Method and apparatus for conducting a game of chance

• US 7,766,739 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2004
• Issued: 08/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Scientific Games Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gamelogic Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Herrmann, Mark E., Kane, Steven N., Sabet, Bijan, Hardy, Dow, LaRocca, Paul, Yanowitz, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter Dungba
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoel; Matthew D.
• Application Number:
  US11/027,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20050250575A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,042 Days
• Field of Search: 463/9, 463 17- 19, 463/29, 463/16, 463/20, 273/269, 273/270, 273/272, 273/299, 282/49, 282/903, 283/49
• US Class Current: 463/17
• 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 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

A system and method are provided for playing a game of chance. The game of chance may include, for example, a lottery-type game. A result of the game of chance is revealed to a player in another medium. In one example, the result is revealed during multiple game instances of one or more online games. In one example, the online game includes a scrambled word game similar to the well-known game of JUMBLE.

Claims

1. A method of playing games of chance comprising acts of:

issuing, at a point of sale terminal, a ticket having a ticket based game thereon to a player, the ticket including a code printed on a surface of the ticket, wherein an outcome of the ticket based game is stored in a database and not placed on the ticket, the ticket based game having an overall prize value; and

providing for the player an interface of a host computer system to play a computer based game that is a different game than the ticket based game on a different medium than the issued ticket, wherein the code is used to gain security access to the computer based game and to reveal the outcome of the ticket based game from the database, wherein the computer based game is a computer-based scrambled word game involving one or more scrambled words, and wherein the player descrambles the one or more scrambled words within the interface of the computer based game to reveal a result of the computer based game and;

displaying, during play of a plurality of game instances of the computer based game, the outcome of the ticket based game to the player in the interface, wherein at least one prize awarded in response to play of the plurality of game instances of the computer based game accumulates to form the overall prize value, wherein the ticket based game is approved by regulators.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of issuing a ticket includes an act of issuing at least one of a lottery ticket, a scratch ticket, and a pull-tab ticket.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of providing further comprises an act of providing the computer based game which the player plays to reveal the results of the ticket based first game.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the act of providing the computer based game further comprises an act of permitting access to the results of the ticket based game by using the code as a decryption key to obtain the results.

5. The method according to claim 3, further comprising storing, in a database of a computer system, a portion of a decryption key, the portion being used along with the code by the computer system to obtain the results.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising an act of obtaining, from the database of the computer system, the portion of the decryption key based on an identifier printed on the ticket.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the identifier is a serial number associated with the ticket.

8. The method according to claim 3, wherein the act of providing includes an act of permitting access to a website to play the computer based game.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of storing, on a server, the results of the ticket based game.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of presenting, to the player, an interface in which the player is permitted to enter the code to obtain security access to the results.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the computer based game is a JUMBLE-type game.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the computer based game includes a slot machine game.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the overall prize value for the ticket is predetermined.

14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising an act of presenting the prize total as a sequence of reveals.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sequence of reveals is predetermined.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sequence of reveals are randomly determined by the client.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sequence of reveals is stored in a database of a server.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sequence of reveals is determined by a predetermined game script.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein the sequence of reveals is determined dynamically by a game playing computer system.

20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of revealing, to the player, an item associated with a second level game.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the item associated with the second level game is a letter associated with a first level game, and wherein the method further comprises acts of:

permitting the player, in the second level game, to select among a plurality of prize boxes;

upon selecting, by the player, a particular one of the plurality of prize boxes, displaying a letter to the player; and

awarding a prize to the player if the displayed letter matches the letter associated with the first level game.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising an act of associating a set of letters in the first level game with corresponding pay table entries in the second level game.

23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising an act of displaying, upon the selection of the particular one of the plurality of prize boxes, a pay table entry associated with the displayed letter.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the displayed letter is predetermined.

25. The method according to claim 21, wherein the act of selecting the particular one of the plurality of prize boxes is independent of an act of determining what particular letter is displayed by the act of displaying.

26. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of associating, with the ticket, additional opportunities to win.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the additional opportunities to win include one or more additional reveals of results associated with the ticket based game.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the one or more additional reveals of results are presented during play of an online game.

29. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of providing, by a first server associated with the ticket based game, a result associated with the ticket based first game.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising an act of storing, in a memory of a computer system, the result associated with the ticket based first game.

31. The method according to claim 30, further comprising an act of associating the result with an indication of the ticket.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the indication of the ticket is unique among indicators of a plurality of tickets.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the player must wait a predetermined time period before redeeming the ticket.

34. The method according to claim 32, wherein the player must wait until a specific event has been completed before redeeming the ticket.

35. The method according to claim 29, wherein the first server further comprises a random number generator, and the random number generator performs an act of determining a set numbers associated with the issued ticket.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the ticket based game includes at least one of a Keno game and a bingo game, and the act of determining a set of numbers associated with the issued ticket comprises an act of selecting a predetermined number of numbers from a predetermined set of numbers.

37. The method according to claim 35, further comprising an act of determining a predetermined game script where a magnitude of prizes awarded for reveals associated with later win opportunities are progressively greater than the magnitude of prizes associated with reveals associated with earlier win opportunities.

38. The method according to claim 35, further comprising an act of determining, for an issued ticket indicated as a losing ticket, a game script comprising an indication that the player was substantially close to winning.

39. The method according to claim 29, further comprising an act of determining a set of winning numbers associated with the ticket based game.

40. The method according to claim 39, further comprising an act of determining the result of the ticket based first game based on a comparison of the set of numbers associated with the issued ticket and the set of winning numbers.

41. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of permitting the player to redeem the issued ticket without playing the computer based game on the different medium.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein the player is permitted to redeem the ticket online.

43. The method according to claim 42, wherein the player is permitted to redeem the ticket to play one or more additional online games.

44. The method according to claim 43, further comprising an act of receiving an access code for playing the one or more additional online games.

45. The method according to claim 44, wherein the access code is transmitted electronically to the player.

46. The method according to claim 1, wherein the player must wait until a specific event has been completed before gaining access to obtain results associated with the ticket.

47. The method according to claim 1, wherein the issued ticket discloses a number of game instances awarded to the player.

48. The method according to claim 1, wherein the overall prize value for the ticket is determined after the ticket is issued to the player.

49. The method according to claim 48, further comprising an act of determining an outcome associated with the ticket based on a drawing.

50. The method according to claim 49, further comprising an act of permitting the player to play the another game in response to the act of determining the outcome.

51. The method according to claim 1, wherein the overall prize value for the ticket is determined prior to issuing the ticket to the player.

52. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an act of downloading a game program, the game program, when executed, renders an interface of the computer based game in an interface of a game-playing computer system.

53. The method according to claim 52, wherein the game program does not require an installation of one or more components on the game-playing computer system.

54. The method according to claim 52, wherein the game program executes within a browser program window in an interface of the game-playing computer system.

55. The method according to claim 52, wherein the game program is programmed using Macromedia Flash programming.

56. A method of playing games of chance comprising acts of:

issuing, at a point of sale terminal, a ticket having a ticket based game thereon to a player, the ticket including a code printed on a surface of the ticket, wherein an outcome of the ticket based game is stored in a database and not placed on the ticket, the ticket based game having an overall prize value; and

providing for the player an interface of a host computer system to play a computer based game that is a different game than the ticket based game on a different medium than the issued ticket, wherein a code is used to game security access to the computer based game and to reveal the outcome of the ticket based game from the database, whereas the computer based game is a computer-based scrambled word game involving one or more scrambled words, and wherein the player descrambles the one or more scrambled words within the interface of the computer based game to reveal a result of the computer based game, and wherein the ticket discloses a number of game instances of the computer based scrambled word game awarded to the player; and

displaying, during play of the number of game instances of the computer based game, the outcome of the ticket based game to the player in the interface of the host computer system, wherein prized awarded in response to play of the at least one of the number of game instances accrue to form the overall prize value.

57. A method of playing games of chance comprising acts of:

issuing, at a point of sale terminal, a ticket having a ticket based game thereon to a player, the ticket including a code printed on a surface of the ticket, wherein an outcome of the ticket based game is stored in a database and not placed on the ticket, the ticket based game having an overall prize value;

providing for the player an interface of a host computer system to play a computer based game that is a different game than the ticket based game on a different medium than the issued ticket, wherein the code is used to game security access to the computer based game and to reveal the outcome of the ticket based game from the database, wherein the computer based game is a computer-based scrambled word game involving one or more scrambled words, and wherein the player descrambles the one or more scrambled words within the interface of the computer based game to reveal a result of the computer based game and;

displaying, during play of a plurality of game instances of the computer based game, the outcome of the ticket based game to the player in the interface, wherein prizes awarded in response to play of the plurality of game instances accumulate to form the overall prize value; and

revealing, to the player, an item associated with a second level game in response to play of the computer based game, wherein the item is used to play the second level game.

58. The method according to claim 57, wherein the item is used by the player to reveal a prize won by the player.

59. The method according to claim 58, wherein the prize won by the player is at least one of cash, merchandise, and credit.

60. The method according to claim 58, wherein an indication of the prize won by the player is stored in a database of a server, and is downloaded to a computer presenting the computer based game to the player.