Gaming system and method providing a keno game providing an additional award if a predicted quantity of symbols matches an actual quantity of symbols associated with one of a plurality of different characteristics

• US 8,740,687 B1
• Filed: 03/07/2013
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Brown, Bradford D., Ruymann, Robert W., Humphrey, Thomas J., Holsclaw, Benjamin R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pandya, Sunit
• Assistant Examiner(s): YOO, JASSON H
• Application Number:
  US13/788,324
• Time in Patent Office: 453 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 20
• US Class Current: 463/18
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/326 Game play aspects of gaming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a gaming system and method providing a Keno game providing an additional award if a predicted quantity of symbols matches an actual quantity of symbols associated with one of a plurality of characteristics. In one embodiment, for one of a plurality of characteristics, the gaming system receives an indication of a predicted quantity of symbols. The gaming system forms a gaming system symbol set including a plurality of randomly selected symbols, each of which is randomly associated with one of the characteristics. The gaming system determines any primary awards by comparing a player symbol set with the gaming system symbol set, and any additional awards by comparing the predicted quantity of symbols with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols associated with the characteristic associated with the predicted quantity of symbols.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one display device;

at least one input device; and

at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device, for a play of a game, to;

(a) display a plurality of different symbols and an indication of each of a plurality of different characteristics;

(b) receive from a player an indication of a plurality of the symbols forming a player symbol set;

(c) for each of the plurality of different characteristics, associate a predicted quantity of symbols with said characteristic, wherein, for at least one of the plurality of different characteristics, the predicted quantity of symbols associated with said at least one characteristic is based on an indication received from the player;

(d) randomly determine an actual quantity of symbols for each of the plurality of different characteristics;

(e) for each of the plurality of different characteristics, randomly select a set of symbols from the plurality of different symbols, associate each symbol of said set of symbols with said characteristic, and add each symbol of said set of symbols to a gaming system symbol set, wherein said set of symbols includes a number of symbols equal to the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for said characteristic;

(f) determine any primary awards based on a comparison of the player symbol set with the gaming system symbol set;

(g) determine any additional awards based on a comparison of the predicted quantity of symbols with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for the characteristic associated with the predicted quantity of symbols; and

(h) display any determined primary awards and any determined additional awards.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device, for each of the plurality of different characteristics, to:

(a) receive from the player an indication of a predicted quantity of symbols; and

(b) determine any additional awards associated with said characteristic based on a comparison of the predicted quantity of symbols for said characteristic with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for said characteristic.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device to:

(a) receive from the player an indication of a second predicted quantity of symbols for a set of a plurality of the characteristics; and

(b) determine any additional awards associated with said set of the characteristics based on a comparison of the second predicted quantity of symbols with a sum of the randomly determined actual quantities of symbols for the characteristics of said set.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the predicted quantity of symbols associated with each characteristic is at least one.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein a sum of the actual quantities of symbols is equal to a designated quantity.

6. The gaming system of claim 5, wherein the designated quantity is equal to a quantity of the symbols included in the gaming system symbol set.

7. A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising:

for a play of a game;

(a) causing at least one processor to execute a plurality of instructions stored in at least one memory device to operate with at least one display device to display a plurality of different symbols and an indication of each of a plurality of different characteristics;

(b) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with at least one input device to receive from a player an indication of a plurality of the symbols forming a player symbol set;

(c) for each one of the plurality of different characteristics, associate a predicted quantity of symbols with said characteristic, wherein, for at least one of the plurality of different characteristics, the predicted quantity of symbols associated with said at least one characteristic is based on an indication received from the player;

(d) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to randomly determine an actual quantity of symbols for each of the plurality of different characteristics;

(e) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to, for each of the plurality of different characteristics, randomly select a set of symbols from the plurality of different symbols, associate each symbol of said set of symbols with said characteristic, and add each symbol of said set of symbols to a gaming system symbol set, wherein said set of symbols includes a number of symbols equal to the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for said characteristic;

(f) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine any primary awards based on a comparison of the player symbol set with the gaming system symbol set;

(g) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine any additional awards based on a comparison of the predicted quantity of symbols with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for the characteristic associated with the predicted quantity of symbols; and

(h) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with the at least one display device to display any determined primary awards and any determined additional awards.

8. The method of claim 7, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with the at least one input device, for each of the plurality of different characteristics, to:

(a) receive from the player an indication of a predicted quantity of symbols; and

(b) determine any additional awards associated with said characteristic based on a comparison of the predicted quantity of symbols for said characteristic with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for said characteristic.

9. The method of claim 7, which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with the at least one input device to:

(a) receive from the player an indication of a second predicted quantity of symbols for a set of a plurality of the characteristics; and

(b) determine any additional awards associated with said set of the characteristics based on a comparison of the second predicted quantity of symbols with a sum of the randomly determined actual quantities of symbols for the characteristics of said set.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the predicted quantity of symbols associated with each characteristic is at least one.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein a sum of the actual quantities of symbols is equal to a designated quantity.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the designated quantity is equal to a quantity of the symbols included in the gaming system symbol set.

13. The method of claim 7, which is provided through a data network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the data network is an internet.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

for a play of a game;

(a) cause at least one display device to display a plurality of different symbols and an indication of each of a plurality of different characteristics;

(b) operate with at least one input device to receive from a player an indication of a plurality of the symbols forming a player symbol set;

(c) for each of a plurality of different characteristics, associate a predicted quantity of symbols with said characteristic, wherein, for at least one of the plurality of different characteristics, the predicted quantity of symbols associated with said at least one characteristic is based on an indication received from the player;

(d) randomly determine an actual quantity of symbols for each of the plurality of different characteristics;

(e) for each of the plurality of different characteristics, randomly select a set of symbols from the plurality of different symbols, associate each symbol of said set with said characteristic, and add each symbol of said set to a gaming system symbol set, wherein said set of symbols includes a number of symbols equal to the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for said characteristic;

(f) determine any primary awards based on a comparison of the player symbol set with the gaming system symbol set;

(g) determine any additional awards based on a comparison of the predicted quantity of symbols with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for the characteristic associated with the predicted quantity of symbols; and

(h) cause the at least one display device to display any determined primary awards and any determined additional awards.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device, for each of the plurality of different characteristics, to:

(a) receive from the player an indication of a predicted quantity of symbols; and

(b) determine any additional awards associated with said characteristic based on a comparison of the predicted quantity of symbols for said characteristic with the randomly determined actual quantity of symbols for said characteristic.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device to:

(a) receive from the player an indication of a second predicted quantity of symbols for a set of a plurality of the characteristics; and

(b) determine any additional awards associated with said set of the characteristics based on a comparison of the second predicted quantity of symbols with a sum of the randomly determined actual quantities of symbols for the characteristics of said set.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the predicted quantity of symbols associated with each characteristic is at least one.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein a sum of the actual quantities of symbols is equal to a designated quantity.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the designated quantity is equal to a quantity of the symbols included in the gaming system symbol set.