Virtual world gaming tournament with live host

A bingo gaming system operating a virtual world gaming tournament, the gaming system comprising:

• a plurality of bingo gaming clients that are communicatively coupled through at least one of a Wi-Fi, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), and any combination thereof to a bingo wagering sub-system that receives a wager from each of the bingo gaming clients, wherein each of the plurality of bingo gaming clients includes a display screen and a network interface component supporting communications over at least one of the Wi-Fi, the Local Area Network, the Wide Area Network, and any combination thereof, and wherein the bingo wagering sub-system includes one or more distributed servers coupled to the WAN through a router and firewall;
• a virtual world having a plurality of locations, in which each bingo gaming client is associated with at least one location in the virtual world;
• a bingo tournament session that includes a plurality of predetermined bingo game sessions for each bingo gaming client, in which the bingo tournament session begins at a particular time and the bingo tournament session ends when the predetermined number of bingo game sessions have been played;
• each bingo game session for each bingo gaming client associates a random bingo game outcome with a symbolic representation that is displayed at the location in the virtual world associated with the bingo gaming client;
• the random bingo game outcome associated with each bingo game session for each bingo gaming client is further associated with one or more points that are displayed in the virtual world associated with the bingo gaming client;
• a live host that identifies to one or more locations in the virtual world, in which the live host provides updates on the points awarded to one or more bingo gaming clients at the virtual world location;
• wherein the live host selectively broadcasts at least one of a first virtual world and a second virtual world during the tournament session, and the live host broadcast is displayed on at least one of a networked display and the gaming clients;
• a tournament prize associated with the tournament session, in which the tournament prize is displayed on each bingo gaming client;
• and
• the tournament prize is awarded to one or more bingo gaming clients displaying a highest point total upon completion of the tournament session.

A bingo gaming method for conducting a linked bingo tournament, the method comprising:

• communicatively coupling a plurality of bingo gaming clients through at least one of a Wi-Fi, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), and any combination thereof to a bingo wagering sub-system that receives a wager from each bingo gaming client, wherein each of the plurality of bingo gaming clients includes a display screen and a network interface component supporting communications over at least one of the Wi-Fi, the Local Area Network, the Wide Area Network, and any combination thereof, and wherein the bingo wagering sub-system includes one or more distributed servers coupled to the WAN through a router and firewall;
• generating a virtual world having a plurality of locations, in which each bingo gaming client is associated with at least one location in the virtual world;
• initiating a tournament session that includes a plurality of predetermined bingo game sessions for each bingo gaming client, in which the tournament session begins at a particular time and the tournament session ends when the predetermined number of bingo game sessions have been played;
• associating each bingo game session and the corresponding random bingo game outcome with a symbolic representation that is displayed at the location in the virtual world associated with the bingo gaming client;
• enabling a live host to identify to one or more locations in the virtual world, in which the live host provides updates on the points awarded to one or more bingo gaming clients at the virtual world location;
• enabling the live host to selectively broadcast at least one of a first virtual world and a second virtual world during the tournament session, and the live host broadcast is displayed on at least one of a networked display and the gaming clients;
• associating a tournament prize with the tournament session, in which the tournament prize is displayed on each bingo gaming client;
• and
• awarding the tournament prize to one or more bingo gaming clients displaying a highest point total upon completion of the tournament session.