Ticket drawing games having escalating discrete prize levels
First Claim
1. A gaming machine adapted for accepting wagers, playing primary games based on the wagers and granting monetary awards based on the results of the primary games, comprising:
- an exterior housing arranged to contain a plurality of internal gaming machine components therein;
a master gaming controller in communication with at least one of said plurality of internal gaming machine components, said master gaming controller being adapted to control one or more aspects of said primary games;
a player tracking device in communication with said master gaming controller and adapted to track both player activity and primary game results at said gaming machine, wherein said player tracking device is further adapted to facilitate the play of a first automated ticket drawing bonus game based at least in part on one or more of said primary game results, said first automated ticket drawing bonus game having a plurality of ticket entries and structured to have escalating and discrete prize levels, wherein graduation from at least one of said discrete prize levels to the next prize level requires a plurality of additional ticket entries; and
at least one display device in communication with said master gaming controller, said player tracking device, or both, wherein said at least one display device is adapted to display information regarding said first automated ticket drawing bonus game having escalating and discrete prize levels.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Ticket drawings having escalating discrete prize levels within a gaming environment are provided. A gaming system having an automated random ticket drawing game module provides ticket drawing bonus games in conjunction with primary wager based games. Ticket drawings can include base, intermediate and ultimate prize levels, with each level corresponding to a specific prize and range of ticket entries. The prize level escalates as more ticket entries are granted. Ticket entries can be awarded for various events, such as a 3-of-a-kind at a primary wager based game. Drawings include a time period for the acceptance of ticket entries, including a predefined start and end. Award and drawing mechanisms and multiple display devices facilitate each drawing. Multiple drawings can occur simultaneously, such as an hourly and daily drawing. Drawings may also be part of an ongoing series of continuous ticket drawings, such as 24 hourly drawings in a given day.
94 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A gaming machine adapted for accepting wagers, playing primary games based on the wagers and granting monetary awards based on the results of the primary games, comprising:
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an exterior housing arranged to contain a plurality of internal gaming machine components therein;
a master gaming controller in communication with at least one of said plurality of internal gaming machine components, said master gaming controller being adapted to control one or more aspects of said primary games;
a player tracking device in communication with said master gaming controller and adapted to track both player activity and primary game results at said gaming machine, wherein said player tracking device is further adapted to facilitate the play of a first automated ticket drawing bonus game based at least in part on one or more of said primary game results, said first automated ticket drawing bonus game having a plurality of ticket entries and structured to have escalating and discrete prize levels, wherein graduation from at least one of said discrete prize levels to the next prize level requires a plurality of additional ticket entries; and
at least one display device in communication with said master gaming controller, said player tracking device, or both, wherein said at least one display device is adapted to display information regarding said first automated ticket drawing bonus game having escalating and discrete prize levels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A gaming system adapted for accepting wagers, playing primary games based on the wagers and granting monetary awards based on the results of the primary games, comprising:
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one or more master gaming controllers adapted to control one or more aspects of said primary games;
a plurality of gaming terminals, each gaming terminal having at least one input device in communication with one of said one or more master gaming controllers and adapted to accept input regarding the placement of said wagers, the play of said primary games, or both, a player tracking unit adapted to accept identification indicia from players, and at least one display device in communication with said at least one master gaming controller and adapted to display information regarding said primary games; and
a player tracking system in communication with each of said player tracking units and adapted to track both player activity and primary game results at each of said plurality of gaming terminals, wherein said player tracking system is further adapted to facilitate automated ticket drawings based at least in part on one or more outcomes of said primary games, wherein one or more of said automated ticket drawings includes a plurality of ticket entries and is structured to have escalating and discrete prize levels, wherein graduation from at least one of said discrete prize levels to the next prize level requires a plurality of additional ticket entries. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of facilitating a ticket drawing within a gaming environment including wager based games, the method comprising:
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providing a gaming machine or system having at least one player tracking device adapted to track both player activity and wager based game results at said gaming machine or system, and one or more displays adapted to present information regarding the play of said wager based games, said ticket drawing, or both;
establishing a ticket drawing having specifically designated prizes at escalating and discrete prize levels including a base prize level and one or more subsequent prize levels, said ticket drawing also having a period for the acceptance of ticket entries, said period including a predefined start and a predefined end;
setting the initial prize of said ticket drawing at the specifically designated prize for said base prize level;
accepting at least one first indicia of identification from a first player at said gaming machine or system;
linking said first player with a stored first player account on an associated player tracking system;
presenting a first wager based game based on a first wager tendered by said first player;
awarding said first player a first ticket entry to said ticket drawing based upon the result of said first wager based game, wherein the award of said first ticket entry does not result in any change in the prize of said ticket drawing;
accepting at least one second indicia of identification from a second player at said gaming machine or system;
linking said second player with a stored second player account on said associated player tracking system;
awarding said second player a subsequent ticket entry to said ticket drawing;
resetting the prize of said ticket drawing from said specifically designated prize for said base prize level to the specifically designated prize for a first intermediate prize level as a result of said subsequent ticket entry;
conducting said ticket drawing after said predefined period for the acceptance of ticket entries has ended, wherein a winning ticket is selected from all awarded ticket entries; and
granting the appropriate specifically designated prize to the player having said winning ticket. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A ticket drawing within a gaming environment including wager based games for players of said wager based games, comprising:
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a base prize level having a corresponding base prize to be awarded where the number of total ticket entries to said ticket drawing ranges from one ticket entry to an established first threshold number of ticket entries;
one or more subsequent prize levels, each subsequent prize level having a corresponding prize to be awarded where the number of total ticket entries to said ticket drawing ranges from a minimum threshold number of ticket entries to a maximum threshold number of ticket entries;
a period for the acceptance of ticket entries, said period including a predefined start and a predefined end;
an award mechanism adapted to award ticket entries for said ticket drawing to players of said wager based games, said ticket entries being awarded for predefined player activities, predefined wager based game results, or both;
a drawing mechanism adapted to facilitate the drawing of a winning ticket from all of said awarded ticket entries; and
a display apparatus adapted to present information regarding said ticket drawing, said presented information including at least a current specific prize to be awarded and the number of additional ticket entries required to advance the prize to be awarded to the specific prize at the next prize level. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42)
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Specification