Multi-player bingo game with secondary wager for instant win game
First Claim
1. A method for conducting a multi-player wagering game and an associated instant win game having a finite pool of outcomes, wherein each player has a unique game array of game indicia for an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game and individual game indicia are sequentially selected from the range of game indicia, and wherein one of the players wins the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game by matching a predetermined game winning pattern of game indicia on the player'"'"'s unique game array with the sequentially selected game indicia, comprising:
- receiving a deposit of an amount of a medium of currency by a player at a gaming unit;
receiving input for a player'"'"'s wager on an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game at an input device of the gaming unit;
subtracting the amount of the player'"'"'s wager on the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game from the player'"'"'s available credit at the gaming unit in response to receiving the input for the player'"'"'s wager, wherein the player'"'"'s available credit corresponds to the amount of the medium of currency deposited at the gaming unit;
subtracting an instant win game wager amount from one of the player'"'"'s available credit and the credits subtracted from the player'"'"'s available credit;
determining an outcome for the player for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game; and
selecting an outcome for the instant win game from the finite pool of outcomes.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to methods and gaming units for conducting a multi-player wagering game and an associated instant win game having a finite pool of outcomes, with an outcome for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game being determined, and an outcome for the instant win game being selected from the finite pool of outcomes. The multi-player wagering game may be a multi-player Bingo game wherein each player has a unique game array of game indicia for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game and individual game indicia are sequentially selected from a range of available game indicia. Players may win an award for the instant win game if the outcome selected from the finite pool is a winning outcome. The players may optionally participate in the instant win game based on input information and wager amounts. In alternative embodiments, the instant win game may be configured to provide a progressive jackpot if one of the available progressive jackpot-winning outcomes is selected from the finite pool. Graphics corresponding to the instant win game may be displayed to the players independently or in conjunction with displays of the outcome of the multi-player wagering game.
243 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for conducting a multi-player wagering game and an associated instant win game having a finite pool of outcomes, wherein each player has a unique game array of game indicia for an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game and individual game indicia are sequentially selected from the range of game indicia, and wherein one of the players wins the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game by matching a predetermined game winning pattern of game indicia on the player'"'"'s unique game array with the sequentially selected game indicia, comprising:
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receiving a deposit of an amount of a medium of currency by a player at a gaming unit;
receiving input for a player'"'"'s wager on an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game at an input device of the gaming unit;
subtracting the amount of the player'"'"'s wager on the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game from the player'"'"'s available credit at the gaming unit in response to receiving the input for the player'"'"'s wager, wherein the player'"'"'s available credit corresponds to the amount of the medium of currency deposited at the gaming unit;
subtracting an instant win game wager amount from one of the player'"'"'s available credit and the credits subtracted from the player'"'"'s available credit;
determining an outcome for the player for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game; and
selecting an outcome for the instant win game from the finite pool of outcomes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for conducting a multi-player wagering game and an associated instant win game having a finite pool of outcomes, wherein each player has a unique game array of game indicia for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game and individual game indicia are sequentially selected from the range of game indicia, and wherein one of the players wins the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game by matching a predetermined game winning pattern of game indicia on the player'"'"'s unique game array with the sequentially selected game indicia comprising:
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providing a currency-accepting mechanism at a gaming unit for receiving a deposit of an amount of a medium of currency by a player at the gaming unit;
providing an input device for receiving input for a player'"'"'s wager on an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game at the gaming unit;
configuring the gaming unit to subtract the amount of the player'"'"'s wager on the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game from the player'"'"'s available credit at the gaming unit in response to receiving the input for the player'"'"'s wager at the input device, wherein the player'"'"'s available credit corresponds to the amount of the medium of currency deposited at the gaming unit;
configuring the gaming unit to subtract an instant win game wager amount from one of the player'"'"'s available credit and the credits subtracted from the player'"'"'s available credit;
configuring the gaming unit to determine an outcome for the player for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game; and
configuring the gaming unit to cause the selection of an outcome for the instant win game from the finite pool of outcomes. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A gaming unit for conducting a multi-player wagering game and an associated instant win game in a gaming network having a network computer and a plurality of gaming units, wherein each player has a unique game array of game indicia for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game and individual game indicia are sequentially selected from a range of available game indicia by one of the network computer and a wagering game server of the gaming network, and wherein one of the players wins the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game by matching a predetermined game winning pattern of game indicia on the player'"'"'s unique game array with the sequentially selected game indicia comprising:
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an input device for inputting a plurality of input selections;
a gaming unit memory device;
a currency-accepting mechanism that is capable of allowing a player to deposit a medium of currency;
an output device;
a value-dispensing mechanism that is capable of dispensing value to the player;
a gaming unit controller operatively coupled to the input device, the gaming unit memory device, the currency-accepting mechanism, the output device, and the value-dispensing mechanism, the gaming unit controller being programmed to allow the currency-accepting mechanism to accept a deposit of an amount of a medium of currency by a player at the gaming unit, the gaming unit controller being programmed to allow the input device to receive input for a player'"'"'s wager on an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game at the input device, the gaming unit controller being programmed to subtract the amount of the player'"'"'s wager on the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game from the player'"'"'s available credit at the gaming unit in response to receiving the input for the player'"'"'s wager, wherein the player'"'"'s available credit corresponds to the amount of the medium of currency deposited at the gaming unit, the gaming unit controller being programmed to subtract an instant win game wager amount from one of the player'"'"'s available credit and the credits subtracted from the player'"'"'s available credit, the gaming unit controller being programmed to determine an outcome for the player for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game, and the gaming unit controller being programmed to cause a device of the gaming network to select an outcome for the instant win game from the finite pool of outcomes. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification