Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a chance application
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-23
2001-01-30
Sager, Mark A (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a chance application
C273S138200, C273S309000, C273S293000, C463S012000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179710
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an auxiliary incentive game which is played simultaneously with a primary casino table game such as blackjack, and more particularly to a new and improved electronic system for displaying and controlling each player's progress within the auxiliary game and for randomly awarding prizes to each player who wins the auxiliary game.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Casino table games such as craps, roulette, poker, blackjack or other card games are highly profitable to casinos, particularly because the odds associated with such gambling games favor the casino. In order to maximize the profit generated by each table, it is desirable to not only attract a large number of players to the table but to also keep the players playing at the table for an extended period of time. In essence, while a player may occasionally stop at a table to place several wagers, a casino is most likely to make a profit from a player who stays at a single table over the course of several hours because it is unlikely that such a player will be able to “beat the odds” over the long run.
Thus, casinos often add extra incentives (e.g., complimentary food and beverages) to keep players at the gaming tables for extended periods of time. However, since all casinos typically offer the same extra incentives, it is not uncommon for players to “try their luck” at a number of different tables or even at a number of different casinos within a single gambling session. For example, if a player is losing money at a particular table (e.g., a blackjack table), or if the player feels that a particular table (or a particular dealer) is unlucky, that player may leave the table and, in some instances, may leave the casino altogether to gamble elsewhere. Of course, during the time that the player is surveying different tables or different casinos, that player is not gambling and the casino is not profiting from that player.
Thus, casinos not only have an interest in attracting players to their table games, they also have an interest in keeping a player at his or her seat for as long as possible. In addition to complimentary items such as beverages, which may help to keep gamblers in the casino but will not necessarily promote continuous wagering at a specific table, casinos may wish to provide an extra incentive to players who play for extended periods of time at a single table. Such an added incentive may be an auxiliary incentive game which is played simultaneously with the primary game, while not interfering with the primary game.
The auxiliary game preferably offers its own set of prizes separate from any rewards or losses which the player may experience within the primary game. Additionally, the auxiliary game preferably rewards all players who remain at the table, regardless of whether the players are winning or losing at the primary game. The auxiliary game simply provides players with an opportunity for additional rewards if the player remains at the table for a sufficient amount of time to complete or “win” the auxiliary game. However, the pace of the auxiliary game is preferably much slower than the pace of the primary game so that a player must continue to play the primary game for a number of hours without interruption before being afforded an opportunity to complete or win the auxiliary game. In this manner, the auxiliary game serves its purpose of keeping players at the gaming table for long periods, even if the player may be losing money at the primary table game.
An auxiliary prize gaming system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,800 to Huard et al., the specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In Huard et al., the auxiliary prize game includes random selection means for selecting at random the prize amount to be awarded, for selecting at random the matching gaming symbols or for randomly selecting a player position. The auxiliary prize may be awarded based on a player's fulfilling of one or more eligibility conditions, such as matching and player position selection.
Another example of such an auxiliary game which is played simultaneously with blackjack as the primary game is Ten Stix 21™. Ten Stix 21™ is played in the same format as blackjack where all players attempt to beat the dealer's hand without going over 21. The primary difference between Ten Stix 21™ and standard blackjack is that a bonus card is substituted for one card in each deck of cards. “Bonus points” may be awarded for each of the bonus cards collected by the players during the course of multiple consecutive blackjack hands. Once a player has collected a predetermined number of bonus points, the player is awarded a prize by the casino as a bonus gift. This bonus prize thus provides the added incentive for players to stay at the blackjack table, regardless of whether the player is winning or losing while playing blackjack.
The bonus cards used within Ten Stix 21™ preferably replace the ten of clubs within each card deck so that, for example, a six-deck shoe of cards would contain six bonus cards but no ten of clubs. During the normal course of a blackjack hand, each bonus card carries the value of ten and can be utilized by both a player or the dealer as a ten. However, the players have the option of either keeping the bonus card and playing it as a ten or trading the bonus card into the dealer for the next card out of the shoe. If the player opts to trade in the bonus card, the player receives a bonus point toward completion of the auxiliary game. However, the bonus point does not impact the player's current blackjack hand. Rather, upon trading in the bonus card and receiving a replacement card from the dealer, the blackjack hand continue in a normal manner. On the other hand, if the player opts to keep the bonus card, play continues normally with the bonus card being assigned a value of ten points within the player's hand.
To prevent a player who receives the bonus card from gaining an unfair advantage over other players during the course of the blackjack hand, a player will not be allowed to trade in the bonus card if the bonus card “busts” the player's hand (i.e., if the bonus card's ten-point value would cause the player's hand to exceed twenty-one points). Thus, in those instances, the bonus card will automatically be accorded its ten-point value and the player will not receive a bonus point for being dealt the bonus card. Additionally, the dealer does not have the option to trade in a bonus card, and thus a bonus card dealt to the dealer will count the same as a ten card.
To complete or win the auxiliary incentive game within Ten Stix 21™, a player must accumulate ten bonus points at one sitting at the same table. In essence, a player starts with zero points when he or she first sits down at a Ten Stix 21™ table and receives a single bonus point for each bonus card traded in to the dealer. When the player trades in a tenth bonus card, the player completes or wind the auxiliary game and is awarded the prize by the casino.
However, the bonus points accumulated by a player over the course of a number of blackjack hands may not be carried away by the player to another table nor may the player save or carry over accumulated bonus points for use in subsequent sessions at the same table. Additionally, a first player's bonus points may not be transferred to another player at the table or carried over to a subsequent player who takes the first player's spot at the table. In this manner, a player is encouraged to stay at the blackjack table for extended periods of time until the player has accumulated the ten bonus points required to win the auxiliary game and thus the casino prize. In particular, the Ten Stix 21™ version of blackjack tends to increase the duration of a player's stay at the blackjack table because the player's determination to win the bonus prize will typically increase as he or she continues to accumulate bonus points. In fact, a player may continue to play Ten Stix 21™ for hours after he or she would normally
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Cranford Tony A.
Huard Marcel
Sawyer Thomas E.
B.C.D. Mechanique LTEE
Sager Mark A
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