Gaming device having a wagering game wherein a wager amount is automatically determined based on a quantity of player selections

• US 7,837,547 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Cannon, Lee E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lim; Seng Heng
• Application Number:
  US11/011,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20060128457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,170 Days
• Field of Search: 463/18
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements

Abstract

A number matching game which can be employed in both a gaming device and in live gaming at a casino is disclosed. The player picks one or more number spots from a number pool. The gaming device or house draws randomly at least one number from the same pool. An award is provided to the player based on an amount of matches between the player selected number(s) (the spots) and the game drawn number(s). In one embodiment, the amount of the player'"'"'s wager is a function of the number of spots the player selects. For example, an additional credit may be automatically wagered for each spot selected over a predefined threshold. In addition, the award provided to the player may be less than the amount wagered.

Claims

1. A keno gaming device comprising:

at least one input device;

at least one display device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device, for each of a plurality of plays of a game, to;

display a plurality of selections;

enable a player to select a first set of the plurality of selections, the first set of the plurality of selections having a first set size based on a player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set, said player-determined quantity of selections being any one of a plurality of different quantities of selections which are each greater than one and less than a predetermined quantity of the selections;

determine a variable wager amount based on said first set size of said first set of selections chosen by the player for said play of the game and independent of which selections are included in the first set of selections, the variable wager amount including at least a first portion based on a first wager amount per selection for a first subset of the first set of the plurality of selections and a second portion based on a different second wager amount per selection for a second subset of the first set of the plurality of selections, the first portion of the variable wager amount determined without regard for which selections are in the first subset, and the second portion of the variable wager amount determined without regard for which selections are in the second subset;

randomly determine a second set of the plurality of selections, said second set of the plurality of selections having a second set size; and

cause an award to be provided to the player if a minimum number of matches occurs between the first set of the plurality of selections and the second set of the plurality of selections for said play of the game, said award being determined;

(a) based on a quantity of matches which occurs between the first set and the second set,

(b) independent of which matches, if any, include any selections from the first subset of the plurality of selections, and

(c) independent of which matches, if any, include any selections from the second subset of the plurality of selections.

2. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the award provided to the player is one selected from a plurality of different awards and wherein at least one of the plurality of different awards is greater than zero and less than the variable wager amount.

3. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the award provided to the player is a noninteger multiple of the variable wager amount.

4. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the variable wager amount is equal in credits to the player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set.

5. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the variable wager amount is a multiple of the player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set.

6. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the variable wager amount is a sum of a first predetermined amount for the first subset of the first set of selections and a second different predetermined amount for the second subset of the first set of selections.

7. The keno gaming device of claim 6, wherein a sum of the quantity of selections of the first subset and the quantity of selections of the second subset is equal to the first set size.

8. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein:

if the player-determined quantity of the selections is at most three, the variable wager amount is equal to one credit;

if the player-determined quantity of the selections is equal to four, the variable wager amount is equal to two credits;

if the player-determined quantity of the selections is equal to five, the variable wager amount is equal to three credits; and

wherein the award provided to the player is one of a plurality of awards, wherein at least one of the plurality of awards is greater than zero and less than the variable wager amount.

9. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the player-determined quantity of the selections is restricted to a quantity from three selections to ten selections of the plurality of selections and the plurality of selections includes a quantity of selections associated with the numbers one to eighty.

10. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to operate with the at least one display device to display one of:

a match indication and a no-match indication indicating whether a first selection of the first set matches any of the selections of the second set after a first selection of the first set is selected by the player and before a second selection of the first set is selected by the player.

11. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the game is based on at least one selected from the group consisting of a Keno game, a lottery game, and a Bingo game.

12. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to randomly determine the second set of the plurality of selections.

13. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of selections includes a plurality of numerical symbols.

39. The keno gaming device of claim 1, wherein the first wager amount per selection is lower than the second wager amount per selection.

14. A Keno gaming device comprising:

a cabinet;

a monitor supported by the cabinet;

at least one input device; and

a processor programmed to operate with the monitor and the at least one input device to;

display a plurality of numbers,

(ii) randomly determine a second set of the plurality of numbers, the second set having a second set size, the second set size being at least one and being less than the total quantity of the plurality of numbers,

(iii) enable a player to sequentially select a first set of the plurality of numbers, the first set having a first set size based on a player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set, the player-determined quantity of the numbers being a quantity of the numbers which is any one of a plurality of different quantities and which is at least one,

(iv) for each sequentially selected number of the first set of the plurality of numbers;

(a) increase the first set size,

(b) determine whether the first set size exceeds a predetermined first subset size,

(c) if the determination is that the first set size does not exceed the predetermined first subset size, update a variable wager amount based on a first wager amount per number regardless of which number is the selected number,

(d) if the determination is that the first set size exceeds the predetermined first subset size, update the variable wager amount based on a different second wager amount per number regardless of which number is the selected number, and

(e) display an indication of whether said selected number matches any of the numbers of the second set of the plurality of numbers,

(v) determine an outcome for the player based on the variable wager amount and based on a quantity of matches which occurs between any number of the first set of the plurality of numbers and any number of the second set of the plurality of numbers, and

(vi) cause the outcome to be provided to the player.

15. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to determine said outcome by selecting an award from a plurality of awards based on the quantity of matches, wherein at least one of the plurality of awards is associated with a value which is greater than zero and less than the variable wager amount.

16. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the outcome is associated with a value which is a noninteger multiple of the variable wager amount.

17. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the variable wager amount is equal in credits to the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set.

18. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the variable wager amount is a multiple of the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set.

19. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the variable wager amount is a sum of a first predetermined amount for a first subset of the first set of the plurality of numbers and a second different predetermined amount for a second subset of the first set of the plurality of numbers.

20. The Keno gaming device of claim 19, wherein a sum of a quantity of the numbers of the first subset of the first set of the plurality of numbers and a quantity of the numbers of the second subset of the first set of the plurality of numbers is equal to the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set.

21. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to:

determine the variable wager amount to be three credits if the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set is equal to one;

determine the variable wager amount to be three credits if the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set is equal to two;

determine the variable wager amount to be three credits if the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set is equal to three; and

determine the variable wager amount to be four credits if the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set is equal to four.

22. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to restrict the player-determined quantity of the numbers selected by the player for the first set to a quantity between three numbers and ten numbers and wherein the plurality of numbers includes the numbers one to eighty.

23. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the processor is programmed to operate with the monitor to display one of:

a match indication and a no-match indication after a first number of the first set of the plurality of numbers is selected by the player and before a second number of the first set of the plurality of numbers is selected by the player.

40. The Keno gaming device of claim 14, wherein the first wager amount per number is lower than the second wager amount per number.

24. A method of operating a keno game, said method comprising:

causing a display device to display a plurality of selections;

enabling a player to cause a first set of the plurality of selections to be selected using an input device, the first set having a first set size based on a player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set, the player-determined quantity of selections being any one of a plurality of different quantities of selections which are each at least one and less than a total quantity of the plurality of selections;

causing at least one processor to determine a variable wager amount based on the first set size and independent of which selections are included in the first set of the plurality of selections, the variable wager amount including at least a first portion based on a first wager amount per selection for a first subset of the first set of the plurality of selections and a second portion based on a different second wager amount per selection for a second subset of the first set of the plurality of selections, the first portion of the variable wager amount determined without regard for which selections are in the first subset, and the second portion of the variable wager amount determined without regard for which selections are in the second subset;

causing the display device to display the determined variable wager amount to the player;

randomly determining a second set of the plurality of selections, the second set including at least one selection and less than all of the plurality of selections; and

causing an award to be provided to the player if a minimum number of matches occurs between the first set and the second set, the award being independent of which matches, if any include any selections from the first subset of the plurality of selections and being independent of which matches, if any, include any selections from the second subset of the plurality of selections.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein an amount associated with the award is based on a quantity of matches which occurs between the first set and the second set.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein an amount associated with the award is based on a number of points earned for a quantity of matches which occurs between the first set and the second set.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein an amount associated with the award is greater than zero and less than the variable wager amount.

28. The method of claim 24, wherein a total amount associated with the award provided to the player is a noninteger multiple of the variable wager amount.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the variable wager amount is equal in credits to the player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set.

30. The method of claim 24, wherein the variable wager amount is a multiple of the player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set.

31. The method of claim 24, wherein the variable wager amount is a sum of a first predetermined amount for the first subset of the first set and a different second predetermined amount for the second subset of the first set.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein a sum of a quantity of the selections of the first subset and a quantity of the selections of the second subset is equal to the player-determined quantity of the selections selected by the player for the first set.

33. The method of claim 24, wherein displaying the plurality of selections includes displaying an electronic representation of a Keno card.

34. The method of claim 24, wherein displaying the plurality of selections includes providing a physical Keno card.

35. The method of claim 24, wherein randomly determining the second set of the plurality of selections includes generating at least one random number at a Keno gaming device.

36. The method of claim 24, wherein randomly determining the second set of the plurality of numbers includes generating a number at a central server, and which includes transmitting data indicative of the second set from the central server to a gaming device.

37. The method of claim 24, which includes displaying an indication of a match after a first member of the first set is selected by the player and before a second member of the first set is selected by the player.

38. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of selections includes a plurality of numbers.

41. The method of claim 24, wherein the first wager amount per selection is lower than the second wager amount per selection.