[0001] 1. Field of Invention
[0002] This invention relates generally to gaming machines and particularly to jackpot awards for a network of gaming machines.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine.
[0005] It is known to provide a system of interconnected gaming machines where a percentage of the wagers are accumulated in a single jackpot. A central display or a display on each machine is provided so as to display a potentially very large jackpot in an attempt to motivate players to play the gaming machines within the network. A percentage of each bet placed at each of the interconnected machines is added to the jackpot.
[0006] Once a jackpot is awarded, the jackpot amount becomes small and must be built up again over time by players playing the interconnected gaming machines. During the time when the jackpot is small, the gaming machines are not as appealing to players. Accordingly, a new gaming network is desirable where the jackpot fills quickly so as to hold players' interest.
[0007] A gaming method and system are described where a visible jackpot and an invisible jackpot are accumulated for a plurality of gaming machines connected in a network. The visible jackpot is paid when one of the gaming machines in the plurality meets certain criteria. The certain criteria may be, for example, when an amount in the visible jackpot reaches a certain level, when an amount in the invisible jackpot reaches a certain level, a number of plays of the gaming machines in the network, or a predetermined combination of symbols obtained by one of the gaming machines. After the visible jackpot is paid, the visible jackpot is partially replenished from the invisible jackpot. The amount in the visible jackpot may be displayed either on a display common to multiple gaming machines in the network or on each gaming machine in the network. The visible and invisible jackpots may be accumulated by increasing the amount in each of the visible jackpot and the invisible jackpot by a percentage of each amount wagered on the gaming machines in the network. In some embodiments, the invisible jackpot accumulates faster than the visible jackpot.
[0008] Since the visible jackpot is replenished by the invisible jackpot, the visible jackpot may be filled more quickly than a conventional jackpot that is increased only by players playing the gaming machines in the network. Multiple visible jackpots may be paid over a short period of time, increasing the appeal of the gaming machines in the network.
[0009]
[0010]
[0011]
[0012]
[0013] Jackpot display
[0014]
[0015] Stereo speakers
[0016] Border lights
[0017] A coin slot
[0018] A display
[0019] A coin tray
[0020] A card reader slot
[0021] A keypad
[0022] Player control buttons
[0023] A button
[0024] A lock
[0025] Electrical switches
[0026]
[0027] Returning to
[0028] In some embodiments of the invention, all or a portion of every credit played by players playing the gaming machines in the network is split between multiple jackpots, at least one visible to the players and at least one invisible to the players. For example, a network of gaming machines may have two visible jackpots and two invisible jackpots, or one visible jackpot and four invisible jackpots. The fraction of each credit given to the visible and invisible jackpots may, but need not, be the same. Similarly, if a network has multiple visible or invisible jackpots, the fraction of each credit given to each of the same type of jackpot may, but need not, be the same. The case of a single visible jackpot and a single invisible jackpot is considered in detail. Usually, a larger fraction, for example double the fraction given to the visible jackpot, is given to the invisible jackpot, such that the invisible jackpot fills faster. For example, if 10% total of each credit is used to fill the jackpots, 3% may be directed to the visible jackpot and 7% may be directed to the invisible jackpot. The visible jackpot is displayed on display
[0029] The visible jackpot is paid when a predetermined condition for paying the jackpot has been met, such as when a randomly selected number of plays on the networked gaming machines are made, when a predetermined symbol combination is achieved in display
[0030] Rather than returning to a small or zero starting value, the visible jackpot is funded from the invisible jackpot. The amount transferred from the invisible to the visible jackpot may depend on how many credits have accumulated in the invisible jackpot. Each time the visible jackpot is funded from the invisible jackpot, the condition for paying the visible jackpot may be changed. For example, if the visible jackpot is paid when a certain value is reached in the visible jackpot, the trigger value may be recalculated by the central server
[0031] Since the visible jackpot is funded by an invisible jackpot, which usually fills faster than the visible jackpot, it does not take a lot of play for the visible jackpot to be replenished, such that multiple visible jackpots may be awarded in a small amount of time. Awarding multiple jackpots in a short amount of time increases the appeal of the gaming machines in the network.
[0032] When the invisible jackpot reaches a predetermined value, a series of visible jackpot awards may be paid, meaning that after a visible jackpot has been paid, the next visible jackpot is paid immediately after the next game has ended. The visible jackpots in the series may be paid to a single player or different players. The number of visible jackpots paid in the series may be randomly selected or may depend on how many credits are in the invisible jackpot.
[0033] The visible jackpot is funded with 3% of each credit bet on the networked gaming machines, and the invisible jackpot is funded with 7% of each credit bet. The starting value of the visible jackpot is set to 200 credits. The initial visible jackpot is paid to the player whose bet causes the visible jackpot to exceed 1000 credits. The amount transferred from the invisible jackpot to the visible jackpot is selected, then a new trigger value in the visible jackpot is calculated.
[0034] The amount transferred from the invisible jackpot to the visible jackpot by the central server
[0035] The new visible jackpot trigger value may be calculated as follows. If the new visible jackpot exceeds 950 credits, the new trigger value is 1000 credits. If the new visible jackpot is less than 950 credits, one of two values is randomly selected, each having a 50% probability of being selected. The first value is a randomly selected number between the visible jackpot amount and ((950−visible jackpot amount)/3)+visible jackpot amount. The second value is a randomly selected number between the visible jackpot amount and 950.
[0036] In one embodiment, regardless of the trigger value, the visible jackpot is awarded when the trigger value is reached only if the invisible jackpot contains at least 200 credits. Also regardless of the trigger value, the visible jackpot may be awarded when the visible jackpot reaches a maximum value (such as 1000 credits), or when the invisible jackpot reaches a maximum value (such as 6000 credits).
[0037] A series of jackpot wins is triggered when the invisible jackpot exceeds 3000 credits. The number of visible jackpots to be paid in the series is randomly selected based on the following probabilities:
10% Pay no additional jackpots 54% Pay 1 additional jackpot 18% Pay 2 additional jackpots 12% Pay 3 additional jackpots 6% Pay 4 additional jackpots
[0038] Having described the invention in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that, given the present disclosure, modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept described herein. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiments illustrated and described.