Granted Patent B2

US 10,922,927 · App. 16/657,149 · Granted Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

Claims (48)

1. A dice game system comprising:

a play field comprising:

at least one play field display device arranged horizontally so that images displayed by the at least one play field display device are viewable from directly above the at least one play field display device;

at least one of a rigid protective material, a flexible protective layer, or a play surface, positioned directly above the at least one play field display device so that images displayed by the at least one play field display device are displayed through the at least one of the rigid protective material, the flexible protective layer, or the play surface;

a bumper wall positioned adjacent to the play field, the bumper wall comprising a bumper surface comprised of padding material;

a plurality of player stations, each player station comprising;

at least one player station memory device;

a player station input device; and

at least one player station processor in communication with the at least one player station memory device and the player station input device;

a dealer station, the dealer station comprising:

at least one dealer station memory device;

a dealer station input device; and

at least one dealer station processor in communication with the at least one dealer station memory device and the dealer station input device;

at least one game controller memory device; and

at least one game controller processor, which is configured, with the play field, the plurality of player stations, the dealer station, and the at least one game controller memory device to:

cause the at least one play field display device to display a dice game wagering area;

receive a communication from at least one player station of the plurality of player stations indicating a wager on a next play of the dice game;

cause the at least one play field display device to display a representation of the received wager;

cause an indication that physical dice may be thrown by a player to be communicated to the dealer station;

receive a communication that indicates the results of thrown physical dice; and

determine the results of the received wager based on the results of the thrown physical dice and cause a credit meter associated with the at least one player station to increment when the determined results of the received wager is a winning determination.

2. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one play field display device is a Light Emitting Diode (LED) backlit Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).

3. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the play field comprises at least two of the rigid protective material, the flexible protective layer, and the play surface.

4. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the player station input device comprises a touchscreen.

5. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the results of thrown physical dice are determined at least partially by a high-speed camera.

6. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of player stations each further comprise:

a credit meter; and

a printer/bill acceptor configured for accepting a physical indicium of an amount of currency.

7. The dice game system as defined in claim 6 , wherein the printer/bill acceptor is configured to interact with a wireless credit device which transmits financial information about a player to the printer/bill acceptor.

8. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one game controller processor is configured to cause the at least one play field display device to display a Craps dice game wagering area.

9. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one game controller processor is configured to cause the at least one play field display device to change the color of the displayed dice game wagering area based at least in part on the results of the thrown physical dice.

10. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one game controller processor is configured to cause the at least one play field display device to display an indication distinguishing the at least one player station of the plurality of player stations from each of the other plurality of player stations.

11. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one game controller processor is configured to cause the at least one play field display device to display an indication that an award, based at least in part on the results of the thrown physical dice, is to be awarded.

12. The dice game system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the bumper wall comprises a bumper wall display device.

13. The dice game system as defined in claim 12 , wherein the bumper wall display device includes a bumper display device controller in communication with the at least one game controller processor for causing the bumper wall display device to display third-party advertising information.

14. A method of controlling a dice game system, the method comprising:

causing a display field of the dice game system to display a dice game wagering area, wherein the display field comprises a flat panel display, and at least one of a rigid protective material, a flexible protective layer, or a play surface, adjacent to the flat panel display;

receiving an electronic communication at a game controller processor of the dice game system indicating a wager on a next play of the dice game;

causing the display field to display a representation of the received wager on the dice game wagering area;

receiving an electronic communication at the game controller processor that indicates a result of thrown physical dice;

determining a result of the received wager at the game controller processor based on the result of the thrown physical dice; and

incrementing a credit meter of the dice game system when the determined result of the received wager is a winning determination.

15. The method of controlling a dice game system as defined in claim 14 , wherein the display field is caused to display the dice game wagering area for a Craps game.

16. The method of controlling a dice game system as defined in claim 15 , further comprising causing a bumper display device to display a wager timer which counts down a time to place a wager.

17. The method of controlling a dice game system as defined in claim 14 , wherein the display field is caused to display the dice game wagering area for a bonus game.

18. The method of controlling a dice game system as defined in claim 14 , further comprising causing a bumper display device to display non-game information.

19. The method of controlling a dice game system as defined in claim 18 , wherein the non-game information caused to be displayed on the bumper display device is advertising information.

20. The method of controlling a dice game system as defined in claim 18 , further comprising displaying tutorial information related to the type of dice game on the bumper display device.

Assignments (8)