Granted Patent B2

US 9,830,775 · App. 15/632,132 · Granted Nov 28, 2017

Inventors: Philip B. Gelber (Glen Ellyn, IL); Thomas M. Kopera (Villa Park, IL); Michael W. Mastropietro (Chicago, IL); Richard T. Schwartz (Chicago, IL); Matthew J. Ward (Northbrook, IL)

Assignee: Bally Gaming, Inc.

G07F17/3251G07F17/34G07F17/3232G07F17/3239G07F17/3269

Abstract

Claims (46)

1. A gaming system comprising:

a first gaming terminal for playing a first wagering game including a first game feature having a first expected value, the first gaming terminal including a first display device and one or more first electronic input devices;

a second gaming terminal for playing a second wagering game including a second game feature having a second expected value, the second expected value being different from the first expected value, the second gaming terminal including a second display device and one or more second electronic input devices; and

one or more controllers configured to

detect, via at least one of the one or more first electronic input devices, a physical item with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance associated with the first gaming terminal;

initiate the first wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance associated with the first gaming terminal;

display, via at least one of the first display devices, an outcome of the first wagering game;

responsive to the outcome being a winning bonus-token outcome,

award a plurality of bonus tokens not redeemable for cash; and

store the plurality of bonus tokens in a storage medium; and

permit a player to redeem, from the storage medium, a first number of stored bonus tokens to play the first game feature and a second, different number of stored bonus tokens to play the second game feature.

2. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the first number of stored bonus tokens required to play the first game feature is based on a first mathematical model of the first wagering game and the second number of stored bonus tokens required to play the second game feature is based on a second mathematical model of the second wagering game that is different from the first mathematical model.

3. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more first electronic input devices is a wager acceptor.

4. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the first gaming terminal further includes a credit input device configured to receive from the player previously stored bonus tokens.

5. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the first gaming terminal further includes a credit output device configured to output to the player a physical representation of the plurality of bonus tokens acquired by the player from the winning bonus-token outcome.

6. The gaming system of claim 5 , wherein the physical representation is a smart card or a cashout ticket.

7. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the first game feature is one or more free plays of the first wagering game played at the first gaming terminal or a bonus game played at the first gaming terminal.

8. The gaming system of claim 7 , wherein the second game feature is one or more free plays of the second wagering game played at the second gaming terminal or a bonus game played at the second gaming terminal.

9. The gaming system of claim 1 , wherein the first game feature is of a first format and the second game feature is of a second format different from the first format.

10. A method of operating a gaming system, the gaming system including one or more controllers, a first gaming terminal, and a second gaming terminal, the first gaming terminal for playing a first wagering game including a first game feature having a first expected value and the second gaming terminal for playing a second wagering game including a second game feature having a second expected value, the second expected value being different from the first expected value, the first gaming terminal including one or more electronic input devices and a display device, the method comprising:

detecting, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, a physical item with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance associated with the first gaming terminal;

initiating the first wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance associated with the first gaming terminal;

receiving, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, an indication of a wager to play the first wagering game;

randomly selecting, via at least one of the one or more controllers, an outcome of the first wagering game;

displaying, via the display device of the first gaming terminal, the randomly selected outcome of the first wagering game;

in response to the randomly selected outcome being a winning bonus-token outcome, awarding a plurality of bonus tokens not redeemable for cash;

storing, in a storage medium, the plurality of bonus tokens earned from play of the first wagering game at the first gaming terminal; and

permitting a player to redeem, from the storage medium, a first number of stored bonus tokens to play the first game feature at the first gaming terminal and a second, different number of stored bonus tokens to play the second game feature at the second gaming terminal.

11. The gaming system of claim 10 , wherein the first number of stored bonus tokens required to play the first game feature is based on a first mathematical model of the first wagering game and the second number of stored bonus tokens required to play the second game feature is based on a second mathematical model of the second wagering game that is different from the first mathematical model.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the at least one of the one or more electronic input devices is a wager acceptor.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising outputting to the player, via a credit output device, a physical representation of the plurality of bonus tokens acquired by the player from the winning bonus-token outcome.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the physical representation is a smart card or a cashout ticket.

15. The method of claim 10 , further comprising receiving from the player, via a credit input device, previously stored bonus tokens.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first game feature is one or more free plays of the first wagering game played at the first gaming terminal or a bonus game played at the first gaming terminal.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second game feature is one or more free plays of the second wagering game played at the second gaming terminal or a bonus game played at the second gaming terminal.

18. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first game feature is of a first format and the second game feature is of a second format different from the first format.

19. One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media including instructions which, when executed one or more controllers, cause the one or more controllers to perform operations comprising:

detecting, via at least one of one or more electronic input devices of a first gaming terminal, a physical item with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance associated with the first gaming terminal, the first gaming terminal for playing a first wagering game including a first game feature having a first expected value;

initiating the first wagering game in response to an input indicative of a wager covered by the credit balance associated with the first gaming terminal;

receiving, via at least one of the one or more electronic input devices, an indication of a wager to play the first wagering game;

randomly selecting, via at least one of the one or more controllers, an outcome of the first wagering game;

displaying, via a display device of the first gaming terminal, the randomly selected outcome of the first wagering game;

in response to the randomly selected outcome being a winning bonus-token outcome, awarding a plurality of bonus tokens not redeemable for cash;

storing, in a storage medium, the plurality of bonus tokens earned from play of the first wagering game at the first gaming terminal; and

permitting a player to redeem, from the storage medium, a first number of stored bonus tokens to play the first game feature at the first gaming terminal and a second, different number of stored bonus tokens to play a second game feature at a second gaming terminal, the second gaming terminal for playing a second wagering game including the second game feature having a second expected value, the second expected value being different from the first expected value.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage media of claim 19 , wherein the first game feature is of a first format and the second game feature is of a second format different from the first format.

Assignments (9)

Continuity (4)