Electronic gaming machine and method

• US 5,941,771 A
• Filed: 01/17/1997
• Issued: 08/24/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Casino Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Thomas E. Haste III
• Inventors: Haste, Thomas E. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrison, Jessica J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sager, Mark
• Application Number:
  US08/784,475
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/16-18, 463/20, 463/29, 273/138 R, 273/139, 364/412, 364/410, 283/49, 283/70, 283/901, 283/903, 235/375, 221/1, 221/2, 221/24
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/0645 Electric lottos or bingo games
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/065 Tickets or accessories for use therewith A63F3/0625 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/069 having a message becoming legible by tearing-off non-adhesive parts
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 15/005 with dispensing of lottery tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value

Abstract

A gaming machine prints and dispenses game tickets. Ticket substrates are imprinted with game indicia in accordance with game sequence information stored in an electronic memory module. The ticket substrates may be intrinsically valuable articles such as telephone calling cards.

Claims

1. An electronic gaming machine comprising:

a payment acceptance device for accepting payment from a customer;

a supply of ticket substrates installed inside the gaming machine;

an electronic memory module storing a plurality of sequential ticket records, each ticket record comprising a ticket number and data signifying whether the ticket record corresponds to a winning ticket or a losing ticket;

control electronics for retrieving a next ticket record from the electronic memory module;

a printer for printing game indicia on a next ticket substrate from the supply of ticket substrates, said indicia identifying the next ticket substrate as a winning ticket or a losing ticket in accordance with said next ticket record;

a ticket dispenser for dispensing the printed next ticket substrate to the customer;

wherein there is a one-to-one correspondence between sequential ticket substrates that are printed and dispensed by the gaming machine and the plurality of sequential ticket records.

2. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 wherein at least some of the ticket substrates comprise articles having intrinsic value.

3. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 wherein at least some of the ticket substrates are preprinted with indicia giving such substrates intrinsic value.

4. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 wherein the ticket dispensed to the customer comprises a telephone calling card.

5. The electronic gaming machine of claim 1 further comprising a display device.

6. The electronic gaming machine of claim 5 wherein the display device displays game indicia in accordance with the next ticket record retrieved from the electronic memory module.

7. A method of conducting a game of chance comprising the steps of:

providing an electronic gaming machine having a supply of ticket substrates and an electronic memory module storing a plurality of sequential ticket records, each ticket record comprising a ticket number and data signifying whether the ticket record corresponds to a winning ticket or a losing ticket;

accepting payment from a customer;

retrieving a next ticket record from the electronic memory module;

printing game indicia on a next ticket substrate from the supply of ticket substrates, said indicia identifying the next ticket substrate as a winning ticket or a losing ticket in accordance with said next ticket record;

dispensing the printed next ticket substrate to the customer;

wherein there is a one-to-one correspondence between sequential ticket substrates that are printed and dispensed by the gaming machine and the plurality of sequential ticket records.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the step of displaying game indicia in accordance with the next ticket record retrieved from the electronic memory module.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the game indicia printed on said next ticket substrate comprises a plurality of game symbols.