomes with a bonus parameter set having a qualifying game play outcome requirement and awarding a bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying game play outcome requirement.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the bonus is awarded if the game play outcomes match the qualifying game play outcome requirement within a qualifying time period.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the qualifying game play outcome requirement is a combination of game play outcomes.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the combination of game play outcomes includes a sequence of game play outcomes.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sequence of game play outcomes includes wildcard game play outcomes.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the game play outcomes comprise final outcomes including winning outcomes and non-winning outcomes;

the recorded subset of the plurality of game play outcomes include non-winning outcomes; and

the bonus is computed at least in part based on the recorded non-winning outcomes.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the game play outcomes comprise final outcomes and intermediary outcomes, and wherein;

the recorded subset of the plurality of game play outcomes include intermediary outcomes; and

the bonus is computed at least in part on the recorded intermediary outcomes.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the game play outcomes comprise final outcomes including winning outcomes and losing outcomes;

the recorded subset of the plurality of game play outcomes include losing outcomes; and

the bonus is computed at least in part on the recorded losing outcomes.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein:

the game play outcomes include at least one increment-qualifying outcome;

the game includes a first progressive jackpot incremented for each increment-qualifying outcome; and

the step of awarding a bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying combination of game play outcomes comprises the step of awarding the first progressive jackpot to a first player if the first player'"'"'s recorded game play outcomes match a first progressive jackpot qualifying combination.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein:

the game includes a second progressive jackpot incremented for each increment-qualifying outcome;

the step of awarding a bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying combination of game play outcomes comprises the step of awarding the second progressive jackpot to a second player if the second player'"'"'s recorded game play outcomes match a second progressive jackpot qualifying combination.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the increment qualifying outcome is a pre-specified final outcome.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein:

the game play outcomes include at least one increment-qualifying outcome;

the bonus comprises a first progressive jackpot and a second progressive jackpot;

the method further comprises the steps of;

incrementing the first progressive jackpot for each increment-qualifying outcome until the first progressive jackpot achieves a first progressive jackpot maximum;

after the first progressive jackpot achieves the first progressive jackpot maximum, incrementing the second progressive jackpot for each qualifying outcome; and

the step of comparing the recorded game play outcomes with a bonus parameter set having a qualifying game play outcome requirement and awarding bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying game play outcome requirement comprises the step of;

when a first player'"'"'s game play outcomes match a first progressive jackpot qualifying outcome requirement, awarding the first progressive jackpot to the first player and awarding the second progressive jackpot to a set of players if the game play outcomes for each of the set of players match a second progressive jackpot qualifying outcome requirement.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein the game is implemented in a gaming device and the step of recording the game play outcomes associably with an identity of the player comprises the steps of:

storing a player identifier and the game play outcomes in a memory communicatively coupled to the gaming device.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein the game play outcomes are outcomes of a live table game.

30. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of accepting a plurality of game play outcomes comprises the steps of:

reading a player identification device; and

manually entering at least a portion of the plurality game play outcomes in a device communicably coupleable with the database.

31. An apparatus for tracking play of a game, comprising:

means for receiving a first set of game outcomes from play of a game associated with a first enterprise;

means for storing the first set of game data in a database;

means for receiving a second set of game outcomes from play of a second game means for associated with a second enterprise independent from the first enterprise; and

storing the second set of game outcomes in the database.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the first set of game outcomes are stored in the database associably with an identity of a player of the game and the second set of game outcomes are stored in the database associably with the player of the second game.

33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the database is maintained by an enterprise organizationally distinct from the first enterprise and the second enterprise.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising:

means for awarding a bonus based on the stored first set of game outcomes and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with a player.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the awarded bonus is further based on a bonus parameter set.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the bonus parameter set includes:

a time period in which the outcomes in the first set of game outcomes occurred and the outcomes in the second set of game outcomes occurred.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the bonus parameter set includes:

a minimum qualifying wager.

38. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising:

means for awarding a progressive bonus that is incremented based upon the stored first set of game outcomes associated with a set of participating progressive bonus players and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with the set of participating progressive bonus players, and a progressive bonus parameter set;

wherein the progressive bonus parameter set includes a time period in which the outcomes in the first set of game outcomes occurred and the outcomes in the second set of game outcomes occurred.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein:

the bonus parameter set includes a first award bonus parameter set and a second award bonus parameter set;

a first portion of the progressive bonus is awarded to one of the participating players based upon the stored first set of game outcomes associated with the one of the participating players and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with the one of the participating players and a first award bonus parameter set;

a second portion of the progressive bonus is awarded to a subset of the set of participating progressive bonus players based upon the stored first set of game outcomes associated with a subset of the set of participating bonus players and the stored second set of game outcomes associated with the subset of the set of participating bonus players and a second award bonus parameter set.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the second portion is the remaining portion of the progressive bonus.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein:

the first award bonus parameter set includes a first qualifying outcome;

the second award bonus parameter set includes a second qualifying outcome;

wherein the first game and the second game are poker games and the outcomes are poker hands;

the first qualifying outcome is a first number of qualifying poker hands; and

the second qualifying outcome is a second number of qualifying poker hands.

42. The apparatus of claim 38, further comprising:

means for qualifying players selected from the set of participating progressive bonus players for a second bonus based upon the first set of game outcomes and the second set of game outcomes and a second bonus qualifying parameter set; and

means for awarding a second bonus to at least one of the qualified players based upon the first set of game outcomes and the second set of game outcomes and a second bonus parameter set.

43. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein:

the first set of game outcomes and the second set of game outcomes comprise winning outcomes and losing outcomes; and

the stored first set of game outcomes and the stored second set of game outcomes include the winning outcomes and losing outcomes.

44. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the game is a live table game.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the means for receiving the set of game outcomes from play of the game comprises:

means for reading a player identification device; and

means for manually entering the first set of game play outcomes in a device communicably coupleable with the database.

46. An apparatus for providing an award based on play of a game, comprising:

means for accepting a plurality of game play outcomes, the plurality of game play outcomes potentially including winning outcomes and non-winning outcomes including losing outcomes;

means for recording the game play outcomes associably with an identity of the player; and

means for comparing the recorded game play outcomes with a bonus parameter set having a qualifying game play outcome requirement and awarding a bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying game play outcome requirement.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the bonus is awarded if the game play outcomes match the qualifying game play outcome requirement within a qualifying time period.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the qualifying game play outcome requirement is a combination of game play outcomes.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the combination of game play outcomes includes a sequence of game play outcomes.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the sequence of game play outcomes includes wildcard game play outcomes.

51. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein:

the game play outcomes comprise final outcomes including winning outcomes and non-winning outcomes;

the recorded subset of the plurality of game play outcomes include non-winning outcomes; and

the bonus is computed at least in part based on the recorded non-winning outcomes.

52. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein:

the game play outcomes comprise final outcomes and intermediary outcomes, and wherein;

the recorded subset of the plurality of game play outcomes include intermediary outcomes; and

the bonus is computed at least in part on the recorded intermediary outcomes.

53. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein:

the game play outcomes comprise final outcomes including winning outcomes and losing outcomes;

the recorded subset of the plurality of game play outcomes include losing outcomes; and

the bonus is computed at least in part on the recorded losing outcomes.

54. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein:

the game play outcomes include at least one increment-qualifying outcome;

the game includes a first progressive jackpot incremented for each increment-qualifying outcome; and

the means for awarding a bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying combination of game play outcomes comprises means for awarding the first progressive jackpot to a first player if the first player'"'"'s recorded game play outcomes match a first progressive jackpot qualifying combination.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein:

the game includes a second progressive jackpot incremented for each increment-qualifying outcome;

the means for awarding a bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying combination of game play outcomes comprises means for awarding the second progressive jackpot to a second player if the second player'"'"'s recorded game play outcomes match a second progressive jackpot qualifying combination.

56. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the increment qualifying outcome is a pre-specified final outcome.

57. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein:

the game play outcomes include at least one increment-qualifying outcome;

the bonus comprises a first progressive jackpot and a second progressive jackpot;

the apparatus further comprising;

means for incrementing the first progressive jackpot for each increment-qualifying outcome until the first progressive jackpot achieves a first progressive jackpot maximum;

means for incrementing the second progressive jackpot for each qualifying outcome after the first progressive jackpot achieves the first progressive jackpot maximum; and

the means for comparing the recorded game play outcomes with a bonus parameter set having a qualifying game play outcome requirement and awarding bonus if the game play outcomes match the qualifying game play outcome requirement comprises;

means for awarding the first progressive jackpot to the first player and awarding the second progressive jackpot to a set of players when a first player'"'"'s game play outcomes match a first progressive jackpot qualifying outcome requirement, if the game play outcomes for each of the set of players match a second progressive jackpot qualifying outcome requirement.

58. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the game is implemented in a gaming device and the means for recording the game play outcomes associably with an identity of the player comprises:

means for storing a player identifier and the game play outcomes in a memory communicatively coupled to the gaming device.

59. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the game play outcomes are outcomes of a live table game.

60. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the means for accepting a plurality of game play outcomes comprises:

means for reading a player identification device; and

means for manually entering at least a portion of the plurality game play outcomes in a device communicably coupleable with the database.