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US 10,540,855 B2Granted
Gaming system and method for redistributing funds amongst players of skill games
AssigneeIgt
InventorCraig Michael Schaefer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gaming system which employs one or more random determinations to redistribute award amounts or value not captured by lower-skilled players to higher-skilled players. The gaming system funds a skill award pool based on one or more awards that lower-skilled players (or no-skill players) failed to win in association with one or more skill-based games. The gaming system utilizes the escrowed amounts in the skill award pool to provide one or more supplemental awards to higher-skilled players, wherein the qualification to be provided a supplemental award and/or the amount of the randomly determined supplemental award are based, at least in part, on the one or more skill-based inputs made in association with the play of the skill-based game.
Claims22
A gaming system comprising:
- at least one display device;
- a payment acceptor;
- at least one input device;
- at least one processor;
- and
- at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
- responsive to a physical item being received via the payment acceptor, modify a credit balance based, at least in part, on a monetary value associated with the received physical item,
- responsive to an occurrence of a triggering event:
- for a play of a skill-based game:
- receive, via the at least one input device, a plurality of quantifiable skill inputs,
- determine an outcome, said determination being based, at least in part, on at least one of the plurality of quantifiable skill inputs,
- determine an award associated with the determined outcome, and
- cause the at least one display device to display the determined award, the credit balance being increasable based on the determined award,
- responsive to the determined award being less than a designated award, contribute at least part of a difference between the determined award and the designated award to a skill award pool, and
- responsive to the determined outcome being associated with a supplemental award:
- randomly determine an amount of the supplemental award, wherein said random determination is based, at least in part, on the at least one of the plurality of quantifiable skill inputs made for the play of the skill-based game, wherein a first quantity of designated quantifiable skill inputs is associated with a first average expected amount of the supplemental award and a second, different quantity of designated quantifiable skill inputs is associated with a second, different average expected amount of the supplemental award,
- cause the at least one display device to display the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award, the credit balance being increasable based on the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award, and
- reduce the skill award pool by the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award.
15 more elements
A gaming system server comprising:
- at least one processor;
- and
- at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, responsive to a triggering event occurring, cause the at least one processor to:
- for a play of a skill-based game:
- receive data associated with a plurality of quantifiable skill inputs made by a player,
- determine an outcome, said determination being based, at least in part, on at least one of the plurality of quantifiable skill inputs,
- determine an award associated with the determined outcome, and
- cause at least one display device to display the determined award,
- responsive to the determined award being less than a designated award, contribute at least part of a difference between the determined award and the designated award to a skill award pool, and
- responsive to the determined outcome being associated with a supplemental award:
- randomly determine an amount of the supplemental award, wherein said random determination is based, at least in part, on the at least one of the plurality of quantifiable skill inputs made for the play of the skill-based game,
- cause the at least one display device to display the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award, wherein a first quantity of designated quantifiable skill inputs is associated with a first average expected amount of the supplemental award and a second, different quantity of designated quantifiable skill inputs is associated with a second, different average expected amount of the supplemental award, and
- reduce the skill award pool by the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award.
10 more elements
A method of operating a gaming system responsive to a triggering event occurring, said method comprising:
- for a play of a skill-based game:
- receiving a plurality of quantifiable skill inputs,
- determining, by at least one processor, an outcome, said determination being based, at least in part, on at least one of the plurality of quantifiable skill inputs,
- determining, by the at least one processor, an award associated with the determined outcome, and
- displaying, by at least one display device, the determined award, a credit balance being increasable based on the determined award, wherein the credit balance is increasable via a payment acceptor of a physical item associated with a monetary value,
- responsive to the determined award being less than a designated award, contributing, by the at least one processor, at least part of a difference between the determined award and the designated award to a skill award pool, and
- responsive to the determined outcome being associated with a supplemental award:
- randomly determining, by the at least one processor, an amount of the supplemental award, wherein said random determination is based, at least in part, on at least one of the plurality of quantifiable skill inputs made for the play of the skill-based game, wherein a first quantity of designated quantifiable skill inputs is associated with a first average expected amount of the supplemental award and a second, different quantity of designated quantifiable skill inputs is associated with a second, different average expected amount of the supplemental award,
- displaying, by the at least one display device, the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award, the credit balance being increasable based on the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award, and
- reducing, by the at least one processor, the skill award pool by the randomly determined amount of the supplemental award.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.