Keno machine with two separate plays

• US 5,935,001 A
• Filed: 04/03/1997
• Issued: 08/10/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sega Enterprises LTD. (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sega Enterprises LTD. (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Baba, Shigeki
• Primary Examiner(s): ONEILL, MICHAEL W
• Application Number:
  US08/826,514
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 463/18, 463/17, 463/16, 463/19, 273/269, 273/274, 273/237, 273/138.2, 273/139, 273/272, 273/294
• US Class Current: 463/18
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

The keno playing machine according to the present invention comprises selecting means for selecting a plurality of the keno balls less than a set number out of keno balls displayed on a display screen in accordance with a player'"'"'s operation, extracting means for extracting at random a required number of the keno balls out of the keno balls displayed on the display screen, first counting means for comparing the extracted keno balls to the selected keno balls to count hit winning balls, additionally extracting means for additionally extracting a required number of the keno balls out of the rest keno balls except said extracted keno balls when a number of the winning balls counted by the first counting means is above a set number, second counting means for comparing the additionally extracted keno balls to the selected keno balls to count a number of hit winning balls, and paying means for paying odds, based on a total of said number of the winning balls counted by the first counting means and said number of the additional winning balls counted by the second counting means, whereby addition of extra games can increase higher hit probabilities without changes to total hit probabilities.

Claims

1. A game playing method comprising the steps of:

displaying keno balls on a monitor;

selecting a plurality of keno balls out of said displayed keno balls in accordance with a player'"'"'s operation to start a keno game;

first extracting step for extracting at random a first required number of the displayed keno balls;

first comparing step for comparing the extracted keno balls to the selected keno balls to identify first winning balls therefrom to judge a first win;

second extracting step for extracting at random a second required number of keno balls out of a remainder of keno balls after said first extracting step;

second comparing step for comparing said second required number of extracted keno balls to the selected keno balls to identify second winning balls therefrom to judge a second win; and

paying odds based on a total of the first winning balls and the second winning balls.

2. The game playing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

disabling said second extracting step when said number of said first winning balls does not exceed a threshold number.

3. The game playing method according to claim 1, wherein said second extracting step is not performed when each of the selected keno balls corresponds to one of the first extracted keno balls.

4. The game playing method according to claim 1, wherein a number of the selected balls is below said first required number of extracted balls.

5. A keno playing method comprising the steps of:

displaying keno balls on a monitor;

selecting a plurality of keno balls out of said displayed keno balls in accordance with a player'"'"'s operation to start a keno game;

first extracting step for extracting at random a first required number of the displayed keno balls;

first comparing step for comparing the extracted keno balls to the selected keno balls to identify first winning balls therefrom to judge a first win;

second extracting step for extracting a second required number of keno balls out of a remainder of keno balls after said first extracting step when a number of the first winning balls is above a predetermined number of hit balls; and

second comparing step for comparing said second required number of extracted balls to the selected keno balls to identify second winning balls therefrom to judge a second win.

6. The keno playing method according to claim 5, wherein said second extracting step is not performed when each of the selected keno balls corresponds to one of the first extracted keno balls.

7. The game playing method according to claim 5, wherein a number of the selected balls is below said first required number of extracted balls.

8. A keno game playing machine, comprising:

a display screen configured to display a set of balls;

a control panel that accepts input from a player; and

a controller, wherein

the controller selects, in accordance with a player'"'"'s operation, a plurality of balls out of the set of balls displayed on the display screen;

the controller extracts at random a first required number of balls from the set of balls displayed on the display screen;

the controller judges a first win by comparing the set of extracted balls to the plurality of selected balls;

the controller extracts at random a second required number of balls from a set of remaining, unextracted balls;

the controller judges a second win by comparing the second set of extracted balls to the plurality of selected balls; and

the controller pays odds based on a total number of balls from the first win and the second win.

9. The machine of claim 8, wherein the controller does not extract the second required number of balls when of a number of the first winning balls is below a set number.

10. The machine of claim 9, wherein the controller does not extract the second required number of balls when all the number of first winning balls equals the number of the plurality of selected balls.

11. A keno playing machine, comprising:

a display screen configured to display a set of balls;

a control panel that accepts input from a player; and

a controller, wherein

the controller selects, in accordance with a player'"'"'s operation, a plurality of the keno balls from the set of keno balls displayed on the display screen;

the controller extracts at random a first number of keno balls out of the set of keno balls displayed on the display screen;

the controller judges a first win by comparing the extracted keno balls to the plurality of selected keno balls;

the controller extracts, when the number of first winning balls exceeds a predetermined number of hit balls, a second number of keno balls out of the remaining, unselected keno balls;

the controller judges a second win by comparing the second number of extracted keno balls to the plurality of selected keno balls.

12. The keno playing machine of claim 11, wherein the controller does not extract the second number of keno balls when the number of selected keno balls equals the number of first winning balls.

13. A keno playing machine comprising:

a monitor for displaying a set number of keno balls;

selecting means for selecting a plurality of keno balls from the keno balls displayed on said monitor in accordance with a player'"'"'s operation to start a keno game;

first extracting means for extracting at random a first required number of the keno balls displayed on the monitor;

first win judging means for comparing the extracted keno balls to the selected keno balls and identifying first winning balls therefrom to judge a first win;

second extracting means for causing an extra game to be conducted in response to the first win, wherein said second extracting means extracts at random a second set number of keno balls out of the rest of said displayed keno balls except for said extracted keno balls;

second win judging means for comparing the extracted additional keno balls to said selected keno balls and identifying second winning balls therefrom to judge a second win; and

payout means for adding a number of second winning balls corresponding to the second win to a number of the first winning balls to pay odds based on a total of the first and the second winning ball numbers,

wherein the step of causing an extra game to be conducted is not performed when the number of selected keno balls does not exceed the number of extracted keno balls.