CASINO PATRON TRACKING AND INFORMATION USE

• US 20070087834A1
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Published: 04/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Rowe, Rick, Nelson, Dwayne, Moser, Timothy, Williams, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,979,646 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/322 Casino tables, e.g. tables having integrated screens, chip detection means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3223 Architectural aspects of a gaming system, e.g. internal configuration, master/slave, wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3227 Configuring a gaming machine, e.g. downloading personal settings, selecting working parameters
• 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 17/3239 Tracking of individual players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3255 Incentive, loyalty and/or promotion schemes, e.g. comps, gaming associated with a purchase, gaming funded by advertisements

Abstract

Methods and devices are described that allow a casino to dynamically service patrons. The dynamic systems and methods collect data related to the behavior of multiple people in a gaming establishment, and collect data for entertainment resources in the gaming establishment, such as gaming devices and services. The data may be flexibly used. In one embodiment, a person is at least partially identified in the casino. The gaming establishment uses a model that selects tailor offerings for a person, such as advertisements for services that the person may enjoy or games on gaming machines that the person may enjoy. The model selects a tailored offering for the person based on the at least partial identification and the data previously obtained for multiple people and entertainment resources. The identification, selection and offering may be performed in real time. In another embodiment, the gaming establishment uses the data to reconfigure its entertainment resources to better deploy its resources relative to the behavior of people in that specific gaming establishment.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people in a gaming establishment;

collecting data related to entertainment resources for the gaming establishment;

at least partially identifying the person in the gaming establishment;

selecting a tailored offering for the person, using;

a) a model configured to select a tailored offering for a person, b) using the data related to the behavior of multiple people and c) the data for entertainment resources in the gaming establishment; and

providing the tailored offering to the person in the gaming establishment.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people includes collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people at a non-gaming activity.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people includes collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people at a gaming machine in the gaming establishment.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people in the gaming establishment includes tracking the location of the multiple people in the gaming establishment.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein tracking multiple people in the gaming establishment includes wirelessly tracking at least one person.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting data related to entertainment resources includes wirelessly tracking one or more gaming machines that are each configured to offer a game of chance.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the model is configured to use the data related to the behavior of multiple people in the gaming establishment to build a traffic pattern for multiple people in the gaming establishment.

8. The method of claim 1 further including associating the data related to the behavior of multiple with a demographic category, and selecting the tailored offering for the person based on identification that the person is in the demographic category.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the tailored offering includes a game that is offered at a gaming machine that a person can see.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the tailored offering is offered in the gaming establishment using a video display whose location is known to the model.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the tailored offering includes an advertisement.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the person is identified in real time, the tailored offering is selected by the model in real time, and the tailored offering is provided to the person in real time.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving an instruction from a traffic controller before selecting the tailored offering for the person.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the instruction is a selection instruction.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein at least partially identifying the person includes determining a demographic category for the person.

16. A method comprising:

collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people in a gaming establishment;

collecting data related to entertainment resources for the gaming establishment;

providing a model that relates the behavior of the multiple people to the entertainment resources for the gaming establishment; and

using the model with the data related to the behavior of multiple people and with the data for entertainment resources in the gaming establishment, determining a reconfiguration for the entertainment resources in the gaming establishment that increases interaction between people and the entertainment resources in the gaming establishment.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people includes collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people at a gaming machine in the gaming establishment.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people includes collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people at a service business.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people in the gaming establishment includes tracking the location of the multiple people in the gaming establishment.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein tracking multiple people in the gaming establishment includes wirelessly tracking at least one person.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein collecting data related to entertainment resources includes wirelessly tracking one or more gaming machines that are each configured to offer a game of chance.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the model is configured to use the data related to the behavior of multiple people in the gaming establishment to build a traffic pattern for the multiple people in the gaming establishment.

23. A computer readable medium including:

instructions for collecting data related to the behavior of multiple people in a gaming establishment;

instructions for collecting data related to entertainment resources for the gaming establishment;

instructions for at least partially identifying the person in the gaming establishment;

instructions for selecting a tailored offering for the person, using;

a) a model configured to select a tailored offering for a person, b) using the data related to the behavior of multiple people and c) the data for entertainment resources in the gaming establishment; and

instructions for providing the tailored offering to the person in the gaming establishment.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein collecting data related to entertainment resources includes wirelessly tracking one or more gaming machines that are each configured to offer a game of chance.

25. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the model is configured to use the data related to the behavior of multiple people in the gaming establishment to build a traffic pattern for the multiple people in the gaming establishment.

26. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein the person is identified in real time, the tailored offering is selected by the model in real time, and the tailored offering is provided to the person in real time.

27. The computer readable medium of claim 23 wherein at least partially identifying the person includes determining a demographic category for the person.

28. A central processing system for use with a gaming establishment, the central processing system comprising:

a processor;

a memory configured to store a) data related to the behavior of multiple people in a gaming establishment, b) data related to entertainment resources for the gaming establishment, and c) a model configured to select a tailored offering for a person, when the person is at least partially identified in the gaming establishment, using the model with the data related to the behavior of multiple people and with the data for entertainment resources in the gaming establishment; and

a communications interface configured to communicate with multiple entertainment resources in the gaming establishment and to send the tailored offering to an entertainment resource near the person and in the gaming establishment.

29. The central processing system of claim 28 wherein the processing system is in the gaming establishment.

30. The central processing system of claim 28 wherein the data related to the behavior of multiple people includes data related to the behavior of multiple people at a service business.

31. The central processing system of claim 28 wherein the memory further stores a traffic pattern for the multiple people in the gaming establishment.

32. The central processing system of claim 28 wherein the multiple people are associated with a demographic category.

33. The central processing system of claim 28 wherein the tailored offering includes a game that is offered at a gaming machine that a person is near.

34. The central processing system of claim 28 wherein the tailored offering is offered in the gaming establishment using a video display whose location is stored by the memory. 35. The central processing system of claim 34 wherein the tailored offering includes an advertisement.