Gaming system having multiple gaming machines which provide bonus awards

• US 8,021,230 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2007
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Evans, Christina, Hungate, Yuliya, Baerlocher, Anthony J., Vasquez, James A., Ching, Erick T., Peterson, Tonja M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol; Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUFFY, DAVID W
• Application Number:
  US11/830,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20080153564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,513 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 20, 463 25- 27
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
• 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 17/3258 Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3269 Timing aspects of game play, e.g. blocking/halting the operation of a gaming machine
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3283 wherein the number of active machines is limited
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3286 Type of games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A gaming system including a central server linked to a plurality of gaming machines, gaming tables, hand held gaming devices and/or community gaming displays. The central server monitors wagers placed on any games played. Based at least in part on the wagers placed, the central server determines when one or more bonus events will occur and which players to provide any bonus awards.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

a plurality of different gaming mediums, each gaming medium controlled by at least one gaming medium processor and configured to enable a play of a wagering game, wherein each wagering game is configured to operate upon a placement of a wager by a player and the plurality of gaming mediums are configured to be played by the plurality of players at a plurality of different rates during a bonus event accumulation period; and

a controller configured to communicate with each of the plurality of different gaming mediums, the controller programmed to;

(a) maintain an accumulated wager pool including at least the wagers placed on the wagering games played during the bonus event accumulation period,

(b) randomly determine to provide at least one of a plurality of bonus awards to at least one of the plurality of players of the wagering games, wherein said determination is based at least in part on the accumulated wager pool and is independent of any event in any play of any of the wagering games played on the different gaming mediums, and

(c) determine which gaming medium playing one of the wagering games will provide the bonus award based at least in part on the wagers placed on the wagering games, wherein the gaming medium processor for the selected gaming medium determines at least part, but not all, of the bonus award to be displayed and provided by said gaming medium selected by the controller and said determination of the bonus award to be displayed is independent of any wagering game outcomes determined in association with any of the plays of any of the wagering games of any of the gaming mediums.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of different gaming mediums include at least a first type of gaming medium and a second, different type of gaming medium.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wagering games played on the plurality of different gaming mediums are selected from the group consisting of:

wagering games played over a network setup, wagering games played utilizing a hand-held device, wagering games played at non-dedicated gaming terminals, wagering games played at a multi-player gaming station and wagering games played at a gaming machine.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to:

(a) for each gaming medium, maintain a total of the wagers placed on the wagering games of said gaming mediums during the bonus event accumulation period;

(b) maintain the accumulated wager pool including a total of the wagers placed on the wagering games of all of gaming mediums during the bonus event accumulation period;

(c) determine at designated intervals during the bonus event accumulation period if a bonus event will occur; and

(d) if the bonus event is determined to occur;

(i) determine which of the gaming mediums were in an active state during a bonus event qualification period for said bonus event, and

(ii) select at least one of the gaming mediums in the active state to be the gaming medium which will display and provide the bonus award.

5. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the controller is programmed to select at least one of the gaming mediums in the active state based on the total wagers placed during the bonus event accumulation period for each gaming medium in the active state relative to a total of the wagers placed for all of said gaming mediums in the active state during the bonus event accumulation period.

6. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the designated intervals are time based.

7. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the designated intervals are based on the accumulated wager pool.

8. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the controller is programmed to determine which of the gaming mediums were in the active state during the bonus event qualification period by determining for each gaming medium if a wager was placed on the wagering game of that gaming medium during the bonus event qualification period.

9. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the controller is programmed to determine which of the gaming mediums were in the active state during the bonus event qualification period by determining for each gaming medium if a designated wager level was placed on the wagering game of that gaming medium during the bonus event qualification period.

10. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the controller is programmed to determine which of the gaming mediums were in the active state during the bonus event qualification period by determining for each gaming medium if a designated number of wagers were placed on the wagering game of that gaming medium during the bonus event qualification period.

11. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein if at least two of the gaming mediums are each in the active state active, the controller is programmed to select at least one of the gaming mediums in the active state to provide a secondary bonus award, wherein said selection excludes the gaming medium selected to provide the bonus award.

12. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein if at least two gaming mediums are each in the active state, the controller is programmed to determine a number of gaming mediums in the active state which will each provide a secondary bonus award.

13. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to determine part of the bonus award.

14. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to maintain the plurality of bonus awards and the gaming medium processor for the selected gaming medium selects one of said bonus awards to display and provide.

15. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming medium processor for the selected gaming medium determines at least part of an amount of the bonus award.

16. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming medium processor of one of the gaming mediums functions as the controller.

17. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the bonus award includes a value component.

18. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein the value component is determined by the gaming medium processor for the selected gaming medium.

19. The gaming system of claim 17, wherein the value component is determined in a non-wagering secondary game played on the selected gaming medium.

20. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least two of said wagering games of at least two of the plurality of gaming mediums are different.

21. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the bonus award is a progressive award.