Abstract: A method includes issuing a physical bingo card. This physical bingo card is associated with a layout of spots or locations and bingo designations representing a bingo card or “card bingo structure.” The method also includes identifying the card bingo structure through a player station and collecting a game play request entered from the player station with at least one additional game play request to form a game group. The game play request is associated with the card bingo structure and each additional game play request in the game group is associated with a respective additional bingo structure. Once the game group is formed, a bingo game may be conducted between the card bingo structure and each additional bingo structure to identify a bingo game result for the card bingo structure and preferably each additional bingo structure. The bingo game result for the card bingo structure is then displayed at the player station.

Abstract: A lottery gaming system utilizes one or more pools of predetermined game play records. In response to a game play request, the gaming system allocates a number or set of game play records. A representation for each allocated game play record is then displayed to the player in some fashion that does not indicate the result of the respective game play record, and the requesting player is allowed to select one or more of the allocated game play records through the respective representations. The selected game play record or records are assigned to the player and the player ultimately sees the result associated with each selected game play record. However, the allocated game play records that are not selected by the player, and thus remain unassigned, are collected or otherwise made available for use in response to another game play request.

Abstract: Each bingo card representation matched with a game designation draw in a given bingo game (a “matched bingo card representation”) represents a respective game play record providing a result in the bingo game. The result represented by a matched bingo card representation is displayed to a player in the bingo-type game through a result representation provided at a suitable player station. Each result representation is correlated to one or more game results in the bingo-type game so that each game result in the bingo-type game is associated with a result representation. Each result representation includes a graphical representation unrelated to the bingo-type game.

Abstract: A processing device measures the time it takes for a player to take some action in a game and bases the award or result in the game for the player at least in part on that measured time. A player receives a more desirable result or outcome for a particular game play in response to a shorter player action time and/or receives a less desirable result or outcome for a particular game play in response to a longer player action time. Providing more desirable results for shorter player action times or less desirable results for longer player action times provides players an incentive that influences them to take the appropriate player actions more quickly.

Abstract: A gaming system utilizes a game designation generating component, a gaming establishment component, and a set of predefined bingo card representations. Each bingo card representation is stored in electronic format as a data structure or data record defining a predefined pattern of game designations chosen from a pool of available designations. The game designation generating component generates sets of game designations from a pool of available designations. The method employed in the gaming system includes pre-matching the bingo card representations to a given set of game designations to produce a matched card set. This pre-matching occurs prior to the sale, distribution, or assignment of card representations to players in the game.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are described for presenting multiple bingo game results on a common display. A bingo game player may participate in a number of bingo games and obtain results for each of those games. These bingo game results are combined to amount to a cumulative result, and a common graphic display is produced that is representative of the cumulative result. The common graphic display is then shown to the player on the display device of a particular electronic player station.

Abstract: Players participate in bingo games through player stations each having a suitable player interface. The player may manually select between multiple modes in which the player's bingo card representations are daubed. In one daub mode, once a player is assigned a bingo card representation and a game designation set is associated with the bingo card representation, daubing the bingo card representation must be performed manually by the player at the player's respective player station using a suitable interface at the player station. In a card daub mode, one or more of the player's bingo card representations is automatically daubed in response to a card daub input made by the player at the player station using a suitable input device. In a game daub mode, one or more of the player's bingo card representations are daubed without any action by the player other than the player's selection of the game daub mode and the player's submission of a request to enter a bingo game offered by the system.

Abstract: A method for conducting bingo games includes using a server to collect game play requests from a plurality of electronic player stations. The server determines if a group of the collected game play requests meets one or more predefined conditions for establishing a quorum, and if so conducts a game with the group of game play requests. Even after the game is started, the server continues to collect game play requests in preparation for conducting additional games. When enough game play requests are collected, the server starts the next game, even if previous games are still in progress.

Abstract: At least one pool of game play records is stored at a central processing system. Each game play record includes a record index selected from a set of unique index values, each associated with a different result type. A record index associated with a particular game play record is communicated from the central processing system to the player terminal in response to a game play request which a player has entered at the player terminal. The player terminal responds to the received record index by generating display commands using data at the player terminal to produce a graphic representation at the player terminal. This graphic representation is consistent with the result type associated with the index value comprising the particular record index which has been communicated to the player terminal.

Abstract: Gaming methods, apparatus, and program products prompt players to move between different gaming machines or player stations included in a gaming system. One preferred method includes receiving a player input at a first player station in a network gaming system. Upon receiving the player input at the first player station, a station changing prompt is produced at the first player station. A multi-station game result for the player is then awarded to the player after the player makes some input at a second player station in the system.

Abstract: At least one pool of game play records is stored at a central processing system. Each game play record includes a record index selected from a set of unique index values, each associated with a different result type. A record index associated with a particular game play record is communicated from the central processing system to the player terminal in response to a game play request which a player has entered at the player terminal. The player terminal responds to the received record index by generating display commands using data at the player terminal to produce a graphic representation at the player terminal. This graphic representation is consistent with the result type associated with the index value comprising the particular record index which has been communicated to the player terminal.

Abstract: Gaming methods, apparatus, and program products prompt players to move between different gaming machines or player stations (103) included in a gaming system (100). One preferred method includes receiving a player input at a first player station (103) in a network gaming system (100). Upon receiving the player input at the first player station (103), a station changing prompt is produced at the first player station (103). A multi-station game result for the player is then awarded to the player after the player makes some input at a second player station (103) in the system.

Abstract: A reveal request is initiated through a result reveal station by a person (user) who has previously made some purchase or donation and has been assigned a number of sweepstakes entries in an assignment order from a set of available sweepstakes entries for a sweepstakes game. This reveal request represents a request to reveal one or more of the results associated with the corresponding sweepstakes entries that have been assigned to the user. The reveal station employs a game presentation including various graphics and audio effects to show sweepstakes results in an entertaining fashion. In response to the reveal request, or perhaps even prior to the reveal request, one or more sweepstakes entries are selected to be revealed for the reveal request. The sweepstakes entries are selected in an order different from the order in which the sweepstakes entries were assigned to the user.

Abstract: A method includes periodically over a given day comparing an actual status for a casino player station with a current target status for the casino player station. The actual status for the casino player station specifies an actual game presentation operating at the casino player station at the particular time. A modification command is issued to the casino player station in the event that the current target status for the casino player station does not match the actual status for the casino player station. In response to the modification command, a target game presentation is launched at the casino player station. This target game presentation is specified by the current target status for the casino player station and is different from the actual game presentation specified by the actual status for the casino player station. The method thus facilitates configuration changes in the various player stations in a gaming system to ensure the desired game presentations are available to players.

Abstract: A method of distributing sweepstakes entries includes associating a product with a user account. The product may be a product such as Internet access time, calling card minutes, gift card credit, other types of store credit, or any other type of product. One or more sweepstakes entries are associated the user account based at least in part upon the value of the product that has been associated with the user account. A user ticket is dispensed to a user correlated with the user account. This user ticket is associated with the product through information recorded on the user ticket, and is also printed with a respective indicia for each respective sweepstakes entry associated with the user account. A user receiving the user ticket may see their sweepstakes entry results at a display terminal that causes the results to be displayed in an entertaining fashion.

Abstract: A method includes first revealing a limited set of potential game results to a player through a player terminal and then presenting the player with a set of graphic representations through the player terminal. Each respective representation has no apparent relationship to any particular potential result in the limited set of potential results. Thus, the player who is presented with the graphic representations cannot tell if any particular one of the representations is tied in any way to any particular potential result in the limited set of potential results. After presenting to the player the set of representations, the player is allowed to select at least one of the representations by making a player choice input through the player terminal. In response to the player choice input, at least one of the potential results in the limited set of potential results is assigned to the player, and this assigned potential result becomes the player's result for the game.

Abstract: A lottery gaming system utilizes one or more distribution groups of game play records. The gaming system preferably distributes a distribution group of game play records to each of a number of assignment components in the gaming system. Various ones of the play records are assigned from a distribution group in response to game play requests from respective players. The game play records that remain unassigned after a collection condition is met are collected and used to form a new distribution group available for re-distributing to an assignment component in the gaming system.

Abstract: A method includes communicating a distribution group of lottery game play records to a data storage device accessible to an assignment component included in a lottery gaming system. This assignment component may comprise a player station in the gaming system, a central computer system, or some intermediate component between the central computer system and player station. The method also includes communicating one or more promotion records to the data storage device accessible to the assignment component. The assignment component assigns game play records from the distribution group in response to lottery game play requests entered at a player station in the gaming system. However, in response to some lottery game play requests entered through the player stations, the assignment component assigns a promotion record in addition to, or in lieu of, a game play record. In these cases the player may be awarded a promotion prize associated with the assigned promotion record.

Abstract: A gaming system provides a secondary game in which the outcome depends on the results from multiple instances of a primary game. The secondary game is associated with a particular structure that includes a number of separate locations. Each of the secondary game locations is linked to a particular instance of the primary game so that the results of a particular instance of the primary game determine the condition or state of a respective secondary game location. Additionally, each location in the secondary game structure makes up a certain component of a secondary game display. Players receive an award if a certain pattern is displayed in the secondary game structure based on the application of the multiple instances of the primary game to the secondary game structure.

Abstract: A gaming machine includes a number of game implementation devices, each adapted to be placed alternatively in an enabled or disabled condition. Each respective game implementation device is operable to implement at least a portion of a respective game at the gaming machine when the respective game implementation device is in its enabled state in the gaming machine. The gaming machine also includes an enabling arrangement for selectively placing any of the respective implementation devices in the enabled state. A video display is included in the gaming machine for displaying graphic portions of a respective one of the games when the respective game is implemented at the gaming machine.