Method and apparatus for monitoring casinos and gaming

• US 20020045479A1
• Filed: 12/13/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walker Digital Table Systems LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: MindPlay LLC (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Soltys, Richard, Huizinga, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 6,530,836 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/242 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00157 Casino or betting games horse races A63F3/00082
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• 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 17/322 Casino tables, e.g. tables having integrated screens, chip detection means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3237 about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens

Abstract

A system automatically monitors playing and wagering of a game. A table monitor in a chip tray automatically images the activity occurring at a gaming table, including the placement of wagers. A processor processes image date to locate wagering pieces, identify the value of each wagering piece, the amount of the wager, and to verify the authenticity of the wagering pieces.

Claims

1. A method of automatically monitoring gaming on a gaming table, comprising:

positioning a chip tray having at least a first imager on the gaming table;

imaging at least a portion of the gaming table including the wagering piece and the gaming piece with the first imager to create image data of the portion of the gaming table; and

processing image data from the first imager to identify at least one wagering piece on the gaming table and at least one the game piece on the gaming table.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating the first imager to image at least a portion of the gaming table at a first time and a second time; and

comparing image data from the first imager at the first time to image data from the first imager at the second time to detect an appearance of at least one of the wagering piece and the game piece on the gaming table.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a value of the wagering piece.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a value of the gaming piece.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one gaming piece includes a playing card.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one gaming piece on the gaming table includes at least one die.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one wagering piece on the gaming table includes a chip.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically determining an outcome of the gaming for at least one player based on the identified at least one wagering piece and the at least one game piece.

9. A method of automatically monitoring gaming on a gaming table, comprising:

positioning a chip tray having at least a first imager on the gaming table;

imaging at least a portion of the gaming table including the wagering piece with the first imager to create image data of the portion of the gaming table; and

processing image data from the first imager to identify at least one wagering piece on the gaming table.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

operating the first imager to image at least a portion of the gaming table at a first time and a second time; and

comparing image data from the first imager at the first time to image data from the first imager at the second time to detect an appearance of at least one of the wagering piece on the gaming table.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a value of the wagering piece from the image data.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the at least one wagering piece on the gaming table includes a chip.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a value of the wagering piece from the image data; and

automatically determining an outcome of a wager for at least one player based at least in part on the identified at least one wagering piece.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

at a first time, imaging at least a portion of the gaming table to create image data of the portion of the gaming table;

at a second time, imaging at least a portion of the gaming table to create image data of the portion of the gaming table; and

determine the difference between the first image and the second image.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

identifying a value of at least one wagering piece from the image data; and

automatically determining an outcome of a wager for at least one player based at least in part on the identified at least one wagering piece.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein locating color changes along a row within the region of interest includes:

determining a color distance with respect to a three-dimensional color space between a current pixel and an offset pixel in the row;

determining whether the determined color distance exceeds a threshold value; and

determining an average color and an average length of the segment if the determined color distance exceeds the threshold value.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein identifying a color and a length of each of a number color segments formed by the located color changes along the row within the regions of interest includes identifying the color and the length for at least two segments that are not the background color.

14. A method of automatically monitoring gaming on a gaming table, comprising:

locating a region of interest in a set of image data corresponding to an image of a gaming table; and

for each of a number of rows and a number of columns in the region of interest;

determining a color distance with respect to a three-dimensional color space between a current pixel and an offset pixel;

determining whether the determined color distance exceeds a threshold;

determining an average color and an average length of the segment if the determined color distance exceeds the threshold; and

comparing the determined color and the determined length of the segment to a color and a length for a number of defined segments, each of the defined segments forming a respective recognizable chip pattern.

17. A method of automatically monitoring gaming on a gaming table, comprising:

locating a region of interest in a set of image data corresponding to an image of a gaming table;

locating color changes along a row within the region of interest;

identifying a color and a length of each of a number color segments formed by the located color changes along the row within the regions of interest;

comparing the determined color and the determined length of each of the segments to a color and length for a number of defined segments, each of the defined segments forming a respective recognizable chip pattern; and

incrementing a counter each time the determined color and the determined length matches a color and length of one of the number of defined segments.