Game business method and device

United States Patent Application 20020163124

A sales-inducement business method which preferably uses a roulette wheel provided by merchants for their customers to play for having charges paid by the customers for goods and services refunded by the merchant if the customers win the game. Described as preferred games are miniature roulette games having horizontal roulette wheels 13 rotatable in horizontal roulette tables 14 and optionally vertical roulette wheels 21 rotatable in vertical roulette tables 22.

Weigl, Adolf (Englewood, FL, US)

09/846542

11/07/2002

05/02/2001

Click for automatic bibliography generation

WEIGL ADOLF

273/142R

G06Q30/02; A63F5/04; (IPC1-7): A63F5/04

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MENDIRATTA, VISHU K

Merrill N. Johnson (Naples, FL, US)

What is claimed is:

1. A game business method comprised of the following steps: a merchant selling goods or services to a customer; the customer paying the merchant a bill for the goods or services; the merchant communicating to the customer an offer to refund the bill if the customer plays and wins a game provided by the merchant; the customer deciding whether to accept or to decline the offer; the customer accepting the offer; and the customer playing the game either winning or losing the refund of the bill.

2. The game business method of claim 1 wherein: the customer wins the game; and the merchant refunds the bill to the customer.

3. The game business method of claim 1 wherein: the customer loses the game; and the merchant does not refund the bill to the customer.

4. The game business method of claim 1 wherein: the customer declines to accept the offer; the customer does not play the game; and the merchant does not refund the bill to the customer.

5. The game business method of claim 1 wherein: the game is roulette.

6. The game business method of claim 1 wherein: the game is a miniature-roulette game having 37 or more ball depressions numbered zero-to-36 or more and articulated to receive a roulette ball proximate an outside perimeter of a horizontal roulette wheel that is rotational proximate a center of a horizontal roulette table having a ball rail that is circumferential concentrically inward from the perimeter of the roulette table at a predetermined distance radially from the outside perimeter of the roulette wheel; and the horizontal roulette table is tapered predeterminedly downward centrally towards the roulette wheel and the ball depressions in the roulette wheel.

7. The game business method of claim 6 wherein the miniature-roulette game is played by: choosing a number of the numbered ball depressions into which the roulette ball will come to rest after the horizontal roulette wheel stops rotating; rotating the roulette ball within the ball rail circumferentially and rotating the horizontal roulette wheel on the horizontal roulette table simultaneously; waiting for the horizontal roulette wheel to stop rotating and for the roulette ball to come to rest in one of the ball depressions; winning the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball comes to rest in the ball depression that is chosen by the player and losing the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball does not come to rest in the ball depression that is chosen by the player.

8. The game business method of claim 7 wherein: the horizontal roulette wheel and the roulette ball are rotated simultaneously by placing the roulette ball in one of the ball depressions and rotating the horizontal roulette wheel sufficiently fast to hurl the roulette ball outward radially and circumferentially while speed of rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel slows gradually.

9. The game business method of claim 7 wherein: the roulette ball is rotated with a ball ejector separately from rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel.

10. The game business method of claim 1 wherein: the game is a miniature-roulette game having 37 or more sleeve ball depressions numbered zero-to-36 or more in a horizontal sleeve in which the sleeve ball depressions are articulated to receive the roulette ball proximate a perimeter of a vertical roulette wheel that is rotational proximate a center of a vertical roulette table; the horizontal sleeve being circumferential concentrically proximate the perimeter of the roulette wheel; and the sleeve ball depressions are articulated to allow the roulette ball to come to rest in a bottommost sleeve ball depression when the vertical roulette wheel stops rotating.

11. The game business method of claim 10 wherein: the roulette ball is a ball made of wood, plastic or metal; and the roulette ball and the vertical roulette wheel are rotated simultaneously by rotating the vertical roulette wheel with the roulette ball initially in any of the sleeve ball depressions and tumbling circumferentially until the vertical roulette wheel stops rotating and the roulette ball comes to rest in the bottommost sleeve ball depression.

12. The game business method of claim 10 wherein the miniature-roulette game is played by: choosing a number of the numbered ball depressions into which the roulette ball will come to rest after the vertical roulette wheel stops rotating; rotating the roulette ball within the horizontal sleeve circumferentially and rotating the vertical roulette wheel on the vertical roulette table simultaneously; waiting for the vertical roulette wheel to stop rotating and for the roulette ball to come to rest in one of the sleeve ball depressions; winning the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball comes to rest in the sleeve ball depression that is chosen by the player; and losing the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball does not come to rest in the sleeve ball depression that is chosen by the player.

13. A miniature roulette game comprising: a horizontal roulette wheel that is rotatable centrally on a horizontal roulette table; the horizontal roulette wheel having 37 or more ball depressions placed circumferentially proximate an outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel; the ball depressions being articulated to contain a bottom portion of a roulette ball sufficiently to allow the roulette ball contained in a ball depression to be hurled radially from the ball depression by rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel at a predetermined speed of rotation; the horizontal roulette table having a ball rail with a circumferential inside periphery having a height to prevent radial escape of the roulette ball that is hurled from the ball depression of the horizontal roulette wheel by rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel; the horizontal roulette table being tapered predeterminedly downward and inward to proximate the outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel; the horizontal roulette wheel being tapered predeterminedly downward and outward from a central position on the horizontal roulette wheel to proximate the ball depressions; the horizontal roulette wheel being tapered predeterminedly downward and inward from the outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel to the ball depressions; the horizontal roulette wheel being arched circumferentially intermediate the ball depressions; and a wheel rotator with which the horizontal roulette wheel is rotatable.

14. The miniature roulette game of claim 13 wherein: the wheel rotator is a rotator handle on a central shaft extended upward vertically from a center of the horizontal roulette wheel.

15. The miniature roulette game of claim 13 wherein: the horizontal roulette table has a diameter that is approximately twelve-to-forty times a diameter of the roulette ball.

16. The miniature roulette game of claim 13 wherein: the horizontal roulette wheel has a diameter that is approximately fifteen to twenty times a diameter of the roulette ball.

17. The miniature roulette game of claim 13 and further comprising: a slot-machine ball ejector having an ejector axis tangential to an inside periphery of the ball rail.

18. A miniature roulette game comprising: a vertical roulette wheel that is rotational on a horizontal axis proximate a center of a vertical roulette table; the vertical roulette wheel having eleven or more sleeve ball depressions in an inside periphery of a horizontal sleeve that is extended horizontally forward from the vertical roulette wheel; the sleeve ball depressions being articulated to allow the roulette ball to come to rest in a bottommost sleeve ball depression when the vertical wheel is not rotating; a transparent window on a front end of the horizontal sleeve; and a wheel rotator with which the vertical roulette wheel is rotatable.

19. The miniature roulette game of claim 18 and further comprising: a roulette ball positioned intermediate the vertical roulette wheel and the transparent window for being allowed to tumble circumferentially in the horizontal sleeve when the vertical roulette wheel is rotated and to rest in the bottommost sleeve ball depression when the vertical wheel stops after being rotated.

20. The miniature roulette game of claim 18 wherein: the roulette ball of wood, plastic or metal..

21. A game played by a person with no chance of loss of money and the chance of winning money including games played with darts and with dice.

22. A game according to claim 1 which uses the handle of a slot machine to spin a ball and the machine is programed to permit the player before pulling the handle to put into the machine his wining number or symbols and if the ball comes to rest on the winning number or chosen symbols, the machine will spit out a token which the house will convert into cash or a voucher for the player's next visit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] My invention relates to games and more particularly to a sales-inducement business method provided by merchants for their customers to play for having charges paid by the customers for goods and services refunded by the merchant if the customers win the game.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Most people like to gamble, even though a night of gambling usually ends by the gambler losing money, especially if the gambling is done in a professional gambling casino. People who like to gamble look for a way to gamble without losing money, but to date there is no such thing on the market.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] My invention is a play-free game that is played at a cashier's counter in any commercial establishment such as a restaurant, motel or gasoline station where a person pays by cash or credit card for their meal, lodging or gasoline. Sitting on the cashier's counter is a miniature roulette wheel that is preferably mounted on an attractive teak frame about twelve inches in diameter.

[0004] The roulette wheel has a ball and 38 spherical depressions numbered 1 to 36+0+00 into one of which a spinning ball rests at the end of the game.

[0005] The game begins by the cashier's asking a customer who has paid for their goods or services if they would like to play a game that costs nothing, but if they win, the full amount of the charges they just paid except tax and tips would be refunded.

[0006] If the customer wants to play, as they usually do for a no-loss game, the customer calls out a number from 0-to -36 and vigorously turns the roulette wheel to spin the ball around a circular track until the ball slows and finally comes to rest in one of the 37 depressions. If the ball rests in the numbered depression called out by the customer, the customer is paid back in cash the amount of their bill less tax and tips or a voucher for the next visit. If the ball rests in any other depression, the customer loses, but it has cost him nothing to play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0007] This invention is described by appended claims in relation to description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the following drawings which are explained briefly as follows:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the game business method:

[0009] FIG. 2 is a top view of a horizontal miniature roulette wheel for the gambling game;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 2 illustration;

[0011] FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of a vertical miniature roulette wheel;

[0012] FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 4 illustration; and

[0013] FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 2 illustration with a slot-machine ball ejector.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014] Listed numerically below with reference to the drawings are terms used to describe features of this invention. These terms and numbers assigned to them designate the same features throughout this description.

[0015] 1. Sale to customer

[0016] 2. Customer pays bill

[0017] 3. Merchant offers play

[0018] 4. Customer accepts

[0019] 5. Customer plays

[0020] 6. Customer wins

[0021] 7. Merchant refunds bill

[0022] 8. Customer loses

[0023] 9. No refund

[0024] 10. Merchant gains

[0025] 11. Customer declines

[0026] 12. No game

[0027] 13. Horizontal roulette wheel

[0028] 14. Horizontal roulette table

[0029] 15. Ball depression

[0030] 16. Roulette ball

[0031] 17. Ball rail

[0032] 18. Rotator handle

[0033] 19. Central shaft

[0034] 20. Ball ejector

[0035] 21. Vertical roulette wheel

[0036] 22. Vertical roulette table

[0037] 23. Sleeve ball depressions

[0038] 24. Horizontal sleeve

[0039] 25. Horizontal axis

[0040] 26. Transparent window

[0041] Referring to FIG. 1, this game business method is started when a merchant makes a sale of goods and/or services to a customer 1, followed by the customer paying the bill as indicated by customer pays bill 2. The merchant then makes an offer for the customer to play a game for refund of the paid bill as indicated by merchant offers play for refund 3. Preferably, the game is an attractive miniature roulette game positioned convenient and obvious to the customer, preferably near a cash register, in order to tempt the customer to play it.

[0042] Usually, the customer accepts 4 and plays the game 5. If the customer wins 6, the merchant refunds the payment of the bill to the customer 7. If the customer losses the game 8, there is no refund 9.

[0043] This is a win-win situation in that the merchant gains customer base with tax-deductible refund and game costs from either win or loss by the customer 10. Even if the customer declines 11 and there is no game 12, the merchant wins public favor and increased customer base for merely making the game available at a low cost which can be passed onto customers with their knowledge, acceptance and appreciation for making the win-win game available.

[0044] Referring to FIGS. 2-3 and 6, the miniature roulette game can have a horizontal roulette wheel 13 that is rotatable centrally on a horizontal roulette table 14 having 37 or more ball depressions 15 placed circumferentially proximate an outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel 13. The ball depressions 15 are articulated to contain a bottom portion of a roulette ball 16 to be hurled radially from the ball depression 15 by rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel 13 at a predetermined speed of rotation.

[0045] The horizontal roulette table 14 is tapered predeterminedly downward and inward to proximate the outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel 13. The horizontal roulette wheel 13 is tapered predeterminedly downward and outward from a central position on the horizontal roulette wheel 13 to proximate the ball depressions 15. The horizontal roulette wheel 13 is also tapered predeterminedly downward and inward from the outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel 13 to the ball depressions 15. The horizontal roulette table 14 has a ball rail 17 with a circumferential inside periphery having a height to prevent radial escape of the roulette ball 16 from being hurled from the ball rail 17 by the speed of the rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel 13. Circumferentially intermediate the ball depressions 15, the horizontal roulette wheel 13 is arched upwardly to prevent resting of the roulette ball 16 between the ball depressions 15. A wheel rotator which can include a rotator handle 18 on a central shaft 19 is provided for rotating the horizontal roulette wheel 13.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 6, the horizontal roulette table 14 can include a slot-machine ball ejector 20 to hurl the roulette ball 16 against the ball rail 17 in addition to or in lieu of rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel 13.

[0047] Referring to FIGS. 4-5, the miniature roulette game can have a vertical roulette wheel 21 that is rotational proximate a center of a vertical roulette table 22. The vertical roulette wheel 21 has eleven or more sleeve ball depressions 23 in an inside periphery of a horizontal sleeve 24 that is concentrically outward radially from a horizontal axis 25 on which the vertical roulette wheel 21 is rotatable on the vertical roulette table 22.

[0048] The sleeve ball depressions 23 are articulated to allow the roulette ball 16 to come to rest in a bottommost sleeve ball depression 23 when the vertical roulette wheel 21 is not rotating.

[0049] A transparent window 26 on a front end of the horizontal sleeve 24 provides visibility of the roulette ball 16 tumbling circumferentially in the horizontal sleeve 24 and coming to rest in a bottommost sleeve ball depression 23 when the vertical roulette wheel 21 is not rotating.

[0050] The roulette ball 16 for the vertical roulette wheel 21 is preferably a ball made of wood, plastic or metal.

[0051] The miniature-roulette game having the horizontal roulette wheel 13 is played by choosing a numbered ball depression 15 into which the roulette ball 16 will come to rest after the horizontal roulette wheel 13 stops rotating or when it is not rotating after only hurling or spinning the roulette ball 16 about the inside periphery of the ball rail 17. In most cases, the horizontal roulette wheel 13 and the roulette ball 16 are rotated simultaneously. After waiting for the roulette ball 16 to come to a rest and it settles in a ball depression 15, the customer wins only if the chosen ball depression is the one in which the roulette ball 16 comes to rest. Otherwise, the customer loses.

[0052] The miniature-roulette game having the vertical roulette wheel 21 is played by making a section of a number of the bottommost sleeve ball depression 23 in which the roulette ball 16 will come to rest after the vertical roulette wheel 21 is rotated and stops. A win results from resting of the roulette ball 16 in the chosen sleeve ball depression 23.

[0053] The miniature roulette games having horizontal roulette wheels 13 and vertical roulette wheels 21 can both be played by merely rotating the respective roulette wheels 13 and 21 because the roulette ball 16 stops automatically in a ball depression 15 or sleeve ball depression 23 from which the roulette ball 16 is removed by rotation of the particular roulette wheel.

[0054] The rotator handle 18 shown in FIGS. 2-6 is optional to an electrical or other mechanical rotator. Either are foreseeable and intended.

[0055] Also intended and foreseeable is placement of the ball depressions 15 either radially inside of the numerals 1-to-36 or more on the horizontal roulette wheel 13 as shown in FIGS. 2-3 and 6 or outside next to its outside perimeter.

[0056] Preferably but not necessarily, the miniature roulette game will have a diameter of about a foot and the roulette balls 16 a size of approximately ½ inch..

[0057] The ball depressions 15 can have a depth of about twenty-five-to-100 percent of a diameter of the roulette balls 16 in order to allow the roulette balls 16 to be hurled from the ball depressions 15 by fast rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel 13. This will be sufficient for some uses, but is not as reliable for achieving desired spin or fast travel of the roulette ball 16 against the ball rail 17 as by use of the ball ejector 20 shown in FIG. 6 or by hand throwing the roulette ball 16 tangentially against the ball rail 17, either of which are intended and foreseeable options.

[0058] A new and useful game business method and device having been described, all such foreseeable modifications, adaptations, substitutions of equivalents, mathematical possibilities of combinations of parts, pluralities of parts, applications and forms thereof as described by the following claims and not precluded by prior art are included in this invention.