US 8,282,472 B2Granted

Gaming system and method for providing virtual drawings

AssigneeIgt

InventorsAnthony J. Baerlocher, Bryan Bullard, Daniel Dewaal, William Little, Christopher D. Reddicks, James A. Vasquez

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A gaming system and method of providing a virtual drawing or drawing promotion including a central server, one or more location servers, and a plurality of gaming devices. A player is provided with a drawing account voucher, which is associated with a drawing account. Based on game play, the drawing account is credited with drawing entries or virtual tickets for a drawing promotion. In one embodiment, the gaming system provides a number of drawing entries when a wager placed by a player meets at least a wager threshold amount, wherein the number of drawing entries provided is based on a ticket award amount. The gaming system, upon expiration of a drawing period, selects a winner of the drawing promotion by selecting a drawing entry. In one embodiment, the gaming system progressively increases the drawing prize based on the number of drawing entries provided or wagers placed by the players.

Claims48

Dependent claims

A gaming system for providing a drawing promotion comprising:

a plurality of gaming devices, each of the gaming devices including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player;
and
a central controller configured to:
(a) maintain a drawing promotion, the drawing promotion including a drawing prize and a plurality of drawing accounts, each of the drawing accounts configured to include a number of drawing entries;
(b) during a drawing period for the drawing promotion, for each of a plurality of players:
(i) cause said player to be provided with a drawing account voucher associated with one of the drawing accounts,
(ii) thereafter, operate with at least one input device of one of the gaming devices to receive said drawing account voucher from said player to activate game play at said gaming device for drawing entry accrual for the drawing promotion,
(iii) thereafter, operate with said at least one input device of said gaming device to:
(A) receive a wager from said player,
(B) determine whether said received wager meets at least a wager threshold amount, and
(C) if said received wager meets at least the wager threshold amount, provide said drawing account associated with said drawing account voucher received from said player with a quantity of drawing entries, said quantity of drawing entries being at least one, wherein the drawing entries are separate from the drawing account voucher and are to be used for the drawing promotion, and
(c) upon expiration of the drawing period:
(i) select one of the drawing entries from one of the drawing accounts, and
(ii) cause the drawing prize to be provided to the player associated with the drawing account including said selected drawing entry.

11 more elements

A gaming system for providing a drawing promotion comprising:

a plurality of gaming devices, each of the gaming devices including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player;
and
a central controller configured to:
(a) maintain a drawing promotion, the drawing promotion including a drawing prize and a plurality of drawing accounts, each of the drawing accounts configured to include a number of drawing entries;
(b) during a drawing period for the drawing promotion, for each of a plurality of players:
(i) cause said player to be provided with a drawing account voucher associated with one of the drawing accounts,
(ii) thereafter, operate with at least one input device of one of the gaming devices to receive said drawing account voucher from said player to activate game play at said gaming device for drawing entry accrual for the drawing promotion, and
(iii) thereafter, determine whether to provide said player with any drawing entries, wherein the drawing entries are separate from the drawing account voucher and are to be used for the drawing promotion,
(iv) if said player is to be provided with any drawing entries, determine a quantity of drawing entries to provide to said player and provide said drawing account associated with said drawing account voucher received from said player with said quantity of drawing entries, and
(c) upon expiration of the drawing period:
(i) select one of the drawing entries from one of the drawing accounts, and
(ii) cause the drawing prize to be provided to the player associated with the drawing account including said selected drawing entry.

9 more elements

A method of operating a gaming system for providing a drawing promotion, said gaming system including a plurality of gaming devices, each of the gaming devices including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player, and a central controller configured to maintain the drawing promotion, said method comprising:

(a) maintaining the drawing promotion, the drawing promotion including a drawing prize, a drawing period, and a plurality of drawing accounts, each of the drawing accounts configured to include a number of drawing entries;
(b) for each of a plurality of players:
(i) providing said player with a drawing account voucher associated with one of the drawing accounts,
(ii) thereafter, receiving said drawing account voucher from said player to activate game play at said gaming device for drawing entry accrual for the drawing promotion,
(iii) thereafter, receiving a wager from said player,
(iv) determining whether said received wager meets at least a wager threshold amount, and
(v) if said received wager meets at least the wager threshold amount, providing said drawing account associated with said drawing account voucher received from said player with a quantity of drawing entries, said quantity of drawing entries being at least one, wherein the drawing entries are separate from the drawing account voucher and are to be used for the drawing promotion, and
(c) upon expiration of the drawing period:
(i) selecting one of the drawing entries from one of the drawing accounts, and
(ii) causing the drawing prize to be provided to the player associated with the drawing account including said selected drawing entry.

7 more elements

(a) maintaining the drawing promotion, the drawing promotion including a drawing prize, a drawing period, and a plurality of drawing accounts, each of the drawing accounts configured to include a number of drawing entries;
(b) for each of a plurality of players:
(i) providing said player with a drawing account voucher associated with one of the drawing accounts,
(ii) thereafter, receiving said drawing account voucher from said player to activate game play at said gaming device for drawing entry accrual for the drawing promotion,
(iii) thereafter, determining whether to provide said player with any drawing entries, wherein the drawing entries are separate from the drawing account voucher and are to be used for the drawing promotion, and
(iv) if said player is to be provided with any drawing entries, determining a quantity of drawing entries to provide to said player and provide said drawing account associated with said drawing account voucher received from said player with said quantity of drawing entries, and
(c) upon expiration of the drawing period:
(i) selecting one of the drawing entries from one of the drawing accounts, and
(ii) causing the drawing prize to be provided to the player associated with the drawing account including said selected drawing entry.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/109,453Filed 17 May 2011 · continuation
Priority: 8 Nov 2006
Published: US 2011/0218032 A18 Sep 2011
Granted: 9 Oct 2012
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification2 codes

G07F 17/34
For games, toys, sports, or amusements: depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines
G07F
Coin-freed or like apparatus

Family

Application11/557,854Parent of this continuation · filed 8 Nov 2006
US 2011/0218032 A1Pre-grant publication · published 8 Sep 2011
US 7,967,677 B2Parent of this continuation
US 2008/0108424 A1Published application
US 8,282,472 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.