Asynchronous Group Play Method for Online Casino Game

8:

• The method of claim 1,
• wherein initiating the group session includes receiving contributions from each of the plurality of players to a common pool;
• and
• wherein winnings or losses of the plurality of players are shared amongst each of the plurality of players in proportion to their contribution to the common pool.

9:

• The method of claim 1,
• wherein a plurality of gaming devices is respectively associated with the plurality of players;
• and
• wherein one or more of the gaming devices is selected from a cellular phone, a hand-held computer, a touchscreen device, or a personal digital assistant.

10:

• A method for facilitating asynchronous group play of an online slots game, comprising:
• initiating a group session of the online slots game over the Internet, the online slots game being provided by a website of an online casino, the website being hosted by at least one casino server computer, the group session defined to include a plurality of players, the at least one casino server computer configured to generate a random or pseudo-random number to determine an outcome and payout for the online casino game that provide a house advantage;
• defining at least one group objective for the group session, wherein the group objective defines a requirement of two or more of the plurality of players achieving winning outcomes that result from initiation of spins in relative proximity to each other, the completion of the spins resulting in the winning outcomes;
• for each player, storing outcomes of spins occurring during a period of gameplay to a current session database defined in a storage device, wherein the periods of gameplay of at least two of the plurality of players are asynchronous, wherein storing the outcomes of the spins to the current session database includes numbering the outcomes;
• analyzing the current session database to identify outcomes of two or more of the plurality of players occurring within a predefined number of spins of each other;
• combining the identified outcomes, and comparing the combined outcomes against the group objective, and if the combined outcomes meet the group objective, then administering a prize associated with the group objective.

15:

• The method of claim 10,
• wherein initiating the group session includes receiving contributions from each of the plurality of players to a common pool;
• and
• wherein winnings or losses of the plurality of players are shared amongst each of the plurality of players in proportion to their contribution to the common pool.

16:

• The method of claim 10,
• wherein a plurality of gaming devices is respectively associated with the plurality of players;
• and
• wherein one or more of the gaming devices is selected from a cellular phone, a hand-held computer, a touchscreen device, or a personal digital assistant.

17:

• A non-transitory computer readable medium having program instructions embodied thereon, the program instructions being configured when executed by at least one server computer to cause the at least one server computer to perform a method for facilitating asynchronous group play of an online casino game, including the following operations:
• initiating a group session of the online casino game over the Internet, the online casino game being provided by a website of an online casino, the website being hosted by at least one casino server computer, the group session defined to include a plurality of players, the at least one casino server computer configured to generate a random or pseudo-random number to determine an outcome and payout for the online casino game that provide a house advantage;
• defining at least one group objective for the group session, wherein the group objective defines a requirement of two or more of the plurality of players achieving winning outcomes that result from initiation of player decisions occurring in relative proximity to each other, the completion of the player decisions resulting in the winning outcomes;
• for each player, storing outcomes of player decisions occurring during a period of gameplay to a current session database defined in a storage device, wherein the periods of gameplay of at least two of the plurality of players are asynchronous;
• analyzing the current session database to identify outcomes of two or more of the plurality of players occurring within a predefined number of player decisions of each other;
• combining the identified outcomes, and comparing the combined outcomes against the group objective, and if the combined outcomes meet the group objective, then administering a prize associated with the group objective.