Pari-mutuel electronic gaming

A method of playing an electronic pari-mutuel poker machine provided by a gaming establishment, the poker machine being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account and the poker machine having a payout schedule designating numbers of credits for different winning poker hand combinations achieved by a player in the course of playing the poker machine comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account registered on the poker machine;
• b) activating the poker machine by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share of the wager for providing the poker machine;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the poker machine;
• f) determining the number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• and
• g) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won.

A method of playing an electronic pari-mutuel twenty-one game machine provided by a gaming establishment and the twenty-one game machine being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account registered on the twenty-one game machine;
• b) activating the twenty-one game machine by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share for providing the twenty-one game machine;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the twenty-one game machine;
• f) determining the number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• and
• g) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won.

A method of playing an electronic pari-mutuel craps game machine provided by a gaming establishment and the craps game machine being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account registered on the craps game machine;
• b) activating the craps game machine by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share of the wager for providing the craps game machine;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the craps game machine;
• f) determining the number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• and
• g) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won.

A method of playing an electronic pari-mutuel slot machine provided by a gaming establishment, the slot machine being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account and the slot machine having a payout schedule designating numbers of credits for different winning symbol combinations achieved by a player in the course of playing the slot machine comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account, registered on the slot machine;
• b) activating the slot machine by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share of the wager for providing the slot machine;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the slot machine;
• f) determining the number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• and
• g) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won.

A method of playing an electronic pari-mutuel gaming device provided by a gaming establishment, the gaming device being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account and the gaming device having a payout schedule designating numbers of credits for different winning combinations achieved by a player in the course of playing the gaming device comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account registered on the gaming device;
• b) activating the gaming device by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share of the wager for providing the gaming device;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) distributing portions of the common pool to various progressive jackpot pools according to a predetermined formula;
• f) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the gaming device;
• g) determining the number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• and
• h) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won.

A method of playing an electronic pari-mutuel gaming device provided by a gaming establishment, the gaming device being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account and the gaming device having a payout schedule designating numbers of credits for different winning combinations achieved by a player in the course of playing the gaming device comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account registered on the gaming device;
• b) activating the gaming device by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share of the wager for providing the gaming device;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) distributing portions of the common pool to various progressive jackpot pools according to a predetermined formula;
• f) initially seeding each progressive jackpot pool at a preestablished level;
• g) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the gaming device;
• h) determining a number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• and
• i) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won.

A method of playing a plurality of electronic pari-mutuel gaming devices provided by a gaming establishment and linked together as a group of interconnected devices, each gaming device being capable of displaying a number of credits that a player has accrued to his account and each gaming device having a payout schedule designating numbers of credits for different winning combinations achieved by a player in the course of playing the gaming device comprising:

• a) initially accruing credits to a player's account registered on the particular gaming device being played by the player;
• b) activating the particular gaming device by wagering at least one of the credits from the player's account;
• c) allocating a portion of each credit wagered to the gaming establishment as its share for providing the gaming machine;
• d) allocating the remainder of each credit wagered to a common pari-mutuel pool to provide a source of funds for redeeming credits in the player's account;
• e) determining whether the player is a winner or loser for a particular play of the gaming device;
• f) determining a number of credits the player has won for a winning play;
• g) allocating to the player's account the number of credits that the player has won;
• and
• h) when the player decides to discontinue playing the particular gaming device, determining the monetary value of his account by dividing his total number of credits by the total number of credits of all players to determine the player's percentage of the total number of credits and paying the player his percentage of the common pari-mutuel pool.