Cashless reservation system
First Claim
1. A gaming system including a system controller, a credit establishment facility, a plurality of gaming machines, a communications system connecting each of the plurality of gaming machines to the system controller, and a player identification device for association with player credit,each of the gaming machines having(1) a credit recording facility,(2) a player input device,(3) a player identification input device responsive to a player identification device;
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7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A gaming system includes a system controller, a means for establishing a credit on the system, a plurality of gaming machines, and a communications system connecting each of the plurality of gaming machines to the system controller. The gaming machines each have credit register, a player input device, a tracking input device and a game controller. Each game controller is arranged to play a game when a player has established a credit in the credit register of the respective gaming machine and the credit establishment means is arranged to establish a player credit and to associate that credit with a player tracking means (such as a magnetic stripe card or a fingerprint) of a player establishing the credit. While a player is playing a game on a selected machine the credit is held in the credit register of the selected gaming machine, and the gaming machine is responsive to the presence of a player credit held by in the credit register of the selected machine to lock the machine preventing play by any player unless the machine is supplied via the tracking input device, with a player tracking means associated with the credit held in the credit register.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A gaming system including a system controller, a credit establishment facility, a plurality of gaming machines, a communications system connecting each of the plurality of gaming machines to the system controller, and a player identification device for association with player credit,
each of the gaming machines having (1) a credit recording facility, (2) a player input device, (3) a player identification input device responsive to a player identification device; - and
(4) a game controller to play a game when a player has established a credit in the credit recording facility of the respective gaming machine, wherein the credit establishment facility includes a terminal connected to the communications system for transfer of player credits via the communication system to a selected gaming machine selected for play of a game, said terminal located remotely from the selected gaming machine and arranged to establish a player credit and to associate that credit with a player identification device of the player establishing the credit, and wherein said player credit is transferred to the gaming machine selected for play and said player credit being held in said credit recording facility of the gaming machine selected for play, and wherein the gaming machine selected for play is locked so that the gaming machine no longer operates to play a game by any player solely when player credit held in the credit recording facility of the respective gaming machine selected for play is non-zero, and via player action unlocked so that the gaming machine selected for play operates to play a game when the gaming machine selected for play is supplied via the identification input device with the player identification device associated with the player credit held in the credit recording facility of the respective gaming machine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A gaming machine for connection to a gaming system wherein the gaming system comprises a system controller, a plurality of gaming machines, and a communications system connecting each of the plurality of gaming machines to the system controller, the gaming machine comprising
(1) a credit recording facility, (2) a player input device, (3) a tracking input device responsive to a player tracking device, and (4) a game controller arranged to play a game when a player has established a credit in the credit recording facility of the gaming machine, wherein one gaming machine of the plurality of gaming machines is locked so that the one gaming machine no longer operates to play a game by any player, solely at a time when player credit held in the credit recording facility of the one gaming machine is non-zero, and automatically unlocked to allow play when a player tracking device is afterward supplied to the tracking input device of another gaming machine, and credit associated with the credit held in the credit recording facility of the one gaming machine is automatically transferred to the credit recording facility of the other gaming machine in response to the player tracking device being supplied to the tracking input device of the other gaming machine.
Specification