CASINO MESSAGING SYSTEM AND GAME
A method and gaming system for promoting play on electronic gaming devices and for communicating with players of the electronic gaming devices. Some players are identified in records in a player-tracking system, and are awarded player-tracking points corresponding to play. When a player texts to a phone number associated with the system, player tracking points are awarded if the player's phone number is previously associated with his or her record or in response to the text, which may result in associating the phone number with the record. In another aspect, when no player activity is detected for a predefined length of time, a text is sent to the player.
1 . A method for promoting play on electronic gaming devices and for communicating with players of the electronic gaming devices comprising:
identifying at least some of the players via a record in a player-tracking system during the promotion;
awarding each identified player player-tracking points corresponding to amounts wagered by the player;
associating at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records;
receiving an electronic communication from players whose numbers are so associated; and
awarding each player an amount of player-tracking points in response to receipt of the electronic communication.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the amount of player-tracking points is a random amount and wherein the method further comprises notifying the player of the award of points in response to receipt of the electronic communication and crediting the points to the player no sooner than the day after the notification.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic communication comprises a text sent from a player's mobile telephone and wherein the method further comprises:
detecting player activity on the electronic gaming devices;
recording at least some of the activity as events in the player's record;
determining a lapsed time since the last recorded event; and
if the lapsed time is greater that a predefined length, automatically sending a text to the player's cellular telephone.
4 . The method of claim 1 wherein associating at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records comprises receiving a text from the players whose numbers are so associated.
5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the text includes a unique number corresponding to each player's player-tracking record.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein associating at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records comprises enrolling the at least some players in the player-tracking system and associating each such player's number with his or her record.
7 . A gaming system comprising:
a plurality of gaming devices;
at least one meter associated with each gaming device to track the amount of play on the gaming device;
a player-tracking system connected to the network, the player-tracking system being configured to identify at least some of the players playing the gaming devices and to associate the amount of play with an identified player;
at least one processor connected to the network, the processor configured to:
determine when a text is received at a predefined phone number from one of the identified players;
automatically generate an award for the one identified player in response to receipt of the text; and
associate the award with a record associated with the one identified player in the player-tracking system.
8 . The gaming system of claim 7 further comprising a display screen for displaying a code and wherein the electronic communication comprises a text from a mobile computing device containing the code.
9 . The gaming system of claim 7 wherein the processor is further configured to:
detect player activity on the electronic gaming devices;
record at least some of the activity as events in each player's record;
determine a lapsed time since the last recorded event; and
if the lapsed time is greater that a predefined length, automatically send a text to the player's cellular telephone.
10 . The gaming system of claim 7 wherein the award comprises a random amount of player-tracking points and wherein the processor is further configured to:
notify the player of the award of points in response to receipt of the text; and
credit the points the player no sooner than the day after the notification.
11 . The gaming system of claim 7 wherein the processor is further configured to associate at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records.
12 . The gaming system of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured to associate at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records responsive to receipt of a text from the players.
13 . The method of claim 12 wherein the text includes a unique number corresponding to a player's player-tracking record.
14 . A method for promoting play on electronic gaming devices and for communicating with players of the electronic gaming devices comprising:
displaying a code on an electronic display sign;
receiving the code in a text from a player's mobile phone;
determining that the player is an identified player in a player-tracking system;
if the player is so identified, awarding each identified player from whom the code is received an amount of player-tracking points; and
associating the awarded points with a record associated with the player in the player-tracking system.
15 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:
detecting player activity on the electronic gaming devices;
recording at least some of the activity as events in the player's record;
determining a lapsed time since the last recorded event; and
if the lapsed time is greater that a predefined length, automatically sending a text to the player's cellular telephone.
16 . The method of claim 14 wherein the amount of player-tracking points is a random amount and wherein the method further comprises notifying the player of the award of points in response to receipt of the electronic communication and crediting the points the player no sooner than the day after the notification.
17 . The method of claim 14 wherein the method further comprises associating at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records.
18 . The method of claim 17 wherein associating at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records comprises receiving a text from the players.
19 . The method of claim 18 wherein the text includes a unique number corresponding to the player's player-tracking record.
20 . The method of claim 17 wherein associating at least some of the players' cellular telephone numbers with their respective player-tracking records comprises enrolling at least some players in the player-tracking system and associating each such player's number with his or her record.