Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
  • G07F17/3225—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
  • G07F17/3232—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users wherein the operator is informed
  • G07F17/3234—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users wherein the operator is informed about the performance of a gaming system, e.g. revenue, diagnosis of the gaming system
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
  • G07F17/3225—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users
  • G07F17/3232—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users wherein the operator is informed
  • G07F17/3237—Data transfer within a gaming system, e.g. data sent between gaming machines and users wherein the operator is informed about the players, e.g. profiling, responsible gaming, strategy/behavior of players, location of players
  • G07F17/3239—Tracking of individual players
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
  • G07F17/326—Game play aspects of gaming systems
  • G07F17/3272—Games involving multiple players
  • G07F17/3276—Games involving multiple players wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
  • G07F17/3286—Type of games
  • G07F17/3293—Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Definitions

• This invention relates to jackpot systems.
• the invention has particular but not exclusive application to a jackpot system for, and method of, controlling the operation of a plurality of interconnected poker machines .
• a random number 11 is generated by the computer system to which the poker machines 10a, 10b ...lOn are linked.
• Each of the poker machines produces an incrementing signal when operated by a player.
• These incrementing signals increment an accumulator 13 which thus records an incrementing total of all playing operations on the system to which the machines are linked and is compared by a comparator 14 with the random number stored is store 12.
• the incrementing total equals the random number the machine 10 which when operated caused the incrementing total to equal or exceed the random number is identified by the system and a jackpot 15 equivalent to the random number is awarded to the player who claims to have operated the identified machine on the jackpot winning occasion.
• the present invention aims to provide another alternative to known jackpot systems.
• This invention in one aspect resides broadly in a method of controlling the operation of a plurality of interconnected poker machines in a controlling system in which a jackpot prize is awarded when a monetary accumulation related to the total monetary value played through the poker machines in a given period of time reaches a jackpot value, the method including :- providing players of the poker machines with machine readable player identification means; recording the identity of players when operating a poker machine; and identifying as the jackpot winning player that player identified by the player identification means used to operate the poker machine which when thus operated causes the monetary accumulation to equal or exceed the jackpot value.
• the randomly generated number may be stored as a fixed number, a monetary value relating to each operation of each machines in the system being accumulated in a counter and the accumulated counter compared with the fixed number.
• the method includes : - storing a randomly generated number in jackpot data storage means, and incrementing accumulator means to provide an accumulation of a jackpotting percentage of the monetary value played through the poker machines ; whereby the jackpot winning player is identified when the accumulation equals or exceeds the randomly generated number.
• the method includes :- polling the poker machines after a preselected time interval ; incrementing the accumulator means by the total of the jackpotting percentages of the monetary value played through the poker machines which were operated during the preselected time interval, and if the accumulation equals or exceeds the randomly generated number, generating a random sequence of the individual jackpotting percentages of the monetary value played through each of the poker machines which were operated during the preselected time interval and in the random sequence sequentially adding each of the jackpotting percentages to the accumulation at the beginning of the preselected time interval.
• the method includes : - storing a randomly generated number in data storage means , and decrementing the data storage means each time a player operates one of the poker machines; whereby the jackpot winning player is identified when the data storage means is decremented to zero.
• the data storage means may be decremented by an amount which is a proportion of the amount required to operate the respective poker machine, but in a preferred embodiment the data storage means is decremented by a randomly generated monetary amount .
• this invention resides broadly in a control system for a plurality of interconnected poker machines in which a jackpot prize is awarded when a monetary accumulation related to the total monetary value played through the poker machines in a given period of time reaches a jackpot value
• the control system including: - machine readable player identification means for identifying players of the poker machines; recording means for recording the identity of players when operating a poker machine; and jackpot winner identification means for identifying as the jackpot winning player that player identified by the player identification means used to operate the poker machine which when thus operated caused the monetary accumulation to equal the jackpot value.
• the system preferably includes : - means for generating a random number; data storage means for storing the randomly generated number.
• the system includes : - incrementing means to provide an accumulation of a jackpotting percentage of the monetary value played through the poker machines; the recording means identifying the jackpot winning player when the incrementing means equals or exceeds the random number.
• the system includes : - polling means for polling the poker machines after a preselected time interval; adding means for adding the total of the jackpotting percentages of the monetary value played through the poker machines which were operated during the preselected time interval; random sequence generating means for generating a random sequence of the individual jackpotting percentages of the monetary value played through each of the poker machines which were operated during the preselected time interval if the accumulation equals or exceeds the randomly generated number, and accumulator means for adding in the random sequence each of the jackpotting percentages to the accumulation at the beginning of the preselected time interval.
• the system includes : - decrementing means for decrementing the data storage means each time a player operates one of the poker machines; the recording means identifying the jackpot winning player when the data storage means is decremented to zero.
• the system includes means for generating a random monetary amount each time a player operates one of the poker machines, the decrementing means decrementing the data storage means by the randomly generated monetary amount .
• FIG 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the prior art
• FIGS 2 and 3 are schematic block diagrams illustrating alternative embodiments of the invention.
• a number of poker machines 20a, 20b ....20n are played by players (not shown) each of whom have player identification means 21a, 21b ....21n which uniquely and positively identify them.
• the identification means may be in the form of secure access identity means such as the smart cards disclosed in -Australian Petty Patent 658111.
• a random number 22 is generated and stored (+) in storage means 23 which are decremented (-) each time a player operates a poker machine 20. Each operation of the machine decrements the random number by either a fixed amount, or optionally as seen in FIG 2 by a random amount generated by a random number generator 24.
• the identity of each player who operates a poker machine 20 is established by player identification means 21 and recorded in recording means 25 which records the identity of the player of each play of a machine.
• recording means 25 identifies the player identification means 21 which was operated when storage means 23 was decremented to zero.
• a jackpot 26 is awarded to the player identified by the player identification means 21 thus identified by recording means 25.
• a number of poker machines 30a, 30b ....30n are played by players (not shown) each of whom have player identification means 31a, 31b ....31n which uniquely, and positively identify them.
• the identification means may be in the form of secure access identity means such as the smart cards disclosed in Australian Petty Patent 658111.
• the identity of each player who operates a poker machine 30 is established by player identification means 31 and recorded in recording means 39 which records the identity of the player of each play of a machine.
• Timing means 32 routinely generates a timing signal at brief intervals such as between three and ten seconds, whereupon polling means 33 polls poker machines 30a, 30b
• the jackpotting percentage of the amount used to operate each machine which operated in the preceding time interval is added in adder 34 and the total accumulated in accumulator 37.
• the total in accumulator 37 is then compared in comparator 38 with a random number 35 which has been generated and stored in storage means 36.
• the polling, totalling and accumulating procedure continues at the end of each time interval until comparator 38 determines that the total in accumulator 37 equals or exceeds the random number 35 in storage means 36.
• comparator 38 determines that the total in accumulator 37 equals or exceeds the random number 35 in storage means 36, the individual jackpotting percentages of the amounts used to operate each machine which was operated in the preceding time interval are randomly sequenced in random sequencing means 40, and in the randomly determined sequence each individual jackpotting percentage is sequentially added in accumulator 41 to the accumulated total at the beginning of the preceding time interval.
• the sequentially increasing accumulating total in accumulator 41 is sequentially compared in comparator
• a jackpot 43 is awarded to the player identified by the player identification means 39 as the player whose jackpotting percentage in the above sequential addition caused the accumulated total in accumulator 41 to equal or exceed the random number 35.
• a number of poker machines in a number of clubs are interconnected.
• the system generates a random number between settable upper and lower limits and stores this random number in memory.
• the upper and lower limits of the random number to be generated are stored in non-volatile memory.
• the random number represents a monetary value in dollars and whole cents.
• the accumulated total is not incremented on each individual occasion a player operates a poker machine connected to the system. Rather, every ten seconds (or lesser time interval depending on system programming) the machines in the system are polled and the total of the jackpot percentages of the machines operated during the preceding ten second interval is added to the total of the jackpot accumulator at the commencement of the ten second interval .
• the new total may be either less, equal or greater than the random number.
• the jackpot accumulator is then incremented by the total of the jackpot percentages of the machines operated during the preceding ten second interval .
• the new updated total of the jackpot accumulation then becomes the figure to which the total of the jackpot percentages of the machines operated during the next ten second interval will be added at the end of that ten second interval.
• the winner of the jackpot is not necessarily the player whose machine in real time sequence would have incremented the jackpot total to equal or exceed the random number. Indeed, the jackpot accumulator is not incremented in timed sequence by signals from individual machines but rather, as described above, by aggregated increments at ten second intervals.
• the winner of the jackpot is determined by sequentially adding to the total of the jackpot accumulation at the beginning of the ten second period, those individual player percentages of individual plays of individual machines which in total during the ten second interval caused the jackpot accumulation to equal or exceed the random number.
• these individual player jackpotting percentages are not added in the real time sequence in which they were actually generated, but rather in a sequence which is itself randomly generated - this random sequence being varied every ten minutes.
• the winner of the jackpot is the player identified by the smart-card which has necessarily been used to play in the jackpot system, as being the player whose individual jackpotting percentage, when added to the progressive total of the jackpot accumulator in the order of this randomly generated sequence, causes the progressive total to equal or exceed the random number.
• display means in each room/club display the progressive total of the jackpot accumulator.
• the jackpot system stores the identity of the machine being played by the player identified by the smart-card as the jackpot winner.
• the display means displays the amount of the jackpot which has been won, the identity of club with the machine used by the winning player and the winning player's club badge number.
• the display means does not display the identity of the machine used by the winning player.
• the system and method of the present invention has a number of advantages over known poker machine jackpot systems and methods.
• the present invention positively and uniquely identifies the player associated with the jackpot rather than the machine associated with the jackpot thereby avoiding disputes which occur in present systems as to which player was actually operating the j ackpot winning machine .
• the present invention decrements a randomly generated number thereby avoiding the prior art systems of storing a fixed number, accumulating operations in a counter and comparing the accumulated counter with the fixed number on every operation of every machine in the system.
• a random amount is generated to decrement the randomly generated number, thereby introducing into the system an increased level of anticipation because the speed with which the jackpot is approached is random - rather than as with present systems being merely a function of how many people are playing the machines in the system.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Social Psychology (AREA)
• Pinball Game Machines (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=25645302

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (10)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 1997
  • 1997-10-22 WO PCT/AU1997/000706 patent/WO1998018532A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1997-10-22 EP EP97944638A patent/EP1007171A4/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (2)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events