Gaming device having improved offer and acceptance bonus scheme

• US 6,375,187 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2000
• Issued: 04/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Baerlocher, Anthony J.
• Primary Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US09/680,630
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• Field of Search: 273/138.1, 273/138.2, 273/143.V, 273/292, 463/20, 463/1, 463/9, 463/11-13, 463/16, 463/25
• US Class Current: 273/143.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played

Abstract

The present invention is a gaming device having an improved offer and acceptance bonus scheme wherein the player has an opportunity to determine the number of offers the player may obtain during the bonus round and after the gaming device selects one of the possible award offers to the player the gaming device prevents that offer from being made to the player again.

Claims

1. A gaming device having a bonus scheme comprising:

a controller;

a plurality of award offers;

an award offer display connected to said controller;

an offers remaining display connected to said controller;

means connected to said controller for enabling a player to accept or reject an award offer randomly selected by the controller and made to the player; and

means connected to the controller for randomly determining a maximum number of award offers the player may receive from at least two different potential numbers of award offers.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the determining means includes a plurality of selections, a number of award offers associated with each selection and means connected to the controller for enabling a player to select one of said selections.

3. The gaming device of claim 2, wherein the number of award offers associated with each selection is randomly determined by the controller.

4. The gaming device of claim 2, wherein the number of award offers associated with each selection is determined by the controller each time the bonus scheme is triggered.

5. The gaming device of claim 2, which includes means for eliminating an award offer after said award offer is offered to said player.

6. A gaming device having a bonus scheme comprising:

a plurality of award offers wherein the award offer display includes means for communicating the elimination of each rejected award offer to the player, which includes a plurality of selections, a number of award offers associated with each selection and means connected to the controller for enabling said player to select one of said selections to determine the maximum number of award offers made to the player in the bonus game;

a controller for randomly selecting award offers from said plurality of award offers to offer to a player and for eliminating each selected award offer made to the player from the plurality of award offers which may be subsequently selected by the controller if said selected award offer is rejected by the player;

an award offer display connected to said controller;

an award offers remaining display connected to said controller; and

means connected to said controller for enabling a player to accept or reject one of the award offers made to the player by the controller from non-eliminated award offers.

7. A method for operating a gaming device, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) triggering a bonus round;

(b) randomly determining a number of offers a player may receive from at least two different numbers of offers, including a last offer;

(c) randomly selecting an award offer from a plurality of award offers and communicating said selected award offer to said player;

(d) enabling said player to accept or reject said selected award offer;

(e) repeating steps (c) and (d) if said player rejects said selected award offer and the selected award offer is not the last offer;

(f) providing the award offer to the player if the player accepts said selected award offer or if the selected award offer is the last offer; and

(g) terminating the bonus round.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of randomly determining the number of offers includes providing a plurality of selections, a number of offers associated with each selection and enabling a player to select one of said selections.

9. The method of claim 7, which includes nullifying an award offer after said award offer is offered to said player.

10. The method of claim 9, which includes communicating said nullification of said award offer to said player.

11. The method of claim 7, which includes nullifying a randomly determined award offer after an award offer is offered to said player.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein step (d) includes enabling the player to select a previously selected award offer.

13. A method for operating a gaming device, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) triggering a bonus round;

(b) randomly selecting an award offer from a plurality of non-nullified award offers and communicating said selected award offer to a player;

(c) enabling said player to accept or reject said selected award offer;

(d) nullifying said selected award offer from said plurality of award offers if said player rejects said selected award offer;

(e) repeating steps (b) through (d) if said player rejects said selected award offer and the award offer is not a last offer;

(f) providing the selected award offer to the player if the player accepts said selected award offer or if the selected award offer is the last offer; and

(g) terminating the bonus round which includes the step of randomly determining the number of offers provided to the player.

14. A gaming device comprising:

a plurality of potential offers;

a processor for randomly selecting offers to be made to a player from said plurality of potential offers;

an offer display controlled by the processor for displaying to the player the offers selected by the processor from said plurality of potential offers;

an offer acceptor controlled by said processor;

an offer rejector controlled by said processor;

a plurality of selections and a selection indicator controlled by the processor; and

a number associated with each selection, at least two of said numbers being different, and said number associated with the selected selection being the maximum number of offers made by the processor to the player.

15. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the processor selects said offers to be made to the player in a bonus game.

16. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of selections are player selectable using said selection indicator.

17. The gaming device of claim 14, which includes a display device in communication with the processor which displays the selections and includes the selection indicator.

18. The gaming device of claim 17, wherein the selection indicator of the display device is a touch screen.

19. The gaming device of claim 14, which includes a display device in communication with the processor, wherein the display device displays the potential offers and includes the offer display for displaying selected offers to the player.

20. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein the displaying device displays the offer acceptor and offer rejector.

21. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the processor provides an award to the player which is either an accepted offer or a final offer based on said maximum number of offers.

22. The gaming device of claim 14, which includes an offers remaining display controlled by said processor for displaying to the player the number of offers remaining to be made by the processor based on the maximum number of offers made by the processor to the player.

23. The gaming device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of potential offers includes eliminated potential offers and non-eliminated potential offers, and wherein said processor randomly selects offers to be made to the player from said non-eliminated potential offers.

24. A gaming device comprising:

a plurality of potential offers which includes eliminated potential offers and non-eliminated potential offers;

a processor for randomly selecting offers to be made to a player from said non-eliminated potential offers and for eliminating offers rejected by the player;

an offer display controlled by the processor for displaying to the player the offers selected by the processor from said non-eliminated potential offers;

an offer acceptor controlled by said processor; and

an offer rejector controlled by said processor which includes a display device in communication with the processor, wherein the display device displays the potential offers and includes the offer display for displaying selected offers to the player, wherein the display device displays the offer acceptor and the offer rejector, which includes a plurality of selections and a number associated with each selection, said number being the maximum number of offers made by the processor to the player.

25. A gaming device comprising:

a plurality of potential offers which includes eliminated potential offers and non-eliminated potential offers;

a processor for randomly selecting offers to be made to a player from said non-eliminated potential offers and for eliminating offers rejected by the player;

an offer display controlled by the processor for displaying to the player the offers selected by the processor from said non-eliminated potential offers;

an offer acceptor controlled by said processor;

an offer rejector controlled by said processor;

a plurality of selections;

a number associated with each selection, at least two of said numbers being different, and said number associated with the picked selection being the maximum number of non-eliminated offers made by the processor to the player; and

an offers remaining display controlled by said processor for displaying the number of offers remaining to be made by the processor to the player based on the maximum number of offers made by the processor to the player.

26. In a gaming machine having a bonus scheme including a plurality of award offers, an award offer display, an offers remaining display, an award offer acceptor, an award offer rejector and a processor for communicating with said award offer display, said offers remaining display, said award offer acceptor and said award offer rejector, and for randomly selecting the award offers to be made to a player, the improvement comprising:

a plurality of selections, a number of offers associated with each selection, at least two of the numbers of offers being different, and a selection indicator, wherein said processor communicates with the selection indicator and limits the number of offers provided to the player based on the number of offers associated with one of the selections which is picked by the player.

27. The gaming machine of claim 26, wherein the processor provides an award to the player which is either an accepted offer or a final offer based on said number of offers associated with the selection picked by the player.