Method for providing incentive to play gaming devices connected by a network to a host computer

• US 6,800,030 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2002
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: Acres Gaming Incorporated (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Acres, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Hughes, S. Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADAMS, CHANDA L
• Application Number:
  US10/213,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20030104862A1
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/25-28, 463/40-42
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2001/008 adapted for being playable on a screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3281 wherein game attributes are transferred between players, e.g. points, weapons, avatars

Abstract

A card reader is associated with each gaming machine on a network and a card is associated with each player. A player account accessible by a host computer on the network is created that associates the player'"'"'s card with the account. A promotional credit is applied to the player'"'"'s account. In a complementary incentive, credit from the player'"'"'s account is applied to the coin-in meter of a slot machine responsive to insertion of the player card into a card reader associated with the machine. In a matching incentive also implemented by the present invention, each time the player inserts a coin into the slot machine, an equal credit is debited from the player'"'"'s account and applied to the coin-in meter of the machine. In both cases, the credit can only be used by the player to play the machines and cannot be cashed out by the player.

Claims

1. A method for providing incentive to play gaming devices connected by a network to a host computer comprising:

creating a player account accessible by the host computer;

applying a promotional credit to the player account;

accessing the account and applying at least some of the promotional credit to a coin-in meter on said one gaming device responsive to a single command initiated by a player at one of the gaming devices; and

preventing the promotional credit from being cashed out by the player.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the gaming device can be played with a minimum and a maximum number of coins and wherein debiting the account comprises debiting the account by the maximum number of coins playable on the gaming device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said meted further comprises preventing debiting the account beyond a predetermined time period.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said method further comprises entering an end time in the player account and preventing debiting the account after the end time.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said method further comprises entering a start time in the player account and preventing debiting the account before the start time.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said gaming device can be played with a minimum and a maximum number of coins and wherein said method further comprises debiting the account by the maximum number of coins playable on the gaming device responsive to the completion of each game played by the player on the gaming device and crediting the gaming device with the amount debited from the account each time the account is debited.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said method comprises paying jackpots won by the player on the gaming device by applying a credit to a credit meter in the gaming device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said method comprises paying jackpots won by the player on the gaming device by paying coins from the machine to the player.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein paying any jackpots won as a result of gaming device play utilizing credit from the player account to the player comprises hand paying the jackpot.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said method further includes the step of displaying the current amount of credit in a player'"'"'s account.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the single command issued by a player at one of the gaming devices comprises insertion of a card into a card reader associated with said one gaming device.

12. A method for providing incentive to play gaming devices connected by a network to a host computer comprising:

creating a player account accessible by the host computer;

applying a promotional credit to the player account;

accessing information in the player account responsive to a command issued by a player at one of the gaming devices;

applying promotional credit from the player account to said one gaming device responsive to a wager placed on a coin-in meter of said one gaming device; and

preventing the promotional credit from being cashed out by the player.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the promotional credit applied from the player account is equal to the value of the wager placed on the coin-in meter.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said method further comprises applying promotional credit from the player account to said one gaming device each time a wager is placed on the cola-in meter.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the promotional credit applied from the player account is equal to the value of the wager placed on the coin-in meter.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein said method further comprises establishing a predetermined condition that must be met before applying promotional credit from the player account to said one gaming device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said predetermined condition comprises a minimum wager placed on the coin-in meter.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein said method further comprises applying a predetermined credit to the player account each time a predetermined condition is met.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said predetermined condition comprises a minimum number of wagers placed.

20. The method of claim 12 wherein applying a promotional credit to the player account comprises applying a predetermined credit to the player account each time the player plays a predetermined amount of money.

21. The method at claim 12 wherein the single command issued by a player at one of the gaming devices comprises insertion of a card into a card reader associated with said one gaming device.