Playing card dealing shoe activation device
A system including a deck of playing cards. A randomly generated number is printed on each playing card in the deck. An activation device is also provided, which contains a data file of each randomly generated number of the playing cards in the deck, and the order of each playing card in the deck. A playing card dealing shoe is also provided. The shoe includes a sensor for detecting the randomly generated number on a playing card as the playing card is drawn from the shoe. The shoe is associated with a processor, which is in communication with the sensor and the activation device to receive information therefrom. The processor determines whether a playing card drawn from the shoe is expected based on the information from the sensor and the activation device, and disables the shoe when the drawn playing card is not the expected playing card.
1 . A method comprising the steps of:
creating a plurality of decks of playing cards;
generating and assigning a different random number to each playing card in each of said decks of playing cards, wherein each different random number for each respective playing card contains no indication of the rank or suit of the playing card;
applying the random number associated with each of said playing cards on a respective one of said playing cards;
recording, to a physical, portable digital memory device associated with the plurality of decks, each random number associated with each said playing card in the plurality of decks in an order in which each playing card appears in the plurality of decks, to create a data file of ordered random numbers;
packaging the plurality of decks and the physical, portable digital memory device together; and
providing the data file to a purchaser of the plurality of decks by providing the packaged plurality of decks and the physical, portable digital memory device to the purchaser.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the random number is a 32-bit number.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein each random number is printed on its respective playing card in the form of a one-dimensional data track.
4 . The method of claim 3 wherein each said random number is unique to all other playing cards.
5 . The method of claim 3 wherein said one-dimensional data track associated with a playing card also includes any of a deck ID, a casino ID, a time/date code, and data CRC bits.
6 . The method of claim 3 wherein each one-dimensional data track is printed using a low visibility ink and in a low visibility size.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the random number associated with each playing card is listed in the data file in an order of the playing cards in the deck.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein information stored in the digital memory device is encrypted.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the digital memory device includes a digital certificate.
10 . A method for securely preparing a deck of playing cards for a purchaser, the method comprising:
generating a unique random number for each playing card in the deck, wherein each said unique random number contains no indication of a rank or suit of the playing card;
applying each said unique random number to its respective playing card;
determining a physical order of the playing cards in the deck and their associated unique random numbers;
encrypting a sequential list of said unique random numbers to create an encrypted data file, wherein the sequence of the unique random numbers in the list corresponds to the physical order of the playing cards;
generating a digital signature for the encrypted data file; and
storing the encrypted data file and the digital signature on a physical, portable digital memory device that is packaged with the deck of playing cards for provision to the purchaser.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the unique random number is applied to each playing card as a one-dimensional data track.
12 . The method of claim 10 wherein generating the digital signature comprises creating a hash of the sequential list of the unique random numbers and applying a private key.
13 . A method of manufacturing a playing card security product, the method comprising:
creating a deck of playing cards;
assigning a different random number to each playing card in the deck, each said random number being independent of the card's rank and suit;
applying the assigned random number to each respective playing card;
shuffling the deck of playing cards into a final shuffled order;
creating a data file containing a sequential list of the random numbers, wherein the sequence of the random numbers in the list corresponds to the final shuffled order of the playing cards in the deck;
storing the data file on a physical, portable digital memory device; and
packaging the deck of playing cards and the portable digital memory device together in a sealed container for provision to a purchaser.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the portable digital memory device is a data card.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the random number is a 32-bit number.
16 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising encrypting the data file before storing the data file on the portable digital memory device.
17 . The method of claim 13 , wherein applying the random number comprises printing the random number on each playing card using a low visibility ink.