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
  • G07F17/3286—Type of games
  • G07F17/3288—Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking
• • 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

Definitions

• a general feature of the present invention is the provision of a new and unique way for players to enjoy gambling on races which overcomes the problems found in the prior art.
• a further feature of the present invention is the provision of a new and unique way for players to enjoy gambling on races which allows players to select the races for the Pick(n) pool on which to gamble.
• a still further feature of the present invention is the provision of a new and unique way for players to enjoy gambling on races on Pick(n) tickets which allow a player to participate in as many of the event's races as possible.
• the present invention generally comprises a new and unique way for players to enjoy gambling on races, particularly pari-mutuel type races. More specifically, the present invention is a wager in which a player selects the winners of several races. The number of races in the wager is controlled by the racetrack operating authority, but the races used for the wager are selected by each individual player. Preferably, the present invention allows a player to select the winner of five races in a racing event, but the number of races used should always be less than the number of races in the racing event. The races the player selects do not have to be consecutive. After the races have been selected, the player places the wager, preferably a minimum of one dollar, with a teller or automated machine at the racetrack.
• a computer assisted method for administering betting on a number or plurality of races within a racing event allows a track to publish the racing event to a plurality of players.
• the players select which races to include in their wager and give their selection to the computer assisted wager operator. This can be done orally or through the use of a game card.
• the data on a game card would be transferred into a computer system.
• the players also give the operator the amount of money associated with their selection.
• the money is pooled, results are received and winners are identified. After the winners have been identified, the money is disbursed to the winners.
• the present invention allows a player to select the races the player is most comfortable with, participate in the wager even if the player missed the first race, and play the wager again, even if losing the first few races in an event. After the event's races are concluded, the players who have correctly selected the number of required winners will divide all of the prize money.
• the betting system can receive the bets from the bettors over a larger period of time throughout the course of the day.
• the bets are more likely to be placed with the betting system over a larger period of time and the betting system is not as likely to see a spike in betting activity at a particular point in time. This frees up network resources.
• the betting system is better equipped to operate with increased speed, throughput and efficiency.
• a further advantage of the present disclosure is that a bettor that loses a particular Pick(n) bet early in the day, for example, may make additional such bets throughout the day. Since each such bet is based on the outcome of multiple races, it is possible that a particular bettor may be satisfied to make an additional Pick(n) bet rather than five separate bets on five separate races.
• the Pick(n) bet of the present disclosure may have the effect of reducing the overall number of trips that a bettor would make to the betting window. As a result, the network resources of the betting system would be further liberated and, therefore, the overall processing speed, throughput, and efficiency of the betting system would be increased.
• Figure 1 is a flow chart diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 2 is a diagram of a wager card.
• Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a typical race track wager.
• the present invention is a new and unique method of gaming 10 in which the player is allowed to select the races on which to include in a Pick(n) style bet.
• Pick(n) style betting can be established for any number of races, but for simplicity purposes herein, a Pick 5 game shall be used.
• the Pick 5 game 10 allows a player to review the races 12 of a racing event and select any five races 14.
• the player may choose to use races 1,4,5,7, and 10 as the races for his Pick 5 game. After the player has selected the five races 14, he must pick the winners 16 of each of those five races. A player may indicate a single horse or multiple horses for each race. Once the player has chosen his races 14 and picked the winners 16, the player visits a teller window at the racetrack and wagers 18 a desired amount of money for the Pick 5. Typically, the player communicates with the teller verbally. However, in Pick games, the player's bet is preferably recorded on a game card 44, such as is shown in Figure 2.
• a typical game card 44 includes an area for the player or teller to mark how much money is being wagered 46, an area to indicate what races the player has selected for the Pick 5 48, and an area to indicate which horse or horses for the selected race the player believes will win. 50 - 68.
• the player of the card 44 shown in Figure 2 has wagered ten dollars on a Pick 5 game.
• the player has selected races 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9 in the race area 48. In race 1, the player believes horse
• the player may determine if there are still more than the Pick(n) number of races left 28. Since the player here is playing a Pick 5, if his horse did not win 26 the first race 22, there are still nine races left. The player can wager again and still try and select the winners of any five remaining races for the event. If there are more than five races left 34, the player can review the remaining races 12, select five 14 new races to include in his Pick 5, select whom he believes will win 16 those races, place his wager 18 and continue to watch and enjoy the remaining races 20. This process can continue until there are fewer races left than the number of races required for the Pick(n) wager 30. In this case, the player can continue to participate in the Pick 5 game until betting has closed for the fifth to last race. After the fifth to last race, if the player's selected winner does not win the race
• Figure 3 shows a typical computer assisted way 100 to administer betting on a number of races within a racing event. Initially, all of the racing events are published, either electronically or in print form. In the Pick 5 scenario, the player selects a subset of five races to wager on and selects his predicted winners for each of these races. A player fills out a card 44 or simply tells the teller 110 what the player's wager is and deposits an amount of money 112. Preferably, the minimum wager amount is one dollar. In one embodiment of the invention, all of the players' wagers are collected together into a Pick 5 pool.
• the money put into the pool is divided up by all of the winners after the completion of the racing event, minus the published takeout
• the teller provides the player with a receipt or stub 114 to confirm the wager.
• the wager is processed by a tote system.
• a tote system includes a betting terminal 120, computer 122, and other servers 124 along with the usual display and input devices and the software necessary to manage the system.
• Tote systems are commonly available today from such sources as United Tote and others. These systems process wagers and calculate and display odds and payoff information.
• the fans can observe from the grandstands 108 or any other area in view of the racetrack 102.
• the race results are determined by the judges or stewards and entered into the mainframe 124. Once the results are made official, the finish order is entered into the computer 122. After completion of all of the event's races, the tote system calculates the winners of the Pick 5 wager by determining if one or more players have correctly selected each winner of the five races selected. Once the winners have been identified, they can return their ticket or stub 114 and collect their portion of the prize money. For example, if thirty people have correctly selected the five winners of their five selected races, all thirty will split the money in the pool. If there is no winner, consolation prizes may be awarded according to the jurisdictional rules. A general description of the present invention as well as a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been set forth above.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=34861447

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (40)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (89)

• 2004
  • 2004-02-23 US US10/784,353 patent/US20050187000A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2005
  • 2005-02-23 JP JP2006554341A patent/JP2007522895A/ja active Pending
  • 2005-02-23 WO PCT/US2005/006314 patent/WO2005082478A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2005-02-23 NZ NZ549700A patent/NZ549700A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-02-23 EP EP05723963A patent/EP1718382A4/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 2005-02-23 NZ NZ572658A patent/NZ572658A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-02-23 AU AU2005216980A patent/AU2005216980B2/en not_active Expired

Patent Citations (4)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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