Wagering games with pooling of awards
First Claim
1. A wagering game system with a network of wagering game terminals for playing one or more wagering games, the wagering game system comprising:
- first and second wagering game terminals each being configured to display a respective outcome of at least one of the one or more wagering games, the respective outcome being randomly determined from a respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of a respective one of the first and second wagering game terminals, at least one outcome in each of the respective pluralities of wagering game outcomes having a respective predetermined award associated therewith;
a controller operatively coupled to the first and second wagering game terminals, the controller being operable to;
aggregate into an award pool the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in each of the respective pluralities of wagering game outcomes of the first and second wagering game terminals;
reapportion the award pool into a plurality of reapportioned awards;
randomly assign a first one of the plurality of reapportioned awards to the first wagering game terminal, the first reapportioned award replacing the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in the respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the first wagering game terminal; and
randomly assign a second one of the plurality of reapportioned awards to the second wagering game terminal, the second reapportioned award replacing the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in the respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the second wagering game terminal.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Method and system are disclosed for operating wagering game terminals where each terminal contributes an award to an award pool. A bank controller aggregates the awards, reapportions, and randomly assigns them back to the wagering game terminals. The reapportioned award assigned to a given wagering game terminal may be less than, the same as, or greater than the award contributed by that terminal. At regular or irregular intervals, the bank controller may shuffle the reapportioned awards and reassign them. As a result, the volatility of the wagering game terminals increases significantly while the payout percentage of each wagering game terminal remains the same over time. Alternatively, instead of randomly reassigning the reapportioned awards, the players may be allowed to pick the reapportioned awards. The reapportioning may also occur randomly and the assigning on an as-needed basis.
141 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A wagering game system with a network of wagering game terminals for playing one or more wagering games, the wagering game system comprising:
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first and second wagering game terminals each being configured to display a respective outcome of at least one of the one or more wagering games, the respective outcome being randomly determined from a respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of a respective one of the first and second wagering game terminals, at least one outcome in each of the respective pluralities of wagering game outcomes having a respective predetermined award associated therewith; a controller operatively coupled to the first and second wagering game terminals, the controller being operable to; aggregate into an award pool the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in each of the respective pluralities of wagering game outcomes of the first and second wagering game terminals; reapportion the award pool into a plurality of reapportioned awards; randomly assign a first one of the plurality of reapportioned awards to the first wagering game terminal, the first reapportioned award replacing the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in the respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the first wagering game terminal; and randomly assign a second one of the plurality of reapportioned awards to the second wagering game terminal, the second reapportioned award replacing the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in the respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the second wagering game terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of distributing awards among a plurality of networked wagering game terminals, each of the wagering game terminals being configured to display an outcome of a wagering game, the outcome being randomly determined from a respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of a respective one of the wagering game terminals, at least one outcome in each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes having a predetermined award associated therewith, the method comprising:
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aggregating into an award pool, stored via a memory device, the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the wagering game terminals; reapportioning, via at least one controller operatively coupled to the networked wagering game terminals, the award pool into a plurality of reapportioned awards; randomly assigning, via the at least one controller, a respective one of the reapportioned awards to each of the networked wagering game terminals; and replacing the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the wagering game terminals with the respective assigned reapportioned award. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A controller operatively coupled via a network to a plurality of wagering game terminals, each of the wagering game terminals being configured to display an outcome of a wagering game, the outcome being randomly determined from a respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of a respective one of the wagering game terminals, at least one outcome in each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes having a predetermined award associated therewith, the controller being configured to:
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aggregate into an award pool the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the wagering game terminals; reapportioning the award pool into a plurality of reapportioned awards; and randomly assigning a respective one of the plurality of reapportioned awards to each of the networked wagering game terminals, wherein the respective predetermined award associated with the at least one outcome in each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the wagering game terminals is replaced with the respective assigned reapportioned award.
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20. A system for conducting a wagering game on gaming terminals each being configured to display outcomes of the wagering game, each displayed outcome being randomly determined from a respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of a respective one of the gaming terminals, each respective plurality of wagering game outcomes including a respective winning outcome having a respective award assigned thereto, the system comprising:
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one or more processors; and one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming system to; aggregate into an award pool the respective awards assigned to the respective winning outcomes in the respective plurality of wagering game outcomes of the gaming terminals; reapportion the award pool into a plurality of reapportioned awards; randomly assign a first one of the reapportioned awards to a first one of the gaming terminals, the first reapportioned award replacing the respective award assigned to the respective winning outcome of the first gaming terminal; and randomly assign a second one of the reapportioned awards to a second one of the gaming terminals, the second reapportioned award replacing the respective award assigned to the respective winning outcome of the second gaming terminal.
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Specification