Abstract: A method and apparatus for dispensing prizes in a gaming environment which does not require the operator of the gaming environment to maintain a large inventory of such prizes is disclosed. In general, the purchases or sale of prizes are not carried out until the prize award process to a player is carried out.

Abstract: A controller for controlling the intensity of an electroluminescent display is disclosed. The controller controls a number of skipped cycles in a cycle set of an applied waveform to the electroluminescent display to vary the average duty cycle, and thereby adjust the intensity of the electroluminescent display. The controller is further configured to adjust the intensity of individual channels within the electroluminescent display to provide compensation for display aging, color variation, as well as for varying intensity for various operating modes.

Abstract: A gaming apparatus and method first determines an outcome, and then maps that outcome to a symbol which is displayed to a player. In general, for each possible outcome, there may be a plurality of possible symbols, and the system selects a symbol by a random selection technique. The method can be practiced both for lottery-type games and non-lottery games. In the case of lotteries, the system determines the outcome by selecting a game set element from a finite pool, each game set element being associated with a particular value. The system then maps the game set element to an appropriate symbol to be displayed to the player. In another embodiment, the system can be programmed to allow the results of the game to be affected by the skill of the player. If the player plays optimally, the system can award the maximum possible value. If the player plays in a sub-optimal manner, the system can award an amount which is less than or equal to the maximum.