Processing wagering game events

• US 8,512,135 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2007
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Anderson, Peter R., Gura, Damon E., Gagner, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coleman, William D
• Application Number:
  US12/441,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20090275377A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,170 Days
• Field of Search: 463/29
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3234 about the performance of a gaming system, e.g. revenue, diagnosis of the gaming system

Abstract

Systems for processing wagering game events are described herein. In one embodiment, a wagering game machine comprises a plurality of input devices configured to generate events. The apparatus can also include an event handler configured to detect the events, to cause persistent storage of the events, and to transmit the events. The apparatus can also include a wagering game controller configured to receive the events from the event handler and to present and replay wagering games using the events.

Claims

1. A wagering game machine comprising:

a plurality of input devices configured to generate some of a plurality of events associated with a wagering game;

an event handler configured to

detect the plurality of events,

cause persistent storage of the events,

transmit the events before and after an interruption of the wagering game,

transmit the events after conclusion of the wagering game; and

a wagering game controller configured to

receive certain of the events from the event handler before the interruption,

present, based on the events received before the interruption, a portion of the wagering game before the interruption,

restore, after the interruption, the wagering game based on the events received before and after the interruption, and

present, after restoration of the wagering game, final results for the wagering game

replay the wagering game using the events transmitted after the conclusion of the wagering game.

2. The wagering game machine of claim 1, wherein the events represent one or more of player input, intermediate results for the wagering game, and final results for the wagering game.

3. The wagering game machine of claim 1, wherein the event handler includes a current event store configured to store the plurality of events before the conclusion of the wagering game.

4. The wagering game machine of claim 1, wherein the interruption arises from a power failure.

5. The wagering game machine of claim 1, wherein the events are also remotely stored separate from the wagering game machine.

6. The wagering game machine of claim 1, wherein the event handler is further configured to ignore events not relevant to the wagering game.

7. The wagering game machine of claim 3, wherein the event handler is further configured to copy, after the conclusion of the wagering game, the events from the current event store to an event history and to delete the events from the current event store.

8. A method comprising:

entering, after an interruption, a first state of a wagering game in a wagering game machine;

detecting, in the wagering game machine, events associated with the wagering game, wherein the events were stored before the interruption;

restoring, by a wagering game controller in the wagering game machine, the wagering game to a second state by processing the events that were stored before the interruption;

detecting, after the interruption, new events associated with the wagering game;

progressing, by the wagering game controller, the wagering game to other states based on the new events;

presenting indicia associated with the other states;

presenting, by the wagering game controller, a replay of the wager game after conclusion of the wagering game, wherein the presenting the replay includes,

processing, by the wagering game controller, the events stored before the interruption and the new events, and

presenting indicia associated with the first state and the indicia associated with the other states.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the events include one or more of a button press indication, a touchscreen indication, a coin input, a dollar input, a card reader input, a random number generation, and a calculation.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the events are stored in persistent storage.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the interruption is a power recovery operation.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the second state is a state during which the interruption occurred.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining that the wagering game has concluded; and

storing the events in association with concluded wagering games.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining that the wagering game has concluded; and

disassociating the events from the wagering game.