Wide area gaming and retail player tracking
First Claim
1. A method of awarding loyalty credits to patrons of a gaming establishment providing a loyalty credits program, the method comprising:
- providing a first loyalty instrument, said first loyalty instrument being adapted to facilitate the tracking of an amount of loyalty credits attributable to a patron of said gaming establishment;
determining that said patron has begun a gaming activity for which loyalty credits are awarded, said gaming activity involving the placement of a wager by said patron, the play of a game, and the possibility of a monetary award to said patron based upon the outcome of said game;
awarding said patron a first amount of loyalty credits corresponding to the participation of said patron in said gaming activity;
storing said first amount of loyalty credits into an account assigned to said patron or onto said first loyalty instrument;
determining that said patron has made a purchase for which loyalty credits are awarded, said purchase involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services;
awarding said patron a second amount of loyalty credits corresponding to said purchase, wherein said second amount of loyalty credits are in the same units as said first amount of loyalty credits;
combining said first amount of loyalty credits and said second amount of loyalty credits into a combined amount of loyalty credits; and
storing said combined amount of loyalty credits into an account assigned to said patron or onto a combined loyalty instrument, said combined loyalty instrument being adapted for tracking an amount of loyalty credits attributable to said patron, wherein said gaming establishment is the sole entity providing said loyalty credits program and wherein said gaming establishment controls or authorizes the administration, distribution and redemption of substantially all of said loyalty credits and loyalty instruments.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for tracking, differentiating and awarding loyalty credits to patrons of a gaming establishment are disclosed. Tracking can be facilitated by and loyalty credits can be stored on patron issued loyalty credit instruments such as printed tickets, magnetic-striped cards, room keys, portable wireless devices and smart cards. Loyalty credits can be awarded for and combined with other loyalty credits awarded for gaming activities involving wagers, game play, and possible monetary awards, as well as purchasing activities involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services. Theoretical all expenditures profiles can be established for patrons based upon the gaming activities and purchasing activities of the patrons. Customized comps can be awarded on the initiative of the gaming establishment and without any specific request from a patron. Such comps can be based on tracked information on gaming activities and purchasing activities of the patrons.
399 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method of awarding loyalty credits to patrons of a gaming establishment providing a loyalty credits program, the method comprising:
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providing a first loyalty instrument, said first loyalty instrument being adapted to facilitate the tracking of an amount of loyalty credits attributable to a patron of said gaming establishment;
determining that said patron has begun a gaming activity for which loyalty credits are awarded, said gaming activity involving the placement of a wager by said patron, the play of a game, and the possibility of a monetary award to said patron based upon the outcome of said game;
awarding said patron a first amount of loyalty credits corresponding to the participation of said patron in said gaming activity;
storing said first amount of loyalty credits into an account assigned to said patron or onto said first loyalty instrument;
determining that said patron has made a purchase for which loyalty credits are awarded, said purchase involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services;
awarding said patron a second amount of loyalty credits corresponding to said purchase, wherein said second amount of loyalty credits are in the same units as said first amount of loyalty credits;
combining said first amount of loyalty credits and said second amount of loyalty credits into a combined amount of loyalty credits; and
storing said combined amount of loyalty credits into an account assigned to said patron or onto a combined loyalty instrument, said combined loyalty instrument being adapted for tracking an amount of loyalty credits attributable to said patron, wherein said gaming establishment is the sole entity providing said loyalty credits program and wherein said gaming establishment controls or authorizes the administration, distribution and redemption of substantially all of said loyalty credits and loyalty instruments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of awarding comps to patrons of a gaming establishment, the method comprising:
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determining that a patron of said gaming establishment has begun a gaming activity involving the placement of a wager by said patron, the play of a game, and the possibility of a monetary award to said patron based upon the outcome of said game;
tracking the amount of participation of said patron in said gaming activity;
assigning to said patron a first level of consideration corresponding to the amount of participation of said patron in said gaming activity;
determining that said patron has made a purchase involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services;
tracking the amount of money spent by said patron on said purchase;
assigning to said patron a second level of consideration corresponding to the amount of money spent by said patron on said purchase, said second level of consideration being independent of said first level of consideration; and
awarding a customized comp to said patron based upon at least said first level of consideration and said second level of consideration, said customized comp being awarded on the initiative of said gaming establishment and without any specific request from said patron for said comp. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of differentiating patrons of a gaming establishment, comprising:
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tracking the gaming activities of a first patron, wherein said gaming activities include one or more instances involving the placement of a wager, the play of a game, and the possible grant of a monetary award based upon the outcome of said game;
tracking the purchasing activities of said first patron, wherein said purchasing activities include one or more instances involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services;
establishing a first theoretical all expenditures profile for said first patron based upon at least said gaming activities tracked for said first patron and said purchasing activities tracked for said first patron;
tracking the gaming activities of a second patron, wherein said gaming activities include one or more instances involving the placement of a wager, the play of a game, and the possible grant of a monetary award based upon the outcome of said game;
tracking the purchasing activities of said second patron, wherein said purchasing activities include one or more instances involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services; and
establishing a second theoretical all expenditures profile for said second patron based upon at least said gaming activities tracked for said second patron and said purchasing activities tracked for said second patron. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A loyalty credit system adapted for tracking, differentiating and awarding loyalty credits to patrons of a gaming establishment providing a loyalty credits program, comprising:
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one or more loyalty credit generation gaming sites configured to generate and issue primary amounts of loyalty credits to patrons based upon the gaming activities of said patrons, said gaming activities involving the placement of wagers, the play of games, and the possibility of monetary awards based upon the outcome of said games;
one or more loyalty credit generation purchasing sites configured to generate and issue secondary amounts of loyalty credits to patrons based upon the purchasing activities of said patrons, said purchasing activities involving the procurement of food, lodging, entertainment, transportation, merchandise or services, wherein said secondary amounts of loyalty credits are in the same units as said primary amounts of loyalty credits;
a plurality of loyalty instruments adapted to facilitate the tracking and commingling of at least a portion of said primary amounts of loyalty credits and at least a portion of said secondary amounts of loyalty credits; and
one or more loyalty program servers configured to store loyalty credit system information, to establish theoretical all expenditures profiles for said patrons based upon at least said gaming activities and said purchasing activities of said patrons, and to make recommendations to gaming establishment personnel regarding awards of customized comps to said patrons based upon said theoretical all expenditures profiles, said customized comps being awarded on the initiative of said gaming establishment and without any specific request from said patrons for said comps.
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Specification