Method and apparatus for remotely customizing a gaming device

• US 7,040,987 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2002
• Issued: 05/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: Walker Digital LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Inventors: Jorasch, James A., Gelman, Geoffrey M., Santisi, Steven M., Walker, Jay S.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIM T
• Application Number:
  US10/121,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20020151366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,489 Days
• Field of Search: 463 12- 13, 463 16- 22, 463/25, 463 29- 31, 463 40- 43, 273/143.R
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/323 wherein the player is informed, e.g. advertisements, odds, instructions

Abstract

The invention includes a system and method for remotely configuring gaming devices. Initially, a central controller receives configuration data from a player at a remote user terminal. A customization code is then determined and associated with the configuration data. The configuration data and the associated customization code are transmitted from the central controller to a casino server. The casino server waits for a configuration request that includes the customization code from the player at the gaming device. Finally, the gaming device is actually configured according to the configuration data associated with a customization code received from a player at the gaming device.

Claims

1. A method of customizing a gaming device comprising:

receiving customization data from a user terminal;

wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal includes;

presenting a plurality of sets of customization options to a user,

wherein presenting the plurality of sets of customization options includes presenting at least one performance indicator associated with each set of customization options,

wherein each set defines a respective plurality of values, each value corresponding to a respective parameter, and further

wherein the plurality of values of a given set are to be implemented simultaneously if the given set is selected by the user; and

receiving, from the user, one selected set of customization options, the one set being selected from the plurality of sets of customization options;

determining an associated customization code; and

transmitting the customization data and the associated customization code to a slot server, wherein the slot server is operable to configure a gaming device based on the customization data and the associated customization code.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal includes receiving customization data from a personal computer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal includes receiving customization data from a device that includes a display and an I/O facility.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal includes receiving customization data from at least one of a personal digital assistant, a telephone, a cell phone, a kiosk, an automated teller machine, a gaming device, an arcade game, and a vending machine.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes presenting customization options to a user via the user terminal.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the customization options include at least one of a game type, a default game denomination, a game starting point, an automatic player decision, a color scheme, a level of help, a bonus frequency, a bonus duration, a speed of reel spin, a font size, a currency type, a sound type, a sound level, a language, a currency, a payout structure, a payout amount, a payout option, a team option, a comp format, and a jackpot probability.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes presenting a website that displays at least one customization option to a user via the user terminal.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes providing a website to a user that allows the user to indicate a selection of at least one customization option.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes storing at least one customization selection of a user.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes providing software to the user terminal that is operable to display at least one customization option to a user on the user terminal.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein providing software to the user terminal further includes providing software to the user terminal that is further operable to record at least one customization selection.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the performance indicator may be in the form of at least one of an amount of dollars won with the associated set of customization options, a number of symbols, a color, a popularity rating, and a number of votes for the associated set of customization options.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the plurality of sets of customization options includes presenting a subset of a plurality of customization options from among a predefined list of sets of customization options.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein presenting the plurality of sets of customization options includes excluding from the presented sets of customization options at least one set of customization options from the predefined list of sets of customization options.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the predefined list of sets of customization options include customization options that include at least one of a time specification, a date specification, and a location specification.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving at least one selected set of customization options includes receiving a payment for a right to use the selected set of customization options.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data further includes presenting an example of a customization option being considered by a user.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data further includes allowing a user to play a mock version of a game on a simulated gaming device with the customization data applied via the user terminal.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data further includes gathering marketing data related to a user.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein gathering marketing data includes requesting information from the user and wherein the marketing data includes at least one of demographic information, contact information, health information, financial information, credit information, hobby information, personal association information, professional association information, education information, consumer information, and merchant relationship information.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes determining an associated customization code that is easily remembered by a user.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes associating a customization code specified by a user.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes retrieving a customization code from a database previously associated with a configuration related to the customization data.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes generating a unique code and associating the unique code with the customization data.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes generating a code representative of the customization data.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes generating a customization code that encodes the customization data.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes associating a customization code determined based on a unique characteristic of a user.

28. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes using a player tracking number as the customization code.

29. The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes associating a customization code determined based on an identity of a user.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the customization data and the associated customization code includes sending the customization data to a gaming device upon receiving the customization code from a user via the user performing at least one of:

keying in the customization code,

speaking the customization code wherein the spoken customization code is interpreted using voice recognition software,

inserting a bar code representative of the customization code into the gaming device,

inserting into the gaming device a magnetic strip containing the customization code,

inserting into the gaming device a storage medium containing the customization code, and

wirelessly transmitting the customization code to the gaming device using a user communications device.