Abstract: Disclosed is a system and method for enhanced mobile control of electronic gaming machines and tables. In one aspect, statistical information is provided to a player in convenient and useful formats. Also disclosed are approaches to providing convenient transactions that a player can employ to fund game play.
Abstract: A wagering game machine includes a processor and a wagering game module, executable on the processor, configured to present a wagering game on which monetary value can be wagered to a wagering game player. The machine includes a receiver configured to communicate with a transmitter of a mobile device to receive a mobile payment from the mobile device. The machine includes a bill validator that is communicatively coupled to the receiver. The bill validator configured to receive the mobile payment from the receiver, wherein the bill validator is configured to output a first communication to issue a first wagering game credit for the wagering game machine in response to receipt of a monetary bill, wherein in response to receipt of the mobile payment from the receiver the bill validator is configured to output a second communication to issue a second wagering game credit on the wagering game machine.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
January 31, 2012
Date of Patent:
November 27, 2018
Assignee:
BALLY GAMING, INC.
Inventors:
Peter R. Anderson, Dale R. Buchholz, Mark B. Gagner, Damon E. Gura, Alfred Thomas, Matthew J. Ward
Abstract: Methods of administering wagering games include accepting an ante wager from at least one player to participate in a poker game according to a set of poker game rules and accepting a bonus wager from the at least one player to participate in a bonus game according to a set of bonus game rules. A set of player cards are dealt to the player and to a dealer. The ante wager and the bonus wager are resolved according to the set of poker game rules and the set of bonus game rules, respectively. A dealer payout is paid to at least one of a dealer and a dealer pool when the at least one player receives a winning outcome in the bonus game. The dealer does not make a wager to receive the dealer payout. Games of the present disclosure may be implemented as live card games, multi-player EGM games, on-line games, and live card games with electronic betting interfaces.
Abstract: Disclosed is a complex augmented reality system implementing a mobile device to display complex augmented reality on a display device. A user captures one or more live images from the display device via a camera on the mobile device, which sends the images to a server. The server determines if there are one or more image tags on the display device that are viewable in the live camera images and, if so, uses the one or more image tags to access information used by the augmented reality system to overlay virtual graphics in a position within 3D space on a display of the mobile device to augment the image of the display device with 3D effects to create complex augmented reality.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 20, 2017
Date of Patent:
November 20, 2018
Assignee:
Bally Gaming, Inc.
Inventors:
Martin S. Lyons, Joseph R. Hedrick, Brett Jackson, Roderick Ang
Abstract: A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include establishing a connection with an input device, from a plurality of input devices configured for user input, for use in a wagering game during a wagering game session. The operations can further include receiving input data from the input device, wherein the input data has a first format specific to the input device, and wherein the wagering game requires the input data in a second format different from the first format. The operations can further include converting the input data from the first format to the second format required by the wagering game, and providing the input data to the wagering game in the second format for use as the user input for the wagering game.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 3, 2015
Date of Patent:
November 20, 2018
Assignee:
Bally Gaming, Inc.
Inventors:
Eric V. Erickson, Sean P. Kelly, Jesse M. Smith, Martin R. Ugarte, Jr.
Abstract: A bet sensor for sensing values of gaming tokens may include a bet placement surface configured and oriented to support a stack of gaming tokens thereon and an image sensor located and oriented to capture an image of a lateral side surface of at least one gaming token located on the bet placement surface. The image may depict the lateral side surface in a radial format. The bet sensor may include a processor operably coupled with the image sensor. The processor is configured to acquire image data from the image sensor and determine a wager value of the at least one gaming token by projecting at least one circle onto the image data that corresponds with a transition in the image data associated with the at least one gaming token. A gaming table may include such a bet sensor. The disclosure includes methods of operating such a bet sensor.
Abstract: A side wagering system for table games includes a table controller, a dealer interface and at least one player interface, the at least one player interface including a first wager area and at least one second wager area, which permit a player to place first, second or one or more third supplemental wagers for the opportunity to win corresponding first, second or one or more third awards, such as a first, a second or a third progressive jackpot. The table controllers or multiple tables may be linked to a common award server.
Abstract: Disclosed is a method for enabling an augmented reality interaction system and a mobile device to overlay a virtual 3D component over a physical 3D component with which the virtual 3D component interacts. The method includes: enabling a user to capture a live camera image of a gaming machine cabinet via a camera on the mobile device; producing a virtual rendering of the gaming machine cabinet; determining virtual 3D components to be displayed over an image of a virtual gaming machine cabinet; comparing a virtual depth rendering of the virtual 3D components to a virtual depth rendering of the virtual gaming machine cabinet; and overlaying virtual 3D components without the subtracted elements onto a live camera image of the virtual gaming machine cabinet on a display of the mobile device.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 22, 2017
Date of Patent:
November 20, 2018
Assignee:
Bally Gaming, Inc.
Inventors:
Martin S. Lyons, Brett Jackson, Roderick Ang, Joseph R. Hedrick
Abstract: Automatic card shufflers may include a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for outputting cards from the card shuffler.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 29, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 13, 2018
Assignee:
Bally Gaming, Inc.
Inventors:
James B. Stasson, Robert J. Rynda, Paul K. Scheper, Ronald R. Swanson, Attila Grauzer
Abstract: A ball-launching system mounts to a top rim of a roulette wheel and positions a ball launcher configured to launch a roulette ball into the roulette wheel. The ball-launching system includes an outer jaw and an inner jaw which clamp to the top rim. At least a part of a ball launcher extends into a concave bowl of the roulette wheel and facilitates launching the roulette ball directly into a ball track underneath the top rim within the concave bowl.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 17, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 6, 2018
Assignee:
Bally Gaming, Inc.
Inventors:
Haven A Mercer, Troy D Nelson, James P Helgesen, Jamal H Kotifani, Georg Fekete, James B. Stasson, Ronald R. Swanson
Abstract: A gaming system includes a wagering game mechanism associating the game-outcome symbol of multiple reels of the wagering game to a unified game-symbol outcome. The wagering game generates an outcome symbol array with independent array elements and one or more associated groups of array elements. The associated groups of array elements are visually coordinated while the reels are spinning. Each associated group of array elements share a common game-outcome symbol based upon reels having a common reel strip for the associated group or a particular game-outcome symbol array element of the associated group. When the reels stop spinning and the wagering game outcome is displayed, the elements of a given associated group share an identical game-outcome symbol.
Abstract: A wagering game system configured to perform operations to transmit to a mobile device, via a wireless communication device of the gaming system, an offer for presentation via the mobile device in response to detecting that the mobile device is located at a casino. The offer is associated with a wagering game machine within the casino. The operations can further include detecting, via an electronic tracking device associated with the wagering game machine, an electronic identifier provided from the mobile device. For instance, the mobile device can provide the electronic identifier to the wagering game machine. The operations can further include associating, via an electronic processing unit of the gaming system, the offer with the wagering game machine in response to detecting the electronic identifier.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 4, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 6, 2018
Assignee:
Bally Gaming, Inc.
Inventors:
Jeffrey L. Allen, Scott A. Massing, Brian P. Moyles, Larry J. Pacey, Matthew J. Ward
Abstract: A gaming system includes an electronic input device, an electronic display device, and game-logic circuitry performing at least one regulated casino wagering game. The wagering game employs an array of symbols defining an outcome of the wagering game having a corresponding award granted in response to the outcome meeting one or more winning criterion. When randomly triggered, one or more regions of the outcome are designated and a set of symbols are removed from the array. A region of the array may be determined by position or placement of a feature symbol. The remaining symbols are aggregated into one or more sets of adjacent symbols and empty portions of the array are repopulated with additional symbols to generate an additional outcome having an additional award granted in response to meeting one or more winning criterion. The additional symbols may be chosen using a weighted table and may include symbols not available for the initial outcome.
Abstract: Club cards and tickets can be eliminated by providing an application that allows a player's mobile phone to process an image of an optical machine-readable representation of data. At the end of a wagering session on a WGM, the WGM can display a barcode representing a player's winnings, an achievement, game status, etc. The player takes a picture of the barcode with his or her mobile phone. The application on the phone processes the barcode image and automatically updates an account of the player in accordance with the data represented or carried by the barcode. For instance, the mobile phone sends a request to a wagering account server to electronically deposit the winnings, as represented by the barcode, in a wagering account associated with the player's club profile.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 22, 2017
Date of Patent:
October 30, 2018
Assignee:
BALLY GAMING, INC.
Inventors:
Mark B Gagner, Damon E Gura, Timothy C Loose, James M Rasmussen, Victor T Shi, Alfred Thomas
Abstract: Systems include an automatic card shuffler and a shoe. The automatic card shuffler may include a printing device for applying a randomly selected set symbol on each card of a set of cards. The shoe may include a set symbol reader for reading each card for a presence and identity of a set symbol. A shoe processor may be configured to receive a signal from a shuffler processor indicating the selected set symbol to enable the shoe processor to verify that each card belongs to the set of cards. An automatic card shuffler includes a processor programmed to randomly select a card set symbol and a card-marking system for forming the randomly selected set symbol on cards. Methods include forming a randomly determined set symbol on each card of a set of cards and detecting whether cards include a set symbol matching the determined set symbol.