PRESENTING NETWORK-WIDE EVENTS IN NETWORK WAGERING VENUE

• US 20110269548A1
• Filed: 01/14/2010
• Published: 11/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Englman, Allon G., Guinn, Andrew C., Barclay, Brian J., Louie, Daniel P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,360,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3274 wherein the players cooperate, e.g. team-play

Abstract

A wagering game system its operations are described herein. In embodiments, the operations can include determining a player account, from a network wagering venue, that is eligible to participate in a network-wide wagering game event, and selecting the player account to be a player that performs for an audience of other users. The player can win at least some portion of awards by playing a wagering game during the network-wide wagering game event. Audience member users can participate in the event using interactive features (e.g., betting features, chat features, etc.) presented in a presentation, or view, of the network-wide wagering game event. The operations can also include involving, or incorporating, the audience members, into the network-wide wagering game event in a variety of ways, such as assisting the player participant to perform better at the wagering game, engaging in side-bets, receiving awards, etc.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

generating content that depicts a wagering game;

providing the content to a plurality of machines via a wagering game network venue, wherein the plurality of machines are configured to receive the content and present a depiction of the wagering game, wherein a first machine, from the plurality of machines, is associated with a first user that plays the wagering game, and wherein a second machine, from the plurality of machines, is associated with a second user that views the wagering game as an audience member;

detecting a first user input associated with the second machine, said first user input indicating performance of an activity by the second user; and

increasing a chance that a second user input associated with the first machine will result in a winning outcome of the wagering game in response to detecting the first user input associated with the second machine.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the activity is one or more of visiting a specific website, playing a game, accepting an offer, and viewing an advertisement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein increasing the chance that the second user input associated with the first machine will result in the winning outcome of the wagering game comprises modifying one or more of game rules for the wagering game and a number of game elements of the wagering game.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting the first user to play the wagering game based on one or more of a number of social contacts associated with the player, activity of friends associated with the player, and an auction.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting via the network wagering venue a counter that indicates a short time period before the network-wide wagering game event will occur.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting a third user input, via the first machine, during the wagering game, wherein the third user input indicates a selection, by the first user, of the second user to play a portion of the wagering game; and

assigning control of the portion of the wagering game to the second machine in response to the third user input.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting one or more features via the second machine, wherein the features are configured to receive, from the second user one or more of shadow betting and side betting on a performance of the first user in the wagering game.

8. One or more machine-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors causes the set of one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

initiating, simultaneously, a plurality of instances of a progressive bonus game on an online wagering game website;

selecting a first user account, associated with a player of the online wagering game website, to play in one of the plurality of instances of the progressive bonus game;

detecting that a second user account is subscribed to the first user account via the online wagering game website; and

broadcasting web content to a web browser associated with the second user account in response to detecting that the second user account is subscribed to the first user account, wherein the web content presents the one of the plurality of the instances of the progressive bonus game for a second user, associated with the second user account, to view the play of the one of the plurality of instances of the progressive bonus game.

9. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 8, said operations further comprising:

providing a plurality of wagering games via the wagering game website;

receiving contribution amounts from wagers from the plurality of wagering games;

using the contribution amounts to fund the plurality of instances of the progressive bonus game.

10. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 8, said operations further comprising:

automatically presenting the web content via the web browser in response to detecting that the second user accounts is subscribed to the first user account.

11. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 8, wherein said operations further comprising:

presenting a picker grid of selectable game play elements via the web content; and

associating each of the selectable game play elements with game result elements, wherein the game result elements are revealed when the player participant selects any one of the selectable game play elements, wherein the game result elements comprise progression result elements and loss result elements, wherein the progression result elements advance the one instance of the progressive bonus game to one or more successive game rounds, and wherein in the one or more successive game rounds said operations further comprising increasing chances of revealing loss result elements.

12. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 8, said operations further comprising:

determining that the second user is not logged on to the wagering game website via the second user account;

detecting contact information associated with the second user account; and

sending a notification of the one of the plurality of the instances of the progressive bonus game to a personal mobile device of the second user using the contact information

13. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 12, wherein if the associated game result element is the progression result element, for each of the one or more successive additional game rounds, said operations further comprising:

presenting an avatar that represents the second user, via the web content, during play of the one of the plurality of instances of the progressive bonus game; and

awarding the second user account in response to the presenting the avatar.

14. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 8, said operations further comprising:

automatically including the second user account as a participant in a chat room in response to broadcasting the web content to the web browser.

15. The one or more machine-readable storage media of claim 8, said operations further comprising:

awarding the second user account based on progress made by the first user account.

16. A system comprising:

a server comprising,

a first content controller configured to

provide content for a wagering game event to a plurality of clients via a network wagering venue, wherein the plurality of clients are configured to receive the content and present a depiction of the wagering game event, and

a network event controller configured to

provide playing controls, via the content, to a first client of the plurality of clients, wherein the first client is associated with a first user of the network wagering venue,

detect use of the playing controls, wherein said use of the playing controls represents a performance in the wagering game event by the first user, wherein a second client of the plurality of clients is associated with a second user of the network wagering venue, and wherein the second client is configured to present a depiction of the performance of the wagering game event to the second user as an audience member, and

provide an award to the second user based on the performance in the wagering game event by the first user;

the first client comprising a second content controller configured to receive the content and present the depiction of the wagering game event; and

the second client comprising a third content controller configured to receive the content and present the depiction of the wagering game event.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the server further comprises

an agency controller configured to

select a third user account before providing the playing controls to the first client of the plurality of clients, wherein the third user account is eligible to play the wagering game event;

determine that the third user is not logged on to a user network associated with the network wagering venue, and

select the first user as an agent to perform in the wagering game event in place of the third user.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the server is further configured to

present additional content via the second client, wherein the additional content comprises a game for the second user to play during the performance by the first user for the wagering game event;

and

increase chances that the performance will result in a winning outcome for the wagering game event based on an additional performance by the second user of the game.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a wagering game module configured to, via the processor

detect a payment by a first user of an amount of money via an online wagering venue,

select the first user to play a bonus game on the online wagering venue in response to the payment by the first user of the amount of money,

generate content that depicts the bonus game,

present the content via the online wagering venue, said content configured to receive first user input from the first user to play the bonus game and receive second user input from second users to participate as audience members of the bonus game,

detect performance of social communications by the second users via the content while the first user plays the bonus game, and

increase a chance that the bonus game will result in a winning outcome in response to the performance of the social communications by the second users.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the wagering game module is configured to detect the performance of the social communications by the second users via the content while the first user plays the bonus game being configured to

present chat controls in the content;

and

detect use of the chat controls by the second users while the first user plays the bonus game.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the wagering game module is configured to detect the payment by the first user of the amount of money via an online wagering venue being configured to

present additional content configured to accept bids for an auction to play the bonus game,

detect a high bid for the auction user of the additional content, wherein the high bid is associated with the first user,

obtain the payment via a player account associated with the first user, wherein the payment is equivalent to the high bid.

22. An apparatus comprising:

means for selecting a player to control play in a network-wide wagering game event on a network wagering venue, wherein audience members, associated with the network wagering venue, view the network wagering venue via web browsers;

means for detecting a selection by the player of one of the audience members to control the wagering game elements during at least a portion of the network-wide wagering game event;

means for detecting user inputs by the one of the audience members during the portion of the network-wide wagering game event via one of the web browsers associated with the one of the audience members;

means for generating, in response to the user inputs, one or more winning outcomes of the network-wide wagering game event; and

means for awarding one or more of the player and the one of the audience members in response to generating the one or more winning outcomes of the network-wide wagering game event.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising:

means for presenting a game for the audience members to play during the network-wide wagering game event;

means for generating, in response to play by the first user, one or more additional winning outcomes of the network-wide wagering game event; and

means awarding the audience members via the game based at least in part on the one or more additional winning outcomes.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 further comprising:

means for determining one or more activities performed by one or more of the audience members; and

means for increasing chances of the player obtaining a desired goal in the network-wide wagering game event based on the one or more activities.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for selecting the player to control the play in the network-wide wagering game event further comprises,

means for detecting an outcome of an a non-gaming event that occurs external to the network wagering venue, wherein the non-gaming event has a predictable occurrence with a random value;

means for determining that the player correctly guessed the random value; and

means for selecting the player to control the play in the network-wide wagering game in response to determining that the player correctly guessed the random value.