U.S. patent application number 11/456763 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-05 for in-room gaming.
This patent application is currently assigned to Cyberscan Technology, Inc.. Invention is credited to Thierry Brunet de Courssou, Jean-Marie Gatto.
Application Number | 20070155507 11/456763 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38123344 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070155507 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gatto; Jean-Marie ; et
al. |
July 5, 2007 |
In-room gaming
Abstract
A method for in-room gaming suitable for cruise ships and remote
hotels allows players to play electronic games of skill or chance
on their room TV or on any other available TV. Players may interact
with the games via an input device as simple as a standard
telephone or as powerful as a palm-sized WiFi device fitted with a
credit card reader. The method and system need not require any
rewiring of the room and leverages on any data service already in
place, such as an individual telephone line, a wired or Wifi local
area network. The in-room gaming system may include a central
gaming server that generates the game video rendering for each
player, the video being streamed or otherwise provided to the
associated TV via an individual TV channel, thereby enabling rich,
powerful and secure gaming while reducing maintenance costs and
preventing obsolescence. In-room players may enjoy the flexibility
to wager from any available television and may use the in-room
gaming system to build relationships and social networks with other
players if they desire.
Inventors: |
Gatto; Jean-Marie; (London,
GB) ; Brunet de Courssou; Thierry; (Henderson,
NV) |
Correspondence
Address: |
YOUNG LAW FIRM, P.C.;ALAN W. YOUNG
4370 ALPINE ROAD
SUITE 106
PORTOLA VALLEY
CA
94028
US
|
Assignee: |
Cyberscan Technology, Inc.
Palo Alto
CA
|
Family ID: |
38123344 |
Appl. No.: |
11/456763 |
Filed: |
July 11, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60741652 |
Dec 2, 2005 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/42 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3223 20130101;
A63F 13/335 20140902; A63F 13/792 20140902; A63F 13/12 20130101;
A63F 13/338 20140902; A63F 13/355 20140902; A63F 2300/406 20130101;
A63F 2300/407 20130101; A63F 2300/516 20130101; A63F 13/332
20140902; G07F 17/32 20130101; A63F 2300/409 20130101; A63F
2300/538 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/042 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method for distributed in-room gaming in a hospitality
industry establishment having a plurality of rooms, each of the
rooms having a television and a telephony device, the method
comprising the steps of: decoding codes generated by the telephony
device in a first of the plurality of rooms; receiving the decoded
codes in a central game server, the decoded codes being indicative
of a wager input into the telephony device by a player in the first
of the plurality of rooms; responsive to the received decoded
codes, generating a game outcome in the central game server, and at
least one of generating and selecting video and sound according to
the generated game outcome, and sending the video and sound to the
television in the first room via a predetermined television channel
for reception and display.
2. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of displaying
a code generated by the central game server on the television in
the first room, and authorizing a gaming session by requesting the
player to enter the displayed code on the telephony device.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of encrypting
the predetermined television channel.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sending step is carried out
with the television being configured to decrypt the predetermined
television channel.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step is carried out
with the central game server further comprising player account
means for storing individual player details, authentication
credentials and credit balance, the player details including at
least one of player usernames, player pictures, player-selected
avatars and player payment instruments.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the decoding step is carried out
using a touch tone decoder and wherein the telephony device is a
standard tone dial telephone.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the decoder is connected to a
predetermined telephone line and wherein the decoding step is
carried out with the codes generated by the telephony device being
dialed by the player composing a number from the telephony device
in the first room.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising a player verification
step, the player verification step being carried out by requiring
the player to enter his or her authentication credentials on the
telephony device when initiating a gaming session with the central
gaming server.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the telephony device is a credit
card processor including a credit card reader and wherein the
method further comprises a step of funding an account by receiving
payment card information from a payment card inserted into the card
reader by the player, and thereafter receiving player interaction
and wagers via a keypad of the credit card processor.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the account funding step is
carried out using a payment card further configured as a player
card.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the game outcome generating step
is carried out by the central game server responsive to commands
input via the in-room telephony device.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending step includes the
central game server transmitting graphics and sound to the
television via a video and sound encoder.
13. The method of claim 5, further comprising a step of crediting
or debiting the player's payment instrument according to the
outcome in the game outcome generating step.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of cashing
out, the cashing out step including one of (a) crediting a
remaining balance of the player to a credit card or bank account
via electronic fund transfer and (b) awarding the player's
remaining balance in cash.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of displaying
a list of currently playing guests on at least one of the
televisions in the plurality of rooms.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of enabling
guests in different rooms to communicate with one another during
game play.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of enabling
guests in different rooms to wager against one another in games of
skill or chance.
18. A gaming network in a hospitality industry establishment having
a plurality of rooms, comprising: a television in each
participating one of the plurality of rooms; a telephony device in
each participating one of the plurality of rooms; a game server
remote from the televisions and from the telephony devices, and
between each participating room and the game server, a first
communication channel coupling the telephony device to the remote
game server to enable the remote game server to receive player
inputted commands directly from the telephony device, and a second
communication channel coupling the game server to the television to
enable the game server to transmit game outcome content to the
television responsive to the player-inputted commands.
19. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the second
communication channel includes a TV channel encrypted using a TV
encryption standard.
20. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the television or
television set top box is equipped with at least one standard TV
decryption card reader.
21. The gaming network of claim 20, wherein a TV decryption card
inserted in the standard TV decryption card reader is configured to
be associated to the player, the central game server displaying the
game outcome associated to the player on a predetermined encrypted
TV channel decoded using the decryption card.
22. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the telephony device is
one of a telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) including a
data modem, a credit card processor, and a palm-sized device
including a data modem.
23. The gaming network of claim 22, wherein the palm-sized device
includes a card reader.
24. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the telephony device is
a telephone and wherein the first communication channel is
established by the player composing a predetermined telephone
number from his or her room.
25. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the telephony device is
one of a PC, a laptop, a palmtop and a handheld device equipped
with a telephony modem and wherein player interaction with the game
server is made available via a standard network protocol.
26. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the telephony device is
integral to one of a PC, a laptop, a palmtop, a game box and a
handheld device equipped with a local area network (LAN) interface
or WiFi, and player interaction with the game server is made
available via a standard network protocol.
27. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the second
communication channel is an RF communication channel and wherein
the television is coupled to the second communication channel by an
aerial antenna.
28. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the second
communication channel is an RF communication channel and wherein
the game server is coupled to the second communication channel by a
satellite dish.
29. The gaming network of claim 18, further including a TV cable
disposed between the game server and the television and wherein the
second communication channel is carried by the TV cable.
30. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the second
communication channel is configured as Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL).
31. The gaming network of claim 18, further including a tone
decoder coupled between the telephony device and the game server,
the tone decoder being configured to interpret player-inputted
commands from the telephony device and to transmit the interpreted
player-inputted commands to the game server.
32. The gaming network of claim 31, further comprising an RS232
line coupling the tone decoder to the game server.
33. The gaming network of claim 31, further comprising a USB line
coupling the tone decoder to the game server.
34. The gaming network of claim 18, further including a video and
audio encoder coupled to the television and wherein the game server
is configured to transmit graphics and sound to the television via
the video and audio encoder.
35. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the game server
includes a plurality of blade servers.
36. The gaming network of claim 35, wherein each of the plurality
of blade servers is associated with a respective one of the
televisions in the participating rooms.
37. The gaming network of claim 35, wherein each blade server is
associated with more than one of the televisions in the
participating rooms.
38. The gaming network of claim 18, further including a database
coupled to the game server, the database being configured to store
player information.
39. The gaming network of claim 38, wherein the player information
includes at least one of player usernames, player pictures,
player-selected avatars and player payment instruments.
40. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the network and the
central game server are configured to enable a player to play on
any available television within the network using a telephony
device.
41. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the game outcome
content is an outcome of a game as determined by the game
server.
42. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the second
communication channel includes an Internet Protocol (IP) television
channel allocated to the television and wherein the game server is
configured to stream the game outcome content to the television
channel allocated to the television over Internet Protocol
(IP).
43. The gaming network of claim 41, further comprising a random
number generator coupled to the game server.
44. The gaming network of claim 41, further comprising a plurality
of game servers, and wherein each of the plurality of game servers
is coupled to a different random number generator.
45. The gaming network of claim 41, further comprising a plurality
of game servers, and wherein the plurality of game servers are
coupled to the same random number generator.
46. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the game server
includes an inbound processing module configured to receive the
player-inputted command over the first communication channel, an
outcome determination module to determine an outcome of a game, a
content rendering module to generate and render content according
to the determined outcome of the game and an outbound video
streaming module to stream the rendered content to the television
over the second communication channel.
47. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein at least one of the
first and second communication channels includes one of a wired and
a wireless computer network.
48. The gaming network of claim 47, wherein the computer network is
encrypted.
49. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the gaming server is
remotely located from the hospitality industry establishment and
wherein the first communication channel is established between the
game server and a telecom satellite, and wherein the second
communication channel is established between the game server and a
TV satellite.
50. The gaming network of claim 49, further including a first
communication dish to send and receive telephony data between the
game server and the telecom satellite and a second communication
dish for the game server to send TV content to the TV
satellite.
51. The gaming network of claim 49, further including a third
communication dish to send and receive telephony data between the
player telephony device and the telecom satellite and a fourth
communication dish for the player TV to receive TV content from the
TV satellite.
52. The gaming network of claim 18, wherein the hospitality
industry establishment is a cruise ship.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) of provisional application Ser. No. 60/741,652, filed
Dec. 2, 2005, which application is hereby incorporated herein by
reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to the field of pay
computer-controlled games, either games of skills or games of
chance, and more particularly to the architecture and configuration
of systems that offer such games.
Description of the Prior Art and Related Information
[0003] Previous systems for allowing guests in the hospitality
industry to play electronic games of skill or chance on the
television sets in their rooms have all used costly, specialized
technology such as interactive set-top boxes, full PCs, or other
elaborate game play networks. These systems have a number of
shortcomings, the first of which being that they involve a
significant initial financial commitment on the part of operators
for the purchase of hardware. These existing in-room systems are
also slow to install and often require considerable maintenance
since much of their delicate, costly hardware is spread out across
numerous guest rooms and is susceptible to guest abuse. Moreover,
in-room equipment is rapidly becoming obsolete because of the
continuous need for ever increasing power to drive upgraded
graphics. The lack of interactive TV set top box standards,
especially relative to game security, has prevented the
cost-effective and widespread deployment of secure in-room TV
gaming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Embodiments of the present invention rely on existing
in-room televisions and telephones and do not, therefore, require
additional or specialized rewiring in the rooms. More sophisticated
equipment may optionally be added such as high-definition TV,
encrypted TV channels, computer controlled interactive devices and
individual payment card processor terminals. However, embodiments
of the present invention enable the operator to revert to using the
basic television and telephone configuration at any time.
Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any
cruise ship or remote hotel, irrespective of the age of the
television and of the existing telephone system. Embodiments of the
present invention may also include a central game server that may
be located on the hospitality premises (that is, on the ship or
within the hotel) or at a location that is remote from the
hospitality premises. To place wagers, players may use a "personal
play action controller" to place wagers. Some possible personal
play action controllers may include, but are not limited to,
standard telephones, wireless phones with wired base, mobile
phones, PDAs, palm-sized devices optionally fitted with credit card
readers, guest portable computers outfitted with smart card
readers. Players may enter commands on their respective personal
play action controllers, which commands may then be transmitted to
the game server, either directly via data communication or via a
telephone tone decoder, depending upon the implementation. The
(local or remote) central game server may then process these
commands, determine the outcome of the game and send corresponding
selected streaming video back to the television in the player's
room.
[0005] Embodiments of the present invention may utilize different
technologies for upstream or uplink transport (from the personal
play action controllers to the central game server) and for
downstream or downlink transport (from the central game server(s)
to the corresponding player's TV). Having upstream and downstream
communications utilize separate transport technologies enables the
re-use much of the existing telephone and television infrastructure
of most any ship or remote hotel. According to embodiments of the
present invention, the uplink bandwidth requirements are small.
However, to provide a responsive gaming experience, the uplink
transport technology should have relatively low latency. Telephone
technology fits both requirements, in that it is a relatively low
bandwidth medium (as it was originally developed for voice
communications) and in that it has low latency, which allows even
widely separated users to have natural and lag-free conversations.
The downstream transport technology, however, preferably
accommodates a higher bandwidth, such as to accommodate a plurality
of simultaneous high-bandwidth video signals.
[0006] Upgrading either the upstream transport technology or the
downstream technology (either partially or totally) is always
possible within the scope of the present inventions, without
necessitating significant equipment upgrades to maintain the
functionality of embodiments of the present invention. Uplink
interaction may be carried out via the telephone tone decoder, or
via a computer controlled hand-held device, PC or laptop fitted
with a phone data modem, mobile phone (e.g., GSM), or fitted with
Ethernet link or WiFi. Ethernet may also be used for upstream
communications via a suitable TV set top box.
[0007] According to embodiments of the present invention, in-room
gaming functionality may be implemented and enabled starting with a
basic but secure system that may include, for example, a
television, a telephone and a Central Gaming server. Such basic
system may be selectively (and progressively, if desired) upgraded
with better personal play action controllers (using data modems,
GSM-enabled devices, Ethernet and/or Wifi, for example).
[0008] Also, considering a 2000 room cruise ship, it may be assumed
(for illustrative purposes only) that no more that 100 players may
play at same time, so server capacity may provisioned for 100
players, using, for example, 100 personal computers (configured as
standalone models, pizza box or blade form factor PCs, for example)
and 100 TV channels. The TV channels may be encrypted or
unencrypted. If TV channels are unencrypted, hotel guests may see
other players playing (by flipping the TV channels on their
televisions). Seeing other players engaging in wagering activities
may trigger an urge to play in other players as well.
[0009] A TV channel may be linked to a personal play action
controller by requesting the player to punch a code that is
displayed on the TV screen in his or her hotel or stateroom. Other
more sophisticated schemes may be derived, depending on the
capability of the personal play action controller available.
Indeed, the personal play action controller may be as simple as a
telephone or as sophisticated as handheld or mobile PC wirelessly
coupled to a LAN.
[0010] Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention is a
method for distributed in-room gaming in a hospitality industry
establishment having a plurality of rooms, each of the rooms having
a television and a telephony device. The method may include steps
of decoding codes generated by the telephony device in a first of
the plurality of rooms; receiving the decoded codes in a central
game server, the decoded codes being indicative of a wager input
into the telephony device by a player in the first of the plurality
of rooms; responsive to the received decoded codes, generating a
game outcome in the central game server, and at least one of
generating and selecting video and sound according to the generated
game outcome, and sending the video and sound to the television in
the first room via a predetermined television channel for reception
and display.
[0011] The method may also include steps of displaying a code
generated by the central game server on the television in the first
room, and authorizing a gaming session by requesting the player to
enter the displayed code on the telephony device. A step of
encrypting the predetermined television channel may also be carried
out. The sending step may be carried out with the television being
configured to decrypt the predetermined television channel. The
receiving step may be carried out with the central game server
including player account means for storing individual player
details, authentication credentials and credit balance. The player
details may include, for example, player usernames, player
pictures, player-selected avatars and/or player payment
instruments, to name but a few possibilities. The decoding step may
be carried out using a touch tone decoder and the telephony device
may be or include a standard tone dial telephone. The decoder may
be connected to a predetermined telephone line and the decoding
step may be carried out with the codes generated by the telephony
device being dialed by the player composing a number from the
telephony device in the first room. The method may also include a
player verification step, which may be carried out by requiring the
player to enter his or her authentication credentials on the
telephony device when initiating a gaming session with the central
gaming server. The telephony device may be or include a credit card
processor including a credit card reader. The method may further
include a step of funding an account by receiving payment card
information from a payment card inserted into the card reader by
the player, and thereafter receiving player interaction and wagers
via a keypad of the credit card processor. The account funding step
may be carried out using a payment card further configured as a
player card.
[0012] The game outcome generating step may be carried out by the
central game server responsive to commands input via the in-room
telephony device. The sending step may include the central game
server transmitting graphics and sound to the television via a
video and sound encoder. A step may be carried out of crediting or
debiting the player's payment instrument according to the outcome
in the game outcome generating step. The method may also include a
step of cashing out, the cashing out step including (a) crediting a
remaining balance of the player to a credit card or bank account
via electronic fund transfer and/or (b) awarding the player's
remaining balance in cash. A step may be carried out of displaying
a list of currently playing guests on one or more of the
televisions in the plurality of rooms. A step may also be carried
out of enabling guests in different rooms to communicate with one
another during game play. Guests in different rooms may be enabled
to wager against one another in games of skill or chance.
[0013] According to another embodiment thereof, the present
invention is a gaming network in a hospitality industry
establishment having a plurality of rooms. The network may include
a television in each participating one of the plurality of rooms; a
telephony device in each participating one of the plurality of
rooms; a game server remote from the televisions and from the
telephony devices and, between each participating room and the game
server, a first communication channel coupling the telephony device
to the remote game server to enable the remote game server to
receive player inputted commands directly from the telephony
device, and a second communication channel coupling the game server
to the television to enable the game server to transmit game
outcome content to the television responsive to the player-inputted
commands.
[0014] The second communication channel may include a TV channel
encrypted using a TV encryption standard. The television or
television set top box may be equipped with one or more TV
decryption card readers. A TV decryption card inserted in the
standard TV decryption card reader may be configured to be
associated to the player, and the central game server may further
be configured to cause the game outcome associated to the player to
be displayed on a predetermined encrypted TV channel decoded using
the decryption card. The telephony device may be or include, for
example, a telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) including
a data modem, a credit card processor, or a palm-sized device
including a data modem. The palm-sized device may include a card
reader. The telephony device may be or include a telephone and the
first communication channel may be established by the player
composing a predetermined telephone number from his or her room.
The telephony device may be or include, for example, a laptop, a
palmtop and/or a handheld device equipped with a telephony modem,
for example. Player interaction with the game server may be made
available via a standard network protocol. The telephony device may
be integral, for example, to a PC, a laptop, a palmtop, a game box
and/or a handheld device equipped with a local area network (LAN)
interface or WiFi, and player interaction with the game server may
be made available via a standard network protocol. The second
communication channel may be an RF communication channel and the
television may be coupled to the second communication channel by an
aerial antenna. The second communication channel may be an RF
communication channel and the game server may be coupled to the
second communication channel by a satellite dish. A TV cable may be
disposed between the game server and the television and the second
communication channel may be carried by the TV cable. The second
communication channel may be configured as Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL). A tone decoder may be coupled between the
telephony device and the game server. The tone decoder may be
configured to interpret player-inputted commands from the telephony
device and to transmit the interpreted player-inputted commands to
the game server. An RS232 (for example) line may couple the tone
decoder to the game server. Alternatively, a USB line (for example)
may couple the tone decoder to the game server. A video and audio
encoder may be coupled to the television and the game server may be
configured to transmit graphics and sound to the television via the
video and audio encoder.
[0015] The game server may include a plurality of blade (for
example) servers. Each of the plurality of blade servers may be
associated with a respective one of the televisions in the
participating rooms. Alternatively, each blade server may be
associated with more than one of the televisions in the
participating rooms. A database may be coupled to the game server.
The database may be configured to store player information, among
other types of information. The player information may include
player usernames, player pictures, player-selected avatars and/or
player payment instruments, for example. The network and the
central game server may be configured to enable a player to play on
any available television within the network using a telephony
device. The game outcome content may be an outcome of a game as
determined by the game server. The second communication channel may
include an Internet Protocol (IP) television channel allocated to
the television and the game server may be configured to stream the
game outcome content to the television channel allocated to the
television over Internet Protocol (IP). A random number generator
(RNG) may be coupled to the game server. A plurality of game
servers may be provided, and each of the plurality of game servers
may be coupled to a different random number generator.
Alternatively, the plurality of game servers may be coupled to the
same random number generator. The game server may include an
inbound processing module configured to receive the player-inputted
command over the first communication channel, an outcome
determination module to determine an outcome of a game, a content
rendering module to generate and render content according to the
determined outcome of the game and an outbound video streaming
module to stream the rendered content to the television over the
second communication channel. The first and/or second communication
channels may include a wired and/or a wireless computer network.
The computer network may be encrypted.
[0016] The gaming server may be remotely located from the
hospitality industry establishment. The first communication channel
may be established between the game server and a telecom satellite,
and the second communication channel may be established between the
game server and a TV satellite. A first communication dish may be
provided to send and receive telephony data between the game server
and the telecom satellite and a second communication dish for the
game server to send TV content to the TV satellite. A third
communication dish may be provided to send and receive telephony
data between the player telephony device and the telecom satellite
and a fourth communication dish may be provided for the player TV
to receive TV content from the TV satellite. For example, the
hospitality industry establishment may be a cruise ship.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in
which a television and a personal play action controller are
combined to enable a hospitality industry operator to create an
"in-room gaming TV" that allows guests to communicate and
wager.
[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention,
reduced to its simplest form in which the personal play action
controller is or includes a standard telephone. FIG. 2 also
illustrates an exemplary mode of operation of this embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates additional embodiments of the present
invention that include various types of TV reception and various
types of personal play action controllers.
[0020] FIG. 4 illustrates further aspects of embodiments of the
present invention in which a personal play action controller may
communicate (uplink) with a central game server and in which the
central game server may communicate (downlink) with the television
via streamed video. In this embodiment, the personal play action
controller may not communicate directly with the television.
[0021] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in
which each in-room gaming TV may communicate with its own dedicated
PC at and/or coupled to the central game server.
[0022] FIG. 6 illustrates FIG. 6 illustrates embodiments of the
present invention in which the game server is located on land and
in which the communications to and from the central game server are
carried out via satellite.
[0023] FIG. 7 illustrates further aspects of embodiments of the
present invention in which players may elect to make their picture
and/or username available to other players to stimulate competition
and create relationships.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Reference will now be made in detail to the construction and
operation of preferred implementations of the present invention
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description
of the preferred implementations of the present invention is only
exemplary of the invention. The present invention is not limited to
these implementations, but may be realized by other
implementations.
[0025] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in
which a television 102, 110 and a personal play action controller
104,112 are combined to enable a hospitality industry operator to
create an "in-room gaming TV" 106, 114 respectively. The in-room
gaming TVs 106, 114 allow guests to communicate and wager (against
a central game server 108 and/or against one another). in-room
gaming TVs 106 may communicate with the game server 108 maintained
by the hospitality premises operator. The central game server 108
may be collocated in the guest facility (e.g., hotel, cruise ship
and the like) or may alternatively be disposed at a remote
location. It should be noted that embodiments of the present
invention enable in-room gaming with only a minimum of setup
expenses. This is because, in its simplest embodiment, the present
invention utilizes the equipment that is already almost universally
available in guest rooms; that is, a standard television and a
telephone. In this embodiment, no computer hardware is necessary in
the guest rooms, nor is there software to develop or maintain for
any in-room device. Little or no additional hardware and/or cabling
may be necessary in the guest rooms. Moreover, as detailed below,
the central game server may be configured using standard, off-the
shelf personal computers or rack-mounted servers. Consequently,
this embodiment may be rapidly deployed across a large number of
guest rooms at a non-prohibitive cost.
[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an in-room gaming TV 202
in which a standard (e.g., touchtone) telephone 204 is used with a
standard television (digital or analog, CRT, LCD TV, LDC
projection, DLP projection or Plasma, standard or High-Definition,
NTSC, PAL or SECAM, for example) 206 to enable players to make
wagers. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, players interact with a game
displayed on the television 206 and may make wagers using the
keypad of the standard touchtone telephone 204. Keycodes may then
be decoded by a tone decoder 206 and forwarded to the central game
server 208, which interprets the player's actions and determines
the correct game outcome. The tone decoder 206 may communicate with
the game server 208 via a serial connection such as an RS232 link
for example, as the data rates upstream to the game server are
likely quite low. Alternatively, the tone decoder 206 may
communicate with the game server 208 via a USB connection, for
example. The video rendering of the determined outcome of the game
may then streamed to the television 206 via a TV channel allocated
to the player's room. This may be carried out via a standard video
encoder and television channel mixer 210, for example. In this
manner, the uplink and downstream communication channels may be
different from one another and rely, at least for the upstream
communication channel (i.e., from the in-room gaming television 202
to the game server 208) upon the existing telephone and/or data
lines already deployed in the guest rooms.
[0027] FIG. 3 illustrates other aspects of embodiments of the
present invention. The television 302 may utilize most any
available TV channel reception methods. For example, as shown in
FIG. 3, the television 302 may utilize an aerial antenna to receive
the video stream and other relevant gaming data from the gaming
server. Alternatively, the television 302 may be configured to
receive the TV channel enabling the guest to place wagers via a
satellite dish, cable, ADSL and/or Internet Streaming, to name but
a few possibilities. Similarly, the personal play action controller
304 may be embodied as a standard telephone (wired or wireless),
wireless phone, mobile phone, PDA 310 and/or other PC (e.g., a
laptop computer) or palm-sized device (optionally outfitted with
card reader), as shown at 308. The personal play action controller
may be provided by the game operator or may be the property of the
player. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
personal play action controller 304 (however embodied) need not
communicate with the television, TV decoder and/or any set top box
that may be present. Indeed, the personal play action controller
304 need only communicate with the central game server 208, via a
telephone line, telephone modem, Ethernet or WiFi (for example).
Payment on the wagers placed by players of present in-room gaming
systems may be by credit card or player card that may be read via a
standard secure handheld credit card processor (whether wired to
base or wireless) that is configured to communicate with an
authorization server. An example of such a handheld credit card
processor that operates via the guest room's telephone link is
shown specifically at reference numeral 308. Player interaction may
be carried out via the credit card processor's keypad, whether a
standard or a modified keypad.
[0028] FIG. 4 illustrates further aspects of embodiments of the
present invention. According to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the
personal play action controller 404 may communicate with the
central game server 408, where game processing and rendering may
occur. As shown, the player interaction, keyed into the player's
personal play action controller 404, may be processed in an inbound
information processing module 416. The keypad of the play action
controller (play action controller which may be based on a standard
wired/wireless telephone, handheld computer controller with data
modem, or a credit card processor) may be custom designed to more
closely resemble the usual play buttons found on a standard casino
slot machine. Thereafter, an outcome of the game currently played
by the player may be determined in an outcome determination module
414 according to, for example, a Random Number Generator (RNG) and
one or more predetermined paytables. Suitable graphics, sounds
and/or video sequences may then be generated and rendered in the
video rendering module 412 and streamed or otherwise sent or
provided to the television 402 or other display in the player's
room via the outbound video module 410 of the central game server
408. Once a game outcome is determined by the central game server,
streaming video may be transmitted to the television 402 on which
the player is playing.
[0029] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present in-room
gaming methods and systems in which each in-room gaming TV in the
rooms may communicate with its own dedicated PC at the central game
server 502. A player database 506 may be maintained for storing
player photographs and/or biographical information that players may
elect to make available to other players. The player database 506
may also include specifics of the player's payment instruments
(e.g., credit cards, etc.). The central game server 502 may include
one or more RNGs. For example, each of the constituent PCs of the
game server 502 may be provided with its own hardware RNG.
Alternatively, each of the constituent PCs of the game server 502
may be coupled to a single RNG. Note that FIG. 5 is but one
possible embodiment of the game server 502. For example, the game
server 502 need not be constituted by individual PCs. FIG. 5,
however, illustrates the trend in server hardware to increase the
processing power per square foot of floor space. As shown, computer
cabinets are available in multiples of the standardized "U" size
and 42 U high cabinets (as shown) are commonly used for computer
servers. 1 U-size "pizza box like" servers are very popular with
Internet service providers, which form factor allows 42 computer
servers to be stacked on top of one another in a 42 U size cabinet,
as shown. Already, computer suppliers are packing twice and even
4-times this density, whereby 2 and 4 computer servers are
integrated in a 1 U rack, thus offering 84 and 168 computer servers
112 per 42 U cabinet, as shown at reference numerals 1504 and 1506,
respectively. Therefore, it is becoming a relatively
straightforward matter to provide high density processing, enabling
the game server to provide a server for each guest room, if that is
deemed worthwhile and cost effective.
[0030] An alternative to the 1 U pizza size form factor servers is
the "blade" size factor whereby a complete server may be integrated
on a narrow board or blade. One presently proposed configuration
allows 9 or 10 blade servers to be logged into a 3 U size rack,
which may, in turn, be stacked onto one another. The complete
server fits on a small board that may be very easily accessed for
replacement or upgrade. Higher density dense servers are being
developed that make use of very low power processing components
such as fitted in laptops and hand held PCs, to help resolve heat
dissipation problems. It is to be noted that each of the servers
discussed above may include a complete computer with CPU, memory,
disk, network interface, and optionally full graphics.
[0031] According to one embodiment of the present invention, each
of the PCs shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to a central game server and
may be associated with and connected to a remotely located personal
play action controller. Each of the PCs shown in FIG. 5 may
optionally be configured for multimedia graphics, generating 3D
video and data streams encoded in a manner that is suitable for
transmission to the televisions or other displays, decoded and
displayed for the players' enjoyment. In this manner, the central
game server 502 may be constructed of an array of inexpensive
servers, such as off the shelf PCs. Indeed, according to another
embodiment of the present invention, the video stream shown to the
player may be generated (in MPEG4 format, for example) and streamed
to the gaming machine over a broadband connection.
[0032] A high-speed network may be provided to bring the video
signal to the television (or other display device) within the guest
rooms which then may not require anything more than their own video
receiver. Suitable means of transmitting such a video signal to the
guest rooms may include, for example, cable or wireless TV, HDTV or
digital TV broadcast whereby each television or other display may
be tuned to receive or able to receive a separate predetermined
frequency corresponding to the image to be displayed to the player,
high quality video streaming such as MPEG2, MPEG4, or other
emerging digital video standards via Fast Ethernet such as 100
Mbps, 1000 Mbps and upcoming higher bandwidth protocols, a fiber
optic network, a wireless network such as IEEE 802.11b (11 Mbps),
802.11a (54 & 72 Mbps @ 5 GHz), 802.11g (54 Mbps @ 2.4 GHz) and
upcoming higher bandwidth protocols. It is to be noted that the
means of video transmission and reception listed above, whether
based on TV technology or media streaming technology, are already
fairly economical and it is believed that the associated costs will
continue to decrease rapidly.
[0033] According to an embodiment of the present invention, high
quality graphics and video may be provided to the guest rooms if
generated by an individual server (e.g., PC, as shown in FIG. 5) at
the central game server 502. The generated video signal may then be
transmitted to the guest room to be displayed on the in-room
television or other in-room display. In this manner, there is
considerable power to generate very advanced and attractive
graphics for the player. Real-time translation to video streaming
such as MPEG2 or MPEG4 may require hardware acceleration that may
be carried out by a separate dedicated integrated circuit or
alternatively may be directly integrated within the graphic
processing unit of the server associated with the guest room (or
range of guest rooms, as a one-to-one correspondence between guest
rooms and PCs within the game server may not be necessary). The
assignment of a PC or other processor within the game server 502 to
a guest room may be made dynamically, as the players log onto the
network to begin game play. In this manner, the individual PCs
within the central game server may effectively operate as a pool of
available processor resources, to be assigned and used dynamically,
as the game play traffic requires.
[0034] According to further embodiments of the present invention,
set top boxes provided within each of the guest rooms may rather
inexpensively enhance the panoply of services available to the
guest and enable a rich gaming experience. Devices to receive high
quality video information from the central game server 502, decode
it and display it on a TV screen or a video display monitor are
readily available. These devices use advanced electronic components
developed for the latest generation Internet ready set top boxes
and interactive TV systems. For example, such devices may be drawn
from the devices and systems disclosed in commonly assigned and
co-pending patent application Ser. No. 09/932,282 filed on Aug. 17,
2001 and entitled "Interactive Television Devices And Systems," the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates embodiments of the present invention in
which the central game server is located on land (alternatively may
be located on another ship) and in which the communications to and
from the game server are carried out via satellite. As shown, the
various in-room gaming TVs aboard the cruise ship may send the
player interaction data via a suitable antenna 604 to an orbiting
geostationary telecom satellite (for example), as shown at 610.
Such interaction data may be in the form of telephone data. The
telecom satellite 610 may then relay the received telephone data to
a (land-based, for example) receiving antenna 612, which may be
coupled to a central game server 614. In turn, the central game
server 614 may determine the outcome of the game, any payout
information, and generate and render suitable graphics and video to
be sent back to the player having caused the interaction data to be
sent to the telecom satellite 610. The rendered graphics may then
be transmitted, via a suitable antenna 608, to an orbiting or
geostationary television satellite 606 which may then relay the
received graphics and/or video stream to a suitable receiving
antenna 602 on the cruise ship for transmission to the player's
In-Room TV. Therefore, it is understood that the upstream
communication channel (i.e., from the personal play action
controller to the central game server 614 may be different than the
downstream communication channel from the central game server 614
to the In-Room TV. Alternatively, embodiments of the present
invention may be implemented wherein the upstream and downstream
communication channels are one and the same. In addition, one or
both of the communication channels may include the Internet.
[0036] FIG. 7 illustrates a feature of an embodiment of the present
in-room gaming methods and systems in which the players may elect
to make their photograph (or other avatar) and/or username
available to gamers in other rooms to stimulate competition and
create relationships. This feature may be selectively turned on or
off by the players, as desired. Photographs may come from the
player database or any other means of capturing a player's
picture.
[0037] The central game server may also be linked to standard slot
machines located on-board the cruise-ship or in the remote hotel
premises.
[0038] While the foregoing detailed description has described
preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be
understood that the above description is illustrative only and not
limiting of the disclosed invention. Those of skill in this art
will recognize other alternative embodiments and all such
embodiments are deemed to fall within the scope of the present
invention. Thus, the present invention should be limited only by
the claims as set forth below.
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