GENERATING A SCORE RELATED TO PLAY ON GAMING DEVICES

1 . A method for generating a score related to play on at least one electronic gaming device comprising:

tracking an amount wagered on the at least one gaming device;

tracking an amount awarded by the at least one gaming device; and

generating a score related to the tracked amounts.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the tracked amounts are related to a single gaming device.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein the tracked amounts are related to a single player of the gaming device.

4 . The method of claim 2 wherein the tracked amounts are related to multiple players of the gaming device.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the tracked amounts are related to a single player of multiple gaming devices.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the generated score comprises the actual machine hold for an identified wager segment.

7 . The method of claim 6 further comprising comparing the actual machine hold to a theoretical machine hold.

8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising generating scores for multiple players and displaying at least some of the scores.

9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising generating a visible display related to the score.

10 . A method for generating a score related to play on an electronic gaming device comprising:

tracking a predefined amount wagered on the gaming device;

tracking an amount awarded by the gaming device in response to wagering the predefined amount of money; and

generating a score that is a function of the tracked amounts.

11 . The method of claim 10 further comprising:

tracking a predefined amount wagered on a second gaming device;

tracking an amount awarded by the second gaming device in response to wagering the predefined amount of money on the second gaming device;

generating a score that is a function of the tracked amounts on the second gaming device; and

comparing the scores generated on the first and second gaming devices.

12 . The method of claim 10 wherein the predefined amount wagered comprises a predefined amount for which tracking starts in response to a command input to the gaming device by a player of the gaming device.

13 . The method of claim 10 wherein the predefined amount wagered comprises a predefined wager-segment amount that is repeatedly determined during the course of gaming device play.

14 . A method for generating a score on a gaming device associated with a player, the method comprising:

associating a player identifying mark with the player;

tracking credits wagered by the player over a plurality of gaming events;

tracking credits awarded to the player over the plurality of gaming events;

calculating a player score based on the tracked credits wagered and tracked credits awarded during the plurality of gaming events; and

displaying the player score with the player identifying mark.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein calculating the player score includes normalizing the credits wagered and credits awarded based on a predetermined number of gaming events.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein calculating the player score includes normalizing the credits wagered and credits awarded based on a predetermined monetary value.

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein calculating the player score includes normalizing the credits wagered and credits awarded based on a predetermined time period.

18 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the player score is calculated by the following formula: (credits awarded)/(credits wagered).

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising indicating on the gaming device whether the player score was greater than an expected payback percentage of the gaming device.

20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein multiple indications of player scores versus the expected payback percentage are displayed on the gaming device.

21 . The method of claim 14 , wherein associating a player identifying mark with the player includes identifying the player by use of player tracking device and retrieving the player identifying mark from a player tracking account associated with the identified player.

22 . The method of claim 14 , wherein associating a player identifying mark with the player includes requesting the player to input one or more symbols to create the player identifying mark.

23 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the player may reset the tracked amounts to respective initial values after completion of a gaming event.

24 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the tracked amounts are reset after a predetermined number of credits are wagered.

25 . A gaming device comprising:

means for wagering credits during a gaming session on the gaming device;

means for displaying the outcome of the gaming session;

means for tracking an amount of credits wagered on the gaming device;

means for tracking an amount of credits awarded on the gaming device; and

means for calculating a player score based on the tracked amounts.

26 . The gaming device of claim 25 , further comprising means for displaying the calculated player score.

27 . The gaming device of claim 25 , further comprising means for comparing the calculated player score with an expected payback percentage of the gaming device.

28 . The gaming device of claim 27 , further comprising means for displaying the result of the comparison of the calculated player score with the expected payback percentage of the gaming device.

29 . A method for generating a score on a gaming device associated with a player, the method comprising:

associating a player identifying mark with the player;

initiating a score tracking session;

tracking credits wagered by the player over a plurality of gaming sessions during the score tracking session;

tracking credits awarded to the player over the plurality of gaming sessions during the score tracking session;

ending the score tracking session;

calculating a final player score based on the tracked credits wagered and tracked credits awarded during the score tracking session; and

displaying the player score with the player identifying mark.

30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the score tracking session is ended after a predetermined number of gaming sessions have been completed.

31 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the score tracking session is ended after a predetermined amount of credits has been wagered.

32 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the score tracking session is ended after a predetermined amount of time has passed.

33 . A gaming system comprising:

a gaming device including:

a player identification device to identify a player playing the gaming device,

a processor to track an amount of credits wagered on the gaming device, track an amount of credits awarded on the gaming device, and generate a score based on the tracked amounts, and

a score display to display the score generated by the processor; and

a server coupled to the gaming device over a network, the server including a player database to store player information, wherein the player information stored in the database includes scores generated for respective identified players.

34 . The gaming system of claim 33 , wherein the scores generated for identified players stored in the database includes a ranked list of scores associated with a player.

35 . The gaming system of claim 34 , wherein the gaming device further includes a player top score display to show a predetermined number of top scores from the ranked list of scores associated with an identified player.

36 . The gaming system of claim 34 , wherein the ranked list of scores associated with a player includes a ranked list of scores associated with a particular gaming device.

37 . The gaming system of claim 34 , wherein the ranked list of scores associated with a player includes a ranked list of scores associated with a particular type of gaming device.

38 . The gaming system of claim 34 , wherein the ranked list of scores associated with a player includes a ranked list of scores associated with a gaming location or plurality of related gaming locations.

39 . The gaming system of claim 33 , wherein the gaming device further includes a device score portion to display a ranked list of top scores associated with the gaming device.

40 . The gaming system of claim 39 , wherein the gaming device further includes a device score portion to display a ranked list of top scores associated with a particular type of gaming device.

41 . The gaming system of claim 39 , wherein the gaming device further includes a device score portion to display a ranked list of top scores associated with gaming location or plurality of related gaming locations.

42 . The gaming system of claim 33 , wherein the scores generated for identified players stored in the database includes a ranked list of scores associated with a first group of players.

43 . The gaming system of claim 42 , wherein the server is configured to award a bonus prize to a highest ranked player from the ranked list of scores associated with the first group of players.

44 . The gaming system of claim 42 , wherein scores generated for indentified players stored in the database further includes a ranked list of scores associated with a second group of players.

45 . The gaming system of claim 44 , wherein the server is configured to award a bonus prize to the first or second group of players based on the respective ranked lists of scores associated with the first and second group of players.

46 . A gaming device comprising:

a player identification device to identify a player playing the gaming device;

a processor to track gaming outcomes on the gaming device associated with wagers placed by the player, the processor configured to generate a score associated with the tracked gaming outcomes; and

a score display to display the score generated by the processor.

47 . The gaming device of claim 46 , wherein the tracked gaming outcomes used in generating the score include non-winning gaming outcomes.

48 . A method of generating a score on a gaming device, the method comprising:

initiating a first scoring session;

tracking gaming outcomes based on monetary wagering made on the gaming device by a player during the first scoring session;

initiating a second scoring session;

tracking gaming outcomes based on monetary wagering made on the gaming device by a player during the second scoring session;

ending the first scoring session;

ending the second scoring session;

generating a first score associated with the tracked gaming outcomes from the first gaming session;

generating a second score associated with the tracked gaming outcomes from the second gaming session;

comparing the first score to the second score; and

displaying the higher of the first score and the second score on the gaming device.

49 . The method of claim 48 , further comprising:

generating a running score at the end of the first scoring session associated with the tracked gaming outcomes from the first scoring session;

displaying the running score on the gaming device;

generating a temporary score at the end of the second scoring session associated with the tracked gaming outcomes from the second scoring session;

modifying a value of the running score with the temporary score if the temporary score is greater than the running score; and

displaying the running score on the gaming device.

50 . The method of claim 48 , wherein the first and second scoring session are included in a time-based predetermined rolling frame.

51 . The method of claim 48 , wherein the first and second scoring session are included in a wager amount-based predetermined rolling frame.