Multi-level progressive jackpot gaming systems and methods

• US 8,579,704 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2007
• Issued: 11/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGS LLC (PlayAGS, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cadillac Jack
• Inventors: Torres, Jared A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US11/940,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20090131160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,189 Days
• Field of Search: 463/42, 463 16- 28
• US Class Current: 463/27
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3258 Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

Various embodiments of progressive gaming systems and methods are disclosed. One method embodiment, among others, comprises enabling a player an opportunity to win, at a time corresponding to a game play session, a first progressive award that is based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the first progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a wide area network, and enabling the player an opportunity to win, at a time corresponding to the game play session, a second progressive award that is based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the second progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a local area network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

via a series of gaming machines linked via a local area network and a series of gaming machines linked via a wide area network, wherein each gaming machine includes at least a display and user interface, and is in communication with a local and/or remote processor;

enabling a player an opportunity to win at a time corresponding to a game play session a first progressive award based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the first progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a wide area network;

enabling the player an opportunity to win at a time corresponding to the game play session a second progressive award based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the second progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a local area network;

presenting on a primary game display a graphics user interface including game graphics, game symbol matrix, said amount of the first progressive award and said amount of the second progressive award; and

presenting on said primary game display one or more progressive symbols relative to each column within said game symbol matrix and respective amounts of progressive awards including said amount of the first progressive award and said amount of the second progressive award.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising simultaneously presenting on said primary game display said graphics user interface including a plurality of wide-area network based progressive award amounts, including the first progressive award amount.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising simultaneously presenting on said primary game display said graphics user interface including a plurality of local-area network progressive award amounts, including the second progressive award amount.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting simultaneously on said primary game display said graphics user interface including a plurality of wide-area network based progressive award amounts, including the first progressive award amount, and presenting a plurality of local-area network progressive award amounts, including the second progressive award amount.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising augmenting the first progressive award amount and the second progressive award amount periodically.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising awarding the first progressive award, the second progressive award, or a combination of the first and second progressive awards based on one or more gaming events.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the gaming events correspond to a video slot machine event.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first progressive award and the second progressive award correspond to a respective first progressive award amount and a second progressive award amount presented in separate columns of a matrix presented in a graphics user interface at a gaming machine.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first progressive award and the second progressive award correspond to a respective first progressive award amount and a second progressive award amount presented in separate columns of a matrix presented in a graphics user interface at a plurality of gaming machines.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of gaming machines comprise a first plurality of gaming machines communicating over the wide area network to a second plurality of gaming machines.

11. A system, comprising:

a central operations server configured to provide data corresponding to a wide area progressive award amount to a plurality of game servers communicatively coupled to a wide area network (WAN), the wide area progressive award amount based on wager-related data received from the plurality of game servers coupled to the WAN;

a first game server of the plurality of game servers, the first game server communicatively coupled to the central operations server over the WAN, the first game server configured to provide first data corresponding to a local area progressive award amount to a plurality of gaming machines communicatively coupled to the first game server over a local area network (LAN), the local area progressive award amount based on wager-related data received from the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the LAN, the first game server further configured to provide second data corresponding to the wide area progressive award amounts to the plurality of gaming machines;

a graphics user interface presented on a primary game display, said graphics user interface including game graphics, game symbol matrix, the local area progressive award amount and the wide area progressive award amount; and

presenting on said primary game display one or more progressive symbols relative to each column within said game symbol matrix and respective amounts of progressive awards including said amount of the first progressive award and said amount of the second progressive award.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a second game server of the plurality of game servers, the second game server communicatively coupled to the central operations server over the WAN, the second game server configured to provide third data corresponding to a local area progressive award amount to a plurality of gaming machines communicatively coupled to the second game server over a second local area network (LAN), the local area progressive award amount based on wager-related data received from the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the second LAN, the second game server further configured to provide fourth data corresponding to the wide area progressive award amounts to the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the second LAN.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a second gaming machine of the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the second LAN, the second gaming machine configured to provide a second graphics user interface that simultaneously presents the wide area progressive award amount and the local area progressive award amount that is also displayed on the first user interface.