US 7,677,971 B2Granted

Gaming system and method for enabling a player to select progressive awards to try for and chances of winning progressive awards

AssigneeIgt

InventorsAnthony J. Baerlocher, Alexander Casey Naglestad Cohen, Tonja Marie Ferry, Adam Koby

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Abstract

The present disclosure provides a gaming device, a gaming system and a method for operating a gaming device or gaming system with a plurality of progressive awards. The gaming device enables a player to select one of the progressive awards. The player's selection of which progressive award to play for is based, at least in part, on a relative probability of the player winning the selected progressive award compared to the relative probabilities of the player winning the non-selected progressive awards. After selecting which award to play for, the gaming device either provides the selected progressive award to the player or modifies the relative probability that the player will win the selected progressive award with one or more of any award selections remaining. Such a configuration enables the player to strategically select which award to play for and the order that the player will play for the awards.

Claims52

Dependent claims

A gaming system comprising:

at least one central controller programmed to maintain a plurality of progressive awards;
and
a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine configured to communicate with the at least one central controller, each gaming machine including:
at least one display device configured to display a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player;
at least one input device;
at least one gaming machine processor;
and
at least one memory device which includes a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one gaming machine processor after an occurrence of a random triggering event, cause the at least one gaming machine processor to operate with said at least one input device, said at least one display device to control a play of a secondary game, regardless of an amount of the wager placed by the player on a play of the primary game, by:
(i) enabling the player to directly select any one of the maintained plurality of progressive awards as a first progressive award,
(ii) enabling the player to play for the selected first progressive award at a first time during the play of the secondary game,
(iii) determining whether to provide the selected first progressive award to the player,
(iv) regardless of if the player is provided the selected first progressive award, enabling the player to play for a second progressive award at a second, different time during the same play of the secondary game, and
(v) determining whether to provide the second progressive award to the player.

10 more elements

A gaming system comprising:

at least one central controller programmed to maintain a first plurality of progressive awards and at least one second progressive award;
and
a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine configured to communicate with the at least one central controller, each gaming machine including:
at least one display device configured to display a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player;
at least one input device;
at least one gaming machine processor;
and
at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one gaming machine processor after an occurrence of a random triggering event, cause the at least one gaming machine processor to operate with said at least one input device, said at least one display device to control a play of a secondary game by:
(i) enabling the player to directly select any one of the first plurality of progressive awards to play for during the play of the secondary game,
(ii) determining whether to provide the selected one of the first plurality of progressive awards to the player,
(iii) subsequent to playing for the selected one of the first plurality of progressive awards, regardless of an amount of the wager placed by the player, enabling the player to subsequently directly select at least one of a different one of the first plurality of progressive awards and the at least one second progressive award to play for during the same play of the secondary game, and
(iv) determining whether to provide the subsequently directly selected progressive award.

9 more elements

A gaming system comprising:

at least one central controller programmed to maintain a plurality of progressive awards;
and
a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine configured to communicate with the at least one central controller, each gaming machine including:
at least one display device;
at least one input device;
at least one gaming machine processor;
and
at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one gaming machine processor after an occurrence of a random triggering event, cause the at least one gaming machine processor to operate with said at least one input device, said at least one display device and said at least one memory device to control a play of a secondary game by:
(i) causing said at least one display device to simultaneously display the plurality of the progressive awards, each displayed progressive award having a displayed value and being associated with a displayed likelihood of being provided to a player,
(ii) for each of the progressive awards, displaying an indication of the likelihood of said progressive award being provided to the player, and
(iii) enabling the player to directly select at least one of the displayed progressive awards to play for during the play of the secondary game.

8 more elements

A method of operating a gaming system, said gaming system including a controller in communication with a plurality of gaming machines wherein each gaming machine includes a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player, said method comprising:

(a) causing the controller to maintain a first plurality of progressive awards and at least one second progressive award;
(b) after an occurrence of a random triggering event in association with least one of the gaming machines, enabling one of the players to directly select any one of the first plurality of progressive awards to play for during a play of a secondary game;
(c) determining whether to provide the selected one of the first plurality of progressive awards to the player;
(d) subsequent to playing for the selected one of the first plurality of progressive awards, regardless of an amount of the wager placed by the player, enabling the player to subsequently directly select at least one of a different one of the first plurality of progressive awards and the at least one second progressive award to play for during the same play of the secondary;
and
(e) determining whether to provide the subsequently directly selected progressive award to the player.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/759,035Filed 6 Jun 2007 · us provisional application
Priority: 9 Jun 2006
Published: US 2007/0298874 A127 Dec 2007
Granted: 16 Mar 2010
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G07F 17/3258
Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes: cumulative reward schemes, e.g. jackpots
G07F 17/32
Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services: for games, toys, sports, or amusements
G07F 17/3209
Player-machine interfaces: input means, e.g. buttons, touch screen
G07F 17/3262
Game play aspects of gaming systems: player actions which determine the course of the game, e.g. selecting a prize to be won, outcome to be…