Acres Gaming, Inc.

Shannon Mason

Scott A Boyd

Kevan Wilkins

Miles M Patceg

Perry O Cobb

Chris E Hammond

Richard Jay Schneider

R Jeffrey Jordan

Matt Glazier

Glen Keith Russell

David Hollister

Allan Legler

Keith Russell

Embodiments of the invention allow a player to have a unique gaming experience, different than other players, even when playing on the same network. A game may span several gaming sessions. States of a game, for example a bonus game, may be stored when the player decides to stop playing the game. When the player initiates a next gaming session, at the same or another location, the previous state of the game is re-loaded onto the gaming machine and the player returns to the previous state. Further, additional bonuses can be implemented because the network knows the identity and other information about the player. The additional bonuses may be unique to that player. Messages particular to a player are exchanged between a gaming device and a gaming network.

Player specific network

Embodiments of the invention are directed to networked gaming devices that can keep particularized records for identified players. A server can store records of player's present and past actions on the gaming network and can communicate with the gaming device using messaging. In some embodiments, status of games or awards can be stored from one gaming session to another, which allows a player to resume a previously started game or award at a later time. Some games include rewards that are collected over time that can be redeemed for personalized rewards.

Player specific rewards

A method and apparatus for operating networked gaming devices to display a calendar image within a promotions display on a gaming machine. The method includes configuring a promotion at a configuration workstation coupled over a network to a plurality of gaming devices. Players are permitted to play one of the gaming devices with each of said gaming device having a touch screen display. A calendar graphic is displayed within the touch screen display having of a plurality of day boxes, with the promotion associated with and displayed within one of the day boxes. Information about the promotion is communicated to the player via the touch screen display associated with the gaming device. The method and apparatus accepts a communication from the player via the touch screen display indicative of a player selection of the promotion displayed in one of the day boxes, and implements the promotion responsive to the selection.

Event calendar at electronic gaming device

When a special symbol appears during play of the gaming machine game, the secondary game is initiated. At initiation, a bonus prize is determined by the secondary game microcontroller by consulting a bonus game paytable stored therein where each bonus prize corresponds to a bonus spot on the secondary game. A multi-ended pointer of the secondary game spins around the field of bonus spots and the player is prompted to select which end of the pointer is active. Upon selection of the end&#x2014;e.g. blue or green&#x2014;a microcontroller operating the spinner calculates the point at which the spinner will cease to spin so that the selected pointed end is pointing toward the selected bonus prize. The player is given the illusion that he or she controls which bonus prize is won since the green side of the pointer will point to a different bonus prize than the blue side.

Gaming machine having multi-ended pointer for quasi-deterministic play ('pick-a-prize')

A secondary game operable on a gaming machine top box includes visual representations of a plurality of bingo cards formed of five columns, each column corresponding to a letter in B-I-N-G-O. The secondary game also includes peripheral spaces on the top box corresponding to each letter on each card. Qualified players, e.g. those making a maximum bet on the base game, cause the secondary game to operate whereby one of the peripheral spaces is selected. A letter causes the column on the card associated with that letter to be lit; however, the cards must be completed sequentially so that the 'B' column must be lit before 'I' and so forth. Completely filling out one or more of the bingo cards results in a selected award associated with that winning card. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a bonus script is built that predetermines the number of plays made and the bonus amount received. The player then simply plays out the script until the bonus amount is one.

Sequential fast-ball BINGO secondary bonus game for use with an electronic gaming machine

In operation, when a special symbol appears on one of the base-game reels, the secondary game is initiated. The game incorporates a scripted bonus, meaning once the initiator symbol is hit then one of fifty scripts is selected that take the player through the predetermined bonus sequence on the top box. Each script includes multiple steps and requires player interaction in order to advance to the next step in the sequence. The top box includes a diamond playing field with twelve different bonus spots, eight showing numerical values between 5 and 500, one 'Lose &#xbd;' spot, one 'Double' spot, a &#x201c;PayTime&#x201d; spot, and a &#x201c;Triple PayTime&#x201d; spot. In a first embodiment of the invention, each time the player hits the spin button, the spots are flashed sequentially around the diamond with the flash rate eventually slowing down to heighten the anticipation (&#x201c;spin with anticipation&#x201d;), eventually coming to a stop to alight on the spot preselected by the bonus controller electronics. In a second embodiment of the game, the bonus spots are flashed randomly until the player hits the quick pick button at which point the preselected bonus spot is lit.

Method for implementing a secondary game in a gaming machine

Sequential fast-ball bingo secondary bonus game for use with an electronic gaming machine

When a special symbol appears during play of the gaming machine game, the secondary game is initiated. At initiation, a bonus prize is determined by the secondary game microcontroller by consulting a bonus game paytable stored therein where each bonus prize corresponds to a bonus spot on the secondary game. A multi-ended pointer of the secondary game spins around the field of bonus spots and the player is prompted to select which end of the pointer is active. Upon selection of the end&mdash;e.g. blue or green&mdash;a microcontroller operating the spinner calculates the point at which the spinner will cease to spin so that the selected pointed end is pointing toward the selected bonus prize. The player is given the illusion that he or she controls which bonus prize is won since the green side of the pointer will point to a different bonus prize than the blue side.

Growing community of inventors

Las Vegas, NV, United States of America

Shannon Mason