Gaming machine and control method thereof

• US 8,414,378 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2010
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Empire Technological Group Limited, Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Original Assignee: Aruze Gaming America Incorporated (Aruze Gaming America, Inc. /Okada/), Universal Entertainment Corporation
• Inventors: Okada, Kazuo, Sugano, Kenta
• Primary Examiner(s): CUFF, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US12/788,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20100304835A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 20
• US Class Current: 463/20
• 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 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes

Abstract

A gaming machine according to the present invention comprises a display on which plural types of symbols are to be arranged; a memory for storing an accumulative value, which is accumulated by unit game to activate a plurality of insurance pays and has a first threshold value and a second threshold value, and a plurality of payout value of the insurance pays, which is stored in associated with the first threshold value and the second threshold value of the accumulative value; and a controller. Where the accumulative value accumulated by unit game in which the plural types of symbols are rearranged on the display has reached the first threshold value, a first insurance pay is activated in accordance with a payout value associated with the first threshold value. The accumulative value is further counted in such each unit game. Where the counted accumulative value has reached the second threshold value, processing is performed as to activating a second insurance pay in accordance with a payout value associated with the second threshold value.

Claims

1. A gaming machine comprising:

a display on which plural types of symbols are to be arranged;

a memory for storing a plurality of accumulative values, which are accumulated by unit game, to activate a plurality of insurance pays, and has a first threshold value and a second threshold value, and a volume of a prize of the insurance pays, which is stored in association with the first threshold value and the second threshold value of the accumulative value; and

a controller,

the controller being configured to execute the processing of;

(i) for every game routine in which the following processing operations (i) to (iii) are defined as one set of processing operations, randomly determining a predetermined number of times of insurance pay to be activated from among the plurality of insurance pays and then storing the randomly determined number of times in a counter;

(a) rearranging the plural types of symbols on the display;

(b) counting the accumulative value by said unit game and storing the counted accumulative value in the memory;

(c) determining whether the accumulative value stored in the memory has reached the first threshold value, as a result of repeating the processing (a) and (b)

(d) at the time it is determined in the processing (c) that the accumulative value has reached the first threshold value, and before (e), activating the first insurance pay in accordance with the volume of the prize stored in the memory in accordance with the first threshold value and then updating the counter;

(ii) in a case where a value of the counter indicating the number of times of activating the insurance pay that is randomly predetermined in the processing (i) is at least two or more, further executing the processing of;

(e) performing the processing (a);

(f) further counting the accumulative value by unit game, and then, storing the counted accumulative value in the memory;

(g) determining whether the accumulative value stored in the memory has reached the second threshold value, as a result of repeating the processing (e) and (f); and

(h) at the time it is determined in the processing (g) that the accumulative value has reached the second threshold value, activating the second insurance pay in accordance with the volume of the prize stored in the memory in association with the second threshold value; and

(iii) subsequently to the processing of activation of the insurance pay in the processing operations (i) to (iii), resetting the counter; and

(iv) repeatedly executing the game routine in which the processing operations of (i) to (iii) are defined as one set of processing operations.

2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a display portion for displaying the number of times of activating the plurality of insurance pays,

wherein the controller is configured to further execute the processing of:

determining whether the number of times of activating the plurality of insurance pays is to be displayed at the display portion; and

displaying or non-displaying the number of times of activating the plurality of insurance pays at the display portion in accordance with a result of the determination.

3. A control method of a gaming machine, according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the prize is stored in the memory in association with each of the insurance pays so as to increase in accordance with the number of times of activating the insurance pays.