Patents Assigned to Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
  • Publication number: 20100257016
    Abstract: An automated system uses a decisioning system to schedule service attendants to service events at patron locations. The decisioning system schedules the events for servicing using various factors to establish the priority of different events. Service attendants are paged by the system to inform them of a service to be provided.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2010
    Publication date: October 7, 2010
    Applicant: HARRAH'S OPERATING COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Mark C. Pace, Thomas W. Cook
  • Patent number: 7765121
    Abstract: An automated system uses a decisioning system to schedule service attendants to service events at patron locations. The decisioning system schedules the events for servicing using various factors to establish the priority of different events. Service attendants are paged by the system to inform them of a service to be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2010
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark C. Pace, Thomas W. Cook
  • Patent number: 7419427
    Abstract: A system and method for implementing a customer tracking and recognition program that encompasses customers' gaming and non-gaming activity alike at a plurality of affiliated casino properties. Customer information is accumulated at each affiliated casino through one or more LAN-based management systems, updated to a central patron database (CPDB) that is coupled to each casino LAN through a WAN, and made available to each affiliated casino property as needed. Customer accounts are automatically activated and provided with data from the CPDB when a customer from one casino property first visits an affiliated casino property. Customer accounts are updated with new activity data whenever a management system associated with the casino receives customer data from input devices, such as card readers, workstations, and dumb terminals, located at various venues throughout the casino. Customers are awarded points, based on their tracked activity at all affiliated casino properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2008
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventor: John Michael Boushy
  • Patent number: 7410422
    Abstract: In a casino enterprise, players earn reward credits from their betting activity at gaming machines, tables and devices. Base credits are earned by players at a fixed rate according to their coin-in; bonus credits are earned at a variable rate as a function of their worth as players to the casino or the property at which they are gaming. Preferably the fixed credit rate is published to the players while the variable rate(s) are not disclosed. The earned credits are combined for the player into a single account balance, from which the player can redeem credits for comps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventor: Randall A Fine
  • Patent number: 7329185
    Abstract: A multi-property comp bank allows comp points to be earned and redeemed in an aggregated manner at a plurality of affiliated casino properties. The comp bank includes a first bank account of comp points for each casino patron having a balance that is visible to the patron, accessible by the patron, and directly redeemable by the patron, and a second bank account of comp points having a balance that is invisible to the patron, accessible only by authorized casino employees, and redeemable on a discretionary basis only by authorized casino employees. Each award of comp points is apportioned between the patron's first and second bank accounts according to a predetermined ratio. The comp points in the first bank account can be aggregated across properties and redeemed at any property, whereas the comp points in the second bank account can be redeemed only at the property where they were earned .
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2008
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert G. Conover, Gregory D. Larsen, George D. Paiva
  • Patent number: 7212978
    Abstract: A system that manages and optimizes total customer value on a property-specific basis and by further considering customer activities across multiple properties in a chain of properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: David P. Kowal, John M. Boushy, Timothy J. Wilmott
  • Publication number: 20070087840
    Abstract: A gaming voucher is printed with first and second machine readable indicia. The first machine readable indicia represents a unique gaming voucher number. The monetary value of the gaming voucher and additional information about the gaming voucher is stored in a database remote from the gaming machine in association with the unique gaming voucher number. The second machine readable indicia represents the asset number of the gaming machine that produced the gaming voucher, the value of the gaming voucher, and a portion of the unique gaming voucher number. The gaming voucher is self-validating during a counting process in a count room, and thus no access to the remote database is required to initially verify the authenticity of the gaming voucher. The information encoded in the first and second machine readable indicia may also be used in conjunction with the data in the remote database during a voucher redemption process to verify the authenticity of the gaming voucher.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2006
    Publication date: April 19, 2007
    Applicant: HARRAH'S OPERATING COMPANY, INC.
    Inventors: Peter Fayter, William Pangoras
  • Patent number: 7118478
    Abstract: A gaming voucher is printed with first and second machine readable indicia. The first machine readable indicia represents a unique gaming voucher number. The monetary value of the gaming voucher and additional information about the gaming voucher is stored in a database remote from the gaming machine in association with the unique gaming voucher number. The second machine readable indicia represents the asset number of the gaming machine that produced the gaming voucher, the value of the gaming voucher, and a portion of the unique gaming voucher number. The gaming voucher is self-validating during a counting process in a count room, and thus no access to the remote database is required to initially verify the authenticity of the gaming voucher. The information encoded in the first and second machine readable indicia may also be used in conjunction with the data in the remote database during a voucher redemption process to verify the authenticity of the gaming voucher.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Peter C. Fayter, William N. Pangoras
  • Patent number: 6993494
    Abstract: A method and system of managing value from a resource such as hotel rooms by taking into account indirect value, such as gaming value, in determining recommended bid prices. Observed and/or estimated indirect value for customers is obtained. Recommended bid prices for instances of the resource, such as hotel rooms, are adjusted based on the obtained indirect value. Prices are further adjusted based on competitive market conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: John M. Boushy, Timothy J. Wilmott
  • Patent number: 6962531
    Abstract: An automated system uses a decisioning system to schedule service attendants to service events at patron locations. The decisioning system schedules the events for servicing using various factors to establish the priority of different events. Service attendants are paged by the system to inform them of a service to be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2005
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark C. Pace, Thomas W. Cook
  • Patent number: 6003013
    Abstract: A system and method for differentiating customers according to their worth to the casino. Customer information is accumulated at each affiliated casino through one or more LAN-based management systems, updated to a central patron database (CPDB) that is coupled to each casino LAN through a WAN, and made available to each affiliated casino property as needed. Customer accounts are automatically activated and provided with data from the CPDB when a customer from one casino property first visits an affiliated casino property. Customer accounts are updated with status information based on the customer's worth to the casino. Customer accounts are updated with new activity data whenever a management system associated with the casino receives customer data from input devices, such as card readers, workstations, and dumb terminals, located at various venues throughout the casino. Customers are awarded points, based on their tracked activity at all affiliated casino properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1999
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: John M. Boushy, Bruce C. Rowe, Jayme D. Sevigny
  • Patent number: 5974135
    Abstract: A teleservices system, workstation configuration, and teleservices manager application provide for integrated concurrent interactions with various host computer systems, an automatic call management system, and Internet/intranet servers. The teleservices system includes an automatic call distributor and call management system, a customer database system, various host systems providing terminal emulation based access, a hypermedia server with hypermedia data on multiple properties, host computer systems, or business locations. The teleservices workstation configuration includes a telephone server application that interfaces to the call management system, a patron server program that interfaces to the customer database system, and a configuration database that stores configuration for configuring each agent's workstation to access various ones of the host computer systems, and identifying various ones of the properties for which the agent provides services.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Reed B. Breneman, Bruce C. Rowe, James B. Burks, John P. Romeo
  • Patent number: 5809482
    Abstract: A system and method automatically tracks player gambling transactions in a casino. The system includes a casino database the stores betting summary records for each of a plurality players, where each betting summary record is associated with a player identification code, and includes the player's betting rating. One or more gaming tables have a plurality of player positions and a plurality of code readers. A code reader initiates a betting session in response to reading a player identification card encoded with a player identification code. A communications network couples the casino database and gaming table to an automatic tracking and management unit (ATMU). The ATMU has a display unit, and is coupled to the code readers at the gaming table to receive a player identification code for a player at the initiation of a betting session. The ATMU retrieves from the casino database the betting summary record of the player, and displays it to pit personnel at the gaming table on the display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1998
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventor: John M. Strisower
  • Patent number: 5766075
    Abstract: A casino management system and method generates bet guarantee coupons for individual patrons of a casino as a function on actual gaming losses during a selected time interval of gaming during the course of an entire trip to a casino spanning any number of days. The patron's individual gaming at various gaming machines is tracked as individual patron ratings, or periods of play, identifying the patron's wins, losses, and the casino's theoretical win. Patron ratings for each day of a trip are accumulated for each patron to form daily rating summaries. When a trip ends, trip rating summaries for the patron's wins, losses, and the casino's theoretical win are determined from the daily rating summaries. The various summaries are used to calculate a bet guarantee amount as the greater of the patron's actual losses during a specified time interval of play, a percentage of the patron's total trip loss, a percentage of the casino's theoretical win for the entire trip, or a fixed dollar amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas W. Cook, James V. LoCicero
  • Patent number: 5761647
    Abstract: A system and method for implementing a customer tracking and recognition program that encompasses customers' gaming and non-gaming activity alike at a plurality of affiliated casino properties. Customer information is accumulated at each affiliated casino through one or more LAN-based management systems, updated to a central patron database (CPDB) that is coupled to each casino LAN through a WAN, and made available to each affiliated casino property as needed. Customer accounts are automatically activated and provided with data from the CPDB when a customer from one casino property first visits an affiliated casino property. Customer accounts are updated with new activity data whenever a management system associated with the casino receives customer data from input devices, such as card readers, workstations, and dumb terminals, located at various venues throughout the casino. Customers are awarded points, based on their tracked activity at all affiliated casino properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventor: John Michael Boushy
  • Patent number: D422162
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2000
    Assignee: Harrah's Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce C. Rowe, Mark F. Bohlman