System for hot machine notification
The system allows a player to identify those gaming machines the player believes are more likely to hit a jackpot using an individual gaming machine's historical data. A gaming machine's historical payout data can be communicated to a player by monitoring payout events, storing records of the payout events, and communicating the payout events to the player in a format chosen by the player.
1 . A method for communicating a gaming machine's past payouts to a player, comprising:
tracking gaming machine payout data;
storing a record of the payout data in memory accessible by the gaming machine; and
communicating to the player a report derived from the record.
2 . The method of claim 1 , in which tracking gaming machine payout data comprises tracking winning events.
3 . The method of claim 1 , in which tracking gaming machine payout data comprises tracking the frequency of winning events in a selected time period.
4 . The method of claim 1 , in which tracking gaming machine payout data comprises tracking particular hand types.
5 . The method of claim 1 , in which tracking gaming machine payout data further comprises:
tracking the gaming machine's typical payout data;
selecting a time period; and
comparing the gaming machine's typical payout data to the machine's payout data for the selected time period.
6 . The method of claim 1 , in which communicating to the player a report comprises communicating a visual report.
7 . The method of claim 6 , in which the visual report is communicated through a display associated with the gaming machine.
8 . The method of claim 6 , in which the visual report is communicated through a terminal remote from the gaming machine.
9 . The method of claim 1 , in which the visual report is printed.
10 . The method of claim 9 , in which the visual report is printed at the gaming machine.
11 . The method of claim 9 , in which the report is printed remote from the gaming machine.
12 . The method of claim 1 , in which communicating to the player a report comprises communicating an aural report.
13 . The method of claim 12 , in which the aural report is communicated through a speaker associated with the gaming machine.
14 . The method of claim 12 , in which the aural report is communicated through a speaker remote from the gaming machine.
15 . The method of claim 1 , in which communicating to the player a report comprises communicating to the player a standard report.
16 . The method of claim 1 , in which communicating to the player a report comprises communicating to the player a custom report.
17 . The method of claim 1 , in which communicating to the player a report comprises communicating the report to the player before the player enters a game floor.
18 . The method of claim 17 , in which the report is communicated to the player through electronic means.
19 . The method of claim 1 , in which communicating to the player a report further comprises communicating the report to a plurality of players.
20 . The method of claim 19 , in which the report is communicated to a subset of the plurality of players.
21 . The method of claim 20 , in which the subset of the plurality of players are enrolled in a player tracking system.
22 . The method of claim 20 , in which the subset of the plurality of players are players with high player value ratings.
23 . The method of claim 1 , in which the report comprises a color code corresponding to the payout data.
24 . The method of claim 23 , in which the color code is associated with the gaming machine.
25 . The method of claim 24 , in which the color code is associated with a plurality of gaming machines
26 . The method of claim 25 , in which the plurality of gaming machines are sortable by color code.
27 . The method of claim 26 , further comprising printing a map of the plurality of gaming machines.
28 . The method of claim 1 , in which the record comprises data corresponding to a selected time period.
29 . The method of claim 28 , in which the selected time period is an elapsed time between specific payouts.
30 . The method of claim 28 , in which the selected time period is configured by a user.
31 . The method of claim 1 , in which the record comprises data corresponding to a number of plays between winning events.
32 . The method of claim 1 , in which the record comprises data corresponding to particular outcomes.
33 . The method of claim 1 , in which the record comprises data derived from a plurality of gaming machines.
34 . The method of claim 33 , in which the record is sortable by the frequency of winning events.
35 . A method for generating a report of a gaming machine's past payouts, comprising:
creating a record of payout data;
tracking payout data;
storing tracked payout data in the record;
allowing a player to access a report generator;
accepting criteria to generate a report derived from the payout data;
generating the report; and
communicating the report to the player.
36 . The method of claim 35 , in which communicating the report to the player comprises communicating a standard report to the player.
37 . The method of claim 35 , in which communicating the report to the player comprises communicating a custom report to the player.
38 . A system for displaying a gaming machine's historical payout data, comprising:
a gaming machine;
memory for storing a record of machine payouts; and
a report generator coupled to the memory and configured to communicate payout data to a player.
39 . The system of claim 38 , further comprising a plurality of gaming machines and a network interconnecting the plurality of gaming machines.
40 . The system of claim 38 , further comprising a display.
41 . A system for displaying the past payout data of a gaming machine, comprising:
a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine having a display;
a server coupled to the plurality of gaming machines;
past play data stored on the server; and
a processor structured to analyze the past play data and to generate indicia on the display, the indicia corresponding to the past play data.