Multi-Level Progressive Jackpot Gaming Systems and Methods

• US 20090131160A1
• Filed: 11/15/2007
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGS LLC (PlayAGS, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cadillac Jack Incorporated (PlayAGS, Inc.)
• Inventors: Torres, Jared A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,579,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/27
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3258 Cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

Various embodiments of progressive gaming systems and methods are disclosed. One method embodiment, among others, comprises enabling a player an opportunity to win, at a time corresponding to a game play session, a first progressive award that is based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the first progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a wide area network, and enabling the player an opportunity to win, at a time corresponding to the game play session, a second progressive award that is based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the second progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a local area network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

enabling a player an opportunity to win at a time corresponding to a game play session a first progressive award that is based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the first progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a wide area network; and

enabling the player an opportunity to win at a time corresponding to the game play session a second progressive award that is based on wagers collected from machines associated with game play, an amount of the second progressive award augmented with data corresponding to the wagers, the data received over a local area network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein enabling the player the opportunity to win the first progressive award and the second progressive award further comprises presenting the first progressive award amount simultaneously with the second progressive award amount in a graphics user interface.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein presenting further comprises presenting the graphics user interface on a gaming machine.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein presenting further comprises simultaneously presenting a plurality of wide-area network based progressive award amounts, including the first progressive award amount.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein presenting further comprises simultaneously presenting a plurality of local-area network progressive award amounts, including the second progressive award amount.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein presenting further comprises presenting simultaneously a plurality of wide-area network based progressive award amounts, including the first progressive award amount, and presenting a plurality of local-area network progressive award amounts, including the second progressive award amount.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising augmenting the first progressive award amount and the second progressive award amount periodically.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising awarding the first progressive award, the second progressive award, or a combination of the first and second progressive awards based on one or more gaming events.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the gaming events correspond to a video slot machine event.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first progressive award and the second progressive award correspond to a respective first progressive award amount and a second progressive award amount presented in separate columns of a matrix presented in a graphics user interface at a gaming machine.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first progressive award and the second progressive award correspond to a respective first progressive award amount and a second progressive award amount presented in separate columns of a matrix presented in a graphics user interface at a plurality of gaming machines.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the plurality of gaming machines comprise a first plurality of gaming machines communicating over the wide area network to a second plurality of gaming machines.

13. A gaming machine, comprising:

a display; and

a processor configured to provide a user interface on the display, the user interface comprising an interactive game having a matrix of symbols, wherein the matrix comprises;

a first column including a first progressive amount that is augmented based on data received over a wide area network; and

a second column including a second progressive amount that is augmented based on data received over a local area network.

14. The gaming machine of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to communicate wager related data to a server over a local area network.

15. The gaming machine of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to receive data from the server, the data corresponding to augmented values of the first and second progressive amounts based on the communicated wager related data.

16. The gaming machine of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to display the augmented first and second progressive amounts in the matrix.

17. The gaming machine of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to update the first and second progressive amounts based on data received by a server coupled to the processor over a local area network.

18. A system, comprising:

a central operations server configured to provide data corresponding to a wide area progressive award amount to a plurality of game servers communicatively coupled to a wide area network (WAN), the wide area progressive award amount based on wager-related data received from the plurality of game servers coupled to the WAN; and

a first game server of the plurality of game servers, the first game server communicatively coupled to the central operations server over the WAN, the first game server configured to provide first data corresponding to a local area progressive award amount to a plurality of gaming machines communicatively coupled to the first game server over a local area network (LAN), the local area progressive award amount based on wager-related data received from the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the LAN, the first game server further configured to provide second data corresponding to the wide area progressive award amounts to the plurality of gaming machines.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising a first gaming machine of the plurality of gaming machines, the first gaming machine configured to provide a first graphics user interface that simultaneously presents the wide area progressive award amount and the local area progressive award amount.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a second game server of the plurality of game servers, the second game server communicatively coupled to the central operations server over the WAN, the second game server configured to provide third data corresponding to a local area progressive award amount to a plurality of gaming machines communicatively coupled to the second game server over a second local area network (LAN), the local area progressive award amount based on wager-related data received from the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the second LAN, the second game server further configured to provide fourth data corresponding to the wide area progressive award amounts to the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the second LAN.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising a second gaming machine of the plurality of gaming machines coupled to the second LAN, the second gaming machine configured to provide a second graphics user interface that simultaneously presents the wide area progressive award amount and the local area progressive award amount that is also displayed on the first user interface.