AU2010201708A1 - Casino Roulette Game - Google Patents

Description

ORIGINAL AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention title: "CASINO ROULETTE GAME" Applicant: DARREN HUGHES and NICHOLAS JURKOVSKY Associated Provisional Application No.: 2009901883 The following statement is a full description of the invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 2 "CASINO ROULETTE GAME" Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a casino roulette game and to an apparatus 5 for playing the game. Background to the Invention A number of wagering games are played in casinos, one of the most popular being roulette. In conventional roulette, a ball is spun within a roulette wheel 10 having a large number of wagering positions. Typical prior art roulette wheels have 38 positions around the wheel, comprising the numbers 1 to 36 plus 0 and 00 positions. Alternate positions in a conventional roulette wheel are coloured differently, typically red and black, to give additional wagering combinations. Wagers may be placed on one of more positions on the wheel, 15 e.g., odd or even numbers, red or black numbers, numbers in a selected group of 12, and on various combinations according to the rules of the game. When the wagers have all been placed the dealer or croupier turns the wheel and spins a ball into the wheel. The ball must be spun in the opposite direction to which the wheel is turning. When the ball comes to rest in a particular 20 position, all losing wagers are removed and winning wagers paid out according to the odds. Roulette continues to be popular in casinos. However casinos and other gaming establishments are always on the look-out for new games to attract patrons and retain their interest. 25 The present invention was developed with a view to providing an alternative roulette game which is relatively easy to learn to play. References to prior art in this specification are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission that such prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere. 30 3 Summary of the Invention According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of playing a roulette game suitable for a casino, the method comprising: 5 providing a betting area where wagers are placed, the betting area comprising a plurality of designated locations on which betting tokens may be placed, each designated location being identified by a different indicia and having a preset odds; each player placing a wager in the betting area by placing one or more betting 10 tokens on a selected one or more of said designated locations; rotating a roulette wheel in a first round of the game and spinning a ball into the rotating roulette wheel, the wheel having a plurality of compartments in which the ball may land, a predetermined plurality of the compartments being identified with a particular indicia; 15 when the ball stops spinning and the ball comes to rest in one of the compartments identified with a particular indicia, those players with tokens on the designated locations with a matching indicia having a winning wager; and, paying each player for winning wagers on the designated locations according to the preset odds, and collecting the tokens for all losing wagers on the 20 designated locations. Preferably the designated locations in the betting area also include one or more multi-bet locations, wherein the method of playing the game further comprises: if a player places a winning wager on a multi-bet location, in a second round of 25 the game the player is given the option of playing-on by moving one or more of the player's betting tokens from the multi-bet location to another one of the designated locations, before the ball is spun a second time into the rotating roulette wheel.

4 Preferably the designated locations in the betting area are arranged in a plurality of groups, wherein in the first round of the game a player is only permitted to place a wager in a first group of the designated locations, and to move a wager to a location in a second group during a second round of the 5 game if the player had a winning wager on a corresponding multi-bet location in the first round of the game. Advantageously the designated locations in the second group have higher odds than the designated locations in the first group. Preferably a player has the option of playing-on by moving a wager to a 10 designated location in a third group of designated locations in a third round of the game if the player had a winning wager on a corresponding designated location in the second group during the second round of the game. Preferably wagers can also be placed in the designated locations of the first group during the second and third rounds of the game. 15 According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for playing a roulette game suitable for a casino, the apparatus comprising: a table having a substantially horizontal playing surface; a roulette wheel provided in connection with the table, and a ball which is spun 20 into the wheel when it is rotating, the wheel having a plurality of compartments in which the ball may land, a predetermined number of the compartments being identified with a particular indicia; and, a betting area provided on the playing surface where wagers are placed, the betting area comprising a plurality of designated locations on which betting 25 tokens may be placed, each designated location being identified by a different indicia and having a preset odds. Preferably said plurality of designated locations in the betting area are arranged in a plurality of groups, wherein during the first round of the game a player is only permitted to place wagers in a first group of the designated 5 locations, and in a second group during a second round of the game. Preferably the betting area also includes a third group of designated locations on which a player may place a wager during a third round of the game. Preferably the betting area comprises an arrangement of the designated 5 locations into four columns and four rows of locations so as to form a 4x4 grid pattern of designated locations. Preferably the first and second rows in the grid pattern are in the first group of designated locations, the third row is in the second group of designated locations, and the fourth row is in the third group of designated locations. 10 Preferably the roulette wheel employs a plurality of different indicia corresponding to the suits of a conventional deck of playing cards. Preferably the roulette wheel has thirty eight compartments marked with Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Jokers indicia arranged at spaced intervals around the circumference of the wheel. Typically the thirty eight compartments are 15 respectively marked with two gold Diamonds; six blue Clubs; six orange Hearts; six purple Spades; nine silver Jokers and nine bronze Jokers. Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but 20 not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. Likewise the word "preferably" or variations such as "preferred", will be understood to imply that a stated integer or group of integers is desirable but not essential to the working of the invention. 25 Brief Description of the Drawings The nature of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of several specific embodiments of the roulette game, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 6 Figure 1 shows the layout of a preferred embodiment of a playing surface for a roulette game according to the present invention; and, Figure 2 is an enlargement of a roulette wheel provided in connection with the playing surface of Figure 1 5 Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments A preferred embodiment of the method and apparatus for playing a roulette game in accordance with the present invention will now be described with 10 reference to Figures 1 and 2. In order to play the roulette game in a casino, the apparatus for playing the card game preferably comprises a table having a substantially horizontal playing surface 10 as shown in Figure 1. The playing surface 10 is of generally rectangular shape, and is provided with a horizontal roulette wheel 12 in connection therewith. The roulette wheel 12 is typically 15 employed in a conventional manner, i.e. the wheel is kept spinning or rotating and a standard roulette ball (not shown) is spun by a croupier or dealer into the wheel in the opposite direction to which the wheel is rotating. The ball should complete four revolutions of the wheel in order to be a legal spin. The roulette wheel 12 has a plurality of compartments 14 in which the ball 20 may land, a predetermined plurality of the compartments being identified with a particular indicia. The roulette wheel 12 of this embodiment has thirty eight (38) compartments and employs a plurality of different indicia corresponding to the suits of a conventional deck of playing cards, as can be seen more clearly in Figure 2. The thirty eight compartments are marked with the 25 following indicia arranged at spaced intervals around the circumference of the suits wheel 12: two gold Diamonds; six blue Clubs; six orange Hearts; six purple Spades; nine silver Jokers and nine bronze Jokers. Hence, there is a two in thirty eight, or a one in nineteen, chance of the ball landing on a gold Diamond. The gold Diamonds therefore have the highest odds. On the other 30 hand there is a nine in thirty eight chance, or slightly less than a one in twelve 7 chance, of the ball landing on a silver joker. Hence the jokers typically have the lowest odds. It will be understood that any suitable number of compartments and a wide variety of types of indicia may be employed to identify the compartments. 5 Additional colours (or no colours) may be employed to add interest and to provide other wagering combinations. A betting area 16 is provided on the playing surface 10 where wagers are placed, having a layout as shown in Figure 1. The betting area 16 comprises a plurality of designated locations on which betting tokens may be placed, each 10 designated location being identified by a different indicia and having a preset odds. Advantageously the betting area also comprises a plurality of multi-bet locations 18. In the illustrated embodiment the designated locations in the betting area are arranged in a plurality of groups, wherein during the first round of the game a player is only permitted to place wagers in a first group of 15 the designated locations, in a second group during a second round of the game, and in a third group during a third round of the game. Wagers can also be placed in the designated locations of the first group during second and third rounds of the game. The suits wheel 12 is only spun once in each round of the game. 20 The first group of designated locations comprises all twelve of the designated locations arranged in the first three rows in the layout of this embodiment. This includes the designated locations with odds of 1 to 1, 3 to 1, 5 to 1, 17 to 1 and the multi-bet locations 18. The first row of designated locations consists of two 1 to 1 or even money group locations, the first a multi-suit group location 25 20 that returns a player the same amount he or she wagered if the ball lands in any Spade, Heart or Club (purple, orange or blue) compartment 14 of the suits wheel 12. The other 1 to 1 or even money group location is an Any Joker location 22 that likewise returns a player the same amount he or she wagered if the ball lands in any Joker compartment. The remaining locations in the first 30 row of designated locations consist of two 3 to 1 locations: a bronze Joker location 24 and a silver Joker location 26. These designated locations 24 and 8 26 provide slightly better odds because the probability of the ball landing in either a bronze Joker of a silver Joker compartment of the suits wheel 12 are somewhat lower. In the second row of the layout there are three 5 to 1 single-suit locations 28, 5 corresponding to a Spade, Heart or Club compartment of the suits wheel 12, and a 17 to 1 single-suit location 30 corresponding to the Diamond compartments of the suits wheel 12. The preset odds for the Diamond single suit are much higher because there are only two Diamond compartments, compared to six each of the Spade, Heart and Club compartments. The first 10 two rows of designated locations in the first group are all referred to as single bet locations. The third row of designated locations in the first group consists of the four multi-bet locations 18 corresponding to each of the four colours of the suits, namely, purple, orange, blue and gold. A wager on a multi-bet location wins if the ball lands in a compartment of the colour matching that of 15 the multi-bet location. A second group of designated locations consists of the fourth row of locations shown in the layout of Figure 1. This group consists of three 30 to 1 single-suit locations 32, corresponding to a Spade, Heart or Club compartment of the suits wheel 12, and one 200 to 1 single-suit Diamond location 34 20 corresponding to a Diamond location of the suits wheel 12. A third group of designated locations consists of the fifth row of locations shown in the layout of Figure 1. This group consists of three 200 to 1 single suit locations 36, corresponding to a Spade, Heart or Club compartment of the suits wheel 12, and one Bonus single-suit Diamond location 38 corresponding 25 to a Diamond location of the suits wheel 12. The Bonus Diamond location pays an amount to be determined by the casino operator. An electronic or manual progressive jackpot may be linked to the Diamond winning results, so as to accommodate the casino bonus. It will be seen from Figure 1 that the layout also comprises an arrangement of 30 the designated locations into four columns of locations according to colour, so that the second, third, fourth and fifth rows form a 4x4 grid pattern of 9 designated locations. The first column consists of all the purple locations, namely the 5 to 1, 30 to 1 and 300 to 1 Spade locations plus the purple multi bet location. The second column consists of all the orange locations, namely the 5 to 1, 30 to 1 and 300 to 1 Heart locations plus the orange multi-bet 5 location. The third column consists of all the blue locations, namely the 5 to 1, 30 to 1 and 300 to 1 Club locations plus the blue multi-bet location. And the fourth column consists of all the Gold locations, namely the 17 to 1, 200 to 1 and Bonus Diamond locations plus the Gold multi-bet location. Single-suit locations in the first group of designated locations are identified by 10 one suit symbol (Spade, Heart, Club or Diamond). Single-suit locations in the second group of designated locations are identified by two suit symbols (two Spades, two Hearts, two Clubs or two Diamonds). Single-suit locations in the third group of designated locations are identified by three suit symbols (three Spades, three Hearts, three Clubs or three Diamonds). Wagers can only be 15 placed in the first group of designated locations in the first round of the game. Wagers can only be placed in the second group of designated locations in the second round of the game. And wagers can only be placed in the third group of designated locations in the third round of the game. A preferred method of playing the game will now be described with reference 20 to Figure 1. In the first round of a game, players may place bets on any one or more of the eight single-bet locations 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 in the first group of designated locations in the layout. Players also have the option of placing one or more wagers on any one or more of the four multi-bet locations 18. Players may place wagers at any time up until the dealer calls no more 25 bets. A wager may be placed by putting one or more cash chips or colour chips on the designated locations. A cash chip is a casino chip with a cash value displayed on the surface of the chip. A colour chip is a casino chip that has a predetermined cash value, but is not marked with this value on its surface. 30 Colour chips are used by individual patrons to avoid confusion as to chip ownership between players.

10 With the suits wheel 12 rotating the roulette ball is spun into the wheel. Once the ball comes to a complete stop, all winning and losing wagers are determined. All losing wagers are removed from the betting area 16, and the winning single-bet results are paid. Then all multi-bet wagers are moved 5 forward to the second group of designated locations. If any of the single-bet locations is a winning wager the patrons are paid out immediately according to the preset odds. If a multi-bet location wins in the first round of the game, the chips on that location are then moved to the matching coloured location in the second group of designated locations, 10 namely one of the 30 to 1 locations 32 or the 200 to 1 Diamond location 34. The suits wheel 12 is rotated a second time and the ball is spun into the wheel. If the ball lands in a compartment of the same colour (or suit) as the designated location 32 or 34 on which a wager has been placed in the second 15 group, the player has the option of being paid out according to the preset odds for that location, or to Play-On to the third round of the game. If the player chooses to Play-On, the wager is them moved to the next matching coloured location in the third group of designated locations, namely one of the 200 to 1 locations 36 or the Bonus Diamond location 38. If a player has a winning 20 wager on that location (by a third consecutive spin of Spades, Hearts, Clubs or Diamonds), they are paid out according to the present odds of casino Bonus. An example may help to illustrate the multi-betting feature in the preferred method of playing the game. A player places a wager on the blue Club multi 25 bet location 18 in the first round of the game. On the first spin or rotation of the roulette ball it lands on a blue Club compartment of the suits wheel 12, and therefore the player has a winning wager. In the second round of the game the player's wager is then moved to the blue Club location 32 in the second group of designated locations. If after the second spin of the roulette ball it again 30 lands on a blue Club compartment, the player is given the option to receive payment at the odds shown, or to Play-On and try for a triple consecutive 11 result. If the player chooses to Play-On their wager is moved to the 200 to 1 blue Club location 36 in the third group of designated locations. To have a winning wager in the third round of the game, the player requires the ball to land at the end of the third spin on a third consecutive blue Club compartment 5 in the suits wheel 12. If at any time the result of the spin is other than a blue Club, all Club wagers will lose. Players may place a new wager on any of the multi-bet locations 18 or single-bet locations in the first group of designated locations, once any result has been achieved, all payouts have been made and any Play-On 10 options taken up. The silver and bronze Joker locations are single-bet locations and all other results lose if either of these outcomes occurs. None of the Joker locations have a multi-bet availability. The odds for the game have been calculated based on 38 possible outcomes corresponding to the 38 compartments of the suits wheel 12. These may be 15 varied by the casino operator and the odds modified accordingly to achieve the desired returns to the casino for the game. Now that a preferred embodiment of the roulette game has been described in detail, it will be apparent that the embodiment provides a number of advantages over the prior art, including the following: 20 (i) It is simple to learn the rules and therefore easy for the novice to begin to play; (ii) The multi-bet facility adds interest and helps to keep patrons playing the game; (iii) It is inexpensive for a casino to install as a standard roulette table 25 can be readily modified to provide a roulette wheel with the desired indicia marked thereon and a betting area having the designated locations. It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts that various modifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing embodiments, 12 in addition to those already described, without departing from the basic inventive concepts of the present invention. For example, whilst the card game has been described in the form of a conventional casino tabletop playing surface, it may also be embodied in an electronic format for playing 5 on-line or in electronic gaming machine. Furthermore the number and arrangement of the designated locations in the betting area may be varied from that illustrated. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described.

Claims (19)

1. A method of playing a roulette game suitable for a casino, the method comprising: 5 providing a betting area where wagers are placed, the betting area comprising a plurality of designated locations on which betting tokens may be placed, each designated location being identified by a different indicia and having a preset odds; each player placing a wager in the betting area by placing one or more betting 10 tokens on a selected one or more of said designated locations; rotating a roulette wheel in a first round of the game and spinning a ball into the rotating roulette wheel, the wheel having a plurality of compartments in which the ball may land, a predetermined plurality of the compartments being identified with a particular indicia; 15 when the ball stops spinning and the ball comes to rest in one of the compartments identified with a particular indicia, those players with tokens on the designated locations with a matching indicia having a winning wager; and, paying each player for winning wagers on the designated locations according to the preset odds, and collecting the tokens for all losing wagers on the 20 designated locations.

2. A method of playing a roulette game according to claim 1, wherein the designated locations in the betting area also include one or more multi-bet locations, wherein the method of playing the game further comprises: 25 if a player places a winning wager on a multi-bet location, in a second round of the game the player is given the option of playing-on by moving one or more of the player's betting tokens from the multi-bet location to another one of the designated locations, before the ball is spun a second time into the rotating roulette wheel. 14

3. A method of playing a roulette game according to claim 2, wherein the designated locations in the betting area are arranged in a plurality of groups, wherein in the first round of the game a player is only permitted to place a wager in a first group of the designated locations, and to move a wager to a 5 location in a second group during a second round of the game if the player had a winning wager on a corresponding multi-bet location in the first round of the game.

4. A method of playing a roulette game according to claim 3, wherein the designated locations in the second group have higher odds than the 10 designated locations in the first group.

5. A method of playing a roulette game according to claim 4, wherein a player has the option of playing-on by moving a wager to a designated location in a third group of designated locations in a third round of the game if the player had a winning wager on a corresponding designated location in the 15 second group during the second round of the game.

6. A method of playing a roulette game according to claim 5, wherein wagers can also be placed in the designated locations of the first group during the second and third rounds of the game.

7. A method of playing a roulette game according to any one of claims 2 20 to 6, wherein the designated locations in the betting area are arranged into four columns of designated locations, each column of designated locations including a multi-bet location identified by a different colour, and wherein selected compartments of the roulette wheel are also marked with one of the four colours, wherein if the ball lands in a compartment marked with the same 25 colour as the multi-bet location on which a wager has been placed, in a second round of the game the player is given the option of playing-on by moving one or more of the player's betting tokens from the multi-bet location to another one of the designated locations, before the ball is spun a second time into the rotating roulette wheel. 15

8. A method of playing a roulette game according to claim 7, wherein each of the four colours is identified with one of the four suites of a conventional deck of playing cards.

9. An apparatus for playing a roulette game suitable for a casino, the 5 apparatus comprising: a table having a substantially horizontal playing surface; a roulette wheel provided in connection with the table, and a ball which is spun into the wheel when it is rotating, the wheel having a plurality of compartments in which the ball may land, a predetermined number of the compartments 10 being identified with a particular indicia; and, a betting area provided on the playing surface where wagers are placed, the betting area comprising a plurality of designated locations on which betting tokens may be placed, each designated location being identified by a different indicia and having a preset odds. 15

10. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 9, wherein said plurality of designated locations in the betting area are arranged in a plurality of groups, wherein during the first round of the game a player is only permitted to place wagers in a first group of the designated locations, and in a second group during a second round of the game. 20

11. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 10, wherein the betting area also includes a third group of designated locations on which a player may place a wager during a third round of the game.

12. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 11, wherein the betting area comprises an arrangement of the designated 25 locations into four columns and four rows of locations so as to form a 4x4 grid pattern of designated locations.

13. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 12, wherein the first and second rows in the grid pattern are in the first group of 16 designated locations, the third row is in the second group of designated locations, and the fourth row is in the third group of designated locations.

14. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 9, wherein the roulette wheel employs a plurality of different indicia corresponding to the 5 suits of a conventional deck of playing cards.

15. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 14, wherein the roulette wheel has thirty eight compartments marked with Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Jokers indicia arranged at spaced intervals around the circumference of the wheel. 10

16. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the roulette wheel has a selected plurality of compartments marked with four different colours respectively, corresponding to the four suites of a conventional deck of playing cards, the four columns of designated locations in the betting area being arranged in matching colours respectively. 15

17. An apparatus for playing a roulette game according to claim 16, wherein the thirty eight compartments are respectively marked with two gold Diamonds; six blue Clubs; six orange Hearts; six purple Spades; nine silver Jokers and nine bronze Jokers.

18. A method of playing a roulette game substantially as herein described 20 with reference to and as illustrated in any one or more of the accompanying drawings.

19. An apparatus for playing a roulette game substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in any one or more of the accompanying drawings. 25 Dated this 29th day of April 2010 Darren Hughes and Nicholas Jurkovsky 30 by their Patent Attorneys Janet Stead & Associates