High volume electronic lottery ticket distribution system

• US 8,574,056 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2012
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Everi Games Inc. (Everi Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Multimedia Games Incorporated
• Inventors: Malle, Nimai C., Enzminger, Joseph R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brewster, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SKAARUP, JASON M
• Application Number:
  US13/685,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20130079095A1
• Time in Patent Office: 344 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 20, 463/25, 463/29, 463 40- 43, 705/1, 705/14, 705/500, 705/14.3
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3225 Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

A game server communicates game record groups to a site controller associated with a gaming site, and the site controller stores the game record groups in associated data storage. The site controller selects one of the stored game record groups in response to a game availability request associated with a respective game presentation, and communicates the selected game record group from the site controller to a player station services controller associated with the gaming site. The player station services controller stores that respective game record group in its associated data storage device and communicates data from a respective game record to a player station in response to a game play request from the player station, thereby allowing the player station to present a player with a lottery game result for the game play request.

Claims

1. A method for storing and supplying lottery ticket record information to a gaming machine from which a request is initiated, the method comprising:

(a) storing a number of game record groups at a game server adapted to communicate with a number of gaming sites, each game record group including a number of game records for a lottery game and each game record in a respective game record group including result indicating data which indicates a result associated with the respective game record;

(b) communicating two or more of the game record groups to a site controller located at a gaming site and stored at the site controller;

(c) in response to a game availability request associated with a respective game and made by a player station services controller in response to a player station being in a condition that a player may use the station to enter a game play request, selecting a respective game record group at the site controller, communicating the selected game record group from the site controller to the player station services controller located at the gaming site, and storing that respective game record group at the player station services controller, wherein the player station services controller is separate from the player station located at the gaming site; and

(d) communicating the result indicating data from a respective game record stored at the player station services controller to the player station in response to a game play request from the player station, the respective game record comprising one of a number of different game records included in the selected game record group stored at the player station services controller.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the game availability request specifies a type of game record the player station services controller requires, and the site controller responds by sending at least one game record group to the player station services controller corresponding to the type of game record specified in the game availability request.

3. The method of claim 2, in which the game availability request specifies multiple types of game records the player station services controller requires, and the site controller responds by sending at least one game record group to the player station services controller for each of the multiple types of game records specified in the game availability request.

4. The method of claim 2, in which the game availability request is further made in response to a player station logon.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising detecting a release condition for the selected game record group at the player station services controller when the selected game record group includes unused game records, and communicating the selected game record group from the player station services controller to the site controller in response to detecting the release condition.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein there are a number of game presentations provided through different player stations at the gaming site, each game presentation requiring lottery game records of at least one lottery game record group type, and further including maintaining a list in an electronic lottery system of the lottery game record group types stored at a second data storage device.

7. An electronic lottery gaming system for storing a large amount of electronic lottery ticket data in a manner that allows a system to quickly respond to incoming electronic lottery game play requests and supply required lottery ticket record information to a gaming machine from which the request is initiated which includes a site controller co-located at a first gaming site together with a number of player stations, the site controller being adapted to receive a first game record group from a game server, and the site controller including site controller data storage for storing the first game record group, wherein the first game record group includes a number of game records for a lottery game and each game record includes result indicating data which indicates a result associated with the respective game record, the electronic lottery gaming system characterized by,

a player station services controller associated with the first gaming site and being located separately from each of the player stations at the first gaming site, the player station services controller being adapted to receive the first game record group from the site controller responsive to a game availability request made in the event that a player station is being placed in a condition that a player may use the player station to enter a game play request, and including player station services data storage for storing the first game record group, the player station services controller also being adapted to communicate the result indicating data for a respective one of the game records in the first game record group to a respective player station at the gaming site in response to a game play request from that respective player station.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the game availability request specifies a type of game record the player station services controller requires, and the site controller responds by sending at least one game record group to the player station services controller corresponding to the type of game record specified in the game availability request.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising two or more additional player station services controllers associated with the first gaming site.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the player station services data storage is random access memory.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the game availability request specifies a type of game record the player station services controller requires, and the site controller is further configured to respond to the game availability request by sending at least one game record group to the player station services controller corresponding to the type of game record specified in the game availability request.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the game availability request specifies multiple types of game records the player station services controller requires, and the site controller is further configured to respond to the game availability request by sending at least one game record group to the player station services controller for each of the multiple types of game records specified in the game availability request.

13. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the player station services controller is further configured to make the game availability request in response to a player station logon.

14. The apparatus of claim 7, in which the player station services controller is further configured to detect a release condition for the selected game record group when the selected game record group includes unused game records, and communicate the selected game record group from the player station services controller to the site controller in response to detecting the release condition.

15. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein there are a number of game presentations provided through different player stations at the gaming site, each game presentation requiring lottery game records of at least one lottery game record group type, and further including maintaining a list in the electronic lottery system of the lottery game record group types stored at a second data storage device.

16. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the site controller data storage stores at least one respective game record group for each of the player station services controller and a number of additional player station services controllers.

17. A program product stored on one or more non-transitory computer readable media and executable for storing a large amount of electronic lottery ticket data in a manner that allows a system to quickly respond to incoming electronic lottery game play requests and supply required lottery ticket record information to a gaming machine from which the request is initiated, the program product including:

(a) game server program code being executable to store a number of game record groups at a central storage device and to communicate a first game record group to a site controller upon request, the first game record group being included in the number of game record groups, each game record group including a number of game records for a lottery game and each game record in a respective game record group including result indicating data which indicates a result associated with the respective game record;

(b) site controller program code being executable to receive the first game record group communicated under control of the game server program code, to store the first game record group at data storage associated with the site controller, and to communicate the first game record group to a player station services controller responsive to a game availability request made by the player station services controller and indicating that a player station is being placed in a condition that a player may use the player station to enter a game play request, wherein the site controller and the player station services controller are located at a common gaming site; and

(c) player station services program code being executable to receive the first game record group communicated under control of the site controller program code and to store the first game record group at data storage associated with the player station services controller, the player station services program code also being executable to communicate the result indicating data for a respective game record in the first game record group to a respective player station in response to a game play request from that respective player station, wherein the game play request is a separate communication from the game availability request and wherein the player station is separate from the player station services controller.

18. The program product of claim 17, wherein the player station services program code further includes instructions executable to make the game availability request in response to a player station logon.

19. The program product of claim 17, wherein there are a number of game presentations provided through different player stations at the gaming site, each game presentation requiring lottery game records of at least one lottery game record type, and wherein the game availability request specifies a type of game record the player station services controller requires, and the site controller program code further contains code executable to respond to the game availability request by sending at least one game record group to the player station services controller corresponding to the type of game record specified in the game availability request.

20. The program product of claim 17, wherein the player station services program code further includes instructions executable to detect a release condition for the first game record group stored at the player station services data storage when the first game record group includes unused game records, and to communicate the first game record group from the player station services controller to the site controller in response to detecting the release condition.