Method and apparatus for remotely customizing a gaming device

1 . A method of customizing a gaming device comprising:

receiving customization data from a user terminal wherein a performance indicator is included in the customization data;

determining an associated customization code; and

transmitting the associated customization code to a slot server.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal includes receiving customization data from at least one of a personal computer, personal digital assistant, a telephone, a cell phone, a kiosk, an automated teller machine, a gaming device, an arcade game, and a vending machine.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes presenting customization options to a user via the user terminal.

4 . The method of claim 3 wherein the customization options include at least one of a game type, a default game denomination, a game starting point, an automatic player decision, a color scheme, a level of help, a bonus frequency, a bonus duration, a speed of reel spin, a font size, a currency type, a sound type, a sound level, a language, a currency, a payout structure, a payout amount, a payout option, a team option, a comp format, and a jackpot probability

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes presenting a website that displays at least one customization option to a user via the user terminal.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes providing a website to a user that allows the user to indicate a selection of at least one customization option.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes providing software to the user terminal that is operable to display at least one customization option to a user on the user terminal.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data from a user terminal further includes:

presenting at least one set of customization options to a user; and

receiving at least one selected set of customization options from the user.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the performance indicator may be in the form of at least one of an amount of dollars won with the associated set of customization options, a number of symbols, a color, a popularity rating, and a number of votes for the associated set of customization options.

10 . The method of claim 8 wherein presenting at least one set of customization options includes presenting at least one set of customization options from among a predefined list of sets of customization options.

11 . The method of claim 10 wherein presenting at least one set of customization options includes excluding from the presented sets of customization options at least one set of customization options from the predefined list of sets of customization options.

12 . The method of claim 10 wherein the predefined list of sets of customization options include customization options that include at least one of a time specification, a date specification, and a location specification.

13 . The method of claim 8 wherein receiving at least one selected set of customization options includes receiving a payment for a right to use the selected set of customization options.

14 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data further includes presenting an example of a customization option being considered by a user.

15 . The method of claim 1 wherein receiving customization data further includes allowing a user to play a mock version of a game on a simulated gaming device with the customization data applied via the user terminal.

16 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes associating a customization code specified by a user.

17 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes retrieving a customization code from a database previously associated with a configuration related to the customization data.

18 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes generating a unique code and associating the unique code with the customization data.

19 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes associating a customization code determined based on a unique characteristic of a user.

20 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes using a player tracking number as the customization code.

21 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining an associated customization code includes associating a customization code determined based on an identity of a user.

22 . The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the customization data and the associated customization code includes sending the customization data to a gaming device upon receiving the customization code from a user via the user performing at least one of:

keying in the customization code,

speaking the customization code wherein the spoken customization code is interpreted using voice recognition software,

inserting a bar code representative of the customization code into a gaming device,

inserting into a gaming device a magnetic strip containing the customization code,

inserting into the gaming device a storage medium containing the customization code, and

wirelessly transmitting the customization code to a gaming device using a user communications device.

23 . A method comprising:

presenting at least one device option to a user wherein at least one performance indicator associated with at least one device option is presented;

receiving data from the user; and

providing the user with a code corresponding to the data, wherein the code can be entered into a device to initiate the device to configure itself according to the data.

24 . The method of claim 23 wherein the code is based on the user's identity.

25 . A system comprising:

a gaming device;

a server coupled to the gaming device via a local area network; and

a remote controller coupled to the server via a wide area network,

wherein the server is operable to:

present at least one configuration option to a player via the remote controller, wherein at least one performance indicator associated with at least one configuration option is presented;

receive at least one configuration selection via the remote controller,

provide the player with a configuration identifier corresponding to the configuration selection via the remote controller, and

configure the gaming device based on the configuration selection upon receipt of a configuration request that includes the configuration identifier from the player via the gaming device.

26 . The system of claim 25 , wherein the server is operable to configure the gaming device based on the configuration selection upon receipt of the configuration request at the gaming device.

27 . The system of claim 25 , wherein the server is operable to configure the gaming device based on the configuration selection upon receipt of the configuration request at the server.

28 . The system of claim 25 , wherein the server is further operable to provide the player with information related to the player's use of gaming devices.

29 . The system of claim 25 wherein the remote controller includes at least one of a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, a telephone, a cell phone, a kiosk, an automated teller machine, a gaming device, an arcade game, and a vending machine.

30 . A method comprising:

presenting at least one set of device options to a user;

receiving at least one device option set selection from the user; and

providing the user with a code corresponding to the selection,

wherein the code can be entered into a device to initiate the device to configure itself according to the selection.

31 . The method of claim 30 wherein the code is based on the user's identity.

32 . A method comprising:

presenting at least one set of device options to a user;

receiving at least one device option set selection from the user; and

providing the user with a code corresponding to the selection,

wherein the code can be entered into a device to initiate a server to configure the device according to the selection.