Wireless real-time gaming system

• US 9,070,250 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kelly, Bryan M., Kelly, Matthew F., Kroeckel, John G., Link, John E., Petermeier, Norman B.
• Primary Examiner(s): HOANG, BACH V
• Application Number:
  US11/982,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20080227551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,799 Days
• Field of Search: 463 16- 20, 463/42, 703201-203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/081 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• 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 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• 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 17/3248 involving non-monetary media of fixed value, e.g. casino chips of fixed value
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3253 involving articles, e.g. paying in bottles, paying out toys
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3276 wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3297 Fairground games, e.g. Tivoli, coin pusher machines, cranes
• 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 that provides game play in exchange for monetary input per game played is disclosed. The gaming system includes a game server and a plurality of game units connected to the game server via a network. In this gaming system, at least a portion of the network is a wireless network, and wherein the game system enables wireless real time gaming.

Claims

1. A gaming system that provides game play in exchange for monetary input per game played, the gaming system comprising:

a game server;

a firewall associated with the game server;

a plurality of game units connected to the game server via a network and the firewall, wherein at least a portion of the network is a wireless network, wherein a game enables wireless real time gaming between two or more players over the network with each player at a different game unit, wherein the wireless real time gaming includes wireless real-time wagering, wherein the wireless real time gaming enables wireless gaming on casino grounds that are off of a game floor, and wherein features of the game are enabled or disabled based on geographic location of the game units, each game unit comprising;

a display screen for displaying images to a player;

one or more player input devices for receiving player input; and

a processor, wherein the processor executes game software and processes input from the player; and

a browser associated with the display screen on each game unit, wherein browser output is shown on the display screens of the game units, wherein the gaming system enables one or more games to be downloaded over the network from the game server to one or more gaming units when the one or more games is selected by a player at the game unit, wherein a game that is downloaded to a gaming unit is stored and executed locally by a processor of the gaming unit, and wherein the gaming system employs unique player identifiers to determine game eligibility in a wireless environment.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the casino grounds that are off of the game floor include a casino pool, casino restaurants, casino bars, casino night clubs, casino hotel rooms, and combinations thereof.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system includes games having game parameters, and wherein the game parameters are adjustable in a wireless environment.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein one or more game units employ a wireless transmitter/receiver for communicating without cables or wires.

5. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein one or more game units at different gaming sites communicate with each other through a private wide area network (WAN) or the Internet, wherein communication between game units is accomplished using telephone lines, ISDN lines, direct-connect data lines, fiber optic lines, cellular phone or wireless receiver/transmitter devices, or combinations thereof.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein one or more game units at different gaming sites communicate with each other via a broadband RF communication network.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the game server executes game results using central determination and forwards the game results to one or more of the game units using the network, and wherein the game units include mobile phones and the network includes a wireless network.

8. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system includes game parameter normalization in a wireless environment.

9. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system employs age verification in a wireless environment.

10. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system includes remote crediting in a wireless environment.

11. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system includes information relay in a wireless environment.

12. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system includes credit redemption in a wireless environment.

13. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the gaming system includes ticketing in multiple media formats in a wireless environment.

14. A gaming system that provides game play in exchange for monetary input per game played, the gaming system comprising:

a game server;

a firewall associated with the game server;

a plurality of game units connected to the game server via a network and the firewall, wherein a game is a first person, point-of-view, virtual reality video game that enables wireless real time gaming between two or more players over the network with each player at a different game unit, wherein the wireless real time gaming includes wireless real-time wagering, wherein the wireless real time gaming enables wireless gaming on casino grounds that are off of a game floor, and wherein features of the game are enabled or disabled based on geographic location of the game units; and

a browser associated with the display screen on each game unit, wherein browser output is shown on the display screens of the game units, wherein the gaming system enables one or more games to be downloaded over the network from the game server to one or more gaming units when the one or more games is selected by a player at the game unit, and wherein a game that is downloaded to a gaming unit is stored and executed locally by a processor of the gaming unit, and wherein the gaming system employs unique player identifiers to determine game eligibility in a wireless environment.

15. A gaming system that provides game play in exchange for monetary input per game played, the gaming system comprising:

a game server;

a plurality of game units connected to the game server via a network, wherein at least a portion of the network is a wireless network, wherein a game enables wireless real time gaming between two or more players over the network with each player at a different game unit, wherein the wireless real time gaming includes wireless real-time wagering, wherein the wireless real time gaming enables wireless gaming on casino grounds that are off of a game floor, and wherein features of the game are enabled or disabled based on geographic location of the game units, each game unit comprising;

a display screen for displaying images to a player;

one or more player input devices for receiving player input; and

a processor, wherein the processor executes game software and processes input from the player; and

a browser associated with the display screen on each game unit, wherein browser output is shown on the display screens of the game units, wherein the gaming system enables one or more games to be downloaded over the network from the game server to one or more gaming units when the one or more games is selected by a player at the game unit, wherein a game that is downloaded to a gaming unit is stored and executed locally by a processor of the gaming unit, and wherein the gaming system employs unique player identifiers to determine game eligibility in a wireless environment.