Keno simulation of other game outcomes

• US 8,500,544 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Bienvenue, Lesley
• Primary Examiner(s): Deodhar, Omkar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Eric M
• Application Number:
  US11/339,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20070173313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,751 Days
• Field of Search: 463/12, 463/13, 463 18- 23
• US Class Current: 463/21
• 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 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3286 Type of games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

Some implementations of the invention provide a Keno game on a gaming machine wherein an outcome of a second game is also presented. The second game may be a Class III game such as a slot game, a video poker game, etc. Some such aspects of the invention involve providing a Keno game in which the Keno card is divided into N areas and a single number within each of the N areas is selected for the Keno game. Other aspects of the invention provide methods of populating a pay table of another game with outcomes of a Keno game.

Claims

1. A machine-readable medium having program instructions stored thereon for controlling one or more devices to perform the following tasks:

determining N areas of a Keno card for a Keno game in which players are not permitted to select more than one number in each of the N areas, wherein each area in the N areas includes a plurality of numbers from which the number for the area is selected;

determining a probability for each unique Keno outcome of the Keno game;

determining a first pay table probability corresponding to a first win amount and a first outcome of a pay table for a second game;

selecting a first plurality of unique Keno outcomes whose total probability is approximately equal to the first pay table probability; and

mapping the first plurality of unique Keno outcomes to the first win amount and the first outcome of the pay table for the second game.

2. The machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the pay table for the second game comprises O outcomes, further comprising program instructions for controlling one or more devices to perform the following tasks:

determining 2^nd through O pay table probabilities corresponding to 2^nd through O win amounts and 2^nd through O outcomes of the pay table for the second game;

selecting 2^nd through O pluralities of unique Keno outcomes whose total probabilities are approximately equal to the corresponding 2^nd through O pay table probabilities; and

mapping the 2^nd through O pluralities of unique Keno outcomes to the 2^nd through O win amounts and the 2^nd through O outcomes of the pay table for the second game.

3. The machine-readable medium of claim 1, further comprising program instructions for controlling one or more devices to perform the following tasks:

determining a hit/miss probability for each of N+1 hit/miss outcomes, each hit/miss outcome corresponding to a condition of having a hit or a miss on 0 through N of the areas of the Keno card; and

organizing the probabilities for the unique Keno outcomes according to the N+1 hit/miss outcomes.

4. The machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second game is a slot game or a video poker game.

5. The machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein each unique Keno outcome of the first plurality of unique Keno outcomes has approximately the same probability.

6. The machine-readable medium of claim 2, further comprising program instructions for controlling one or more devices to perform the following tasks:

determining unmapped unique Keno outcomes that were not mapped to win amounts of the second game; and

assigning the unmapped unique Keno outcomes to zero win amounts for the second game.

7. The machine-readable medium of claim 3, further comprising program instructions for controlling one or more devices to rank the N+1 hit/miss outcomes according to their relative probability.

8. The machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the selecting task comprises selecting the first plurality of unique Keno outcomes from a rank that corresponds with a relative probability of the first outcome of the second game.

9. A machine-implemented gaming method, comprising:

providing a Keno game wherein a Keno card is automatically presented, the Keno card being divided into N areas, wherein each area in the N areas includes a plurality of numbers;

receiving an indication from a user interface that a number has been selected from the plurality of numbers included in each area of the N areas, wherein no more than one number is selectable for each of the N areas;

determining an outcome of the Keno game; and

automatically displaying a second game outcome that corresponds with the outcome of the Keno game, wherein the second game outcome is a non-Keno game outcome.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the Keno game and the second game are provided on a gaming machine.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the second game is a slot game.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the second game is a video poker game.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein one number is automatically selected in each of the N areas.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein N is one of 10, 16 or 20.

15. Software stored in a machine-readable medium, the software including instructions for controlling a gaming machine to perform the following steps:

providing a Keno game wherein a Keno card is divided into N areas and a number is selected in each of the N areas, wherein each area in the N areas includes a plurality of numbers from which the number for the area is selected and no more than one number is selectable in each area; and

displaying a second game outcome that corresponds with an outcome of the Keno game, wherein the second game outcome is a non-Keno game outcome.

16. A gaming machine, comprising:

means for providing a Keno game wherein a Keno card is divided into N areas, wherein each area in the N areas includes a plurality of numbers;

means for selecting a number from the plurality of numbers included in each of the N areas, wherein no more than one number is selectable in each area;

means for determining an outcome of a Keno game; and

means for displaying a second game outcome that corresponds with the outcome of the Keno game, wherein the second game outcome is a non-Keno game outcome.

17. A gaming machine, comprising:

a credit-accepting device for accepting indicia of credit;

at least one display device;

at least one input device; and

a logic device configured to perform the following steps after receiving an indication from the credit-accepting device indicating that sufficient indicia of credit have been received;

control a display device to;

present a Keno card,

prompt a player to choose one Keno number in each of N areas of the Keno card, and

indicate chosen Keno numbers on the Keno card, wherein each area in the N areas includes a plurality of numbers from which the number for the area is selected and no more than one number is selectable in each area;

determine a Keno game outcome and a corresponding outcome of a second game of chance;

control a display device to indicate Keno numbers of the Keno game outcome on the Keno card; and

control a display device to indicate the corresponding outcome of the second game of chance.

18. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein an input device is configured to allow a player to choose one Keno number in each of the N areas of the Keno card.

19. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein the logic device is configured to randomly choose one Keno number in each of the N areas of the Keno card and wherein an input device is configured to allow a player to instruct the logic device to automatically choose one Keno number in each of the N areas of the Keno card.

20. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein the second game of chance is one of a slot game or a poker game.

21. The gaming machine of claim 17, wherein the at least one display device comprises a first display device and a second display device, wherein the Keno card is displayed on the first display device and wherein the second game of chance is displayed on the second display device.