GAMING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMICALLY GROUPING GAMING DEVICES TO PROVIDE PROGRESSIVE AWARDS
First Claim
1. A method of operating a gaming system, the method comprising:
- (a) at a first point in time;
(i) maintaining a first progressive award available to be won by a plurality of players at a group of gaming devices,(ii) determining a quantity indicative of player activity at the group of gaming devices,(iii) determining if the quantity indicative of player activity exceeds a progressive award reconfiguration threshold associated with the first progressive award, and(iv) if the quantity indicative of player activity exceeds the progressive award reconfiguration threshold;
(1) determining a first subset of the group of gaming devices, the first subset including a first quantity of the gaming devices, and(2) determining a second subset of the group of gaming devices, the second subset including a second quantity of the gaming devices, and(b) at a second point in time, if the progressive award reconfiguration event has occurred;
(i) maintaining the first progressive award available to be won by a first subset of the plurality of players at the first subset of the group of gaming devices, wherein the first progressive award is not available to be won by the players at the second subset of the group of gaming devices, and(ii) maintaining a second progressive award available to be won by a second subset of the plurality of players at the second subset of the group of gaming devices, wherein the second progressive award is not available to be won by the players at the first subset of the group of gaming devices.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A gaming system enables players of a group of gaming devices to wager on progressive or other awards for that group and tracks an amount of player activity at the group. If player activity of the group exceeds an upper reconfiguration threshold, the gaming system disassociates one or more gaming devices from the group to reduce the amount of player activity. If the player activity of the group falls below a lower reconfiguration threshold, the gaming system associates one or more additional gaming devices with that group to increase player activity. Reallocation of gaming devices can occur following a player winning the award for the group. The system can incrementally increase an award reset amount, while reducing the odds of winning the award, to maintain a desired range of gaming experiences. The system can also enable a player to select an initial groups based on a characteristic of that player.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of operating a gaming system, the method comprising:
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(a) at a first point in time; (i) maintaining a first progressive award available to be won by a plurality of players at a group of gaming devices, (ii) determining a quantity indicative of player activity at the group of gaming devices, (iii) determining if the quantity indicative of player activity exceeds a progressive award reconfiguration threshold associated with the first progressive award, and (iv) if the quantity indicative of player activity exceeds the progressive award reconfiguration threshold; (1) determining a first subset of the group of gaming devices, the first subset including a first quantity of the gaming devices, and (2) determining a second subset of the group of gaming devices, the second subset including a second quantity of the gaming devices, and (b) at a second point in time, if the progressive award reconfiguration event has occurred; (i) maintaining the first progressive award available to be won by a first subset of the plurality of players at the first subset of the group of gaming devices, wherein the first progressive award is not available to be won by the players at the second subset of the group of gaming devices, and (ii) maintaining a second progressive award available to be won by a second subset of the plurality of players at the second subset of the group of gaming devices, wherein the second progressive award is not available to be won by the players at the first subset of the group of gaming devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of operating a gaming system, the method comprising:
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(a) at a first point in time; (i) maintaining a first progressive award available to be won by a first plurality of players at a first group of gaming devices, wherein the first progressive award is not available to be won by a second plurality of players at a second group of gaming devices, (ii) maintaining a second progressive award available to be won by the second plurality of players at the second group of gaming devices, wherein the second progressive award is not available to be won by the first plurality of players at the first group of gaming devices, and (iii) determining a quantity indicative of player activity of the first group of gaming devices; and (b) at a second point in time, if a progressive award reconfiguration event has occurred; (i) determining if the quantity indicative of player activity at the first group of gaming devices is less than a progressive award reconfiguration threshold associated with the first progressive award, and (ii) if the quantity indicative of player activity at the first group of gaming devices is less than the progressive award reconfiguration threshold associated with the first progressive award, maintaining the first progressive award available to be won by both the first plurality of players at the first group of gaming devices and the second plurality of players at the second group of gaming devices. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of operating a gaming system, the method comprising:
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a) maintaining a progressive award having a probability of being provided and a progressive award reset amount, the progressive award being associated with a group of gaming devices; (b) enabling a plurality of players to wager on a plurality of plays of games of the group of gaming devices; (c) automatically determining a quantity indicative of player activity of the group of gaming devices based on wagers by the plurality of players; (d) if the quantity indicative of player activity is outside of a progressive award reconfiguration threshold range, upon an occurrence of a progressive award reconfiguration event, automatically modify the progressive award associated with the group of gaming devices. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification