Gaming device having apparent and final awards

• US 7,001,278 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2002
• Issued: 02/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Cuddy, Ryan W., Baerlocher, Anthony J., Maya, Darren, Mierau, Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): SAGER, MARK ALAN
• Application Number:
  US10/269,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20040072615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,229 Days
• Field of Search: 463 12- 13, 463 16- 22, 463/25, 463 40- 42, 273/138.1, 273/138.2, 273/139, 273/143.R, 700 91- 93
• US Class Current: 463/26
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3262 Player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be achieved, game to be played

Abstract

The present invention provides a gaming device having a plurality of start values. The player selects one of the start values, as part of a game sequence. During the game sequence, the gaming device increments the start value to an apparent award. The gaming device in one embodiment enables the player to keep the apparent award or trade it for another apparent award. The other apparent award in one embodiment is derived from one of the other start values. After one or more keep or trade sequences, the player achieves one of the apparent awards. The gaming device then performs a sequence in which the apparent award changes into an actual award. The gaming device provides the actual award to the player.

Claims

1. A gaming device comprising:

an interactive game sequence in which a player achieves one of a plurality of apparent awards, wherein each of said plurality of awards has a value greater than zero and each of said plurality of apparent awards cannot be provided to the player;

a plurality of actual awards, wherein each of said plurality of actual awards has a value greater than zero and at least one of said actual awards has a value greater than at least one of said apparent awards; and

an adjustment sequence, wherein upon a selection made by the player, said apparent award is replaced by one of the actual awards, wherein the actual award is provided to the player.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the actual award provided to the player is generated randomly and is unrelated to the apparent award achieved by the player.

3. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein at least one other of the apparent awards is revealed to but not provided to the player.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of actual awards are selected from a pool of actual awards.

5. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the interactive game sequence includes a plurality of start values, wherein one of the start values is selected for the player.

6. The gaming device of claim 5, wherein the start value selected for the player is an outcome of a selection by the player.

7. The gaming device of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of start values is associated with one of the actual awards.

8. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the interactive game sequence includes at least one keep or trade option for the player.

9. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein at least one selection by the player in the interactive game sequence determines which one of a plurality of start values is selected for the player, the start value becoming the apparent award achieved by the player.

10. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein at least one keep or trade option in the interactive game sequence determines the actual award achieved by the player.

11. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the actual awards are each larger than the apparent award achieved by the player.

12. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the apparent awards are revealed to the player and the adjustment sequence includes each revealed apparent award being replaced by one of actual awards.

13. A gaming device:

a plurality of displayed start values;

a plurality of displayed apparent awards, each apparent award derived through a game sequence from one of the plurality of start values, wherein each of said apparent awards has a value greater than zero and each of said plurality of apparent awards cannot be provided to a player; and

an actual award provided to the player, the actual award selected from a plurality of actual awards which are unrelated to the apparent awards, wherein each of said actual awards has a value greater than zero, at least one of said actual awards has a value greater than at least one of said apparent awards and said actual award is displayed by replacing one of the apparent awards.

14. The gaming device of claim 13, which includes a plurality of incremental values, wherein at least one of the incremental values increments one of the start values to one of the apparent awards.

15. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein one of the start values is incremented by an incremental value if a resulting incremented value is below a threshold value.

16. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the incremented value is provided to the player a predetermined percentage of the time.

17. The gaming device of claim 15, wherein the threshold value equals the actual award less an offset value.

18. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein one of the apparent awards appears to be provided to the player, the apparent award determined by at least one keep or trade option, wherein the player can keep a first one of the apparent awards, which is incremented from a first one of the start values, or trade the first apparent award for a second one of the apparent awards, which is incremented from a second one of the start values.

19. A gaming device comprising:

a processor;

a display device; and

a memory device storing a program, the program executable by the processor to;

(a) cause the display device to display a start value,

(b) enable a player to keep the start value or trade the start value for a second value, a selected one of which becoming an apparent award, said apparent award having a value greater than zero, wherein said apparent award cannot be provided to the player,

(c) replace said apparent award with an actual award unrelated to said apparent award, said actual award having a value greater than said apparent award, and

(d) provide the actual award to the player.

20. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein the start value is a first start value and the second value is incremented from a second start value.

21. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein the processor is operable to increment the start value and enable the player to keep or trade the incremented start value for the second value.

22. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein the processor is operable to increment the start value after the player keeps the incremented start value.

23. The gaming device of claim 19, which includes a plurality of displayed start values, wherein the start value is a first start value and which includes a second start value, the second start value incremented after the player keeps the first start value, wherein the player is provided an opportunity to keep or trade the first start value for the incremented second start value.

24. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein the processor is operable to increment the start value after the player trades the start value, wherein the player is provided an opportunity to trade back for the incremented second start value.

25. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein the processor is operable to increment the start value, enable the player to keep or trade the incremented start value for the second value and enable the player to trade back for the incremented start value after trading for the second value.

26. A bonus game of a gaming device comprising:

a first value greater than zero displayed to a player;

a keep or trade sequence that enables the player to keep the first value or trade the first value for a displayed second value greater than zero, the selected first or second value is displayed as an apparent award, wherein the apparent award cannot be provided to the player; and

an actual award provided to the player in place of the apparent award, wherein said actual award is unrelated to the first and second values and said actual award has a value greater than at least one of said first value or said second value.

27. The bonus game of claim 26, wherein the first value is modified prior to the keep or trade sequence.

28. The bonus game of claim 26, wherein at least one of the first and second values is modified via a sequence of operations using at least one mathematical equation.

29. The bonus game of claim 26, wherein the actual award is associated with the first or second value, whichever is kept by the player.

30. The bonus game of claim 26, which includes a plurality of said keep or trade sequences.

31. The bonus game of claim 30, wherein the player advances through the keep or trade sequences until the player trades the first value.

32. The bonus game of claim 26, which includes a plurality of selections displayed to the player, wherein the first value is associated with one of the selections selected by the player.

33. The bonus game of claim 26, wherein the second value is based on an initially displayed value associated with one of the selections not chosen by the player.

61. The bonus game of claim 26, wherein the second value is modified before the keep or trade sequence.

34. A gaming device comprising:

a plurality of actual awards, wherein each of said plurality of actual awards has a value which is greater than zero and one of the actual awards is provided to a player;

an interactive game sequence in which the player appears to achieve an apparent award which has a value less than at least one of said actual awards, wherein said apparent award cannot be provided to the player;

an adjustment sequence in which said apparent award is revealed to the player and then replaced by the actual award provided to the player; and

wherein the apparent award is generated independent of the actual award.

35. The gaming device of claim 34, wherein at least one selection by the player in the interactive game sequence determines the apparent award achieved by the player.

36. The gaming device of claim 34, wherein at least one keep or trade option in the interactive game sequence determines the actual award achieved by the player.

37. A gaming device comprising:

a plurality of actual awards, wherein each of said actual awards has a value greater than zero and one of the actual awards is provided to a player;

an interactive game sequence in which the player appears to achieve one of a plurality of apparent awards, wherein each of said apparent awards has a value greater than zero, at least one of said apparent awards has a value less than at least one of said actual awards and each of said plurality of apparent awards cannot be provided to the player;

a keep or trade sequence in which the player keeps the apparent award or trades the apparent award for one or more other apparent awards; and

an adjustment sequence in which the selected apparent award is revealed to the player and then replaced by one of said actual awards which is unrelated to the selected apparent award.

38. The gaming device of claim 37, wherein the apparent award is generated from a source independent from a source from which the actual award is generated.

39. A method of operating a gaming device comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting an actual award for a player from pool of actual awards, wherein each of said actual awards has a value greater than zero;

(b) displaying an apparent award to the player, the apparent award derived independently from the actual award, wherein said apparent award has a value greater than zero, said apparent award has a value less than said actual award and said apparent award cannot be provided to the player;

(c) providing a game sequence that changes the apparent award to the actual award; and

(d) providing the actual award to the player.

40. The method of claim 39, which includes providing a plurality of possible apparent and actual awards, and wherein the apparent award displayed to the player and the actual award provided to the player are unrelated.

41. A method of operating a gaming device comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a start value greater than zero to a player;

(b) enabling the player to keep the start value or trade the start value for a second value greater than zero, wherein the value selected by the player becomes an apparent award for the player, wherein said apparent award cannot be provided to the player;

(c) changing the apparent award to an actual award unrelated to the apparent award, wherein the actual award has a value greater than said apparent award; and

(d) providing the actual award to the player.

42. The method of claim 41, which includes the step of incrementing the start value prior to enabling the player to keep or trade the start value.

43. The method of claim 41, which includes providing steps (a) to (ed) through a data network.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the data network includes an internet.

45. A method of operating a gaming device comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a first value greater than zero to a player;

(b) performing at least one keep or trade sequence that enables the player to keep the first value or trade the first value for at least one other value greater than zero, wherein said kept value cannot be provided to the player; and

(c) providing an award to the player in place of the first value or one of the other values, whichever is kept by the player wherein the award is determined independently from the values and said award has a value greater than said values.

46. The method of claim 45, which includes the step of associating awards individually with each of the first value and the other values, wherein the award provided to the player is associated with the first value or one of the other values, whichever is kept by the player.

47. The method of claim 45, which includes the step of modifying the first value prior to the keep or trade sequences.

48. The method of claim 47, which includes the step of modifying the first value using a mathematical equation.

49. The method of claim 47, which includes the step of modifying the other value prior to enabling the player to keep or trade the first value.

50. The method of claim 47, which includes the step of modifying the first value until a threshold value is reached.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the threshold value is dependent on the smallest of a plurality of initially displayed values, the values including the first value.

52. The method of claim 50, which includes the step of determining the threshold value using an offset value.

53. The method of claim 50, which includes the step of determining the offset value randomly.

54. The method of claim 50, which includes using a randomly determined probability in combination with the threshold value in determining when to stop modifying the first value.

55. The method of claim 47, wherein modifying includes increasing or decreasing the first value.

56. The method of claim 45, which includes providing steps (a) to (c) through a data network.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the data network includes an internet.

58. A method of operating a gaming device comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of selections to a player;

(b) generating an initial value greater than zero for the player based on the selection picked by the player;

(c) incrementing the initial value until a threshold value is reached or until a probability determination generates a stop incrementing outcome;

(d) enabling the player to keep the incremental initial value or trade it for at least one alternative value associated with one of the selections to form a kept value, wherein the incremental initial value or the kept value cannot be provided to the player;

(e) upgrading the kept value to an award value which is associated with the selection associated with the kept value, wherein the award value is greater than said kept value; and

(f) providing the award value to the player.

59. The method of claim 58, which includes an initial value displayed in association with each of the selections, wherein the threshold value is dependent on the smallest of the initial values displayed.

60. The method of claim 58, which includes determining the threshold value using an offset value.