Methods of receiving electronic wagers in a wagering game via a handheld electronic wager input device

• US 8,956,224 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2012
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gagner, Mark B., Gronkowski, Timothy T., Lesley, Paul M., Loose, Timothy C., Motyl, Jim, Rasmussen, James M., Shi, Victor T., Thomas, Alfred, Smith, Jesse
• Primary Examiner(s): Coburn, Corbett B
• Application Number:
  US13/599,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20120329553A1
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/29, 463/31
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3206 Player sensing means, e.g. presence detection, biometrics
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3209 Input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3218 wherein at least part of the system is portable
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• 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

A gaming system for conducting a multi-player wagering game includes a multi-touch table surface that is touched by a handheld electronic wager input device (EWID) carried by a player for placing wagers on a wagering game displayed on the multi-touch table surface. Each EWID carried by a player has an associated unique identification code, which is linked to the respective player'"'"'s account. Players indicate an amount to be wagered by touching the EWID to designated wager amount areas, then place the wager by touching the EWID to a designated wagering area. Because each EWID is uniquely associable with distinct player accounts, the gaming system can support any number of players placing wagers. The funds remain safe in the player account and no funds are stored on the EWID. Only the identification code is detected, which is compared with the associated player account before allowing that player to place wagers.

Claims

1. A method of capturing a code to play a wagering game, comprising:

capturing, using a camera on a portable electronic device, a Quick Response (QR) code displayed on a medium;

decoding, by the portable electronic device, a uniform resource locator (URL) encoded in the QR code, the URL being associated with a wagering game;

responsive to the decoding, displaying on the portable electronic device the wagering game encoded in the QR code and permitting the portable electronic device to be used to participate in the wagering game;

displaying the wagering game concurrently at least in part on a video display external to the portable electronic device and at least in part on a display of the portable electronic device;

using the portable electronic device to place a wager on the wagering game; and

operating the portable electronic device as a thin client to display results of the wagering game whose outcomes are randomly determined by a gaming server external to the portable electronic device, the gaming server executing game code corresponding to the wagering game.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the medium is a printed medium or a video display device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the printed medium is a sticker.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying by a gaming terminal the code.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least part of the wagering game displayed on the portable electronic device includes an amount of the wager placed on the wagering game.

6. A method of capturing a code to play a casino wagering game, comprising:

wirelessly receiving, at a gaming terminal from a portable electronic device, a code or a representation of the code, the code being indicative of a casino wagering game;

decoding, by the gaming terminal or by the portable electronic device, the code and determining from the decoded code the casino wagering game associated therewith;

receiving a wager to initiate the casino wagering game, the wager being indicative of a wager input to the portable electronic device or to the gaming terminal;

responsive to the wager being received, initiating the casino wagering game on the gaming terminal and displaying at least a portion of the casino wagering game on a video display device of the gaming terminal and concurrently displaying at least a further portion of the casino wagering game on the portable electronic device;

determining, by a controller device, an outcome of the casino wagering game based, least in part, on one or more random elements generated with a random element generator;

displaying the outcome on the video display device of the gaming terminal; and

awarding, by the controller device, a tangible award in response to the outcome satisfying a predetermined award criterion.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the wager input is inputted via a physical input to the portable electronic device and the wager is received by the gaming terminal without requiring any physical connection or contact between the portable electronic device and the gaming terminal.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the wager is in the form of encoded data, the method further comprising decoding the data into a corresponding wager placed on the casino wagering game.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the data representing the wager is part of the code.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising, before the initiating, receiving data representing the wager input from the portable electronic device using an RF sensor configured to sense an RF signal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the RF signal is outputted by a transmitter external to the portable electronic device.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the at least further portion of the casino wagering game displayed on the portable electronic device includes an amount of the wager.

13. One or more physical machine-readable storage media including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for capturing a code to play a wagering game, the operations comprising:

wirelessly receiving, at a gaming terminal from a portable electronic device, a code or a representation of the code, the code being indicative of a casino wagering game;

decoding, by the gaming terminal or by the portable electronic device, the code and determining from the decoded code the casino wagering game associated therewith;

receiving a wager to initiate the casino wagering game, the wager being indicative of a wager input to the portable electronic device or to the gaming terminal;

responsive to the wager being received, initiating the casino wagering game on the gaming terminal and displaying at least a portion of the casino wagering game on a video display device of the gaming terminal and concurrently displaying at least a further portion of the casino wagering game on the portable electronic device;

determining, by a controller device, an outcome of the casino wagering game based, least in part, on one or more random elements generated with a random element generator;

displaying the outcome on the video display device of the gaming terminal; and

awarding, by the controller device, a tangible award in response to the outcome satisfying a predetermined award criterion.

14. The one or more physical machine-readable storage media of claim 13, wherein the wager input is inputted via a physical input to the portable electronic device and the wager is received by the gaming terminal without requiring any physical connection or contact between the portable electronic device and the gaming terminal.

15. The one or more physical machine-readable storage media of claim 14, wherein the wager is in the form of encoded data, the operations further comprising decoding the data into a corresponding wager placed on the casino wagering game.

16. The one or more physical machine-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein the data representing the wager is part of the code.

17. The one or more physical machine-readable storage media of claim 13, the operations further comprising, before the initiating, receiving data representing the wager input from the portable electronic device using an RF sensor configured to sense an RF signal.

18. The one or more physical machine-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein the RF signal is outputted by a transmitter external to the portable electronic device.

19. The one or more physical machine-readable storage media of claim 13, wherein the at least further portion of the casino wagering game displayed on the portable electronic device includes an amount of the wager.