Gaming device having multiple different types of progressive awards

• US 8,753,196 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2012
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Baerlocher, Anthony J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pandya, Sunit
• Application Number:
  US13/718,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20130116043A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463 16- 22, 463 24- 29, 463/33, 463 39- 43, 463 12- 13, 463/47
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• 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 17/3258 Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament

Abstract

A gaming system including a central server linked to a plurality of gaming machines. The gaming system includes a plurality of different types of progressive awards adapted to be provided to one or more players of the gaming machines in the gaming system. In one embodiment, one or more progressive awards are each associated with a progressive hit value, wherein when each progressive award increments to its respective progressive hit value, a triggering event occurs and such progressive award is provided to a player. In one embodiment, one or more progressive awards are each associated with a secondary game, wherein if the secondary game is triggered, a player is provided either a fixed award or one of the progressive awards associated with the secondary game based on a play of the secondary game. In one embodiment, one or more progressive awards are each associated with an outcome of a primary game, such as a designated symbol combination, wherein if the associated primary game outcome is generated, such progressive award is provided to a player.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

a controller configured to maintain;

(i) a first progressive award associated with a range of values and a progressive hit value,

(ii) a second progressive award associated with a designated primary game outcome, and

(iii) a third progressive award associated with a secondary game; and

a gaming machine configured to communicate with the controller, upon a player placing a wager on a play of a primary game, said gaming machine and said controller are programmed to operate to;

(a) if the wager placed causes the first progressive award to reach the progressive hit value, provide the first progressive award to the player,

(b) generate one of a plurality of primary game outcomes, said plurality of primary game outcomes include the designated primary game outcome,

(c) if the designated primary game outcome is generated, provide the second progressive award to the player, and

(d) if the secondary game is triggered in association with the play of the primary game, provide one of a plurality of awards to the player, the plurality of awards including the third progressive award.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein said third progressive award is funded, at least in part, based on at least one side wager placed by the player.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of said first progressive award and the second progressive award is funded, at least in part, based on the wager placed on the play of the primary game.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to maintain a plurality of first progressive awards which are each associated with a different progressive hit value.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of a determination to provide the first progressive award and a determination to provide the third progressive award is independent of any displayed event in the play of the primary game.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the first progressive award, the second progressive award, the third progressive award and at least one of the plurality of awards is at least one of;

a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.

7. A gaming system comprising:

a controller configured to maintain;

(i) a capped progressive award associated with a first triggering event and an incrementation limit, said first triggering event having a first probability of occurring, and

(ii) an uncapped progressive award associated with a second, different triggering event and not associated with any incrementation limit, said second triggering event having a second probability of occurring, said second probability being lower than the first probability; and

a gaming machine configured to communicate with the controller, said gaming machine and said controller programmed to operate, for a single play of a primary game by a player, to;

(a) display the capped progressive award and the uncapped progressive award to the player,

(b) if the first triggering event occurs, provide the displayed capped progressive award to the player,

(c) additionally, if the second triggering event occurs, provide the displayed uncapped progressive award to the player.

8. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein said gaming machine and said controller are programmed to operate, for the single play of the primary game, to determine if the first triggering event occurs based on if a wager placed on the single play of the primary game caused the capped progressive award to reach a progressive hit value.

9. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein said gaming machine and said controller are programmed to operate, for the single play of the primary game, to determine if the second triggering event occurs based on at least one selected from the group consisting of:

if a designated one of a plurality of primary game outcomes was generated in association with the single play of the primary game, and if a secondary game is triggered in association with the single play of the primary game and a designated one of a plurality of secondary game outcomes was generated in association with the play of the secondary game.

10. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein at least one of a determination of if the first triggering event occurs and a determination of if the second triggering event occurs is independent of any displayed event in the single play of the primary game.

11. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the capped progressive award and the uncapped progressive award is funded, at least in part, based on at least one side wager placed by the player in association with the single play of the primary game.

12. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to maintain at least one of:

a plurality of capped progressive awards and a plurality of uncapped progressive awards.

13. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein said gaming machine and said controller are programmed to operate, for the single play of the primary game, to display a non-numerical indication of the probability of the first triggering event occurring.

14. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein at least one of:

the capped progressive award, and the uncapped progressive award is at least one of;

a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.

15. A gaming system comprising:

a controller configured to maintain;

(i) a first progressive award associated with a first triggering condition,

(ii) a second progressive award associated with a second triggering condition, said second triggering condition being different from the first triggering condition, and

(iii) a third progressive award associated with a third triggering condition, said third triggering condition being different from the first triggering condition and different from the second triggering condition; and

a plurality of gaming machines configured to communicate with the controller, upon a triggering of a community game played by a plurality of players of said gaming machines, said gaming machines and said controller programmed to operate to;

(a) if the first triggering condition occurs in association with a first player of the players of the community game, provide the first progressive award to the first player,

(b) if the first triggering condition occurs in association with a second player of the players of the community game, provide the first progressive award to the second player,

(c) if the second triggering condition occurs in association with the first player of the community game, provide the second progressive award to the first player,

(d) if the second triggering condition occurs in association with the second player of the community game, provide the second progressive award to the second player,

(e) if the third triggering condition occurs in association with the first player of the community game, provide the third progressive award to the first player, and

(f) if the third triggering condition occurs in association with the second player of the community game, provide the third progressive award to the second player.

16. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein said gaming machines and said controller are programmed to operate to:

(i) if the first triggering condition occurs in association with a third player of the players of the community game, provide the first progressive award to the third player,

(ii) if the second triggering condition occurs in association with the third player of the community game, provide the second progressive award to the third player,

(iii) if the third triggering condition occurs in association with the third player of the community game, provide the third progressive award to the third player.

17. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein at least one of a determination of if the first triggering condition occurs, a determination of if the second triggering condition occurs and a determination of if the third triggering condition occurs, is independent of any displayed event in the play of the community game.

18. The gaming system of claim 15, wherein at least one of:

the first progressive award, the second progressive award, and the third progressive award is at least one of;

a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.

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

(a) causing a controller to maintain;

(i) a first progressive award associated with a range of values and a progressive hit value,

(ii) a second progressive award associated with a designated primary game outcome, and

(iii) a third progressive award associated with a secondary game; and

(b) upon a player placing a wager on a play of a primary game of a gaming machine configured to communicate with the controller;

(i) if the wager placed causes the first progressive award to reach the progressive hit value, providing the first progressive award to the player,

(ii) causing the gaming machine to generate one of a plurality of primary game outcomes, said plurality of primary game outcomes include the designated primary game outcome,

(iii) if the designated primary game outcome is generated, providing the second progressive award to the player, and

(iv) if the secondary game is triggered in association with the play of the primary game, providing one of a plurality of awards to the player, the plurality of awards including the third progressive award.

20. The method of claim 19, which includes funding said third progressive award, at least in part, based on at least one side wager placed by the player.

21. The method of claim 19, which includes funding at least one of said first progressive award and the second progressive award, at least in part, based on the wager placed on the play of the primary game.

22. The method of claim 19, which includes causing the controller to maintain a plurality of first progressive awards which are each associated with a different progressive hit value.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein at least one of a determination to provide the first progressive award and a determination to provide the third progressive award is independent of any displayed event in the play of the primary game.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein at least one of:

the first progressive award, the second progressive award, the third progressive award and at least one of the plurality of awards is at least one of;

a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.

25. The method of claim 19, which is provided through a data network.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the data network is an internet.

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

(a) causing a controller to maintain;

(i) a capped progressive award associated with a first triggering event and an incrementation limit, said first triggering event having a first probability of occurring, and

(ii) an uncapped progressive award associated with a second, different triggering event and not associated with any incrementation limit, said second triggering event having a second probability of occurring, said second probability being lower than the first probability; and

(b) for a single play of a primary game by a player;

(i) causing at least one display device of a gaming machine to display the capped progressive award and the uncapped progressive award to the player,

(ii) if the first triggering event occurs, providing the displayed capped progressive award to the player,

(iii) additionally, if the second triggering event occurs, providing the displayed uncapped progressive award to the player.

28. The method of claim 27, which includes, for the single play of the primary game, determining if the first triggering event occurs based on if a wager placed on the single play of the primary game caused the capped progressive award to reach a progressive hit value.

29. The method of claim 27, which includes, for the single play of the primary game, determining if the second triggering event occurs based on at least one selected from the group consisting of:

if a designated one of a plurality of primary game outcomes was generated in association with the single play of the primary game, and if a secondary game is triggered in association with the single play of the primary game and a designated one of a plurality of secondary game outcomes was generated in association with the play of the secondary game.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein at least one of a determination of if the first triggering event occurs and a determination of if the second triggering event occurs is independent of any displayed event in the single play of the primary game.

31. The method of claim 27, which includes funding at least one of the capped progressive award and the uncapped progressive award, at least in part, based on at least one side wager placed by the player in association with the single play of the primary game.

32. The method of claim 27, which includes causing the controller to maintain at least one of:

a plurality of capped progressive awards and a plurality of uncapped progressive awards.

33. The method of claim 27, which includes, for the single play of the primary game, causing the at least one display device to display a non-numerical indication of the probability of the first triggering event occurring.

34. The method of claim 27, wherein at least one of:

the capped progressive award, and the uncapped progressive award is at least one of;

a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.

35. The method of claim 27, which is provided through a data network.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein the data network is an internet.

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

(a) causing a controller to maintain;

(i) a first progressive award associated with a first triggering condition,

(ii) a second progressive award associated with a second triggering condition, said second triggering condition being different from the first triggering condition, and

(iii) a third progressive award associated with a third triggering condition, said third triggering condition being different from the first triggering condition and different from the second triggering condition; and

(b) upon a triggering of a community game played by a plurality of players of a plurality of gaming machines;

(i) if the first triggering condition occurs in association with a first player of the players of the community game, providing the first progressive award to the first player,

(ii) if the first triggering condition occurs in association with a second player of the players of the community game, providing the first progressive award to the second player,

(iii) if the second triggering condition occurs in association with the first player of the community game, providing the second progressive award to the first player,

(iv) if the second triggering condition occurs in association with the second player of the community game, providing the second progressive award to the second player,

(v) if the third triggering condition occurs in association with the first player of the community game, providing the third progressive award to the first player, and

(vi) if the third triggering condition occurs in association with the second player of the community game, providing the third progressive award to the second player.

38. The method of claim 37, which includes:

(i) if the first triggering condition occurs in association with a third player of the players of the community game, providing the first progressive award to the third player,

(ii) if the second triggering condition occurs in association with the third player of the community game, providing the second progressive award to the third player,

(iii) if the third triggering condition occurs in association with the third player of the community game, providing the third progressive award to the third player.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein at least one of a determination of if the first triggering condition occurs, a determination of if the second triggering condition occurs and a determination of if the third triggering condition occurs, is independent of any displayed event in the play of the community game.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein at least one of:

the first progressive award, the second progressive award, and the third progressive award is at least one of;

a quantity of monetary credits and a quantity of non-monetary credits.

41. The method of claim 37, which is provided through a data network.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the data network is an internet.