Wager gaming voting leaderboard

• US 8,734,257 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Davis, Dwayne A., Nelson, Dwayne R.
• Primary Examiner(s): McClellan, James S
• Application Number:
  US13/250,835
• Publication Number:
  US 20130084552A1
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/25, 463/42
• US Class Current: 463/42
• 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

Abstract

Disclosed herein are techniques and equipment for providing a voting point leaderboard system. Players playing wagering games may be awarded voting points for use in a poll with a plurality of candidates in exchange for game-play related activity. Players voting for the winning candidate in the poll may be given an award. Polls may include candidates which may be involved in a real-world contest. Players may be rewarded for voting for the candidate which wins the real-world contest.

Claims

1. A wager gaming player polling server comprising:

a communications interface;

a memory; and

a logic device, the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface operably connected and configured to;

determine a first plurality of candidates for inclusion in a first poll, the first plurality of candidates including a first candidate,

receive input, via the communications interface, indicating a first quantity of voting points associated with a first player to apply towards the first candidate in the first poll,

determine, based on a total number voting points applied to each candidate in the first plurality of candidates by players in a plurality of players, the first player included in the plurality of players, a ranking for each candidate in the first poll;

determine that a voting point retention condition has been met with respect to the first poll; and

maintain the association of the first quantity of voting points with the first player at least until a second poll is conducted.

2. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface are further configured to:

determine a second plurality of candidates for inclusion in a second poll, the second plurality of candidates including a second candidate;

receive input, via the communications interface, indicating a second quantity of voting points associated with the first player to apply towards the second candidate in the second poll, and

determine, based on a total number voting points applied to each candidate in the second plurality of candidates by the players in the plurality of players, a ranking for each candidate in the second poll;

determine that the voting point retention condition has not been met with respect to the second poll; and

disassociate at least the second quantity of voting points from the first player after determining that the voting point retention condition has not been met.

3. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 2, wherein the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface are further configured, for each intermediate poll in one or more intermediate polls in between the first poll and the second poll, to:

determine a plurality of candidates for inclusion in the intermediate poll;

receive input, via the communications interface, indicating a quantity of voting points associated with the first player to apply towards a candidate in the intermediate poll, and

determine, based on a total number voting points applied to each candidate in the plurality of candidates by the players in the plurality of players, a ranking for each candidate in the intermediate poll; and

determine, for each intermediate poll, that the voting point retention condition has been met with respect to the intermediate poll.

4. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the voting point retention condition, with respect to any particular poll of the first poll, the second poll, and the one or more intermediate polls, is that the first player apply more voting points to a highest-ranked candidate of the particular poll than to any other candidate in the particular poll.

5. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 3, wherein the voting point retention condition comprises a first subcondition and a second subcondition, wherein the first subcondition, with respect to any particular poll of the first poll, the second poll, and the one or more intermediate polls, is that the first player apply more voting points to a highest-ranked candidate of the particular poll than to any other candidate in the particular poll, and wherein the second subcondition is that the first subcondition be met for at least N of M successive polls.

6. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the voting point retention condition, with respect to any particular poll of the first poll, the second poll, and the one or more intermediate polls, is that:

the first player apply more voting points to a highest-ranked candidate of the particular poll than to any other candidate in the particular poll, and

the highest-ranked candidate in the particular poll win a contest which concludes after the end of the particular poll.

7. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 5, wherein the voting point retention condition further comprises a third subcondition, wherein the third subcondition is that the first player maintain a minimum ranking R or higher among a group of players including the first player, wherein each particular player in the group of players is ranked according to the number of polls in the M successive polls in which the particular player met the second subcondition.

8. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the voting point retention condition comprises the first player maintaining a predetermined coin-in rate.

9. Computer software embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer software including instructions for controlling devices in a gaming network, the gaming network including a server, a storage device communicatively connected to the server, and a plurality of input stations, to:

determine, by the server, a first plurality of candidates for inclusion in a first poll, the first plurality of candidates including a first candidate,

receive, via a player input station in the plurality of player input stations, input indicating a first quantity of voting points associated with a first player in a plurality of players to apply towards the first candidate in the first poll,

determine, by the server and based on a total number voting points applied to each candidate in the first plurality of candidates by the players in the plurality of players, a ranking for each candidate in the first poll,

determine, by the server, that a voting point retention condition has been met with respect to the first poll, and

maintain, by the server, the association of the first quantity of voting points with the first player at least until a second poll is conducted.

10. The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the computer software further includes instructions for controlling the devices in the gaming network to:

determine a second plurality of candidates for inclusion in a second poll, the second plurality of candidates including a second candidate and the second poll after the first poll,

receive, from the first player, input indicating a second quantity of voting points associated with the first player to apply towards the second candidate in the second poll,

determine, based on a total number voting points applied to each candidate in the second plurality of candidates by the players in the plurality of players, a ranking for each candidate in the second poll,

determine that the voting point retention condition has not been met with respect to the second poll, and

disassociate at least the second quantity of voting points from the first player after determining that the voting point retention condition has not been met.

11. The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the computer software further includes instructions for controlling the devices in the gaming network to, for each intermediate poll in one or more intermediate polls in between the first poll and the second poll, to:

determine a plurality of candidates for inclusion in the intermediate poll,

receive, from the first player, input indicating a quantity of voting points associated with the first player to apply towards a candidate in the intermediate poll,

determine, based on a total number voting points applied to each candidate in the plurality of candidates by the players in the plurality of players, a ranking for each candidate in the intermediate poll, and

determine that the voting point retention condition has been met with respect to the intermediate poll.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the voting point retention condition, with respect to any particular poll of the first poll, the second poll, and the one or more intermediate polls, is that the first player apply more voting points to a highest-ranked candidate of the particular poll than to any other candidate in the particular poll.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the voting point retention condition comprises a first subcondition and a second subcondition, wherein the first subcondition, with respect to any particular poll of the first poll, the second poll, and the one or more intermediate polls, is that the first player apply more voting points to a highest-ranked candidate of the particular poll than to any other candidate in the particular poll, and wherein the second subcondition is that the first subcondition be met for at least N of M successive polls.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the voting point retention condition, with respect to any particular poll of the first poll, the second poll, and the one or more intermediate polls, is that:

the first player apply more voting points to a highest-ranked candidate of the particular poll than to any other candidate in the particular poll, and

the highest-ranked candidate in the particular poll win a contest which concludes after the end of the particular poll.

15. The machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the voting point retention condition further comprises a third subcondition, wherein the third subcondition is that the first player maintain a minimum ranking R or higher among a group of players including the first player, wherein each particular player in the group of players is ranked according to the number of polls in the M successive polls in which the particular player met the second subcondition.

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the voting point retention condition comprises the first player maintaining a predetermined coin-in rate.