Wager gaming voting leaderboard

• US 8,727,858 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Davis, Dwayne A., Nelson, Dwayne R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coburn, Corbett B
• Application Number:
  US13/250,829
• Publication Number:
  US 20130084957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3272 Games involving multiple players

Abstract

Techniques and equipment for providing a voting point leaderboard system are provided. Players playing wagering games may be awarded voting points for use in a poll with a plurality of candidates in exchange for game-play related activity. Players voting for the winning candidate in the poll may be given an award. Polls may include candidates which may be involved in a real-world contest. Players may be rewarded for voting for the candidate which wins the real-world contest.

Claims

1. A wager gaming player polling server comprising:

a communications interface;

a memory; and

a logic device, the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface operably connected and configured to;

select a plurality of candidates for participation in a poll;

receive input, via the communications interface, indicating a quantity of voting points to apply towards a candidate in the plurality of candidates, wherein at least some of the quantity of voting points is drawn from one or more voting points associated with a player in response to one or more trigger events occurring during wagering game play of the player, the player included in a plurality of players;

tally, for each candidate, a total number of voting points applied to the candidate by all of the players in the plurality of players;

determine, based on the total number of voting points for each candidate, a first candidate of the plurality of candidates with a highest total number of voting points; and

transmit, to an external device via the communications interface, candidate information and voting information based on voting point input received from one or more of the players in the plurality of players.

2. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface are further configured to:

associate at least some of the one or more voting points for the player in the plurality of players with the player in response to the one or more trigger events occurring during the player'"'"'s wagering game play.

3. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 2, wherein a quantity of the one or more voting points associated with each player is not required to be the same for each player.

4. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 2, wherein the one or more trigger events comprises exceeding a predetermined threshold amount of coin-in for the player during wagering game play.

5. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 2, wherein the one or more trigger events comprises achieving a bonus during wagering game play.

6. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the plurality of candidates is selected from the group consisting of a plurality of sports teams, a plurality of contestants in a reality show, a plurality of contestants in a talent show, a plurality of contestants in a beauty pageant, a plurality of race horses, a plurality of politicians, and a plurality of charities.

7. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the candidate information comprises the first candidate and the voting information comprises the highest total number of voting points.

8. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein:

the candidate information comprises one or more candidates from the plurality of candidates, and

for each of the one or more candidates, the voting information comprises the total number of voting points applied towards the candidate.

9. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface are further configured to:

tally a total number of voting points applied to all of the candidates by all of the players in the plurality of players, wherein;

the candidate information comprises one or more candidates from the plurality of candidates, and

for each of the one or more candidates, the voting information comprises a percentage of the total number of voting points applied to all of the candidates in the plurality of candidates that are applied to the candidate.

10. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface are further configured to:

communicate, via the communications interface, information associated with the quantity of voting points applied to a particular candidate in the plurality of candidates by the player to a server associated with a reality show or a talent show, wherein;

the candidates in the plurality of candidates correspond to actual contestants in the reality show or the talent show,

the communicated information associated with the quantity of voting points applied to the particular candidate contributes to a score of a contestant in the reality show or the talent show, the contestant corresponding to the particular candidate, and

an outcome of the reality show or the talent show is at least partially dependent on the scores of the contestants.

11. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 1, wherein the logic device, the memory, and the communications interface are further configured to:

select first players from the plurality of players according to which candidate each player applied voting points;

select a reward for the first players; and

transmit instructions, via the communications interface, to distribute the reward to the first players.

12. The wager gaming player polling server of claim 11, wherein the reward is selected from the group consisting of a first quantity of voting points, a first quantity of game credits, a consolation prize, and a marketing message.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a plurality of instructions for controlling devices in a gaming network, the gaming network including a server, a storage device communicatively connected to the server, and a plurality of input stations, to:

select, by the server, a plurality of candidates for participation in a poll;

receive, from a first input station in the plurality of input stations, input indicating a quantity of voting points associated with a player in a plurality of players to apply towards a candidate in the plurality of candidates, wherein at least some of the quantity of voting points is drawn from one or more voting points associated with the player in response to one or more trigger events occurring during wagering game play of the player;

tally, by the server and for each candidate, a total number of voting points applied to the candidate by all of the players in the plurality of players;

determine, by the server and based on the total number of voting points for each candidate, a first candidate of the plurality of candidates with a highest total number of voting points; and

transmit, to a display device and via the gaming network, candidate information and voting information based on voting point input received from one or more of the players in the plurality of players.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to further control the devices in the gaming network to:

associate at least some of the one or more voting points for the player in the plurality of players with the player in response to the one or more trigger events occurring during the player'"'"'s wagering game play.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein a quantity of the one or more voting points associated with each player is not required to be the same for each player.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more trigger events comprises exceeding a predetermined threshold amount of coin-in for the player during wagering game play.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the one or more trigger events comprises achieving a bonus during wagering game play.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the plurality of candidates is selected from the group consisting of a plurality of sports teams, a plurality of contestants in a reality show, a plurality of contestants in a talent show, a plurality of contestants in a beauty pageant, a plurality of race horses, a plurality of politicians, and a plurality of charities.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the candidate information comprises the first candidate and the voting information comprises the highest total number of voting points.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein:

the candidate information comprises one or more candidates from the plurality of candidates, and

for each of the one or more candidates, the voting information comprises the total number of voting points applied towards the candidate.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to further control the devices in the gaming network to:

tally, by the server, a total number of voting points applied to all of the candidates by all of the players in the plurality of players, wherein;

the candidate information comprises one or more candidates from the plurality of candidates, and

for each of the one or more candidates, the voting information comprises a percentage of the total number of voting points applied to all of the candidates in the plurality of candidates that are applied to the candidate.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to further control the devices in the gaming network to:

communicate information associated with the quantity of voting points applied to a particular candidate in the plurality of candidates by the player to a server associated with a reality show or a talent show, wherein;

the candidates in the plurality of candidates correspond to actual contestants in the reality show or the talent show,

the communicated information associated with the quantity of voting points applied to the particular candidate contributes to a score of a contestant in the reality show or the talent show, the contestant corresponding to the particular candidate, and

an outcome of the reality show or the talent show is at least partially dependent on the scores of the contestants.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are configured to further control the devices in the gaming network to:

select first players from the plurality of players according to which candidate each player applied voting points;

select a reward for the first players; and

transmit instructions, via the gaming network, to distribute the reward to the first players.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 23, wherein the reward is selected from the group consisting of a first quantity of voting points, a first quantity of game credits, a consolation prize, and a marketing message.