INTEGRATING REMOTELY-HOSTED AND LOCALLY RENDERED CONTENT ON A GAMING DEVICE

• US 20150213683A1
• Filed: 04/02/2015
• Published: 07/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Graham, Jacob, Schlottmann, Gregory A., LeMay, Steven G., Rowe, Richard E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,881,453 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/534 for network load management, e.g. bandwidth optimization, latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• 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 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A wager gaming machine may be configured not only to provide wagering games, but also to communicate with one or more hosts that can provide information and/or services pertaining to local wager gaming events, including but not limited to local tournaments, local restaurants, local messages (e.g., messages from other players in the gaming establishment), local social events, local sporting events, local dating opportunities, etc. Other hosts may provide information and/or services pertaining to business or finance (e.g., stock quotes), sports, news, weather, etc. Processes for conveying audio, video, etc., from host devices may be separate from processes used to control wager game presentations. At least some such processes may be able to output an associated “skin” on a video system of the wager gaming machine. These processes may involve providing one or more “widgets.” In some preferred implementations, at least a threshold level of one or more wager gaming machine resources will be made available to wager game presentations and related functions.

Claims

1. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

(a) receiving player loyalty account information;

(b) causing a wager gaming machine to display a graphical user interface indicating widget options, wherein the wager gaming machine is associated with a credit balance which is;

(i) increasable via;

(A) an acceptor of a physical item associated with a monetary value, and

(B) a validator configured to identify the physical item, and

(ii) decreasable via a cashout device configured to receive an input to cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance;

(c) receiving an indication regarding a desired widget; and

(d) enabling the desired widget.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication includes receiving an indication of a desired widget type.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication includes receiving information for customizing a desired widget.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving player loyalty account information includes receiving player loyalty account information at a wager gaming machine and wherein the graphical user interface is provided on the wager gaming machine.

5. The method of claim 4, which includes providing a wagering game on the wager gaming machine, and activating the widget on the wager gaming machine while the wagering game is being provided.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein receiving the player loyalty account information includes reading a player loyalty account instrument and obtaining widget preference data from a player loyalty account.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving player loyalty account information includes receiving player loyalty account information via a network at a first device and the graphical user interface is provided on a second device.

8. The method of claim 1, which includes associating information regarding the desired widget with the player loyalty account information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the desired widget includes forming the desired widget.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the desired widget includes activating the desired widget.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired widget is a news aggregation widget and receiving the indication includes receiving at least one desired news type.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the desired widget includes a social networking widget and receiving the indication includes receiving at least one desired characteristic for members of a social network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the social networking widget includes a dating widget and receiving the indication includes receiving at least one characteristic of a desired person.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the social networking widget includes a game coordinating widget and receiving the indication includes receiving at least one characteristic of a desired game.

15. A wager gaming machine comprising:

a housing;

at least one display device supported by the housing;

a plurality of input devices supported by the housing, said plurality of input devices including;

(i) an acceptor,

(ii) a validator, and

(iii) a cashout device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the plurality of input devices to;

(a) if a physical item is received via the acceptor;

(i) identify, via the validator, the received physical item, and

(ii) establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received and identified physical item;

(b) provide at least one wagering game;

(c) determine, based on wagering game data, when a jurisdictional limitation applies to the at least one wagering game;

(d) report said wagering game data when the jurisdictional limitation applies to the wagering game; and

(e) if a cashout input is received via the cashout device, cause an initiation of any payout associated with the credit balance.

16. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to report wagering game data while the at least one wagering game is being provided.

17. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to report wagering game data via a widget enabled on the wager gaming machine.

18. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, which includes a network interface, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to report wagering game data to a regulatory agency via the network interface.

19. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to control the providing of the at least one wagering game according to the jurisdictional limitation.

20. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the wagering game data includes wagering time data.

21. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the wagering game data includes wagering amount data.

22. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to control at least one device utilized for reporting wagering game data.

23. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to control the at least one display device to report said wagering game data.

24. The wager gaming machine of claim 15, wherein when executed by the at least one processor, the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processor to provide an indication when the wagering game data is approaching the jurisdictional limitation.

25. A gaming device comprising:

a housing;

a gaming interface supported by the housing and including;

a plurality of input devices including;

(i) an acceptor,

(ii) a validator, and

(iii) a cashout device;

at least one output device configured to display an outcome of a play of a wager-based game;

a communication interface configured to enable communications with a remote host; and

a logic system configured to;

(a) if a physical item is received via the acceptor;

(i) identify, via the validator, the received physical item, and

(ii) establish a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received and identified physical item,

(b) provide a first resource partition associated with first gaming resources, wherein the first gaming resources include a processor, a memory and a portion of the gaming interface and a second resource partition associated with second gaming resources,

(c) enable execution of an interface process in the first resource partition, wherein the interface process is limited to utilize the first gaming resources,

(d) receive information from the remote host that enables the remote host to utilize the portion of the gaming interface via the interface process,

(e) enable execution in the second resource partition of at least one gaming process configured to display the play of the wager-based game,

(f) prevent the interface process from using more than an allocated amount of the first gaming resources,

(g) establish a communication session with the remote host that enables the remote host to send the information that enables the remote host to utilize the portion of the gaming interface via the interface process, and

(h) if a cashout input is received via the cashout device, cause an initiation of any payout associated with the credit balance.

26. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the logic system is configured to determine at least one of:

a utilization of the first gaming resources, a utilization of the second gaming resources and a combination of the utilization of the first gaming resources and utilization of the second gaming resources.

27. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the logic system is configured to prevent the interface process from using more than the allocated amount of at least one of:

central processing unit cycles, memory, graphics processor cycles, network bandwidth, sound card usage, video card usage, power usage, and peripheral device usage.

28. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the logic system is configured to arbitrate control of a device associated with the portion of the gaming interface, when it is determined that the interface process and a first gaming process of the one or more gaming processes are requesting control of the device.

29. The gaming device of claim 25, wherein the portion of the gaming interface includes a video system and wherein the interface process is operable to receive the information from the remote host including data that enables the interface process to generate video images for the video system.