GAMING SYSTEM HAVING MULTIPLE GAMING MACHINES WHICH PROVIDE BONUS AWARDS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A gaming system comprising:
- a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player; and
a controller in communication with said gaming machines, wherein the controller is programmed to determine if a bonus event will occur, and if the controller determines that the bonus event will occur, said controller is programmed to;
(a) determine a quantity of said gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, said quantity being greater than one;
(b) determine which of the gaming machines were in an active state during a bonus event qualification period for said bonus event;
(c) for each gaming machine in the active state, determine a probability to participate in the bonus event based on the total wagers placed during a bonus event accumulation period for said gaming machine relative to the total wagers placed for all gaming machines in the active state during the bonus event accumulation period; and
(d) for each of the determined quantity of said gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, select one of the gaming machines in the active state based on the determined probability to participate in the bonus event, wherein at least one of the gaming machines is operable to be selected a plurality of times even if said gaming machine was previously selected to participate in the bonus event.
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Abstract
A gaming system including a central server linked to a plurality of gaming machines and a plurality of bonus awards. The central server monitors wagers on the gaming machines. Based at least in part on the wagers the central server determines when bonus events will occur and which gaming machine(s) will provide the bonus awards. In one embodiment, the central server determines which gaming machine will provide a primary bonus award and any secondary bonus awards, wherein at least one gaming machine may be provided a plurality of bonus awards.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A gaming system comprising:
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a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player; and
a controller in communication with said gaming machines, wherein the controller is programmed to determine if a bonus event will occur, and if the controller determines that the bonus event will occur, said controller is programmed to;
(a) determine a quantity of said gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, said quantity being greater than one;
(b) determine which of the gaming machines were in an active state during a bonus event qualification period for said bonus event;
(c) for each gaming machine in the active state, determine a probability to participate in the bonus event based on the total wagers placed during a bonus event accumulation period for said gaming machine relative to the total wagers placed for all gaming machines in the active state during the bonus event accumulation period; and
(d) for each of the determined quantity of said gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, select one of the gaming machines in the active state based on the determined probability to participate in the bonus event, wherein at least one of the gaming machines is operable to be selected a plurality of times even if said gaming machine was previously selected to participate in the bonus event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A gaming system comprising:
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a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player; and
a controller in communication with said gaming machines, wherein the controller is programmed to determine if a bonus event will occur, and if the controller determines that the bonus event will occur, said controller is programmed to;
(a) determine a quantity of said gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, said quantity being greater than one;
(b) determine which of the gaming machines were in an active state during a bonus event qualification period for said bonus event;
(c) for each gaming machine in the active state, determine a probability to participate in the bonus event based on the total wagers placed during a bonus event accumulation period for said gaming machine relative to the total wagers placed for all gaming machines in the active state during the bonus event accumulation period;
(d) select one of the gaming machines in the active state to participate in the bonus event, wherein said selection is based on the determined probabilities to participate in the bonus event;
(e) determine if the determined quantity of gaming machines to participate in the bonus event has been selected; and
(f) if the determined quantity of gaming machines to participate in the bonus event has not been selected, repeat (d) to (f) at least once, wherein at least one of the gaming machines is operable to be selected a plurality of times, even if said gaming machine was previously selected to participate in the bonus event. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A gaming system comprising:
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a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player; and
a controller in communication with said gaming machines, wherein the controller is programmed to determine if a bonus event will occur, and if the controller determines that the bonus event will occur, said controller is programmed to;
(a) for each gaming machine, determine a probability to participate in the bonus event based on the total wagers placed during a bonus event accumulation period for said gaming machine relative to the total wagers placed for all gaming machines during the bonus event accumulation period;
(b) for a first determination, select one of the gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, wherein said selection is based on the determined probabilities to participate in the bonus event; and
(c) for a second determination, select one of the gaming machines to participate in the bonus event, wherein said selection is based on the determined probabilities to participate in the bonus event, and wherein the gaming machine selected to participate in the bonus event for the first determination is operable to be selected to participate in the bonus event for the second determination. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification