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US 2026/0170919 A1Published application
Virtual players card
AssigneeIgt
InventorsTimothy Allan Page, Christopher T. Lundy, William R. Wells
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gaming machine including a secondary processor coupled to a player tracking system for tracking game play of a patron using a virtual player loyalty card is described. A virtual player loyalty card can be created by associating an existing physical player loyalty card with a newly created mobile loyalty card account. The mobile card can be virtually inserted into an electronic gaming machine when a portable electronic device with an associated mobile application is in the vicinity of an electronic gaming machine. Once the mobile card is virtually inserted into the gaming machine, the patron's game play at the gaming machine can be tracked.
Claims22
A device comprising:
- a processor distinct from a slot machine interface board and a game controller of an electronic gaming machine, and
- a memory device storing a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
- monitor first slot accounting system data generated, in accordance with a first slot accounting system protocol, by the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and communicated along a slot accounting system communication pathway between the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and a slot machine interface board,
- communicate second slot accounting system data to a server distinct from the processor, wherein the second slot accounting system data accords with the first slot accounting system protocol, is based on the first slot accounting system data and comprises at least a subset of the first slot accounting system data, and
- responsive to a receipt of third data from the server that accords with the first slot accounting system protocol, communicate the received third data to an independently operating computing component.
2 more elements
A device comprising:
- a communication interface having:
- a first slot accounting system protocol interface that, when connected to a slot accounting system port of an electronic gaming machine, is interposed on a slot accounting system communication pathway between a game controller of the electronic gaming machine and a slot machine interface board, and
- a second slot accounting system protocol interface that, when connected to the slot machine interface board, is interposed on the slot accounting system communication pathway between the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and the slot machine interface board,
- a processor distinct from the slot machine interface board and the game controller of the electronic gaming machine, and
- a memory device storing a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor responsive to a receipt, from a mobile device, of first data and a receipt, from a ticket-in/ticket-out server distinct from the processor, of second data, cause the processor to:
- determine, based at least partially on at least one of the first data and the second data, slot accounting system data that accords with a first slot accounting system protocol,
- communicate, via the first slot accounting system protocol interface, the determined slot accounting system data to the game controller of the electronic gaming machine, and
- communicate, via the second slot accounting system protocol interface, the determined slot accounting system data to the slot machine interface board.
5 more elements
A method of operating a device, the method comprising:
- monitoring, by a processor distinct from a slot machine interface board and a game controller of an electronic gaming machine, first slot accounting system data generated, in accordance with a first slot accounting system protocol, by the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and communicated along a slot accounting system communication pathway between the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and a slot machine interface board,
- communicating second slot accounting system data to a server distinct from the processor, wherein the second slot accounting system data accords with the first slot accounting system protocol, is based on the first slot accounting system data and comprises at least a subset of the first slot accounting system data, and
- responsive to a receipt of third data from the server that accords with the first slot accounting system protocol, communicating the received third data to an independently operating computing component.
A method of operating a device, the method comprising:
- responsive to a receipt, from a mobile device, of first data and a receipt, from a ticket-in/ticket-out server distinct from the processor, of second data:
- determining, by a processor distinct from a slot machine interface board and a game controller of an electronic gaming machine and based at least partially on at least one of the first data and the second data, slot accounting system data that accords with a first slot accounting system protocol,
- communicating, via a first slot accounting system protocol interface that, when connected to a slot accounting system port of the electronic gaming machine, is interposed on a slot accounting system communication pathway between the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and the slot machine interface board, the determined slot accounting system data to the game controller of the electronic gaming machine, and
- communicating, via a second slot accounting system protocol interface that, when connected to the slot machine interface board, is interposed on the slot accounting system communication pathway between the game controller of the electronic gaming machine and the slot machine interface board, the determined slot accounting system data to the slot machine interface board.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.