Wagering game with modified award expected value

• US 20090075717A1
• Filed: 09/18/2007
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Jaffe, Joel R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,257,160 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/20
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A gaming machine for playing a wagering game includes a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game. The gaming machine further includes a display arrangement that is in communication with a controller. The display arrangement displays a plurality of positions and a range of awards associated with each of the symbol position. The controller is programmable to successively populate the plurality of positions with respective symbols, and, in response to the symbol at any of the plurality of positions being a special award symbol, provide an award randomly selected from the range associated with that position, and modify an expected value of the award randomly selected from the range as a result of each subsequent occurrence of the special award symbol.

Claims

1. A gaming machine for playing a wagering game, comprising:

a wager input device for receiving a wager to play a wagering game;

a display arrangement operable to display a plurality of positions and a range of awards associated with each of the symbol positions; and

a controller in communication with the display arrangement and programmable to

successively populate the plurality of positions with respective symbols;

in response to the symbol at any of the plurality of positions being a special award symbol,

provide an award randomly selected from the range associated with that position, and

modify an expected value of the award randomly selected from the range as a result of each subsequent occurrence of the special award symbol.

2. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the range include a plurality of possible awards ranging from a lowest possible award to a highest possible award, and wherein the modifying includes modifying at least one of the lowest possible award and the highest possible award.

3. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the ranges includes a plurality of possible awards ranging from a lowest possible award to a highest possible award, the modifying including modifying a probability of selecting different ones of the possible awards.

4. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the display arrangement is further operable to display a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels associated with the respective positions, the controller being further programmable to successively stop the reels to place randomly selected symbols on each reel at each of the respective positions.

5. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the display arrangement is further operable to display a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels associated with the respective positions, the range of awards being displayed above each reel of the plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels.

6. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the display arrangement is further operable to display a bonus-award outcome on a stopped reel of a plurality of symbol-bearing spinning reels, the remaining reels continuing to spin during the displaying of the bonus-award outcome.

7. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the display arrangement is further operable to display a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels associated with the respective positions and a bonus-award animation associated with the special award symbol, any successive reels of the plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels continuing to spin during the displaying of the bonus-award animation on a stopped reel of the plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels.

8. A method of conducting a wagering game, the method comprising:

receiving a wager input from a player for initiating a play of the wagering game;

selecting a randomly selected outcome during the play of the wagering game, the randomly selected outcome being selected from a plurality of outcomes including a start-bonus game outcome;

triggering a bonus game in response to selecting the start-bonus game outcome, the bonus game including a plurality of free spins;

successively populating a plurality of positions with respective symbols during each free spin of the plurality of free spins;

in response to each occurrence of one or more occurrences of a special award symbol during a free spin of the plurality of free spins,

displaying an award outcome and a default variable pay range,

awarding an award randomly selected from the default variable pay range, and

changing the default variable pay range to a modified variable pay range based on each subsequent occurrence of the special award symbol.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the award outcome is displayed on a stopped reel of a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels, the remaining reels continuing to spin during the displaying of the award outcome.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying another award outcome in response to an occurrence of another special award symbol during the same free spin of the plurality of free spins, the another special award symbol being displayed on one of the remaining reels after it has stopped spinning, another award being randomly selected from the modified variable pay range, the another award being awarded.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the changing of the default variable pay range includes increasing a low-range value of the default variable pay range to a value higher than the value of the another award.

12. A method of conducting a wagering game, the method comprising:

receiving a wager to play a wagering game;

displaying a plurality of positions and a range of awards associated with each of the symbol positions;

successively populating the plurality of positions with respective symbols; and

in response to the symbol at any of the plurality of positions being a special award symbol,

providing an award randomly selected from the range associated with that position, and

modifying an expected value of the award randomly selected from the range as a result of each subsequent occurrence of the special award symbol.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the range include a plurality of possible awards ranging from a lowest possible award to a highest possible award, and wherein the modifying includes modifying at least one of the lowest possible award and the highest possible award.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the modifying includes increasing the lowest possible award to be a next higher possible award of the plurality of possible awards.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the modifying includes increasing the lowest possible award to be higher than the provided award.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the ranges includes a plurality of possible awards ranging from a lowest possible award to a highest possible award, the modifying including modifying a probability of selecting different ones of the possible awards.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the displaying includes displaying a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels associated with the respective positions, and wherein the successively populating includes successively stopping the reels to place randomly selected symbols on each reel at each of the respective positions.

18. The method of claim 12, further including randomly selecting an outcome from a plurality of possible outcomes, and, in response to the outcome being a start-bonus outcome, conducting a bonus game including the displaying.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the displaying includes displaying a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels associated with the respective positions, the range of awards being displayed above each reel of the plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein a bonus-award outcome is displayed on a stopped reel of a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels, the remaining reels continuing to spin during the displaying of the bonus-award outcome.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising changing the range of awards to a default range when a predetermined condition occurs.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the predetermined condition includes at least one of an end-bonus outcome and an end-spin outcome.

23. The method of claim 12, wherein the displaying includes displaying a plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels associated with the respective positions and a bonus-award animation associated with the special award symbol, any successive reels of the plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels continuing to spin during the displaying of the bonus-award animation on a stopped reel of the plurality of spinning symbol-bearing reels.