Abstract: A gaming system produces a multiple-play physical pull tab ticket at the request of a player. Each chance in the game is associated with a game play record which has been produced and stored in the system prior to the sale of the physical game ticket. A player in the game selects a number of game play outcomes or plays to be purchased and the gaming system responds to the request by producing and distributing to the player a pull tab ticket having the requested number of game play outcomes printed or otherwise formed on a ticket substrate. Game play information specifying the outcomes of each game play printed on the game ticket may be printed or otherwise encoded on the game ticket. A player terminal may read this game play information using a suitable scanning device and may then display the results of the plays to the player.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods are described for a game play sequence for an electronic bingo gaming system. The electronic bingo gaming system includes a number of player stations that players may use to participate in a bingo game and a game server for implementing/carrying out the game play sequence. The sequence begins by splitting a ball draw for a bingo game into a first portion and a final portion. A series of potential game ending winning players may be identified. The first potential game ending winning player in the series who makes the appropriate inputs in response to their receiving the first portion of the ball draw and the final portion of the ball draw, receives a prize in the bingo game.

Abstract: Game play requests in a bingo gaming system are associated with different play characteristic classes and collected into different game play groups simultaneously according to play characteristic class. Once a sufficient number of game play requests are collected in a respective game play group, a bingo game is conducted with the respective game play group and results are returned to the players associated with that game play group. Play characteristic class may be defined on the basis of the speed at which players take any required actions to claim results in a game so that players who may take the required actions relatively slowly will not be grouped for games with players who may take the required actions relatively quickly.

Abstract: A method according to the present invention includes matching bingo card representations to a given set of game designations to produce a matched card set. Each matched bingo card representation in the matched card set represents a respective game play record for use in the present gaming system and includes or is associated with a result indicator that indicates whether the respective bingo card representation is a winning card or losing card for that set of game designations. Individual game play records from the matched card set are each assigned to a player in response to a game play request initiated by the player. Each game play request is associated with a player by virtue of the player initiating the game play request. Each game play request is also associated with a particular card representation that is “owned” or held by the player. Players are assigned one or more card representations to allow the player to make game play requests.

Abstract: A gaming machine includes a cabinet having a game video display mounted on a front side of the cabinet. The gaming machine also includes at least one more additional video display mounted on the front side of the cabinet either above or below the game video display. A player control device is also mounted on the front side of the cabinet. This player control device may be separate from the video displays or may be integrated with one or more of the video displays in the form of a touch screen portion of one or more of the video displays. The player control device may include a separate touch screen display mounted on a ledge projecting forwardly from the front side of the gaming machine cabinet.

Abstract: A gaming system (40) according to the present invention includes a number of gaming machines (10), each gaming machine including a single player game presentation arrangement that may be reconfigured to provide any one of a number of game presentations. In addition to the gaming machines (10) the present gaming system (40) includes a system configuration arrangement (51) and a game modification controller (50). The system configuration arrangement (51) produces system configuration commands based either on manual inputs, system usage information, or various information related to one or more players in a gaming facility. The game modification controller (50) included in preferred forms of the gaming system receives the system configuration commands and in response to the commands, communicates presentation switching instructions to one or more gaming machines (10) included in the system.

Abstract: Players participate in bingo-type 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: At least one pool (22) of game play records (23) is stored at a central processing system (12). Each game play record includes a record index (24) selected from a set of unique index values, each associated with a different result type. A record index (24) associated with a particular game play record (23) is communicated from the central processing system (12) to the player terminal (14) in response to a game play request which a player has entered at the player terminal. The player terminal (14) responds to the received record index (24) 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 (24) which has been communicated to the player terminal (14).

Abstract: A gaming system (10) utilizes a game designation generating component (16), a gaming establishment component (11), 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 (16) generates sets of game designations from a pool of available designations. The method employed in the gaming system (10) 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: Players participate in bingo-type games through player stations each having a suitable player interface. 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 may be performed manually by the player at the player's respective player station using a suitable interface at the player station. Alternatively to manual daubing, the present invention includes automatically daubing one or more bingo card representations in response to an automatic daub input made by the player at the player station using a suitable input device.

Abstract: A method for conducting bingo games includes using a server (101) to collect game play requests (501) from a plurality of electronic player stations (103). The server (101, 102) determines if a group of the collected game play requests meets one or more predefined conditions for establishing a quorum (502), and if so conducts a game with the group of game play requests (506, 507). Even after the game is started, the server continues to collect game play requests in preparation for conducting additional games (506, 500). When enough game play requests are collected (503), the server starts the next game, even if previous games are still in progress (506, 507).

Abstract: A method for conducting bingo games includes using a server (101) to collect game play requests (501) from a plurality of electronic player stations (103). The server (101, 102) determines if a group of the collected game play requests meets one or more predefined conditions for establishing a quorum (502), and if so conducts a game with the group of game play requests (506, 507). Even after the game is started, the server continues to collect game play requests in preparation for conducting additional games (506, 500). When enough game play requests are collected (503), the server starts the next game, even if previous games are still in progress (506, 507). Each game play request is associated with a bingo card representation and each such card representation is associated with a respective pay table. Prizes or outcomes of the game are assigned for each bingo card representation according to the respective pay table with which the card representation is associated.

Abstract: At least one pool (22) of game play records (23) is stored at a central processing system (12). Each game play record includes a record index (24) selected from a set of unique index values, each associated with a different result type. A record index (24) associated with a particular game play record (23) is communicated from the central processing system (12) to the player terminal (14) in response to a game play request which a player has entered at the player terminal. The player terminal (14) responds to the received record index (24) 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 (24) which has been communicated to the player terminal (14).

Abstract: A pattern probability (302) is determined for each of a number of target patterns (301) achievable in a bingo-type game. Each pattern probability (302) comprises a probability of achieving the respective target pattern (301) in the bingo-type game. Different pattern sets are then associated with each different prize level in a desired prize distribution. The target patterns (301) and their respective pattern probabilities (302) are assigned or mapped to the different pattern sets so that the probability of achieving any target pattern included in a pattern set comprises a value approximating the desired probability of the prize level with which the pattern set is associated.

Abstract: A method includes determining a pattern probability for each of a number of target patterns achievable in a bingo-type game. Each pattern probability comprises a probability of achieving the respective target pattern in the bingo-type game. The method further includes associating or mapping different pattern sets to each different prize level in a desired prize distribution. The target patterns and their respective pattern probabilities are assigned or mapped to the different pattern sets so that the individual pattern probabilities included in each pattern set add up to the desired probability of the prize level with which the pattern set is associated.

Abstract: A method according to the invention includes determining a pattern probability for each of a number of target patterns achievable in a bingo-type game. Each pattern probability comprises a probability of achieving the respective target pattern in the bingo-type game. The method next includes associating or mapping different pattern sets to each different prize level in a desired prize distribution. The target patterns and their respective pattern probabilities are assigned or mapped to the different pattern sets so that the individual pattern probabilities included in each pattern set add up to the desired probability of the prize level with which the pattern set is associated.

Abstract: A gaming method according to the invention utilizes a first level game and a plurality of second level or daughter games. Each game at a particular level comprises a separate lottery-type game having a number or plurality of game records. Each game record includes a predetermined result. According to the invention, each first level game result is associated with a single value common to the result in each other first level game record. However, the result associated with each second level game record varies between various predetermined prize values.

Abstract: Each bingo card representation matched with a game designation set 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. According to the invention, each result representation includes a graphical representation unrelated to the bingo-type game.

Abstract: A back office system is preferably located in a secure area and includes one or more central computers. Each central computer stores a number of game records with each game record representing a play in a game. A database computer included in the back office system maintains an account for each authorized player in the gaming system. A casino floor system is operatively connected for communication with the back office system and includes a number of player terminals through which players may participate in various games offered in the gaming system. Each player terminal in the casino floor system is serviced by one central computer in the back office system. Each player terminal allows a player to log in and make a request for a game play, and then communicates the entered game play request to the respective central computer servicing that particular player terminal.

Abstract: A gaming system (10) utilizes a game designation generating component (16), a gaming establishment component (11), 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 (16) generates sets of game designations from a pool of available designations. The method employed in the gaming system (10) 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.