Granted Patent B2

US 9,251,645 · App. 13/874,705 · Granted Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

Claims (83)

1. A method of operating a wagering game system, said method comprising:

connecting, via a network communication interface of the wagering game system, a wagering game controlled by the wagering game system to a chat session initiated via a social chat application configured to generate a first chat message directed to at least one of a plurality of chat participants indicated via a chat console, wherein the first chat message includes one or more textual characters, and wherein the social chat application is configured to send the first chat message via a network;

detecting, via the network communication interface, the first chat message;

determining, based on analysis of the one or more textual characters of the first chat message by an electronic game control unit of the wagering game system, that the one or more textual characters indicate a textual game command for the wagering game; and

activating, via at least one of one or more processors of the wagering game system, a wagering game function for the wagering game in response to the determining that the one or more textual characters indicate the textual game command.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the connecting the wagering game to the chat session comprises connecting an interactive game chat bot, for the wagering game, with a wagering game player account via the chat session.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a wagering game outcome for the wagering game in response to the activating of the wagering game function;

generating one or more textual indicators that indicate the wagering game outcome; and

transmitting, via the network communication interface, the one or more textual indicators from the wagering game system to a client device associated with the social chat application for presentation of the one or more textual indicators in the chat console as a second chat message received from the wagering game.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the one or more textual indicators include one or more graphical emoticons that represent game play elements of the wagering game.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting special characters indicated in the one or more textual characters;

accessing information, related to the special characters, stored in a wagering game player account associated with the chat session; and

based on the information, interpreting the special characters as an instruction to perform the wagering game function for the wagering game.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wagering game function comprises one or more of a reel spin function, a spin repeat function, a game bet function, a bet multiplication function, a card split function, a card fold function, a cash-in function, a cash-out function, and a game quit function.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting a bet amount, associated with the textual game command, indicated via the first chat message; and

electronically transacting the bet amount according to the wagering game function.

8. One or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more processors of a wagering game system cause the set of one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

connecting, via a network communication interface of the wagering game system, a wagering game controlled by the wagering game system to a chat session initiated via a social chat application configured to generate a chat message directed to at least one of a plurality of chat participants indicated via a chat console, wherein the chat message includes one or more textual characters, and wherein the social chat application is configured to send the chat message via a network;

detecting, via the network communication interface, the chat message;

determining, based on analysis of the one or more textual characters of the chat message by an electronic game control unit of the wagering game system, that the one or more textual characters indicate a textual game command for the wagering game, wherein the chat message is associated with a wagering game player account;

initiating a wagering game session for the wagering game player account; and

activating a wagering game function for the wagering game in response to the determining that the one or more textual characters indicate the textual game command.

9. The one or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media of claim 8 , wherein the operation of connecting the wagering game to the chat session includes an operation comprising connecting an interactive game chat bot, for the wagering game, with the wagering game player account via the chat session.

10. The one or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media of claim 8 , said operations further comprising:

detecting one or more special characters indicated in the one or more textual characters;

accessing information, related to the special characters, stored in the wagering game player account; and

based on the information, interpreting the special characters as an instruction to perform the wagering game function for the wagering game.

11. The one or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media of claim 8 , wherein the wagering game function comprises one or more of a reel spin function, a spin repeat function, a game bet function, a bet multiplication function, a card split function, a card fold function, a cash-in function, a cash-out function, and a game quit function.

12. The one or more non-transitory, machine-readable storage media of claim 8 , said operations further comprising:

detecting a bet amount, associated with the textual game command, indicated via the chat message; and

electronically transacting the bet amount for the wagering game player account according to the wagering game function.

13. A gaming system comprising:

one or more electronic processing units;

a network communication interface; and

one or more memory storage devices configured to store instructions, which when executed by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, cause the gaming system to perform operations to

connect, via the network communication interface, a wagering game controlled by the gaming system to a chat session initiated via a social chat application configured to generate a first chat message directed to at least one of a plurality of chat participants indicated via a chat console, wherein the first chat message includes one or more textual characters, and wherein the social chat application is configured to send the first chat message via a network,

detect, via the network communication interface, the first chat message,

determine, based on analysis of the one or more textual characters of the first chat message by an electronic game control unit of the gaming system, that the one or more textual characters indicate, a textual game command for the wagering game,

activate a wagering game function for the wagering game associated with the textual game command, and

electronically transmit, via the network communication interface, a second chat message from the gaming system to a client device associated with the social chat application, wherein the second chat message indicates activation of the wagering game function in the chat console.

14. The gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more memory storage devices configured to store the instructions, which when executed by the at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, cause the gaming system to perform the operations to connect the wagering game to the chat session are further configured to store instructions, which when executed by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, cause the gaming system to perform operations to connect an interactive game chat bot, for the wagering game, with a wagering game player account via the chat session.

15. The gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more memory storage devices are configured to store instructions, which when executed by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, cause the gaming system to perform further operations to:

generate a wagering game outcome for the wagering game in response to the wagering game function;

generate one or more textual indicators that indicate the wagering game outcome; and

include, by the electronic game control unit, the one or more textual indicators of the wagering game outcome in the second chat message.

16. The gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the wagering game function comprises one or more of a reel spin function, a spin repeat function, a game bet function, a bet multiplication function, a card split function, a card fold function, a cash-in function, a cash-out function, and a game quit function.

17. The gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more memory storage devices are configured to store instructions, which when executed by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, cause the gaming system to perform further operations to:

detect a bet amount, associated with the textual game command, indicated via the first chat message; and

electronically transact the bet amount according to the wagering game function.

18. A gaming apparatus comprising:

one or more processors;

a network communication interface; and

one or more memory storage units configured to store instructions, which when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming apparatus to perform operations to

detect, via the network communication interface, a first chat message transmitted to a wagering game controlled by the gaming apparatus,

detect special characters indicated in the first chat message,

access information, related to the special characters, stored in a wagering game player account associated with a chat session,

determine, based on electronic analysis of the special characters, an instruction to perform a wagering game function for the wagering game,

perform the wagering game function,

generate one or more second chat messages regarding a result of performance of the wagering game function, and

transmit the one or more second chat messages via the chat session.

19. The gaming apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the one or more second chat messages comprise one or more textual messages that include graphical emoticons that represent game play elements of one or more rounds of play of the wagering game.

20. The gaming apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the one or more memory storage units are configured to store instructions, which when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the gaming apparatus to perform operations to transmit the graphical emoticons in a sequence via the one or more second chat messages for one round of the one or more rounds of play of the wagering game.

21. A gaming apparatus comprising:

means for connecting a wagering game to a chat session, wherein the wagering game is configured for presentation via a wagering game machine, wherein the wagering game machine includes a value input device configured to receive monetary value for placement of wagers on one or more casino wagering games;

means for receiving a textual game command for the wagering game from a first chat message sent via the chat session;

means for activating a wagering game function for the wagering game in response to receiving the textual game command;

means for determining a wagering game outcome for the wagering game;

means for generating at least one second chat message that indicates the wagering game outcome, wherein the at least one second chat message includes one or more graphical images that represent one or more game play elements of the wagering game associated with the wagering game outcome; and

means for transmitting, via the chat session, the least one second chat message as one or more chat communications from the wagering game.

22. The gaming apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for connecting the wagering game to the chat session comprises means for connecting an interactive game chat bot, for the wagering game, with a wagering game player account via the chat session.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of chat participants are social contacts associated with a wagering game player account, and wherein the first chat message is directed to one of the social contacts that represents the wagering game.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the first chat message is directed to the one of the social contacts in response to selection of a graphical indicator within the chat console, wherein the graphical indicator represents the one of the social contacts.

25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining, based on the analysis of the one or more textual characters of the first chat message by the electronic game control unit of the wagering game system, that the one or more textual characters indicate the textual game command for the wagering game comprises deciphering one or more textual game command codes within the one or more textual characters.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the deciphering the one or more textual game command codes comprises:

determining that a first set of the one or textual characters indicates a first of the one or more textual game command codes, wherein the first of the one or more textual game command codes specifies one or more of a betting function or a game initiation function for the wagering game; and

determining that a second set of the one or more textual characters indicates a second of the one or more textual game command codes, wherein the second of the one or more textual game command codes specifies one or more of a number of times to play the wagering game or an amount of monetary value to wager on the wagering game.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wagering game is configured for presentation via a wagering game machine, wherein the wagering game machine includes a value input device configured to receive monetary value for placement of wagers on one or more casino wagering games.

28. The gaming apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the one or more graphical images comprise a graphical emoticon.

29. The gaming apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the one or more graphical images comprise one or more of a symbol, an animation, a video, a thumbnail image, a photograph, or an avatar.

30. The gaming apparatus of claim 21 further comprising means for transmitting the at least one second chat message to present at least two graphical images from the one or more graphical images in a sequential order in time.

Assignments (11)