Cashless bonusing for gaming machines

• US 7,785,193 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Nguyen, Binh T., Paulsen, Craig A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones; Scott
• Application Number:
  US10/114,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20030186739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,077 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 42, 273/138.1, 273/138.A, 273/138.R, 273/143.A, 273/139, 273/269, 235379-381
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value

Abstract

A cashless technology involves issuance of bonus awards to players. The bonus awards themselves are cash, service, merchandise, etc. But the game issues these awards in the form of a cashless instrument representing the award. The cashless instrument may be issued under various circumstances and in various forms such as pre-printed tickets, peelable tickets, updated information on a player card, updated information in a database, etc.

Claims

1. A method of issuing a cashless instrument for redeeming at least a bonus award that supplements a primary award of a primary game effectively provided by a gaming machine, the method comprising:

receiving cash and/or an indicia of credit for a wager on the primary game;

converting the cash and/or the indicia of credit to primary credits used for the wager on the primary game effectively provided by the gaming machine;

executing part of a play of the primary game on the gaming machine after receiving the cash and/or indicia of credit;

detecting a bonus event as the result of the execution of the part of the play of the primary game;

determining whether or not said bonus event has triggered a bonus award for play during the primary game;

if it is determined that said bonus event has triggered a bonus award for play during the primary game, then storing bonus data indicative of said bonus award to a bonus data repository maintained separately from the primary credits used for the wager on the primary game; and

issuing the cashless instrument based on the bonus data stored on the bonus data repository after the determination that said bonus event has triggered said bonus award for play during the primary game effectively provided by the gaming machine as the result of the execution of the part of the play on the gaming machine, wherein the cashless instrument includes a separable primary award portion and a separable bonus award portion that are separable from each other, wherein the separable primary award portion is redeemable for a primary award won for play of the primary game, and the separable bonus award portion is redeemable for said bonus award, thereby allowing said bonus award to be separately redeemed from the primary award by separating the separable bonus award portion from the separable primary award portion and submitting said bonus award portion in order to receive said bonus award after said bonus award is verified based on the bonus data stored in the bonus data repository and wherein the cashless instrument further comprises indicia for playing a secondary bonus game beyond the primary game comprising collecting multiple different cashless instruments of a bonus award awarded for part of the play of the primary game.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cashless instrument is a ticket.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the two portions are adhesively affixed to one another and can be separated by peeling one portion off of the other portion.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining that a winning outcome has occurred in the play of the primary game; and

issuing from the gaming machine a second cashless instrument of the primary award.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein issuing the cashless instrument of the bonus award comprises issuing an instrument having a representation of the bonus award and the representation of the primary award.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the instrument is a ticket having the representation of the bonus award on one side and the representation of the primary award on the other side.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

storing player data indicative of a particular player in connection with the bonus data and bonus award; and

issuing, based on said player data, the cashless instrument to the particular player, thereby allowing the particular player to redeem the bonus award by effectively submitting the cashless instrument.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondary bonus game comprises a scratch-off game printed on the cashless instrument of the bonus award.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cashless instrument of the bonus award comprises a portable instrument identifying a particular player.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the portable instrument is a player tracking card, a smart card, or a cellular device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the issuing of the cashless instrument comprises writing information to a data repository and specifying the bonus award for a particular player.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the cashless instrument of the bonus award comprises a transponder that responds with unique identifiers when probed with an interrogation signal.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the cashless instrument comprises a lottery ticket portion.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the triggered bonus event corresponds to some event in the primary game or the quantity of play on the primary game.

15. A gaming machine for issuing a cashless instrument of a bonus award that supplements a primary game award of a primary game effectively provided by a gaming machine, the gaming machine comprising:

a dispenser for issuing cashless indicia of game awards;

a master gaming controller designed or configured to execute;

primary game logic for receiving cash and/or an indicia of credit for a wager on the primary game;

for converting the cash and/or the indicia of credit to the primary credits used for the wager on the primary game effectively provided by said gaming machine;

for determining an outcome of the primary game and for presenting a presentation of the primary game; and

bonus game logic for detecting a bonus event as the result of the execution of part of the play of the primary game;

for determining whether or not said bonus event has triggered a bonus award for the primary game;

for storing information regarding bonus data indicative of said bonus award to a bonus data repository maintained separately from the primary credits used for the wager on the primary game; and

for instructing the dispenser to issue a cashless instrument based on the bonus data if it is determined that said bonus event has triggered said bonus award for the primary game effectively provided by the gaming machine, wherein the cashless instrument includes two portions that are separable from each other and at least one of the separable portions is redeemable for said bonus award, thereby allowing the bonus award to be subsequently redeemed by presenting the cashless instrument and the cashless instrument further comprises indicia for playing a secondary bonus game beyond the primary game comprising collecting multiple different cashless instruments of a bonus award awarded for part of the play of the primary game;

one or more input mechanism for receiving the cash or indicia of credit; and

a display for displaying the primary game.

16. The gaming machine of claim 15, further comprising an interface for communicating with a server that provides information about the bonus game.

17. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the dispenser is a thermal printer.

18. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein the printer is designed or configured to print indicia of the bonus award on a first side of a ticket opposite a second side that contains non-bonus information.

19. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein the second side displays at least one of the primary game award and promotional information.

20. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the primary game logic comprises logic for playing one or more of a slot game, a video card game, a keno game, a pachinko game, and a checkers game.

21. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the bonus game logic is coupled to the primary game logic in a manner allowing the bonus game logic to detect events in the primary game that trigger issuance of the cashless instruments of bonus awards.

22. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the bonus game logic randomly issues the cashless instrument of bonus awards.

23. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the dispenser can issue tickets comprising transponders that respond with unique identifiers when probed with an interrogation signal.

24. The gaming machine of claim 15, further comprising a wireless transceiver for transferring data regarding the bonus awards.

25. A system for issuing a cashless instrument of a bonus award that supplements a primary award of a primary game, the system comprising:

one or more gaming machines, each gaming machine comprising;

a dispenser for issuing cashless instrument of game awards;

a master gaming controller designed or configured to execute;

primary game logic for receiving cash and/or an indicia of credit for a wager on the primary game;

for converting the cash and/or the indicia of credit to the primary credits used for the wager on the primary game effectively provided by said gaming machine, for determining an outcome of the primary game and for presenting a presentation of the primary game; and

bonus game logic for storing information regarding bonus data indicative of a bonus award to a bonus data repository maintained separately from the primary credits used for the wager on the primary game wherein said bonus game logic is coupled to said primary game logic in a manner allowing said bonus game logic to detect events in the primary game that trigger issuance of cashless instruments of bonus awards; and

for instructing the dispenser to issue cashless instrument based on the bonus data if it is determined that a bonus event has triggered a bonus award for the primary game effectively provided by the gaming machine, wherein the cashless instrument includes two portions that are separable from each other and at least one of the separable portions is redeemable for said bonus award, thereby allowing said bonus award to be subsequently redeemed by presenting the cashless instrument and the cashless instrument further comprises indicia for playing a secondary bonus game beyond the primary game comprising collecting multiple different cashless instruments of a bonus award;

one or more input mechanism for receiving the cash or indicia of credit; and

a display for displaying the primary game; and

a server for communicating over a network with the gaming machine and serving data pertaining to the bonus game; and

the network for allowing communication between the gaming machine and the server.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the gaming machine further comprises an interface for communicating with the server that provides information about the bonus game.

27. The system of claim 25, further comprising a validation terminal.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the primary game logic comprises logic for playing one or more of a slot game, a video card game, a keno game, a pachinko game, and a checkers game.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the bonus game logic randomly issues the cashless instrument of bonus awards.

30. A method of issuing a cashless instrument of a bonus award that supplements a primary award of a primary game on a client computer communicating with a gaming server over a network, the method comprising:

executing part of a play of the primary game on the gaming server;

sending information regarding the primary game to the client computer;

detecting a bonus event;

determining whether or not said bonus event has triggered a bonus award for play during the primary game;

if it is determined that said bonus event has triggered a bonus award for play during the primary game, then storing bonus data indicative of said bonus award to a bonus data repository maintained separately from the primary credits used for the wager on the primary game; and

instructing the client computer by the gaming server to issue a cashless instrument of the bonus award from the client computer after the determination that said bonus event has triggered a bonus award for the primary game effectively provided by the gaming machine, wherein the cashless instrument includes two portions that are separable from each other and at least one of the separable portions is redeemable for said bonus award, thereby allowing said bonus award to be subsequently redeemed by presenting the cashless instrument and the cashless instrument further comprises indicia for playing a secondary bonus game beyond the primary game comprising collecting multiple different cashless instruments of a bonus award awarded for part of the play of the primary game.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the cashless instrument is a receipt printed from the client computer.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

determining that a winning event has occurred in the primary game; and

instructing the client computer to issue a cashless instrument of the primary award.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein issuing the cashless instrument of the bonus award comprises issuing an instrument having a representation of the bonus award and the representation of the primary award.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the cashless instrument of the bonus award comprises verification information identifying an Internet gaming player who played the primary game.