Presence-detecting gaming systems for maintaining gaming sessions

A method of detecting objects at a gaming machine to determine player presence, the gaming machine including a presence sensor and logic circuitry, the method comprising:

• establishing, by the logic circuitry, a gaming session of a casino wagering game for a player;
• during the gaming session, detecting, by the presence sensor, an object at a detected distance;
• determining, by the logic circuitry, whether or not the detected object is the player based on one or more object detection criteria including the detected distance;
• in response to the detected object being determined to be the player, maintaining, by the logic circuitry, the gaming session;
• and
• in response to the detected object being determined to be an object other than the player, initiating, by the logic circuitry, an end-session counter to terminate the gaming session, wherein a duration of the end-session counter varies at least partially as a function of the one or more object detection criteria.

A gaming machine comprising:

• a presence sensor;
• and
• logic circuitry configured to:
• establish a gaming session of the casino wagering game for a player;
• during the gaming session, detect an object at a detected distance via the presence sensor;
• determine whether or not the detected object is the player based on one or more object detection criteria including the detected distance;
• in response to the detected object being determined to be the player, maintain the gaming session;
• and
• in response to the detected object being determined to be an object other than the player, initiate an end-session counter to terminate the gaming session, wherein a duration of the end-session counter varies at least partially as a function of the one or more object detection criteria.