Gaming system, gaming device, and method providing one or more wild reel wager options

• US 9,123,199 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2014
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Caputo, Scott A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Liddle, Jay
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hsu, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US14/457,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20140349738A1
• Time in Patent Office: 385 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/21, 463/25, 463/42
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3213 Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3265 Influencing the position of stopped moving members to achieve a winning arrangement, e.g. nudging, shuffling, holding

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a gaming system, device, and method providing wild reel wager options for a spinning reel type wagering game. The wagering game includes: a plurality of reels; a plurality of symbols; and one or more wild reel wager options, each of which is associated with one of a plurality of wild reel wager amounts. If a player wagers one of the wild reel wager amounts on a play of the wagering game, the gaming system determines, based on the wild reel wager option associated with that wild reel wager amount, a set of one or more of the reels to be wild reels, and causes each of the determined set of the reels to be wild reels for that play. The gaming system causes each of the reels to spin and display one or more of the symbols, and provides any awards based on the displayed symbols.

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising:

at least one display device;

a plurality of input devices including;

(i) an acceptor,

(ii) a validator, and

(iii) a cashout device;

at least one processor; and

at least one memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the plurality of input devices to;

(a) when a first physical item which indicates a first monetary value is received by the acceptor, identify by the validator the received first physical item and establish a credit balance based at least in part on the first monetary value associated with the received and identified first physical item;

(b) receive a wager for a play of a primary wagering game, said primary wagering game including a plurality of reels, at least one of the plurality of reels including one or more bonus triggering symbols, and decrease the credit balance based on said wager;

(c) when an amount of the received wager is a wild reel wager amount, select one of the plurality of reels and cause said selected reel to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the primary wagering game without replacing at least one bonus triggering symbol on said selected reel when said selected reel includes one or more bonus triggering symbols;

(d) display an outcome of said play of the primary wagering game;

(e) determine and display any awards associated with said outcome of said play of the primary wagering game, said credit balance being increasable based on any determined awards;

(f) when a bonus triggering event associated with at least one displayed bonus triggering symbol occurs, display a play of a bonus game; and

(g) when a cashout input is received by the cashout device, cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein a probability of occurrence of the bonus triggering event when the amount of the received wager is not the wild reel wager amount is the same as a probability of occurrence of the bonus triggering event when the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount.

3. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, if the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount and if the bonus triggering event occurs, cause at least one bonus game reel to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the bonus game.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, if the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount, select a first set of the plurality of reels, the first set of the plurality of reels including a quantity of at least one of the plurality of reels, and cause each selected reel of the first set of the plurality of reels to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the primary wagering game.

5. The gaming system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to randomly determine the quantity.

6. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to cause said selected reel to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the primary wagering game by replacing one or more symbols on said selected reel with a wild symbol.

7. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to, if the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount, randomly select said one of the plurality of reels.

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

(a) when a first physical item which indicates a first monetary value is received by an acceptor, identify by a validator the received first physical item and causing at least one processor to establish a credit balance based at least in part on the first monetary value associated with the received and identified first physical item;

(b) receiving, via an actuation of a wager button, a wager for a play of a primary wagering game, said primary wagering game including a plurality of reels, at least one of the plurality of reels including one or more bonus triggering symbols, and causing at least one processor to decrease the credit balance based on said wager;

(c) when an amount of the received wager is a wild reel wager amount, causing the at least one processor to select one of the plurality of reels and cause said selected reel to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the primary wagering game without replacing at least one bonus triggering symbol on said selected reel when said selected reel includes one or more bonus triggering symbols;

(d) causing the at least one processor to operate with at least one display device to display an outcome of said play of the primary wagering game;

(e) causing the at least one processor to determine and operate with the at least one display device to display any awards associated with said outcome of said play of the primary wagering game, said credit balance being increasable based on any determined awards;

(f) causing the at least one processor to, if a bonus triggering event associated with at least one displayed bonus triggering symbol occurs, operate with the at least one display device to display a play of a bonus game; and

(g) when a cashout input is received by a cashout device, causing the at least one processor to cause an initiation of a payout associated with the credit balance.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein a probability of occurrence of the bonus triggering event when the amount of the received wager is not the wild reel wager amount is the same as a probability of occurrence of the bonus triggering event when the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount.

10. The method of claim 8, which includes causing the at least one processor to, if the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount and if the bonus triggering event occurs, cause at least one bonus game reel to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the bonus game.

11. The method of claim 8, which includes causing the at least one processor to, if the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount, select a first set of the plurality of reels, the first set of the plurality of reels including a quantity of at least one of the plurality of reels, and cause each selected reel of the first set of the plurality of reels to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the primary wagering game.

12. The method of claim 11, which includes causing the at least one processor to randomly determine the quantity.

13. The method of claim 8, which includes causing the at least one processor to cause said selected reel to be a guaranteed wild reel for said play of the primary wagering game by replacing one or more symbols on said selected reel with a wild symbol.

14. The method of claim 8, which includes causing the at least one processor to, if the amount of the received wager is the wild reel wager amount, randomly select said one of the plurality of reels.

15. The method of claim 8, which is provided through a data network.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the data network is an internet.