Cashless reservation system

• US 8,998,695 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2007
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2004
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Original Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia PTY Limited (Aristocrat Leisure Limited)
• Inventors: Muir, Robert Linley, Lui, Louis, Curry, David
• Primary Examiner(s): RENWICK, REGINALD A
• Application Number:
  US11/754,065
• Publication Number:
  US 20080039193A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,874 Days
• Field of Search: 463/20, 463/16, 463/42
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played

Abstract

A gaming system having a server connected to a plurality of gaming machines for playing a game in which a player wagers credits held in a credit meter. The gaming machines having a player tracking apparatus to receive an identifier from a current player of the gaming machine. The gaming machine can be reserved by a player, in which case play of the gaming machine is prevented by any player other than a player with the same identifier for a predetermined period time. The ability to reserve gaming machines may be dependent on eligibility criteria.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising a server system communicably connected to a plurality of gaming machines, the gaming machines providing a game in which a player stakes a wager on the game and a plurality of symbols are selected and displayed on a display, and if a winning combination occurs during play of the game, the gaming machine awards an award, wherein at least one of said plurality of gaming machines comprises a user interface which includes apparatus to receive an identifier from a current player of the gaming machine and the gaming machine communicates with the server system to provide access to a player account associated with the identifier and maintained by the server system, wherein upon operation of the user interface by the current player, the server system determines eligibility criteria for reservation of the gaming machine, and subject to the eligibility criteria, the server system causes the gaming machine to no longer operate to play a game for a period of time, the eligibility criteria defining a variable characteristic of the gaming machine or of the player and including one or more of the following:

(a) the type of gaming machine requested for reservation;

(b) the location of the gaming machine requested for reservation;

(c) the time period for the requested reservation;

(d) the class of the player;

(e) the class of the gaming machine;

(f) the number of requests for reservation of gaming machine(s) by the player during a specified time period; and

/or (g) the amount of funds held by the player in a player account associated with the identifier received from the current player.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of gaming machines include a plurality of different classes of reservable gaming machines and wherein the eligibility criteria include at least some player identifiers being eligible to reserve at least one said class of reservable gaming machine but not eligible to reserve at least one other said class of reservable gaming machine.

3. The gaming system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different classes of reservable gaming machines are classified according to the physical location of the gaming machines.

4. The gaming system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of different classes of reservable gaming machines are classified according to the denomination of the gaming machine.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein at least one reservable gaming machine is not eligible to be reserved by at least one class of player during a period of time.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the eligibility criteria for the current player to be eligible to reserve the gaming machine includes a player history of the current player.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system further includes a remote display, separate from the gaming machines and wherein the server system causes the remote display to display information indicative of the status of the reservation on one or more of the gaming machines.

8. A gaming system comprising a server system communicably connected to a plurality of gaming machines, the gaming machines providing a game in which a player stakes a wager on the game and a plurality of symbols are selected and displayed on a display, and if a winning combination occurs during play of the game, the gaming machine awards an award, wherein at least one of said plurality of gaming machines comprises a user interface which includes apparatus to receive an identifier from a current player of the gaming machine and the gaming machine communicates the identifier with the server system, wherein upon operation of the user interface by the current player the gaming machine no longer operates to play a game for a reserve period, the ability to reserve the gaming machine being dependent on a variable characteristic of the player other than the number of credits in a credit meter of the gaming machine, and wherein when the reserve period expires, the server system causes a message to be sent to a portable device and wherein the gaming machine becomes unreserved so as to operate to play a game, in response to receipt of a signal from the portable device.

9. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein when one of the gaming machines is reserved, the server system causes a display remote from the gaming machine to display a status of the reservation of the gaming machine, including indicating on the display when the reservation period has expired.

10. The gaming system of claim 9, wherein the display remote from the gaming machine continues to display the status of the reservation of a gaming machine until the gaming machine becomes unreserved.

11. The gaming system of claim 8, wherein the system includes a plurality of remote displays and individual displays selectively display the reserve status of different gaming machines.

12. The gaming system of claim 11, wherein a said remote display displays the reserve status of a gaming machine reserved by a player in response to receipt of a player identifier for that player at an interface associated with the remote display.