Patents Examined by Dolores R. Collins
  • Patent number: 6422565
    Abstract: A blackjack-style card game method includes the step of requiring the dealer to continue dealing cards to the dealer's hand until the dealer's hand exceeds the players hand or exceeds 21.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2002
    Assignee: Canadian (21) Stook Ltd.
    Inventor: Shirley Daines
  • Patent number: 6419229
    Abstract: A new golf board game with a playing surface, said playing surface containing a plurality of golf links, each one of said golf links having a starting area, a fairway area, and a green area, said fairway areas and green areas also having proximate thereto certain strategically placed sand bunkers areas, and rough areas, and additionally one or more of said fairway areas also having at least one water hazard area proximate thereto, one regular die with the numbers one through six on the respective sides thereof, one lettered die with two letters “A” on random sides thereof, two letters “B” on random sides thereof, and a letter “C” and a letter “D” on the remaining two sides thereof, one putting die with random placement on two sides of the numeral “1”, on two other sides the numeral “2”, and on two other sides the numeral “3”, between one to about 72 player marker piece(s) of any desired shape representing an individual player&
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Inventors: Robert Whittington, Robert Areddy
  • Patent number: 6419227
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for playing a simulated baseball game for teaching the strategy and for simulating the activity of a baseball game. The method and apparatus for playing a simulated baseball game includes a game board. The game board has a baseball diamond thereon. A scorecard has a matrix thereon. The matrix has heading indicia thereon. A plurality of game pieces are used. A portion of the game pieces is colored red, and a portion of the game pieces is colored white, wherein the red game pieces define fast runners and wherein the white game pieces define power hitters. A chance means motivates actions of the competing players. The chance means provides a two digit number. An outcome portion has means thereon for denoting plays and progress of play according to an outcome of the chance means. An asterisk represents an outcome for a fast runner and a letter P represents an outcome for a power hitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2002
    Inventor: Thomas W. Barnhardt
  • Patent number: 6416055
    Abstract: A board game and method for teaching negotiation, advocacy and judicial decision-making skills to players, in which a board is providing having spaces upon which players may randomly, sequentially land. One of the players is determined at the outset to be the judge. The remaining players move about the board. The spaces conform to a plurality of categories, and pre-mixed questions, typically contained on cards, are sequentially read each time someone lands upon the space conforming to that category. The player who lands must answer the question; the other players must determine whether to object. Where an objection occurs, the players are placed in a debaters box, for a debating period. During that period, as determined by the judge, the players debate the issue and the judge, who provides full judicial making authority for the game, determines the protocol and the outcome of the debate. Where the outcome is a success to the objecting player, a letter is forfeited by the non-objecting player to him.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Inventor: Kenneth Shaw, Sr.
  • Patent number: 6406019
    Abstract: Provided is a method of determining a lottery winner having the steps of providing lottery tickets each having at least one purchaser selected group of numbers and a purchase time, drawing a drawn group of numbers from a pool of numbers, selecting a winning group of numbers which have the most numbers matching between the purchaser selected group of numbers and the drawn group of numbers, and selecting a lottery winner from the winning group of numbers based on the earliest purchase time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2002
    Inventors: John F. Joyner, Jeffrey S. Melcher
  • Patent number: 6402143
    Abstract: A board game apparatus for a game that requires exercise of both judgement and ability to solve problems, simulates a capitalist system and provides players with opportunity to trade off potential reward against risk according to their ability to solve problems. The apparatus includes a board marked with a series of spaces in a loop, including an event space and territory spaces, player pieces, tokens and property pieces for placing on territory spaces. An event affecting the standing of one or more players arises when a player piece lands on an event space. When a player piece lands on a territory space, the outcome depends upon the ability of a player to solve a problem and the player's judgement on whether to trade off potential reward against risk according to their perceived ability to solve the problem. When a player is defeated, that player may join the side of the victorious player, and assist in solving problems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2002
    Inventor: Warwick John Brindley
  • Patent number: 6382629
    Abstract: A card game which is simple and fun, and anyone can play if they can read a standard deck of playing cards. The game is played by multiple players and is similar to “Keno” respectively, as the players try to guess and match the cards that will be drawn. Also, the game can be produced in various versions, such as a home or a casino version, or the game can be played on TV, radio, or the internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2002
    Inventor: Clarence B. Hill
  • Patent number: 6378867
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to an apparatus for use in playing a word game, in particular a crossword game, and a method of playing such a game using the apparatus. In particular the invention is directed to an apparatus and game that is suitable for play by two or more players which includes means for indicating whether letter(s) nominated for a particular cell of the crossword by a player matches the at least one letter assigned to the cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2002
    Assignee: Crossout Pty, Ltd.
    Inventor: Gregory Alan Shalless
  • Patent number: 6371483
    Abstract: A game of chance uses a deck of playing cards which have imprinted thereon a variety of different symbols, such as the symbols that are used on reel strips in reel slot machines. Each player makes a first BET wager and the dealer deals three cards to each player. If the player receives a winning combination on the first three cards, the player proceeds to the draw step and receives a fourth card without having to make an additional wager in order to attempt to improve his hand. If the player does not have a winning combination on the first three cards, the player may optionally make a second DRAW wager and proceeds to the draw step and receives a fourth card in an attempt to improve his hand to a winning combination. The player does not have to discard at any time. The player then uses the best three or four cards after the draw step to make any possible winning combination as shown on a pay table. The player's highest hand is paid on the winning wager only.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Inventors: Scott Edmunds, Darin Willis
  • Patent number: 6371485
    Abstract: A method of playing a five-card, high-low card game includes dealing a player a five card hand face up and determining if the hand is high or low by the number of low (Ace to 6) card compared with the number of high (8 to King) cards in the hand. Sevens are neutral and are replaced in the hand. The player may place a bet on high or low, prior to being dealt the hand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: Canadian (21) Stook Ltd.
    Inventor: Shirley Daines
  • Patent number: 6361044
    Abstract: A top of a card table with a card dispensing hole therethrough and an arcuate edge is covered by a transparent dome shaped cover. A dealer position is centrally located on the table top. A plurality of player stations are evenly spaced along the arcuate edge. A rotatable card placement assembly includes an extendable arm that is connected to a card carrier that is operable to carry a card. In response to signals from the computer, the rotation of the assembly and the extension of the arm cause the card carrier to carry the card from the card dispensing hole to either the dealer position or any of the player positions. The card carries a bar code identification thereon. A bar code reader of the card carrier provides a signal representation of the identification of the card to the computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Inventors: Lawrence M. Block, Harold E. Koester
  • Patent number: 6361046
    Abstract: A marble game is described in which a playing surface is provided having designations for the locations of two marbles in contact with each other and with designations of a plurality of shooting positions for a third marble, these being points awarded a player for a shot from each shooting position that dislodges one of the two marbles without dislodging or moving the other. Alternatively, the marbles can be replaced by disk objects, such as dimes or pennies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Inventor: Benjamin Rothman
  • Patent number: 6345824
    Abstract: A bonus method for a base casino card game, such as Blackjack or Baccarat, begins with the player making an ante wager and a first and second bonus wager. The player and dealer are each dealt a hand of cards, or electronic representations thereof. The player plays the player's hand to completion and is rewarded based on the player's first bonus wager if the player's hand includes a predetermined bonus combination. The values of the cards are then summed according to the rules of the base game and the player's ante wager is resolved by comparing a player's hand value with the hand value of the dealer and determining which hand is closest to a target value. Finally, the player's second bonus wager is resolved by rewarding the player if the player has won both the base game and the first bonus wager. If the player loses the base game or does not have a bonus combination, the player's second bonus wager is collected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2002
    Assignee: R & G Enterprises
    Inventor: Robert Selitzky
  • Patent number: 6341778
    Abstract: The invention comprises a method for increasing the payout for the main wager of the game of blackjack or Twenty-One and/or for providing a side bet opportunity during the game of blackjack or Twenty-One which are based upon the point-spread between the players hand and the dealers hand. In one embodiment, a pointspread of 1, 2, 3, or 4 would result in 1×, 1.5×, 2×, or 10× payout, respectively, of the side wager. In another embodiment, a pointspread of 1, 2, 3, or 4 would result in 1×, 2×, 3×, or 5× payout, respectively, of a side bet. In another embodiment, a pointspread of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 would result in 0.5× , 1× , 1.5× , 3× , or 5× payout, respectively, of a side bet. The game allows for variations in the rules and for other types of side-betting opportunities while maintaining the excitement of a multiple pointspread payout at the resolution of the hand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2002
    Inventor: John S. Lee
  • Patent number: 6334613
    Abstract: In the play of a hand of poker (either as a casino table card game or a video gaming apparatus or computer game), a partial hand is provided to a player after initial wager. The actual hand of poker involves the potential for at least two distinct games of poker being playable from that partial hand. The player may then elect to play one or more of the potential games from at least two distinct games of poker available for play with that hand. The nature of the at least two distinct games is that at least two of the games which may be played from the partial hand require decisions to be made where a decision with regard to a election of play strategy in one poker game that is intended to have or assist in getting a positive outcome is likely to have a negative effect or comprises an adverse strategy in the play of the second game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2002
    Assignee: Shuffle Master, Inc.
    Inventor: Mark L. Yoseloff
  • Patent number: 6331005
    Abstract: An apparatus for playing a tennis game having a rectangular grid containing axes of abscissas and ordinates. Dice are used to determine if a player may serve into and/or into and through the appropriate advantage or deuce courts. Dice are also used to determine if a player may move to and return the serve. Initial service and defensive positions are chosen by the players prior to the beginning of the service. A process for teaching the game is also disclosed so as to enable the players to learn the game as applied to the axes of abscissas and ordinates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2001
    Inventor: Dominic L. Ozanne, II
  • Patent number: 6309299
    Abstract: A gaming device which allows individual play, head to head play and tournament play and involves the utilization of at least three chance means, including a plurality of reels, a video display configured as a matrix upon which scores can accumulate and icons located upon the grid itself provided for additional scoring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Inventor: Steven A. Weiss
  • Patent number: 6305686
    Abstract: A method for playing a stand-alone and a bonus casino poker dice having X dice, each of the X dice having F faces with a different symbol thereon so as to form a set {S} of symbols on each of the X dice. The method of the present invention includes the steps of placing a wager; rolling the dice; holding none, any, or all of the rolled dice; ending the casino poker dice game when the dice are all held or when re-rolling occurs Y times; paying any winning combinations of symbols based on the placed wager and in response to the step of ending the game; re-rolling the non-held dice when less than all the X dice are held; and repeating various of these steps until the game ends. Variations on this basic method are set forth for stand-alone games, bonus games, used in conjunction with underlying gaming machines, and playing a bonus game of the present invention in parallel with an underlying game so that a number of hands are played.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignee: Mikohn Gaming Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth Allan Perrie, Olaf Vancura
  • Patent number: 6299170
    Abstract: A method of playing a live casino card game with a video display of a wild card comprises dealing a number of physical playing cards to a player to form an original hand, the player having made a wager on a card game being played with that original hand. From a separate virtual deck of playing cards, dealing at least one card that is a video display card. At any time during play of the game, showing the value of the at least one card that is a video display card, the at least one card that is a video display card establishing a fact that physical cards of a predetermined relationship to the at least one card that is a video display card are Wild Cards for the purpose of establishing a rank or value for the player's hand. The player is then paid for attaining a hand of at least a predetermined rank or having a hand with a value higher than the value of a dealer's hand; the rank or value being determined with or without the presence of Wild Cards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Inventor: Mark L. Yoseloff
  • Patent number: 6299166
    Abstract: The game of Olé is a dice game played between at least two players using a pair of conventional six-sided dice. All possible combinations of the values of upturned faces of the pair of dice are exhaustively ranked. A session of play consists of a number of turns, wherein in each turn, each player rolls the pair of dice. The value of each player's rolled dice is ranked and a losing player is determined to be the player having rolled the worst-ranked combination. The losing player then deducts a point from a collection of points assigned to him at the start of the game. Turns are played until only one player has at least one point remaining, and is declared the winner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Inventor: Eduardo Factor