U.S. patent application number 11/154835 was filed with the patent office on 2005-12-15 for system and method for providing a game of chance via a client device.
Invention is credited to Barry, Douglas.
Application Number | 20050277474 11/154835 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29419062 |
Filed Date | 2005-12-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050277474 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Barry, Douglas |
December 15, 2005 |
System and method for providing a game of chance via a client
device
Abstract
A method and apparatus that collects demographics from
contestants using ubiquitous Internet devices or a new slot machine
on a casino floor. Contestants are given the opportunity to earn
points that they can redeem for various prizes that are of interest
to them. A plurality of prizes can be selected from a plurality of
categories. As the contestants play games of chance, a pool of
advertisements is presented to the contestants. Advertisements from
the pool are selected in accordance with each contestants buying
propensity. As contestants play games of chance, the system infers
additional propensities of each user and stores this for later
reduction. The reduced data is then sold as marketing data together
with a list of system users that comprises name, address, phone
number and e-mail addresses and the like. The system is implemented
using a client-server paradigm. A server maintains databases needed
to track all of the contestants that register with the system. The
client devices, including the new slot machine, use a standard web
browser as a means to retrieve and display web pages to the
contestant. Most web pages have an attached java-script program
that implements the functionality of the present invention. Other
web pages that contestants encounter comprise a shell for a Java
applet that embodies a game of chance. The Java applet that
implement games of chance are universal in distribution relying on
the web browser to homogenize the user interface across a wide
range of hardware platforms. The ubiquitous Internet devices and
slot machine are connected to the games either through a wired or
wireless network.
Inventors: |
Barry, Douglas; (Tiburon,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CARR & FERRELL LLP
2200 GENG ROAD
PALO ALTO
CA
94303
US
|
Family ID: |
29419062 |
Appl. No.: |
11/154835 |
Filed: |
June 15, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11154835 |
Jun 15, 2005 |
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10147635 |
May 16, 2002 |
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10147635 |
May 16, 2002 |
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10089973 |
Feb 26, 2003 |
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10089973 |
Feb 26, 2003 |
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PCT/US00/27859 |
Oct 4, 2000 |
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60157697 |
Oct 4, 1999 |
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60160404 |
Oct 19, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20130101;
G06Q 30/0267 20130101; G07F 17/3239 20130101; G06Q 30/0273
20130101; G06Q 10/0637 20130101; G06Q 30/0253 20130101; G07F
17/3227 20130101; A63F 13/79 20140902; G06Q 30/0209 20130101; G06Q
30/0222 20130101; A63F 13/12 20130101; G06Q 30/0269 20130101; G07F
17/32 20130101; G06Q 30/0254 20130101; A63F 13/61 20140902; G06Q
30/0226 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/042 |
International
Class: |
A63F 009/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 4, 2000 |
WO |
PCT/US00/27859 |
Claims
1. A method for presenting advertisements to a user comprising the
steps of: receiving personal information about the user; providing
a game for the user to play; selecting an advertisement from a pool
of advertisements according to said personal information;
integrating said advertisement into the game; wherein said game is
accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer,
a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot
machine.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: allowing
the player to select preferences for prizes; monitoring the players
preference selections; and updating said personal information to
reflect said preference selections.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: allowing
the user to activate an advertisement during the course of its
presentation; retrieving additional information for the activated
advertisement; and presenting said additional information to the
user.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in
the form of a graphic image.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in
the form of an animated graphic image.
6. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in
the form of a video clip.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in
the form of an interactive multimedia presentation.
8. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in
the form of an audio clip.
9. A method for presenting advertisements to a user comprising the
steps of: providing a game for the user to play; selecting an
advertisement from a pool of advertisements according to a set of
propensities describing the user; integrating said advertisement
into the game; wherein said game is accessed by client devices
comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous
Internet appliance and a slot machine.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of: allowing
the player to select preferences for prizes; monitoring the players
preference selections; and updating said propensities to reflect
said preference selections.
11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of: allowing
the user to activate an advertisement during the course of its
presentation; retrieving additional information for the activated
advertisement; and presenting said additional information to the
user.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in
the form of a graphic image.
13. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in
the form of an animated graphic image.
14. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in
the form of a video clip.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in
the form of an interactive multimedia presentation.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in
the form of an audio clip.
17. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game
comprising the steps of: allowing the user to play a game;
monitoring the users activity during game play to determine if the
user is exhibiting a preference for a particular prize; presenting
prizes that the user can win by playing said game wherein the
prizes are selected based on a set of propensities exhibited by the
user; updating said set of propensities to reflect said exhibited
prize preference.; and wherein said game is accessed by client
devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a
ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
18. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game
comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of personal
attributes describing a user; selecting a prize based on a subset
of the said plurality of attributes; and wherein said game is
accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer,
a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot
machine.
19. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game
comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of personal
attributes describing a user; segregating a collection of prizes
into a plurality of categories; selecting one of said categories
based on a first personal attribute of the user; selecting a prize
from said selected category based on a second personal attribute of
the user; and wherein said game is accessed by client devices
comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous
Internet appliance and a slot machine.
20. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game
comprising the steps of: presenting an enumeration of prizes that
the user can win; receiving from the user a selection of a prize
presented in the enumeration; and wherein said game is accessed by
client devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top
box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
21. A method for determining what prizes are of more interest to a
contestant comprising the steps of: establishing an account for a
contestant; presenting a plurality of prizes that the contestant
can win; allowing the contestant to select a prize that the
contestant wants to win; allowing the contestant to engage a random
process to determine if the prize should be awarded in exchange for
a debit of a first quantity of points from said account; allowing
the contestant to improve the likelihood of winning in exchange for
a second quantity of points from said account; recording the prize
selected by the contestant; counting the number of times that the
contestant engages said random process; and counting the number of
times that the contestant improves the odd that thecontestant.
22. A method for awarding prizes to a contestant comprising the
steps of: offering to a contestant a plurality of prizes that the
contestant can win; tracking the cost of each of said plurality of
prizes; associating an advertisement with each of said prizes;
tracking the income received for each impression of the
advertisement presented to the contestant; and adjusting a
probability that the contestant will win the prize so as to ensure
that the income received for all impressions of the advertisement
over a period of time exceeds the cost of the prize.
23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the steps of:
allowing the contestant to engage a random process with said
adjusted probability to determine if the prize is to be awarded;
and allowing the contestant to print a coupon that can be used to
redeem the prize after it is awarded.
24. An advertisement presentation unit comprising: database of
personal information describing a plurality of attributes for a
plurality of users; attribute reception interface; database manager
that receives attributes from the attribute reception unit and
stores said attributes in said database of personal information;
advertisement database comprising fields for a category for each
advertisement record; advertisement reception unit that receives
advertisements together with a category label and stores the
advertisements together with their category labels in said
advertisement database; orrelation unit that receives an input that
specifies one user and retrieves a personal attribute for that user
from the database of personal information and reads a correlation
category from a table using the retrieved personal attribute as an
index; selection unit that receives the correlation category and
retrieves an advertisement from said advertisement database where
the category label of the advertisement retrieved matches the
correlation category; and advertisement delivery unit capable of
delivering the advertisement to a game.
25. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 24 further
comprising a computer game that: receives advertisements from said
advertisement delivery unit and presents them to a user; allows
players to win prizes; allows players to select what prizes they
want to win; records the players selection activities; and updates
the personal information about a user stored in the database of
personal information.
26. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 25 further
comprising: monitoring unit that receives activation requests from
a user together with an indication of what advertisement was
activated; information retrireview unit that receives an indication
of what advertisement was activated by the user from the monitoring
unit and retrieves additional information about the advertisement;
and multimedia presentation unit that retrieves additional
information attached to an advertisement from the information
retrireview unit and presents said information to a user.
27. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the
additional information is in the form of a graphic image.
28. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the
additional information is in the form of an animated graphic
image.
29. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the
additional information is in the form of a video clip.
30. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the
additional information is in the form of an interactive multimedia
presentation.
31. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the
additional information is in the form of an audio clip.
32. An advertisement presentation unit comprising: database of
personal propensities describing a plurality of attributes for a
plurality of users; advertisement database comprising fields for a
category for each advertisement record; advertisement reception
unit that receives advertisements together with a category label
and stores the advertisements together with their category labels
in said advertisement database; correlation unit that receives an
input that specifies one user and retrieves a personal propensities
for that user from the database of personal propensities and reads
a correlation category from a table using the retrieved personal
attribute as an index; selection unit that receives the correlation
category and retrieves an advertisement from said advertisement
database where the category label of the advertisement retrieved
matches the correlation category; and advertisement delivery unit
capable of delivering the advertisement to a game.
33. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 32 further
comprising a computer game that: receives advertisements from said
advertisement delivery unit and present them to a user; allows
players to win prizes; allows players to select what prizes they
want to win; records the players selection activities; and updates
the personal propensities about a user stored in the database of
personal propensities.
34. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 33 further
comprising: monitoring unit that receives activation requests from
a user together with an indication of what advertisement was
activated; information retrireview unit that receives an indication
of what advertisement was activated by the user from the monitoring
unit and retrieves additional information about the advertisement;
and multimedia presentation unit that retrieves additional
information attached to an advertisement from the information
retrireview unit and presents said information to a user.
35. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34 wherein the
additional information is in the form of a graphic image.
36. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34 wherein the
additional information is in the form of an animated graphic
image.
37. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34 wherein the
additional information is in the form of a video clip.
38. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34, wherein the
additional information is in the form of an interactive multimedia
presentation.
39. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34, wherein the
additional information is in the form of an audio clip.
40. A prize selection unit comprising: database of available prizes
containing a plurality of prize descriptions; database of personal
information containing a plurality or attributes for a plurality of
users; attribute reception unit that receives a plurality of
attributes for a plurality of users and stores said received
attributes in the database of personal information; and selection
unit that: receives an identification of a user and an indicator of
required selection attributes; retrieves the required selection
attributes from the database of personal information for the
identified user; and selects a prize that matches the retrieved
selection attributes from the database of available prizes.
41. A prize selection unit comprising: database of available prizes
containing a plurality of prize descriptions that are segregated
into categories; database of personal information containing a
plurality or attributes for a plurality of users; attribute
reception unit that receives a plurality of attributes for a
plurality of users and stores said received attributes in the
database of personal information; and selection unit that: receives
an identification of a user and an indicator of a first and second
required selection attributes; retrieves the first and second
required selection attributes from the database of personal
information for the identified user; and selects a prize category
that matches the retrieved selection attribute from the database of
available prizes.
42. A prize selection unit comprising: database of personal
propensities; monitoring unit that detects selection request from a
user and issues an enumeration request; presentation module that
presents an enumeration of available prizes to the user upon
receiving an enumeration request; and selection module that
receives from a user a plurality prize selections and stores the
selections received in said database of personal propensities.
43. A prize interest quotient acquisition device comprising:
database of personal propensities; account register that stores the
balance of points that a user has; prize presentation unit that
presents a user with a selection of prizes that can be won; prize
selection unit that receives from the user a indication of what
prize is to be played for and stores this indication in the
database of personal propensities; and contest unit that: receives
an indication from a user to engage a random process to determine
if the prize is won, decrements the value stored in the account
register by a first quantity of points and then stores the
indication of random process together with the prize selection in
the database of personal propensities; and receives an indication
from a user that the probability of winning the prize is to be
enhanced, decrements the value stored in the account register by a
second quantity of points and then stores the indication of
probability enhancement together with the prize selection in the
database of personal propensities.
44. A prize fulfillment unit comprising: database of a plurality of
advertisements available for presentation that comprises an income
value for each impression of each of the plurality of
advertisement; database of a plurality of prizes available for
award to a contestant that comprises a cost value for each prize
and an indicator that associates each prize with an advertisement;
and cost correlator that: receives a request,from a game for a
probability indicator for a selected prize; uses the indicator of
the selected prize as an index to retrieve the cost of the prize
from the database of a plurality of prizes; retrieves from the
database of a plurality of advertisements the income value for the
advertisement that has an indicator that associates that
advertisement with the indicator of the selected prize; calculates
the number of impressions that are required to result in income
greater than the cost of the selected prize; and issues a
probability indicator that is based on said calculated number of
impressions required and the cost of the selected prize.
45. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 44, further comprising:
random number generator that accepts a probability indicator issued
by the cost correlator and determines if the selected prize is to
be awarded; and coupon generator that creates a coupon that can be
printed by the user and can be used to redeem the prize.
46. The method of claim 45 wherein said client devices are
interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of: a personal
digital assistant and a cellular phone.
47. The method, of claim 46 wherein said wireless device is used to
identify said user and perform financial transactions.
48. The method of claim 45, wherein said game is accessed by said
client devices using a wireless means.
49. The prize selection unit of claim 24, wherein said game is
accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer,
a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance, and a slot
machine.
50. The prize selection unit of claim 49, wherein said client
devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of: a
personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
51. The prize selection unit of claim 50, wherein said wireless
device is used to identify said user and perform financial
transactions.
52. The prize selection unit of claim 49, wherein said game is
accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
53. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 32, wherein said
game is accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal
computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance, and a
slot machine.
54. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 53, wherein said
client devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any
of: a personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
55. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 54, wherein said
wireless device is used to identify said user and perform financial
transactions.
56. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 55, wherein said
game is accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
57. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 44, wherein said game is
accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer,
a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance, and a slot
machine.
58. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 57, wherein said client
devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of: a
personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
59. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 58, wherein said wireless
device is used to identify said user and perform financial
transactions.
60. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 59, wherein said game is
accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
61. The method of claim 21, wherein said contestant increases or
decreases said points in said account based upon the outcome of a
game.
62. The method of claim 61, wherein said game is a game of
chance.
63. The method of claim 62, wherein said game of chance comprises
any of: slots, blackjack, poker, roulette and lottery.
64. The method of claim 18, wherein said game is selected based on
said subset of the said plurality of attributes.
65. The prize interest quotient acquisition device of claim 43,
wherein said contestant increases or decreases said points in said
account based upon the outcome of a game.
66. The prize interest quotient acquisition device of claim 65,
wherein said game is a game of chance.
67. The prize interest quotient acquisition device of claim 66,
wherein said game of chance comprises any of: slots, blackjack,
poker, roulette and lottery.
68. The prize selection unit of claim 40, wherein a game is played
allowing said user to earn said prizes and wherein said game is
selected based on said plurality of attributes.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No.
10/089,973 filed Apr. 3, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] This invention pertains to the field of gambling apparatus
and methods and to the field of demographics collection and
dissemination.
[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0005] Throughout recorded history, humankind has always been
fascinated with the notion of winning great gains by wagering their
belongings. The fundamental notion of winning money has remained
unchanged over the millennia. In this country's early history, the
gaming business turned to technology as a source of improved gaming
methods and apparatus; all in an effort to further entice customers
to drop their coins in the "one-armed bandit".
[0006] Computer technology has really fueled modern gaming trends.
Casinos throughout the nation, as well as throughout the world,
were quick to embrace gaming machines based on new technology
enabled by microprocessors. In the prior art, microprocessors
really gave the slot machines a new look. Gone are the mechanical
tumblers and spinning cylinders. Slot machines now included a wide
array of exciting new display technologies, such as color cathode
ray tubes (CRTs) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). These provide
visually stimulating and attractive interfaces that draw potential
gamblers.
[0007] Gaming systems are now no longer limited to the casino
environment. In fact, through the use of wide area computer
networks, anybody that can use a web browser and understands the
basic precepts of a graphical user interface can interact with a
remote gaming system. In the prior art, there has been a
significant proliferation of Internet based gaming systems that
resemble casino style games-of-chance. Early gaming web sites
allowed computer users to play just about any wagering game
imaginable. Barring local statutes and ordinances to the contrary,
gaming web sites also let computer users wager real money just like
Las Vegas.
[0008] Whether in the traditional gambling parlor, or on a gambling
web-site presented over the Internet, the prior art of gaming
apparatus had several distinct limitations. First, the prior art
microprocessor based slot machine could not adapt to a specific
user in order to capitalize on that user's specific spending
tendencies. Another drawback that all prior art gaming apparatus
exhibit is that these prior art devices presume that all
contestants are interested in winning money. Money may in fact not
be the principal motivator for all gamblers. Traditional gambling
houses have long recognized the fact that other prizes and
promotions are needed to cater to the more sophisticated mentality
of the present day gambler. As a result, many casinos now place
specialized gaming machines on the casino floor. These allow
gamblers to win other prizes such as cars or vacations.
[0009] Failing to recognize the captivity of their gambling
audience, prior art gaming systems did not consider other profit
mechanisms that could be employed as gamblers sit in front of slot
machines. Because the contestants are, in essence, a captive
audience, prior art gaming systems could have displayed other
information to the contestant such as advertisements or interesting
announcements. Casinos could realize an additional source of
revenue by selling advertising opportunities to sponsoring
advertisers.
[0010] Yet another shortcoming of prior art gaming machines is that
they could not profile their users. By allowing users to fill out
questionnaires, a gaming system could be tailored to a specific
user in order to maintain a high level of interest in the gaming
experience. Of course, by maintaining interest in the game gamblers
are apt to play longer resulting in greater revenues for the
casino. This secondary level of interaction with a gaming user can
also be a source of demographic data. Demographics collected during
a gaming session could also be sold to third parties as marketing
data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention comprises a method and apparatus that
allows targets advertisements to a user based on demographics that
the user exhibits. Generally, personal information about the user
is received from number of sources and then store in a database.
Presenting advertisements occurs contemporaneously with game play.
In the present embodiment, each game integrates the advertisements
in such manner as to make the playing experience more enjoyable. As
a user plays the game, the present invention correlates personal
attributes for the user with advertisements that are also stored in
a database.
[0012] The present invention further comprises a method and
apparatus that can target advertisement based on observations the
system makes with respect to the users activities. Specifically, as
a user plays a game, the user can select prizes that are of
interest and can spend points in order to improve the probability
that a prize will be awarded. Inferences can be drawn from these
activities that result in a propensity profile for the user. These
propensity profiles can also be used to target advertisements to
specific users.
[0013] Advertisements are presented in a number of forms including,
but not limited to simple graphical images, animated graphics,
audio and video clips and even multimedia presentations. Each
advertisement further comprises a hyperlink to an advertisers web
site. This hyperlink, when activated, will retrieve additional
information that the advertiser wants to convey. The additional
information, usually incorporated into a web page, can also take of
the forms that advertisements can take on, that being graphic
images, animated graphics, video clips and multimedia
presentations. This enumeration is intended to be illustrative and
is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.
[0014] Another novel aspect of the present invention is that the
games that are presented to users for play are themselves highly
personalized to meet the tastes and preferences of the those users.
Initially, the game can ask the user what prize they would like to
vie for. These prizes are selected by the user and then
incorporated directly into the game. The present invention further
comprises a facility that tracks the game play a user exhibits and
then modifies prize selection accordingly. Another mechanism that
is used to personalize the games presented to the user is the
ability to select prizes from a prize pool based on the users
demographics.
[0015] In the general sense, selection of advertisements and prizes
is based on the user's demographics or exhibited propensities and
is done by selecting a category and then selecting an advertisement
or prize from within that category. This, however, does not
preclude those skilled in the art to recognize that the
partitioning of the advertisement and prize pools can be done in
any arbitrary manner that facilitates the correlation of user
demographics or propensities to advertisements and/or prizes.
[0016] The present invention draws inferences with respect to the
prizes a user prefers. The strength of the inference is bolstered
by the fact that as a user plays to win a particular prize, that
user can choose to buy down the odds of winning. The invention
records each time a user attempts to win a prize based on random
chance and also record each time the user chooses to pay for
enhancing the win probability. This information then drives the
propensities of the user that are subsequently used to target
advertisements and select prizes.
[0017] The present invention maintains information relative to the
cost of each prize offered to users. Together with information with
respect to the income realized by presenting advertisements, the
present invention adjusts the probability of a prize award to
ensure that the prize is awarded no more frequently than the period
in which an aggregate number of advertisements needed to pay for
the prize are presented. This ensures that the system operator
remains profitable. Once a prize is awarded, the present invention
creates coupons that the user can print out and then use to redeem
the prize.
[0018] The games are presented to the user through client devices
such as, a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet
appliance and a slot machine. The client devices are connected to
games through a wired or wireless network. The client devices
contain a wireless network interface to communicate with personal
electronic devices such as personal digital assistants and cellular
phones. The personal electronic devices identify the user and
conduct financial transactions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The foregoing aspects are better understood from the
following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention
with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that depicts the system level
interfaces to the adaptable gaming system;
[0021] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that depicts the connectivity of
the PGS adaptable contest server and four types of user client
devices;
[0022] FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a slot machine client device
according to the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2B is a pictorial of the slot machine and contestant
identification devices used therewith;
[0024] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that depicts the connectivity of
web browser clients to a server software element;
[0025] FIG. 4 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called user list;
[0026] FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called supplemental information;
[0027] FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called statistics;
[0028] FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called propensities;
[0029] FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called teams;
[0030] FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called team-scores;
[0031] FIG. 10 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called tax report;
[0032] FIG. 11 is a pictorial representation of an advertisement
database called Advertisement Pool;
[0033] FIG. 12 is a pictorial representation of an advertisement
database called Sponsor List;
[0034] FIG. 13 is a pictorial representation of an advertisement
database called Prize Pool;
[0035] FIG. 14A is the first part of flow diagram that depicts the
user interface process employed by the present invention;
[0036] FIG. 15 is a pictorial representation of a typical universal
splash screen that is presented on the slot machine of the present
invention;
[0037] FIG. 15A is a pictorial representation of a sign-in web page
presented to an unknown user;
[0038] FIG. 15B is a pictorial representation of a sign-in web page
presented to an existing user;
[0039] FIG. 15C is a pictorial representation of a User Validation
web page that is presented to a contestant after a manual
identification procedure;
[0040] FIG. 15D is a pictorial representation of a New Player
Questionnaire web page;
[0041] FIG. 15E is a pictorial representation of a Program ID
Device web page presented to a user after a new identification
device is dispensed;
[0042] FIG. 16 is a pictorial representation of a personalized
welcome page that is presented to a contestant using the
system;
[0043] FIG. 17 is a pictorial representation of a team management
GUI according to the present invention;
[0044] FIG. 18 is a pictorial representation of the games-to-play
web page;
[0045] FIG. 19 is a pictorial representation of a gaming web page
having at least one Java applet; and
[0046] FIG. 20 is a pictorial representation of the graphical user
interface presented by the Prize Spin Java applet.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0047] System Description
[0048] FIG. 1 is flow diagram that depicts the system level
interfaces for a personalized gaming system according to the
present invention. The personalized gaming system 10 (PGS) accepts
a plurality of inputs. On the source side, the PGS accepts
advertisements 15, products 20, services 25, travel packages 30,
and product promotions 35. This list is not meant to limit the
range or type of inputs that the PGS can accept, rather it is
illustrative of the types of inputs that the present embodiment
accepts. On the consumer side, the PGS delivers to contestants a
wide range of prizes that are normally commensurate with the inputs
the PGS receives. This means that prizes can include products,
services, travel packages, and promotions. Also the contestant can
aggregate his winnings through the accumulation of points and
redeem these points for larger prizes. The contestant can also
receive product rebates, coupons, and other product promotions. The
contestants also serve as a source of demographic data. As an
incentive, the contestants are rewarded with prizes whenever the
contestants respond to marketing surveys and questionnaires needed
to collect demographic data.
[0049] The PGS can also provides a plurality of products to
promoters 50. Promoters can purchase marketing data in the form of
customer lists, demographics, and etc. etc..
[0050] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that depicts the connectivity of
the PGS adaptable contest server 55 (ACS) and four types of user
client devices. In the current embodiment, the ACS 55 is connected
to a computer network 60. Also connected to the computer network 60
are the user client devices. The four types of user client devices
supported in the current embodiment include, but should not be
construed as a limited to, a personal computer (PC) 65, a set-top
box 70, a ubiquitous Internet appliance 66 and a slot machine 75.
Also connected to the computer network 60 is a gateway 80. The
gateway also serves as a firewall and enables external computers
attached to a wide area network 85 to interact with the ACS 55 and
the user client devices according to security privileges enforced
by the firewall.
[0051] Client Devices
[0052] In the current embodiment, all of user client devices are
substantially similar in architecture. Microprocessor based user
client devices such as the PC 65, a set-top box 70, the Internet
appliance 66 and the slot machine 75 all execute a web browser. The
web browser executing in the user client devices interacts with the
ACS 55 in order to retrieve web pages according to the present
invention. The PC 65, the set top box 70 and the Internet appliance
66 are well known in the art. The slot machine 75 according to the
present invention is new and novel.
[0053] FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a slot machine 75 client
device according to the present invention. The slot machine 75 is,
of course, microprocessor based. The microprocessor 105 interfaces
to an internal bus 110. Using the internal bus 110, the
microprocessor 105 retrieves instructions from a memory 115. The
instructions stored in a memory 115 comprises a operating system
and a web browser. The operating system manages the functional
control of a graphics device 120. The graphics device 120 drives a
graphic display 125. In the present embodiment, the graphics device
display is a flat-panel display utilizing liquid crystal
technology. In the present embodiment, flat-panel display is
capable of color display at a resolution of 1024.times.768.
Overlaying the flat-panel display is a touch screen 130. The touch
screen 130 reports touch events to the microprocessor 105. By using
a graphic display overlayed by a touch screen, the slot machine of
the present invention can support a highly interactive graphical
user interface with the contestant. The microprocessor 105, as a
result of executing instructions comprising the operating system,
also controls a card reader 135. The card reader 135 senses
activity occurring in a magnetic stripe card reader 140. As a
contestant begins using the slot machine of the present invention,
the contestant can "swipe" a magnetic stripe card through the
magnetic stripe card reader 140. The operating system further
comprises a driver for the card reader 135 that enables the slot
machine to detect and read credit cards, special identification
cards, hotel room keys and the like.
[0054] The slot machine of the present invention further comprises
a network interface 150. The network interface 150 enables the slot
machine of the present invention to communicate with a remote
server such as the adaptable contest server 55. When necessary, the
network interface can be used to communicate with a vast range of
external devices connected either to the most proximate computer
network 60 or any device connected to external networks by
utilizing the gateway 80.
[0055] The slot machine of the present invention further comprises
a smart card interface 145 and its associated active area 146. The
smart card interface 145, again under control of a driver integral
to the operating system, allows the slot machine 75 to detect and
read a wireless identification device.
[0056] The slot machine 75 further comprises an identification
element dispenser 170. The identification element dispenser 170
receives commands from the microprocessor 105 whenever the
contestant needs a new identification element. In the present
embodiment, the identification element is a plastic ring that
comprises a wireless smart-card integrated circuit. The dispenser
170 receives plastic rings from a magazine 175. In the present
embodiment, the dispenser 170 drops plastic rings through to a slot
on the front of the slot machine 75. It should be noted that the
identification device can be made in any convenient form that is
not offensive to the contestant and promotes use of the device
whenever the contestant uses the present slot machine.
[0057] FIG. 2B is a pictorial of the slot machine and contestant
identification devices used therewith. In the present embodiment,
the slot machine 75 further comprises the magnetic stripe card
reader 140 and further comprises a smart card receiver 146. The
magnetic stripe card reader 140 enables the slot machine 75 to read
the magnetic stripe on a credit card 150 or a room key 155, such as
those used in many hotels today, to identify a contestant using the
slot machine. The slot machine 75 of the present invention can also
use the information retrieved from a credit card 75 for financial
purposes. These purposes can include charging the contestant for
lost wagers or crediting the contestants credit card account to
award cash winnings. The wireless smart card interface 145 includes
active area 146. By using an identification element, such as a
plastic pinky ring 160 that comprises a wireless smart chip 165,
contestants can also be identified. The identification element
dispenser 170 releases such plastic pinky rings to the contestant
by way of a slot 180 on the front of the slot machine.
[0058] FIG. 2A shows one additional feature of the present
embodiment. The slot machine of the present invention further
comprises a wireless network interface 112. The wireless network
interface 112 uses low-power radio-frequency communications to
communicate with personal electronic devices such as personal
digital assistants (PDA) and cell phone. The wireless network
interface 112 incorporated into the present invention uses a
frequency hopping scheme in conjunction with an encryption
mechanism that supports secure transactions. The wireless network
interface of the present invention conforms to the Bluetooth
specification adopted by an industry consortium. It should be noted
that any suitable wireless network interface can be utilized so
long as secure transactions, wireless transactions with small
personal devices can be accommodated.
[0059] FIG. 2B shows how the wireless network interface 112 can be
used in conjunction with a PDA 151 or a cell phone 152. In
actuality, any personal electronic device equipped with a wireless
interface that is compatible with the wireless network interface
incorporated into the slot machine of the present invention can be
used. When a contestant first approaches the slot machine 75, the
wireless network interface 112 establishes a connection 153 with
the contestants personal device. This connection allows the slot
machine 75 to identify the contestant and then effect any financial
transactions the contestant authorizes.
[0060] Client-Server Architecture
[0061] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that depicts the connectivity of
web browser clients to a server software element. The description
provided here will assume that all of the user client devices are
personal computers (PC) 65. It should be noted that the
client-server interaction between the PC type user client devices
and the other types of user client devices, i.e. the set-top box
70, Internet appliance 66 and the slot machine 75, are
substantially similar. The only real variation in the user client
devices is the means by which the web browser interacts with the
specific hardware of the device type. This is discussed infra. The
ACS 55 executes a server software element 90. A plurality of user
client devices, or PCs 65, execute web browsers 95. It should be
noted that each instantiation of a web browser is peculiar to the
user client devices and services one user. Each instantiation of a
web browser 95 creates a dedicated TCP/IP 100 connection to the
server software element 90 executing in the ACS 55. Other network
protocols can also be used.
[0062] The ACS 55 further comprises a structured query language
(SQL) engine 200. The SQL engine 200 manages a plurality of
databases. These databases and the structure thereof are one key
aspects of the present invention. The ACS 55 also further comprises
a cache of web pages 210. The web page cache 210 is used to store a
plurality of web pages. These web pages are delivered to the web
browsers 95 as contestants use the invention.
[0063] Data Structures
[0064] The present invention comprises a plurality of databases.
These include, but are not limited to databases that track
contestants as users of the system (user databases); databases that
track the products, services, and promotions that can be used as
prizes that can be awarded to contestants (prize databases); and
databases that are used to manage the display of advertising
content to the system users (sponsor databases).
[0065] FIG. 4 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called user list. The user list database 220 comprises a plurality
of records each of which comprises a plurality of fields. The
fields in the user list database comprise:
1 User Database - User List (220) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity ID No. 225 The ID No. field is a key field and is used to
track a contestant registered in the system. This field is used as
a relational index with other user databases. LNAME 230 The LNAME
field is used to store the last name of a contestant. FNAME 240 The
FNAME field is used to store the first name of a contestant. MNAME
250 The MNAME field is used to store the middle name of a
contestant. EMAIL 260 The EMAIL field is used to store the e-mail
address of a contestant. PHONE 270 The PHONE field is used to store
the phone number of a contestant. FAX 280 The FAX field is used to
store the facsimile phone number of a contestant. ADDR1 290 The
ADDR1 field is used to store the first line of a contestants
mailing address. ADDR2 300 The ADDR2 field is used to store the
second line of a contestants mailing address. CITY 310 The CITY
field is used to store the city for the contestants mailing
address. STATE 320 The STATE field is used to store the state for
the contestants mailing address. CNTRY 330 The CNTRY field is used
to store the country for the contestants mailing address. POST- 340
The POST-CODE field is used to CODE store a postal code for the
contestants mailing address. Where the contestants mailing address
is in the United States of America, the POST-CODE field is used to
store the zip code.
[0066] FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called Supplemental Information. The supplemental information
database 350 comprises a plurality of records each of which
comprises a plurality of fields. The fields in the supplemental
information database comprise:
2 User Database - Supplemental Information (350) Field Name
Reference Usage Capacity ID No. 360 The ID No. field is a key field
and is used to track a contestant registered in the system. This
field is used as a relational index with other user databases.
BIRTH- 370 The BIRTH-DATE field is used to DATE store the birth
date of a contestant. GENDER 380 The GENDER field is used to store
the sex of a contestant. REGISTER- 390 The REGISTER-DATE field is
DATE used to store the first name of a contestant. NUMBER- 400 The
NUMBER-VISITS field is VISITS used to track the number of times a
contestant uses the system. SS# 410 The SS# field is used to store
the social security (or other tax identification number) of a
contestant. DRIVR- 420 The DRIVR-LIC field is used to LIC store the
drivers license number of a contestant. CREDIT- 430 The CREDIT-CARD
field is used CARD to store the credit card number of a contestant.
POINTS 435 The POINTS AVAILABLE field is AVAILABLE used to store
the number of points the contestant has. Points can be accumulated
either by purchasing points, as with a credit card, or by ID DEVICE
440 The ID DEVICE field is used to store the serial number of a
personal identification device. POINTS 445 The POINTS EARNED field
is EARNED used to record the number of points that the contestant
has accrued.
[0067] FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called Statistics. The statistics database 450 comprises a
plurality of records each of which comprises a plurality of fields.
The fields in the statistics database comprise:
3 User Database - Statistics (450) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity ID No. 460 The ID No. field is a key field and is used to
track a contestant registered in the system. This field is used as
a relational index with other user databases. ORDINAL 470 The
ORDINAL field is a key field and is used to identify one of a
plurality of statistical records afforded to a given user.. TYPE
480 The TYPE field is used to store an indicator of the type of
statistics record stored in that record. SUBTYPE 490 The SUBTYPE
field is used to store a secondary classifying indicator of the
type of statistics record stored in that record. VALUE 500 The
VALUE field is used to store a statistical value in the record of
the given type and subtype. RECORD- 510 The RECORD-DATE field is
used DATE to store the date on which the record was first created.
EXECUTE- 520 The RECORD-DATE field is used DATE to store the date
on which the action affiliated with the record was closed.
[0068]
4 Type Subtype Significance Comment 01 Total Minutes of Game Play -
Slot Machine 01 Slot Machine - Configuration 01 02 Slot Machine -
Configuration 02 03 Slot Machine - Configuration 03 04 Slot Machine
- Configuration 04 05 Slot Machine - Configuration 05 02 Total
Minute of Game Play - Prize Category 01 Prize Category 01 02 Prize
Category 02 03 Prize Category 03 04 Prize Category 04 05 Prize
Category 05 03 Prizes Claimed 01 Prize Code 01 02 Prize Code 02 03
Prize Code 03 04 Prize Code 04 05 Prize Code 05
[0069] FIG. 7 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called propensities. The propensities database 530 comprises a
plurality of records each of which comprises a plurality of fields.
The fields in the propensities database comprise:
5 User Database - Propensities (530) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity ID No. 540 The ID No. field is a key field and is used to
track a contestant registered in the system. This field is used as
a relational index with other user databases. ORDINAL 550 The
ORDINAL field is a key field and is used to identify one of a
plurality of propensity records afforded to a given user.. TYPE 480
The TYPE field is used to store an indicator of the type of
propensity record stored in that record. VALUE 500 The VALUE field
is used to store a statistical value in the record of the given
type of propensity. DATE 510 The DATE field is used to store the
date on which the record was created.
[0070] FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called Teams. The teams database 590 comprises a plurality of
records each of which comprises a plurality of fields. The fields
in the teams database comprise:
6 User Database - Teams (590) Field Name Reference Usage Capacity
ID No. 600 The ID No. field is a key field and is used to track a
contestant registered in the system. This field is used as a
relational index with other user databases. TEAM- 610 The TEAM-NAME
field is a key NAME field and is used to identify one of a
plurality of team description records afforded to a given user.
OBJECT- 620 The OBJECT-CAT field is used to CAT record the category
of the prize objective for the team of that record. OBJECT- 630 The
OBJECT-ITEM field is used to ITEM store the item number in the
given category of the prize objective for the team of that record.
OFFERED- 640 The OFFERED-PRICE field is PRICE used to store the
number of contestant points that are required to win the prize.
EXPIRE- 650 The EXPIRE-DATE field is used to DATE store the date on
which the team can no longer pool their points to win the
prize.
[0071] FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called Team-Scores. The teams database 660 comprises a plurality of
records each of which comprises a plurality of fields. The fields
in the team scores database comprise:
7 User Database - Team-Scores (660) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity ID No. 670 The ID No. field is a key field and is used to
track a contestant registered in the system. This field is used as
a relational index with other user databases. TEAM- 680 The
TEAM-NAME field is a key field NAME and is used to identify one of
a plurality of team description records afforded to a given user.
MEMBER 690 The MEMBER ID field is a key field ID that is used to
identify another system user that is a member of the team. POINTS
700 The POINTS-EARNED field is used EARNED to store the number of
points earned by the team member toward the prize objective.
[0072] FIG. 10 is a pictorial representation of a user database
called Tax Report. The tax report database 710 comprises a
plurality of records each of which comprises a plurality of fields.
The fields in the teams database comprise:
8 User Database - Team-Scores (710) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity ID No. 720 The ID No. field is a key field and is used to
track a contestant registered in the system. This field is used as
a relational index with other user databases. TAX 730 The TAX YEAR
field is a key field YEAR and is used to identify one of a
plurality of tax report records afforded to a given user. REPORT
740 The REPORT TYPE field is a key TYPE field that that indicates
the type of tax report issued to a contestant. AMOUNT 750 The
AMOUNT field is used to store cash value of winnings reported to
the tax authority. ISSUE 760 The ISSUE DATE field is used to DATE
record the date on which the tax report was issued to the tax
authority.
[0073] FIG. 11 is a pictorial representation of an advertisement
database called Advertisement Pool. The advertisement pool database
770 comprises a plurality of records each of which comprises a
plurality of fields. The fields in the advertisement pool database
comprise:
9 User Database - Advertisement Pool (770) Field Name Reference
Usage Capacity CATEGORY 780 The CATEGORY field is a key field and
is used to identify the product category that the advertisement
belongs to. ITEM 785 The ITEM field is a field that is used to
correlate an advertisement to a prize. This is used in calculating
the odds of winning prizes. ADVERTISER 790 The ADVERTISER field is
a key field and is used to identify one of a plurality of
advertisers that purchase advertisement impressions on the system.
AD NAME 800 The AD NAME field is a key field and identifies the
advertisement. COST PER 810 The COST PER THOUSAND THOUSAND field is
used to record the (CPM) negotiated rate that is charged to the
advertiser for every one thousand impression of the advertisements
made to users. SATURATION 820 The SATURATION field is LEVEL used to
record the preference of the advertisement relative to other
advertisements that will be presented to system users. TOTAL 830
The TOTAL IMPRESSIONS IMPRESSIONS field is used to track the number
of impressions of the advertiser made to contestants. TYPE 840 The
TYPE field indicates the media embodiment of the advertisement.
Several types are supported including: Still images Motion Clips
SOURCE 850 The SOURE field is used to indicate the file where the
media representation of the advertisement is stored. HYPERLINK 860
The HYPERLINK field is used to store a web page address that the
system will direct the user to if the user selects the
advertisement. TOTAL 870 The TOTAL REFERELS field REFERALS
indicates the total number of redirections to the advertisers web
page resulting from user selection of the advertisement.
[0074] FIG. 12 is a pictorial representation of an advertisement
database called Sponsor List. The sponsor list database 880
comprises a plurality of records each of which comprises a
plurality of fields. The fields in the advertisement pool database
comprise:
10 User Database - Sponsor List (880) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity GAME 890 The GAME field is a key field and is used to
identify the game a presented by a sponsor. CATEGORY 900 The
CATEGORY field is a key field and is used to identify one of a
plurality of advertising categories that the sponsor is paying for.
SPONSOR 910 The SPONSOR field is a key field and identifies the
party paying for the sponsorship. TOTAL 920 The TOTAL IMPRESSIONS
IMPRESSIONS field is used to track the number of impressions of the
advertiser made to contestants. TYPE 930 The TYPE field indicates
the media embodiment of the advertisement. Several types are
supported including: Still images Motion Clips SOURCE 940 The SOURE
field is used to indicate the file where the media representation
of the advertisement is stored. HYPERLINK 950 The HYPERLINK field
is used to store a web page address that the system will direct the
user to if the user selects the advertisement. TOTAL 960 The TOTAL
REFERELS field REFERALS indicates the total number of redirections
to the advertisers web page resulting from user selection of the
advertisement.
[0075] FIG. 13 is a pictorial representation of an advertisement
database called Prize Pool. The prize pool database 970 comprises a
plurality of records each of which comprises a plurality of fields.
The fields in the advertisement pool database comprise:
11 User Database - Prize Pool (970) Field Name Reference Usage
Capacity CATEGORY 980 The CATEGORY field is a key field and is used
to identify category of a prize. ITEM 990 The ITEM field is a key
field and is used to identify a unique item within a category of
prizes. QTY ON- 1000 The QTY ON-HAND field HAND indicates the
inventory level of a product. QTY IN-PLAY 1010 The QTY IN-PLAY
field is used to track the number of the particular prize that
contestants are vying for. AGGREGATE 1020 The AGGREGATE AWARDED
AWARDED field indicates the media embodiment of the advertisement.
Several types are supported including: Still images Motion Clips
TYPE 1025 The TYPE field indicates the media embodiment of the
prize representation. Several types are supported including: Still
images Motion Clips SOURCE 1030 The SOURCE field is used to
indicate the file where the media representation of the prize is
stored. PROVIDER 1040 The PROVIDER field is used to indicate who is
paying for the prize or promotion. AD-ID 1050 The AD-ID field
itself consists of a category, advertiser and ad-name. These are
used as a key into the advertisement pool data base when the prize
is affiliated with a particular advertisement. PRICE 1060 The PRICE
field indicates the number of contestant points that the contestant
must redeem in exchange for receiving the prize. COST 1070 The COST
field indicates the price paid to purchase the item from the
vendor. VENDOR 1080 The VENDOR indicates the company that the prize
is purchased or otherwise obtained from. ODDS 1090 The ODDS field
indicates the probability value for winning the prize.
[0076] Interface Method
[0077] The present invention exploits the ubiquitous web browser
interface. By using a web browser on the client device, graphical
interfaces can be created and easily modified by using a markup
language such as the hyper text markup language (HTML). The present
invention adopts the industry nomenclature of a "web page" when
referring to graphical user interfaces. Generally, a graphical user
interface (GUI), or web page is created using industry standard
HTML in conjunction with a Java applets. In the alternative
embodiment, GUIs are created using a multimedia-authoring tool.
[0078] Access to the databases maintained by the ACS 55 is
accomplished by way of SQL requests that are sent to the SQL engine
200. The SQL request are composed by Java scripts attached to web
pages introduced infra or by Java applets that comprise the
embodiments of games of chance. In either case, the SQL requests
are received by the SQL engine 200 and fulfilled. The resulting
database activity is reported to the requesting process.
[0079] FIG. 14A is the first part of flow diagram that depicts the
user interface process employed by the present invention. Whenever
a user wants to use the personalized gaming system, the user must
specify a gaming system home page using a browser. An analogous
process is employed in the slot machine specified herein. The slot
machine 75 starts up executing a web browser in a kiosk mode. The
kiosk mode dispenses with the presentation of many of the menus
ordinarily available to a computer user and presents only a
border-less window wherein the composition of a web page is
rendered for presentation to the contestant. In the slot machine
embodiment, the web browser is immediately directed to the gaming
system home page.
[0080] Once the home page is loaded into the browser, scripting
within the home page attempts to identify the user. In step 1200;
the home page script looks for a "cookie" previously written to a
non-volatile memory accessible by the user's client device. In the
case of a PC, a cookie is normally written to the user's hard disk.
If the system finds a cookie (step 1205) the script in the home
page will retrieve the identification stored in the cookie (step
1200 to 10). Once the user has been identified, the identification
of the user is used to personalize the welcome page presented
immediately after the home page script finishes executing (step
1215).
[0081] In the event that a cookie is not discovered, the home page
will retrieve a universal splash screen and present this to the
user (step 1220). The universal splash screen 1225 is normally
presented in the slot machine 75 device where the user cannot
easily be identified. The splash screen 1225 further comprises a
java-script that embodies the logical sequence needed to identify a
user in the slot machine 75 of the present invention.
[0082] FIG. 14A shows that, after having displayed the splash
screen 1225, the slot machine will attempt to identify the
contestant. The identification process is embodied as a java-script
that calls special web pages served up by a microserver. The
microserver is also executing in the slot machine 75 and includes
device drivers that work in conjunction with the drivers integral
to the operating system. This arrangement enables control of the
slot machines physical devices.
[0083] The java-scriptattached to the splash screen 1220 waits
until there is an identification device event (step 1260). When an
identification device event is perceived by the system, the
java-scriptwill retrieve the identification number from the device
in order to identify the user (step 1265). The java-scriptwill then
redirect the web browser to a personal welcome page using the
identification number retrieved from the identification device
(step 1215). If an identification device event is not immediately
sensed, the java-script attached to the splash screen 1225 will
continue to wait for an identification device event (step 1260), or
for either the identification command button (step 1270) or the
play command button (step 1290) to be actuated by the user. In the
event that the identification command button is actuated (step
1270) the java-scriptwill direct the web browser to a sign-in page
(step 1280). If the java-scriptdetects that the play command button
(step 1290) was actuated, the java-scriptwill redirect the web
browser to the games-to-play web page (step 1300).
[0084] FIG. 15 is a pictorial representation of a typical universal
splash screen that is presented on the slot machine of the present
invention. The splash screen 1225 comprises attention getting
graphics 1230, the emulation of a game a chance: 35, a header 1240,
and at least to command buttons. These to command buttons include
identification command buttons 1245 and a play command of a 1215.
The command buttons comprise hyperlinks to two other web pages as
discussed infra.
[0085] FIG. 15A is a pictorial representation of a sign-in web page
presented to an unknown user. The sign-in web page 1500 comprises
an advertisement 1325, instructions on how to use the web page and
two command buttons. The two command buttons are: New Player 1505;
and Existing User 1510. If the contestant has already registered
with the system, the contestant should chose the Existing User
command button 1510. Otherwise, the contestant should choose the
New Player command button 1505.
[0086] FIG. 15B is a pictorial representation of a sign-in web page
presented to an existing user. The Existing User command button
1510 hyperlink will direct the browser to the Existing User GUI
(web page) 1515. The Existing User web page 1515 comprises an
advertisement 1325. The Existing User web page 1515 further
comprises a telephone keypad 1520 telephone number display 1525.
The Existing User web page 1515 further comprises a
US/International radio button control 1530. The contestant is
instructed to enter their telephone number using the telephone
keypad 1520. The Existing User web page 1515 is java-scriptenabled.
The java-scriptreceives one digit of the contestants phone number
at a time and echoes the digit in the telephone number display
1525. The contestant is also instructed to indicate if the phone
number entered is a US number or an international number. Selecting
one of two radio buttons in the US/international radio button
control 1530 does this.
[0087] Once the contestant has entered a phone number, the system
requires that verification of the user be accomplished. This is
performed by requiring the contestant to indicate the month of
their birth, and optionally the date of their birth. Any means to
authenticate the user could be used, including but not limited to
asking the user to enter a password. In the present embodiment, the
Existing User web page 1515 further comprises radio button controls
for month 1535 and date 1540. The contestant must select the month
and date of their birth using the month radio button control 1535
and the date radio button control 1540. If the system can not
adequately authenticate the user through the above described phone
number and birth date mechanism, then the system will prompt the
user to try entering the authentication data again.
[0088] FIG. 15C is a pictorial representation of a User Validation
web page that is presented to a contestant after a manual
identification procedure. If the system finds a registered
contestant that has been authenticated as described above, then the
system will provide the contestant with an opportunity to accept
the purported identification. This is accomplished by displaying
the contestant's name. Presenting the User Validation web page 1545
does this. The user validation web page 1545 comprises a display of
the users name and a Confirmation command button 1550. The User
Validation web page 1545 further comprises a New ID Device command
button 1555. In the event that the user was found to be registered
and now needs a new identification device, the user can select the
New ID Device command button 1555. When the user selects the
Confirmation command button 1550, the web browser will be directed
to the personalized welcome page for the contestant. If the
contestant selects the New ID Device command button 1555, then the
sign-in process continues by presenting the New ID Device web page
1560 to the user.
[0089] FIG. 15D is a pictorial representation of a New Player
Questionnaire web page. When the user selects the New Player
command button 1505 on the Sign-In web page 1500, the web browser
is directed to the New Player Questionnaire web page 1565. The New
Player Questionnaire web page 1565 comprises a plurality of data
entry controls for each of the following fields:
12 Control Name Reference Control Type First Name 1570 Text Entry
Middle Name 1575 Text Entry Last Name 1580 Text Entry Address Line
1 1585 Text Entry Address Line 2 1590 Text Entry e-mail address
1595 Text Entry City 1600 Text Entry State 1605 Drop Down List
Postal Code (Zip 1610 Text Entry Code) Country 1615 Drop Down List
Birth date 1620 Text Entry Phone number 1625 Text Entry Gender 1630
Radio Button
[0090] The New Player Questionnaire web page 1565 further comprises
a java-scriptthat ensures that all of the text entry controls are
properly populated with text. Once the java-scripthas determined
that the new user has properly filled out the form, the
java-scriptcomposes an SQL request to add a data record to the user
list database 220 and to the supplemental information database 350.
The data received from the new user is populated into the new
records in both databases according the field names corresponding
to the acquisition of the information.
[0091] FIG. 15E is a pictorial representation of a Program ID
Device web page presented to a user after a new identification
device is dispensed. The Program ID Device web page 1560 is
comprised of textual instructions to the user to place the
dispensed identification device in front of a flashing platter on
the front surface of the slot machine 75. This is the smart card
interface active area 146. Once the user places the new
identification device in front of the active area 146, the slot
machine will program the device 160 with the users identification
number. This is accomplished through the use of yet another
java-scriptattached to the Program ID Device web page 1560. This
java-scriptwill call the microserver running locally on the slot
machine 75 in order to directly control the hardware devices, i.e.
the smart card reader. Once the identification device has been
successfully programmed, the web browser is directed to a
personalized welcome page for the user.
[0092] FIG. 16 is a pictorial representation of a personalized
welcome page that is presented to a contestant using the system.
Using either the cookie identification from a PC 65, Internet
appliance 66, or the set-top box 70, or the identification device
or a sign-in from a slot machine 75, the identification number 225
of the user is used to access personal information in the user list
database 220. The personalized web page 1310 comprises a header
that includes the name of the contestant 1315, a display of the
number of accumulated points the player has earned so far 1320, a
plurality of advertisements 1325 and a plurality of play options
1330.
[0093] The name of the contestant is retrieved from the user list
database 220 by using the identification number 225 as a key into
the table. The user's first and last name are retrieved from those
respective fields 240 and 230. The number of points that the
contestant has earned is retrieved from the supplemental
information database 350, specifically from the points earned field
445.
[0094] In the present embodiment, the play options include a
preferred game command button 1335 and a secondary preference
button 1340. The personalized welcome page 1310 is composed by the
ACS 55 based on the user's preferences as recorded in the
propensities database 530. One of the propensity categories stored
in the propensities database 530 indicates the users two most
favorite games of chance. These are used to configure the
personalized web page 1310 preferred 1335 and secondary 1340
command buttons. In the case depicted in the figure, the user's
first and second preferences are the games called PrizeSpin and
Black Jack, respectively. In the event that the contestant wants to
engage in team play, a mean to aggregate points with the
achievements of other contestant, the contestant can actuate the
team play command button 1345. If the contestant would like to play
other games, the other games command button 1350 can be selected.
These two command buttons direct the web browser to either the team
management GUI (web page) 1355 or the games-to-play web page 1360.
At this juncture, the contestant can select any one of the command
buttons to navigate to the next desired GUI. Any of the
advertisements included in the web page further comprise a
hyperlink that will direct the web browser to the advertisers web
page.
[0095] FIG. 17 is a pictorial representation of a Team Management
GUI (or web page) according to the present invention. Note that any
information shown in the figure is for purposes of illustration
only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention. Having selected the team play command button 1345
included in the personalized welcome page 1310, the contestant is
presented with a Team Management web page 1355. The Team Management
web page 1355 comprises a data display control for presenting the
team captain and further comprises a team name control 1365. The
team name control 1365 is a drop down list control that can also
accept new text input. The ACS 55 will compose the Team Management
web page 1355 by first consulting the Teams database 590. Using the
current user identification number as a primary key, the ACS 55
will retrieve all of the team names (field 610) from the Teams
database 590. This data will be used to populate the team name drop
down control 1365.
[0096] When the team management web page 1355 is first presented to
the contestant, only the team captain and team name controls are
initialized. The contestant can then select one of the team names
that are included in the team name drop down control 1365. Once the
user has selected one of the team names, the java-script attached
to the web page will compose an SQL query to retrieve additional
information about that team. The SQL query includes, but is not
limited to retrieving the category of a prize and the item of a
prize (object category field 630 and object item field 630) that
the user previously selected as that team's objective, the number
of points the team must earn to secure the prize objective (offered
price field 640) and the date by which the team must attain the
total number of required points (expire date field 650). If the
object item is not defined (i.e. a null value is returned in
response to the SQL query), then the java-script will populate the
item control 1375 with an enumeration of all of the items available
in the selected category. This is accomplished by retrieving all of
the items defined in the Prize Pool database 970 where the category
field 980 is equal to the category value returned from the teams
database. If the object has not been previously defined, then the
java-scriptwill retrieve a list for all prize categories found in
the Prize Pool database 970 and populate the category drop down
control 1370 with that enumeration. Once the contestant selects a
prize category and item for a team, that selection can not be
changed.
[0097] The system will determine the total number of points that
the team must earn before it can redeem the prize. This is done by
retrieving price (in points) of the prize (field 1070) from the
prize pool database 970. This price is stored in the teams database
590, offered price field 640. The java-scriptwill retrieve the
number of points (teams database 590, offered price field 640) and
the expiration date (teams database 590, expire date field 650) of
the collaborative objective offer and present these in the two text
display controls 1380 and 1385.
[0098] The team management web page 1355 further comprises a team
mates control 1400. The team mates control 1400 is managed by the
java-scriptattached to the web page and is updated whenever a team
mate is added or dropped or when the web page is first presented to
the contestant. In order to update the team mates control 1400, the
java-scriptretrieves a list of all of the team mates affiliated
with the team from the team mate database 660. Using the
contestants identification number as a primary key (ID number field
670), the java-script composes an SQL query to retrieve all of the
team member identification numbers (field member ID 690) for the
given team name (team name field 680). The SQL query also retrieves
the number of points each team member has earned toward the
objective. This information is then presented in the team mates
control 1400. The team mates control 1400 is a scrollable text
field arranged in a cellular structure. FIG. 18 is a pictorial
representation of the games-to-play web page. The games-to-play web
page 1360 comprises a plurality of game selection hyperlinks for
the PrizeSpin Game 1700, 5-card stud 1705, draw poker 1710, keno
1715, Black Jack 1720, Roulette 1725, Lottery 1730, and Slots 1735.
These games are implemented as Java applets attached to web pages
referenced by the hyperlinks. When the contestant selects one of
the hyperlinks, the browser loads the referenced web page and the
Java applet executes.
[0099] FIG. 19 is a pictorial representation of a gaming web page
having at least one Java applet. Gaming web pages 1740 in the
system comprise an advertisement 1325 and a game applet 1750. The
game applet uses the browser as an execution platform, relying on
the browser to accomplish the man-machine-interface.
[0100] FIG. 20 is a pictorial representation of the graphical user
interface presented by the Prize Spin Java applet. The Prize Spin
Java applet GUI 1760 comprises a plurality of spin emulators 1765,
a corresponding number of freeze command buttons 1770, and a spin
command button 1765. The Prize Spin Java applet GUI further
comprises a category cylinder 1776, category sponsor window 1780
and category cylinder rotation command buttons back 1785 and
forward 1790.
[0101] When the Java applet begins executing, the graphical user
interface is created and managed directly by the program applet.
When a contestant actuates the spin command button 1775, the Java
applet will cause the cylinder emulators 1765 to begin scrolling
through a series of prize selections. The cylinder emulators will
be stopped in sequential order. Before the contestant again spins
the cylinders, the contestant can freeze any number of the
cylinders to maintain the prize currently portrayed on the
cylinder.
[0102] Whenever the contestant freezes a prize, the system infers
that the contestant is interested in winning that prize. This
inference is manifest as an entry in the user propensity database
530. The Java applet creates an SQL request to add a record to the
propensity database 530 with the ID number field 540 set to the
current contestant identification number and the ordinal field 550
set to the next sequential number. The propensity type field 560 is
set to indicate a prize preference propensity and the value field
570 is set to indicate the prize category and item. The date that
the event occurred is also stored in the date field 580. A new
propensity record is added to the propensity database 530 whenever
the contestant freezes a prize. This means that a plurality of
propensity records will be created if a contestant chooses to
freeze multiple cylinders for the same prize. In the present
embodiment, the act of freezing a cylinder will result in a debit
of points to the contestant's account. Since freezing a cylinder
costs the contestant in terms or points, the inference that the
frozen cylinder is important to the contestant can be further
sustained.
[0103] The cylinder emulator 1765 has another novel utility. Some
of the images shown on the cylinder are advertisements. When a
cylinder stops scrolling, the Java applet will present the
advertisement in a presentation window on the cylinder.
[0104] Statistics Gathering
[0105] The present invention endeavors to collect statistics by
monitoring the contestant's activities. Several mechanisms are
employed in the effort to profile a contestant. These mechanisms
are described here but can also be summarized as a inferential
mechanisms in that the system attempts to profile each contestant
based on their behavior during game play.
[0106] Favorite Game
[0107] As contestants use the system, the system tracks the number
of minutes each contestant plays each game of chance. Each game of
chance is implemented as a Java applet. That Java applet will note
the time at which the contestant started playing the game. When the
contestant stops playing the game, the Java applet will again read
the time of day and subtract the start time from the end time. This
difference will be accumulated to the users play preference. This
accumulation is accomplished by composing an SQL request to create
a new record in the user statistics database 450. The new record is
then populated with the next sequential ordinal number (ordinal
field 470) and the type 480 and subtype 490 fields set to indicate
the type of game being played. The value field 500 is set with the
total number of minutes played and the record date 510 is also
recorded. Whenever the contestant returns to the system, the
statistics database 450 is consulted and all records having the
users identification number and that have game play information are
extracted from the database by the web server executing in ACS 55.
The ACS 55 will then determine what the contestants two favorite
games are when a personalized welcome page is created for the
user.
[0108] Prize Preference
[0109] The present invention further comprises a collection of
games that are implemented as Java applets. These Java applets are
attached to web pages that are loaded by the client side browser
upon selection of that game by the contestant. When a contestant
plays any game of chance in the system, the Java applet will send
propensity records to the ACS 55 in order to record product
preferences or spending propensities of that contestant.
[0110] As the player plays any of the games offered by the system,
the game applet will retrieve personal attributes about the
contestant from the user list database 220, from the user
supplemental database 350 and from the user propensities database
530 using an SQL query. When a game applet offers a plurality of
prizes that the contestant can win, prizes are selected from the
prize pool database 970 based on either personal attributes or a
correlation of certain propensities the player is exhibiting to the
prize categories.
[0111] The prize pool database 970 may have a plurality of
categories including, but not limited to:
[0112] Product Categories:
[0113] Furniture
[0114] Consumer Electronics
[0115] Books
[0116] Computers
[0117] Cars
[0118] Sporting Goods
[0119] Baby Wares
[0120] Hobby Supplies
[0121] Promotion Categories:
[0122] Entertainment
[0123] Sports
[0124] Fitness
[0125] Travel
[0126] Home
[0127] Lifestyle Categories:
[0128] Family Bent
[0129] Senior Citizen
[0130] Teenager
[0131] City Dweller
[0132] New Yorker
[0133] Traveler
[0134] Because some prizes will be appealing to more than one
category, a prize record may be duplicated in the prize pool
database 970 so that the identical prize item will appear in more
than one category.
[0135] Prize categories are selected based on the personal
attributes or based on propensities. As users play a game, their
propensities will be updated according to their game play activity.
A propensity record will be appended to the propensity database
530.
[0136] Advertisements
[0137] FIG. 11 shows that when an advertisement is sold to an
advertiser, a record in stored in the advertisement pool database
770. Advertisements are sold to companies or individuals that want
to present a multi-media message to the contestants using the
system. Each advertisement is stored according to a product
category. The category is recorded in the category field 780 of the
advertisement pool database 770. The current embodiment has a
plurality of categories, including, but not limited to:
[0138] Entertainment;
[0139] Sports;
[0140] Fitness;
[0141] Travel; and
[0142] Home.
[0143] Each advertisement record is stored with the name of the
advertiser in field 790 and the name of the advertisement 800. The
negotiated cost of presenting the advertisement to contestants is
also stored in the cost per thousands (CPM) field 810. The
saturation level of the advertisement is stored in the field of the
same name 820. The saturation level is a multiplier that results in
preferential presentation among advertisements in a category.
Advertisements with a greater saturation level value will be
presented more frequently than those with a smaller saturation
value.
[0144] As the advertisement is presented to users, the system will
keep track of the number of impressions of the advertisement that
are presented. This is done directly by the ACS 55 when web pages
are composed. Advertisements can be in many different forms, as an
illustrative example, advertisements can be simple graphic images,
animated graphics, interactive multimedia presentations, audio or
video clips. The advertisement pool database 770 stores a reference
to a source file (field 850) for the advertisement. An appropriate
companion, extension or plug-in is used in conjunction with the
browser in order to display an advertisement.
[0145] Advertisements are also presented by the Java applets that
embody the plurality of games of chance that the contestants can
play. In the event that a Java applet needs to present an
advertisement, the applet will send a request to the ACS 55 to
retrieve a reference to an advertisement. Once the applet receives
the reference, it retrieves the source file from the ACS 55 and
then displays the advertisement to the contestant. When the ACS 55
provides a reference to a Java applet, it increments the impression
counter (field 830) for that advertisement.
[0146] The present invention presents advertisements in accordance
with preferences attributed to each individual contestant. As
disclosed earlier, each contestant using the system is profiled.
The propensities database is processed on a period basis, currently
one week but the period is adjustable as needs dictate. The
processing of the propensity database 530 comprises the extraction
of any products that the contestant favors over the proceeding
plurality of processing periods. The resulting list of products is
then sorted by product category and the resulting categories are
again stored in the propensities database 530.
[0147] When the system needs to present an advertisement, the
preferences for product categories are retrieved from the
propensities database 530 and an advertisement is selected from the
advertisement pool database 770 in a random manner having a
matching category. Of course, where there are a plurality of
advertisements in a category, the selection is weighted according
to the saturation level (field 820) for each of the
advertisements.
[0148] Sponsorships
[0149] Many of the games of chance that are presented in the system
are sponsored. Sponsorships are, in essence, super ads. These super
ads are presented to the contestant for the duration of game play
and are categorized.
[0150] FIG. 20 is an excellent illustration of a sponsorship in the
Prize Spin game. A plurality of sponsorships can be sold to
companies is a plurality of product categories. A sponsor
presentation window 1780 is visible so long as the contestant
remains in the corresponding category. In the prize spin game, the
contestant can change categories using the category forward 1790
and back 1785 command buttons.
[0151] As is the case with any advertisement, a sponsorship message
can be in any multimedia form supported by the system.
[0152] Hyperlink Processing
[0153] The system charges additional fees for referring a
contestant to an advertisers or sponsors web site. Every
advertisement presented to a contestant by the system, including
sponsorship, is in the form of:
[0154] www.acs.com/ad_reference=ref_address,userID
[0155] This hyperlink first causes a special referral page to be
loaded. The referral page is called "reference". The actual address
of the advertisers web page is passed to the referral page as an
argument. The referral page has an attached java-scriptthat uses
the web page address to as an indicator that the corresponding
advertiser should be charged for a referral. This is recorded by
incrementing the referral field 870 of the advertisement pool
database. Optionally, the system can use the userID to record the
contestant that requested the referral.
[0156] In the event that the advertisement is a sponsorship
presentation, the form of the hyperlink is:
[0157] www.acs.com/spon_reference=ref_address,userID
[0158] This hyperlink is processed analogously to that of an
advertisement reference. The difference between the
<ad_reference> and <spon_reference> lies in the
JavaScripts attached to each. In the advertisement referral page,
the java-scriptcounts references by incrementing the referral
counter in the advertisement pool database 770. The sponsorship
referral page increments the total impressions field 920 in the
sponsor list database 880. These incrementing activities are
implemented as SQL commands that each respective
java-scriptcomposes and directs to the ACS 55.
[0159] Prize Fulfillment
[0160] The present invention establishes a probability level for
the awarding prizes and or points. The odds that a particular prize
will be awarded directly by a game-of-chance is established by
monitoring the number of contestants vying for the prize. The odds
of wining a prize are also based on the number of advertising
impressions that must be presented in order to ensure overall
profitability for the system operator.
[0161] In the present embodiment, the odds of winning a prize are
first calculated as a function of:
[0162] the cost of the prize
[0163] stored in the prize pool database 970 cost field 1070;
and
[0164] minimum of all advertisement cost per thousand that have the
prize indicated as the correlated item in the advertisement pool
database 770, field 785.
[0165] The first imperative in setting odds of winning is that the
difference in the cost the prize must be less than the amount of
revenue received as a result of advertising revenue.
[0166] A contestant can receive prizes either by winning the prize
at the calculated probability, or the contestant can redeem points
won or purchased toward the prize.
[0167] Marketing Data
[0168] Many advertisers and sponsors will want to purchase
marketing data directly from the system operator. Marketing data is
tracked for every contestant registered in the user list database
220. The marketing data is stored in the propensities database 530.
On a periodic basis, the period of which is definable to the system
operator, the billing server 56 will retrieve the user list
database 220 and the propensities database 530 and store copies of
these databases in the billing server. The billing server will then
create a report of buying propensities that describes the interest
level of each contestant in product categories and specific prizes
and/or promotions. This report will be e-mailed to a purchaser
using an electronic shopping facility. The electronic shopping
facility will then print an invoice using as printer 57 or it will
debit the purchasers account using a special electronic fund
transfer interface 58.
[0169] Contestant Billing
[0170] Contestants compete in play using points. Points must be
purchased before a player can play a game of chance. A billing GUI
requires the contestant to enter a credit card number, expiration
date and the name on the card. This information is stored in the
user supplemental information database 350, the credit card field
430. As points are purchased, the number of points available for
that contestant is adjusted accordingly. The number of points
available is also stored in the user supplemental information
database 350. The points available are stored in a field with the
same name 435. The billing server 56 will use the special
transaction interface 58 to obtain credit card authorization from
the issuing bank.
[0171] Promoter Billing
[0172] The system adheres to a monthly billing cycle for
advertisers and sponsors, although the billing period can be
adjusted to suit the needs to the system operator. Upon initiation,
the billing server (FIG. 2: 56) will make a copy of all of the
databases involved in billing. These include, but not necessarily
are limited to:
[0173] advertisement database 770; and
[0174] sponsor list database 880.
[0175] At the end of the billing cycle, the billing databases are
again copied from the ACS 55 into a separate set of files in the
billing server 56. The copies retained by the billing server 56 as
the end of a billing cycle will become the initial databases for
the subsequent billing cycle.
[0176] Once the databases are copied, the billing server 56 will
discover any differences in the total impression count and the
referral count for each advertiser and sponsor. These differences
will be the basis for billing the advertisers and sponsors for
presenting their multimedia messages. Billing can be accomplished
either by printing invoices using a printer 57 or by conducting
electronic debit transactions to the advertisers or sponsors bank
account using a special interface 58.
[0177] The final step in the billing cycle is to determine which
advertisements and sponsorships have expired. This is done with the
aid of an off-line database. The billing server 56 will then
compose an SQL command to remove the records for each of the
expired advertisements and sponsorships from the working billing
databases maintained in the ACS 55.
[0178] Alternative Embodiments
[0179] While this invention has been described in terms of several
preferred embodiments, it is contemplated that alternatives,
modifications, permutations, and equivalents thereof will become
apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the
specification and study of the drawings. It is therefore intended
that the true spirit and scope of the present invention include all
such alternatives, modifications, permutations, and equivalents.
Some, but by no means all of the possible alternatives are
described herein.
[0180] The invention uses an SQL database engine and allows remote
devices to interact with the databases using the structured query
language. Any other suitable database management system that allows
clients to interact with a main set of databases is sufficient to
support the database needs of the present invention.
[0181] The invention employs a standard web browser that can
present HTML web pages and execute java-scriptand Java applets.
Other possible embodiments would include a custom web GUI
definition language and psudo code executive. One such other
implementation would be a multimedia presentation created in
MacroMedia.TM. Flash.TM. MPEG-4 technology could likewise be
utilized.
[0182] The invention is based on TCP/IP protocols. Other
alternative, including the use of isochronous channels to carry
multimedia to the client devices and asymmetrical protocols could
also be used. Any suitable networking structure that provides for
client sever interaction is an acceptable alternative to
TCP/IP.
[0183] The invention is based on client device connected to
computer network. Wireless devices such as PDA's and cell phones
interface with slot machines to identify the contestant and then
effect any financial transactions the contestant authorizes. Other
alternatives include using wireless devices with other client
devices such as a personal computer, a set-top box and a ubiquitous
Internet appliance. Each client device contains a wireless network
interface. The wireless network interface uses low-power
radio-frequency communications to communicate with personal
electronic devices such as PDA's and cell phones.
[0184] The wireless network interface incorporated into the
invention uses a frequency-hopping scheme in conjunction with an
encryption mechanism that supports secure transactions. The
wireless network interface of the present invention conforms to the
Bluetooth specification adopted by an industry consortium. It
should be noted that any suitable wireless network interface can be
utilized so long as secure transactions, wireless transactions with
small personal devices can be accommodated. When a contestant first
approaches the client device, the wireless network interface
establishes a connection with the contestant's personal device.
This connection allows the client device to identify the contestant
and then effect any financial transactions the contestant
authorizes.
[0185] The invention is based on a PGS wired to client devices.
Another preferred embodiment includes the use of wireless
communication devices employing wireless protocols to connect the
client devices to the PGS. Monies are transferred to and from the
PGS and the client devices. Transactions are secured using the
Bluetooth specification as described previously.
* * * * *
References