System and method for providing a game of chance via a client device
A method and apparatus that collects demographics from contestants using ubiquitous Internet devices or a new slot machine on a casino floor. Contestants are given the opportunity to earn points that they can redeem for various prizes that are of interest to them. A plurality of prizes can be selected from a plurality of categories. As the contestants play games of chance, a pool of advertisements is presented to the contestants. Advertisements from the pool are selected in accordance with each contestants buying propensity. As contestants play games of chance, the system infers additional propensities of each user and stores this for later reduction. The reduced data is then sold as marketing data together with a list of system users that comprises name, address, phone number and e-mail addresses and the like. The system is implemented using a client-server paradigm. A server maintains databases needed to track all of the contestants that register with the system. The client devices, including the new slot machine, use a standard web browser as a means to retrieve and display web pages to the contestant. Most web pages have an attached java-script program that implements the functionality of the present invention. Other web pages that contestants encounter comprise a shell for a Java applet that embodies a game of chance. The Java applet that implement games of chance are universal in distribution relying on the web browser to homogenize the user interface across a wide range of hardware platforms. The ubiquitous Internet devices and slot machine are connected to the games either through a wired or wireless network.
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/089,973 filed Apr. 3, 2002.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Technical Field
This invention pertains to the field of gambling apparatus and methods and to the field of demographics collection and dissemination.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Throughout recorded history, humankind has always been fascinated with the notion of winning great gains by wagering their belongings. The fundamental notion of winning money has remained unchanged over the millennia. In this country's early history, the gaming business turned to technology as a source of improved gaming methods and apparatus; all in an effort to further entice customers to drop their coins in the “one-armed bandit”.
Computer technology has really fueled modern gaming trends. Casinos throughout the nation, as well as throughout the world, were quick to embrace gaming machines based on new technology enabled by microprocessors. In the prior art, microprocessors really gave the slot machines a new look. Gone are the mechanical tumblers and spinning cylinders. Slot machines now included a wide array of exciting new display technologies, such as color cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs). These provide visually stimulating and attractive interfaces that draw potential gamblers.
Gaming systems are now no longer limited to the casino environment. In fact, through the use of wide area computer networks, anybody that can use a web browser and understands the basic precepts of a graphical user interface can interact with a remote gaming system. In the prior art, there has been a significant proliferation of Internet based gaming systems that resemble casino style games-of-chance. Early gaming web sites allowed computer users to play just about any wagering game imaginable. Barring local statutes and ordinances to the contrary, gaming web sites also let computer users wager real money just like Las Vegas.
Whether in the traditional gambling parlor, or on a gambling web-site presented over the Internet, the prior art of gaming apparatus had several distinct limitations. First, the prior art microprocessor based slot machine could not adapt to a specific user in order to capitalize on that user's specific spending tendencies. Another drawback that all prior art gaming apparatus exhibit is that these prior art devices presume that all contestants are interested in winning money. Money may in fact not be the principal motivator for all gamblers. Traditional gambling houses have long recognized the fact that other prizes and promotions are needed to cater to the more sophisticated mentality of the present day gambler. As a result, many casinos now place specialized gaming machines on the casino floor. These allow gamblers to win other prizes such as cars or vacations.
Failing to recognize the captivity of their gambling audience, prior art gaming systems did not consider other profit mechanisms that could be employed as gamblers sit in front of slot machines. Because the contestants are, in essence, a captive audience, prior art gaming systems could have displayed other information to the contestant such as advertisements or interesting announcements. Casinos could realize an additional source of revenue by selling advertising opportunities to sponsoring advertisers.
Yet another shortcoming of prior art gaming machines is that they could not profile their users. By allowing users to fill out questionnaires, a gaming system could be tailored to a specific user in order to maintain a high level of interest in the gaming experience. Of course, by maintaining interest in the game gamblers are apt to play longer resulting in greater revenues for the casino. This secondary level of interaction with a gaming user can also be a source of demographic data. Demographics collected during a gaming session could also be sold to third parties as marketing data.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention comprises a method and apparatus that allows targets advertisements to a user based on demographics that the user exhibits. Generally, personal information about the user is received from number of sources and then store in a database. Presenting advertisements occurs contemporaneously with game play. In the present embodiment, each game integrates the advertisements in such manner as to make the playing experience more enjoyable. As a user plays the game, the present invention correlates personal attributes for the user with advertisements that are also stored in a database.
The present invention further comprises a method and apparatus that can target advertisement based on observations the system makes with respect to the users activities. Specifically, as a user plays a game, the user can select prizes that are of interest and can spend points in order to improve the probability that a prize will be awarded. Inferences can be drawn from these activities that result in a propensity profile for the user. These propensity profiles can also be used to target advertisements to specific users.
Advertisements are presented in a number of forms including, but not limited to simple graphical images, animated graphics, audio and video clips and even multimedia presentations. Each advertisement further comprises a hyperlink to an advertisers web site. This hyperlink, when activated, will retrieve additional information that the advertiser wants to convey. The additional information, usually incorporated into a web page, can also take of the forms that advertisements can take on, that being graphic images, animated graphics, video clips and multimedia presentations. This enumeration is intended to be illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.
Another novel aspect of the present invention is that the games that are presented to users for play are themselves highly personalized to meet the tastes and preferences of the those users. Initially, the game can ask the user what prize they would like to vie for. These prizes are selected by the user and then incorporated directly into the game. The present invention further comprises a facility that tracks the game play a user exhibits and then modifies prize selection accordingly. Another mechanism that is used to personalize the games presented to the user is the ability to select prizes from a prize pool based on the users demographics.
In the general sense, selection of advertisements and prizes is based on the user's demographics or exhibited propensities and is done by selecting a category and then selecting an advertisement or prize from within that category. This, however, does not preclude those skilled in the art to recognize that the partitioning of the advertisement and prize pools can be done in any arbitrary manner that facilitates the correlation of user demographics or propensities to advertisements and/or prizes.
The present invention draws inferences with respect to the prizes a user prefers. The strength of the inference is bolstered by the fact that as a user plays to win a particular prize, that user can choose to buy down the odds of winning. The invention records each time a user attempts to win a prize based on random chance and also record each time the user chooses to pay for enhancing the win probability. This information then drives the propensities of the user that are subsequently used to target advertisements and select prizes.
The present invention maintains information relative to the cost of each prize offered to users. Together with information with respect to the income realized by presenting advertisements, the present invention adjusts the probability of a prize award to ensure that the prize is awarded no more frequently than the period in which an aggregate number of advertisements needed to pay for the prize are presented. This ensures that the system operator remains profitable. Once a prize is awarded, the present invention creates coupons that the user can print out and then use to redeem the prize.
The games are presented to the user through client devices such as, a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine. The client devices are connected to games through a wired or wireless network. The client devices contain a wireless network interface to communicate with personal electronic devices such as personal digital assistants and cellular phones. The personal electronic devices identify the user and conduct financial transactions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe foregoing aspects are better understood from the following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:
System Description
The PGS can also provides a plurality of products to promoters 50. Promoters can purchase marketing data in the form of customer lists, demographics, and etc. etc..
Client Devices
In the current embodiment, all of user client devices are substantially similar in architecture. Microprocessor based user client devices such as the PC 65, a set-top box 70, the Internet appliance 66 and the slot machine 75 all execute a web browser. The web browser executing in the user client devices interacts with the ACS 55 in order to retrieve web pages according to the present invention. The PC 65, the set top box 70 and the Internet appliance 66 are well known in the art. The slot machine 75 according to the present invention is new and novel.
The slot machine of the present invention further comprises a network interface 150. The network interface 150 enables the slot machine of the present invention to communicate with a remote server such as the adaptable contest server 55. When necessary, the network interface can be used to communicate with a vast range of external devices connected either to the most proximate computer network 60 or any device connected to external networks by utilizing the gateway 80.
The slot machine of the present invention further comprises a smart card interface 145 and its associated active area 146. The smart card interface 145, again under control of a driver integral to the operating system, allows the slot machine 75 to detect and read a wireless identification device.
The slot machine 75 further comprises an identification element dispenser 170. The identification element dispenser 170 receives commands from the microprocessor 105 whenever the contestant needs a new identification element. In the present embodiment, the identification element is a plastic ring that comprises a wireless smart-card integrated circuit. The dispenser 170 receives plastic rings from a magazine 175. In the present embodiment, the dispenser 170 drops plastic rings through to a slot on the front of the slot machine 75. It should be noted that the identification device can be made in any convenient form that is not offensive to the contestant and promotes use of the device whenever the contestant uses the present slot machine.
Client-Server Architecture
The ACS 55 further comprises a structured query language (SQL) engine 200. The SQL engine 200 manages a plurality of databases. These databases and the structure thereof are one key aspects of the present invention. The ACS 55 also further comprises a cache of web pages 210. The web page cache 210 is used to store a plurality of web pages. These web pages are delivered to the web browsers 95 as contestants use the invention.
Data Structures
The present invention comprises a plurality of databases. These include, but are not limited to databases that track contestants as users of the system (user databases); databases that track the products, services, and promotions that can be used as prizes that can be awarded to contestants (prize databases); and databases that are used to manage the display of advertising content to the system users (sponsor databases).
Interface Method
The present invention exploits the ubiquitous web browser interface. By using a web browser on the client device, graphical interfaces can be created and easily modified by using a markup language such as the hyper text markup language (HTML). The present invention adopts the industry nomenclature of a “web page” when referring to graphical user interfaces. Generally, a graphical user interface (GUI), or web page is created using industry standard HTML in conjunction with a Java applets. In the alternative embodiment, GUIs are created using a multimedia-authoring tool.
Access to the databases maintained by the ACS 55 is accomplished by way of SQL requests that are sent to the SQL engine 200. The SQL request are composed by Java scripts attached to web pages introduced infra or by Java applets that comprise the embodiments of games of chance. In either case, the SQL requests are received by the SQL engine 200 and fulfilled. The resulting database activity is reported to the requesting process.
Once the home page is loaded into the browser, scripting within the home page attempts to identify the user. In step 1200; the home page script looks for a “cookie” previously written to a non-volatile memory accessible by the user's client device. In the case of a PC, a cookie is normally written to the user's hard disk. If the system finds a cookie (step 1205) the script in the home page will retrieve the identification stored in the cookie (step 1200 to 10). Once the user has been identified, the identification of the user is used to personalize the welcome page presented immediately after the home page script finishes executing (step 1215).
In the event that a cookie is not discovered, the home page will retrieve a universal splash screen and present this to the user (step 1220). The universal splash screen 1225 is normally presented in the slot machine 75 device where the user cannot easily be identified. The splash screen 1225 further comprises a java-script that embodies the logical sequence needed to identify a user in the slot machine 75 of the present invention.
The java-scriptattached to the splash screen 1220 waits until there is an identification device event (step 1260). When an identification device event is perceived by the system, the java-scriptwill retrieve the identification number from the device in order to identify the user (step 1265). The java-scriptwill then redirect the web browser to a personal welcome page using the identification number retrieved from the identification device (step 1215). If an identification device event is not immediately sensed, the java-script attached to the splash screen 1225 will continue to wait for an identification device event (step 1260), or for either the identification command button (step 1270) or the play command button (step 1290) to be actuated by the user. In the event that the identification command button is actuated (step 1270) the java-scriptwill direct the web browser to a sign-in page (step 1280). If the java-scriptdetects that the play command button (step 1290) was actuated, the java-scriptwill redirect the web browser to the games-to-play web page (step 1300).
Once the contestant has entered a phone number, the system requires that verification of the user be accomplished. This is performed by requiring the contestant to indicate the month of their birth, and optionally the date of their birth. Any means to authenticate the user could be used, including but not limited to asking the user to enter a password. In the present embodiment, the Existing User web page 1515 further comprises radio button controls for month 1535 and date 1540. The contestant must select the month and date of their birth using the month radio button control 1535 and the date radio button control 1540. If the system can not adequately authenticate the user through the above described phone number and birth date mechanism, then the system will prompt the user to try entering the authentication data again.
The New Player Questionnaire web page 1565 further comprises a java-scriptthat ensures that all of the text entry controls are properly populated with text. Once the java-scripthas determined that the new user has properly filled out the form, the java-scriptcomposes an SQL request to add a data record to the user list database 220 and to the supplemental information database 350. The data received from the new user is populated into the new records in both databases according the field names corresponding to the acquisition of the information.
The name of the contestant is retrieved from the user list database 220 by using the identification number 225 as a key into the table. The user's first and last name are retrieved from those respective fields 240 and 230. The number of points that the contestant has earned is retrieved from the supplemental information database 350, specifically from the points earned field 445.
In the present embodiment, the play options include a preferred game command button 1335 and a secondary preference button 1340. The personalized welcome page 1310 is composed by the ACS 55 based on the user's preferences as recorded in the propensities database 530. One of the propensity categories stored in the propensities database 530 indicates the users two most favorite games of chance. These are used to configure the personalized web page 1310 preferred 1335 and secondary 1340 command buttons. In the case depicted in the figure, the user's first and second preferences are the games called PrizeSpin and Black Jack, respectively. In the event that the contestant wants to engage in team play, a mean to aggregate points with the achievements of other contestant, the contestant can actuate the team play command button 1345. If the contestant would like to play other games, the other games command button 1350 can be selected. These two command buttons direct the web browser to either the team management GUI (web page) 1355 or the games-to-play web page 1360. At this juncture, the contestant can select any one of the command buttons to navigate to the next desired GUI. Any of the advertisements included in the web page further comprise a hyperlink that will direct the web browser to the advertisers web page.
When the team management web page 1355 is first presented to the contestant, only the team captain and team name controls are initialized. The contestant can then select one of the team names that are included in the team name drop down control 1365. Once the user has selected one of the team names, the java-script attached to the web page will compose an SQL query to retrieve additional information about that team. The SQL query includes, but is not limited to retrieving the category of a prize and the item of a prize (object category field 630 and object item field 630) that the user previously selected as that team's objective, the number of points the team must earn to secure the prize objective (offered price field 640) and the date by which the team must attain the total number of required points (expire date field 650). If the object item is not defined (i.e. a null value is returned in response to the SQL query), then the java-script will populate the item control 1375 with an enumeration of all of the items available in the selected category. This is accomplished by retrieving all of the items defined in the Prize Pool database 970 where the category field 980 is equal to the category value returned from the teams database. If the object has not been previously defined, then the java-scriptwill retrieve a list for all prize categories found in the Prize Pool database 970 and populate the category drop down control 1370 with that enumeration. Once the contestant selects a prize category and item for a team, that selection can not be changed.
The system will determine the total number of points that the team must earn before it can redeem the prize. This is done by retrieving price (in points) of the prize (field 1070) from the prize pool database 970. This price is stored in the teams database 590, offered price field 640. The java-scriptwill retrieve the number of points (teams database 590, offered price field 640) and the expiration date (teams database 590, expire date field 650) of the collaborative objective offer and present these in the two text display controls 1380 and 1385.
The team management web page 1355 further comprises a team mates control 1400. The team mates control 1400 is managed by the java-scriptattached to the web page and is updated whenever a team mate is added or dropped or when the web page is first presented to the contestant. In order to update the team mates control 1400, the java-scriptretrieves a list of all of the team mates affiliated with the team from the team mate database 660. Using the contestants identification number as a primary key (ID number field 670), the java-script composes an SQL query to retrieve all of the team member identification numbers (field member ID 690) for the given team name (team name field 680). The SQL query also retrieves the number of points each team member has earned toward the objective. This information is then presented in the team mates control 1400. The team mates control 1400 is a scrollable text field arranged in a cellular structure.
When the Java applet begins executing, the graphical user interface is created and managed directly by the program applet. When a contestant actuates the spin command button 1775, the Java applet will cause the cylinder emulators 1765 to begin scrolling through a series of prize selections. The cylinder emulators will be stopped in sequential order. Before the contestant again spins the cylinders, the contestant can freeze any number of the cylinders to maintain the prize currently portrayed on the cylinder.
Whenever the contestant freezes a prize, the system infers that the contestant is interested in winning that prize. This inference is manifest as an entry in the user propensity database 530. The Java applet creates an SQL request to add a record to the propensity database 530 with the ID number field 540 set to the current contestant identification number and the ordinal field 550 set to the next sequential number. The propensity type field 560 is set to indicate a prize preference propensity and the value field 570 is set to indicate the prize category and item. The date that the event occurred is also stored in the date field 580. A new propensity record is added to the propensity database 530 whenever the contestant freezes a prize. This means that a plurality of propensity records will be created if a contestant chooses to freeze multiple cylinders for the same prize. In the present embodiment, the act of freezing a cylinder will result in a debit of points to the contestant's account. Since freezing a cylinder costs the contestant in terms or points, the inference that the frozen cylinder is important to the contestant can be further sustained.
The cylinder emulator 1765 has another novel utility. Some of the images shown on the cylinder are advertisements. When a cylinder stops scrolling, the Java applet will present the advertisement in a presentation window on the cylinder.
Statistics Gathering
The present invention endeavors to collect statistics by monitoring the contestant's activities. Several mechanisms are employed in the effort to profile a contestant. These mechanisms are described here but can also be summarized as a inferential mechanisms in that the system attempts to profile each contestant based on their behavior during game play.
Favorite Game
As contestants use the system, the system tracks the number of minutes each contestant plays each game of chance. Each game of chance is implemented as a Java applet. That Java applet will note the time at which the contestant started playing the game. When the contestant stops playing the game, the Java applet will again read the time of day and subtract the start time from the end time. This difference will be accumulated to the users play preference. This accumulation is accomplished by composing an SQL request to create a new record in the user statistics database 450. The new record is then populated with the next sequential ordinal number (ordinal field 470) and the type 480 and subtype 490 fields set to indicate the type of game being played. The value field 500 is set with the total number of minutes played and the record date 510 is also recorded. Whenever the contestant returns to the system, the statistics database 450 is consulted and all records having the users identification number and that have game play information are extracted from the database by the web server executing in ACS 55. The ACS 55 will then determine what the contestants two favorite games are when a personalized welcome page is created for the user.
Prize Preference
The present invention further comprises a collection of games that are implemented as Java applets. These Java applets are attached to web pages that are loaded by the client side browser upon selection of that game by the contestant. When a contestant plays any game of chance in the system, the Java applet will send propensity records to the ACS 55 in order to record product preferences or spending propensities of that contestant.
As the player plays any of the games offered by the system, the game applet will retrieve personal attributes about the contestant from the user list database 220, from the user supplemental database 350 and from the user propensities database 530 using an SQL query. When a game applet offers a plurality of prizes that the contestant can win, prizes are selected from the prize pool database 970 based on either personal attributes or a correlation of certain propensities the player is exhibiting to the prize categories.
The prize pool database 970 may have a plurality of categories including, but not limited to:
Product Categories:
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- Furniture
- Consumer Electronics
- Books
- Computers
- Cars
- Sporting Goods
- Baby Wares
- Hobby Supplies
Promotion Categories:
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- Entertainment
- Sports
- Fitness
- Travel
- Home
Lifestyle Categories:
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- Family Bent
- Senior Citizen
- Teenager
- City Dweller
- New Yorker
- Traveler
Because some prizes will be appealing to more than one category, a prize record may be duplicated in the prize pool database 970 so that the identical prize item will appear in more than one category.
Prize categories are selected based on the personal attributes or based on propensities. As users play a game, their propensities will be updated according to their game play activity. A propensity record will be appended to the propensity database 530.
Advertisements
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- Entertainment;
- Sports;
- Fitness;
- Travel; and
- Home.
Each advertisement record is stored with the name of the advertiser in field 790 and the name of the advertisement 800. The negotiated cost of presenting the advertisement to contestants is also stored in the cost per thousands (CPM) field 810. The saturation level of the advertisement is stored in the field of the same name 820. The saturation level is a multiplier that results in preferential presentation among advertisements in a category. Advertisements with a greater saturation level value will be presented more frequently than those with a smaller saturation value.
As the advertisement is presented to users, the system will keep track of the number of impressions of the advertisement that are presented. This is done directly by the ACS 55 when web pages are composed. Advertisements can be in many different forms, as an illustrative example, advertisements can be simple graphic images, animated graphics, interactive multimedia presentations, audio or video clips. The advertisement pool database 770 stores a reference to a source file (field 850) for the advertisement. An appropriate companion, extension or plug-in is used in conjunction with the browser in order to display an advertisement.
Advertisements are also presented by the Java applets that embody the plurality of games of chance that the contestants can play. In the event that a Java applet needs to present an advertisement, the applet will send a request to the ACS 55 to retrieve a reference to an advertisement. Once the applet receives the reference, it retrieves the source file from the ACS 55 and then displays the advertisement to the contestant. When the ACS 55 provides a reference to a Java applet, it increments the impression counter (field 830) for that advertisement.
The present invention presents advertisements in accordance with preferences attributed to each individual contestant. As disclosed earlier, each contestant using the system is profiled. The propensities database is processed on a period basis, currently one week but the period is adjustable as needs dictate. The processing of the propensity database 530 comprises the extraction of any products that the contestant favors over the proceeding plurality of processing periods. The resulting list of products is then sorted by product category and the resulting categories are again stored in the propensities database 530.
When the system needs to present an advertisement, the preferences for product categories are retrieved from the propensities database 530 and an advertisement is selected from the advertisement pool database 770 in a random manner having a matching category. Of course, where there are a plurality of advertisements in a category, the selection is weighted according to the saturation level (field 820) for each of the advertisements.
Sponsorships
Many of the games of chance that are presented in the system are sponsored. Sponsorships are, in essence, super ads. These super ads are presented to the contestant for the duration of game play and are categorized.
As is the case with any advertisement, a sponsorship message can be in any multimedia form supported by the system.
Hyperlink Processing
The system charges additional fees for referring a contestant to an advertisers or sponsors web site. Every advertisement presented to a contestant by the system, including sponsorship, is in the form of:
www.acs.com/ad_reference=ref_address,userID
This hyperlink first causes a special referral page to be loaded. The referral page is called “reference”. The actual address of the advertisers web page is passed to the referral page as an argument. The referral page has an attached java-scriptthat uses the web page address to as an indicator that the corresponding advertiser should be charged for a referral. This is recorded by incrementing the referral field 870 of the advertisement pool database. Optionally, the system can use the userID to record the contestant that requested the referral.
In the event that the advertisement is a sponsorship presentation, the form of the hyperlink is:
www.acs.com/spon_reference=ref_address,userID
This hyperlink is processed analogously to that of an advertisement reference. The difference between the <ad_reference> and <spon_reference> lies in the JavaScripts attached to each. In the advertisement referral page, the java-scriptcounts references by incrementing the referral counter in the advertisement pool database 770. The sponsorship referral page increments the total impressions field 920 in the sponsor list database 880. These incrementing activities are implemented as SQL commands that each respective java-scriptcomposes and directs to the ACS 55.
Prize Fulfillment
The present invention establishes a probability level for the awarding prizes and or points. The odds that a particular prize will be awarded directly by a game-of-chance is established by monitoring the number of contestants vying for the prize. The odds of wining a prize are also based on the number of advertising impressions that must be presented in order to ensure overall profitability for the system operator.
In the present embodiment, the odds of winning a prize are first calculated as a function of:
-
- the cost of the prize
- stored in the prize pool database 970 cost field 1070; and
- minimum of all advertisement cost per thousand that have the prize indicated as the correlated item in the advertisement pool database 770, field 785.
The first imperative in setting odds of winning is that the difference in the cost the prize must be less than the amount of revenue received as a result of advertising revenue.
A contestant can receive prizes either by winning the prize at the calculated probability, or the contestant can redeem points won or purchased toward the prize.
Marketing Data
Many advertisers and sponsors will want to purchase marketing data directly from the system operator. Marketing data is tracked for every contestant registered in the user list database 220. The marketing data is stored in the propensities database 530. On a periodic basis, the period of which is definable to the system operator, the billing server 56 will retrieve the user list database 220 and the propensities database 530 and store copies of these databases in the billing server. The billing server will then create a report of buying propensities that describes the interest level of each contestant in product categories and specific prizes and/or promotions. This report will be e-mailed to a purchaser using an electronic shopping facility. The electronic shopping facility will then print an invoice using as printer 57 or it will debit the purchasers account using a special electronic fund transfer interface 58.
Contestant Billing
Contestants compete in play using points. Points must be purchased before a player can play a game of chance. A billing GUI requires the contestant to enter a credit card number, expiration date and the name on the card. This information is stored in the user supplemental information database 350, the credit card field 430. As points are purchased, the number of points available for that contestant is adjusted accordingly. The number of points available is also stored in the user supplemental information database 350. The points available are stored in a field with the same name 435. The billing server 56 will use the special transaction interface 58 to obtain credit card authorization from the issuing bank.
Promoter Billing
The system adheres to a monthly billing cycle for advertisers and sponsors, although the billing period can be adjusted to suit the needs to the system operator. Upon initiation, the billing server (
-
- advertisement database 770; and
- sponsor list database 880.
At the end of the billing cycle, the billing databases are again copied from the ACS 55 into a separate set of files in the billing server 56. The copies retained by the billing server 56 as the end of a billing cycle will become the initial databases for the subsequent billing cycle.
Once the databases are copied, the billing server 56 will discover any differences in the total impression count and the referral count for each advertiser and sponsor. These differences will be the basis for billing the advertisers and sponsors for presenting their multimedia messages. Billing can be accomplished either by printing invoices using a printer 57 or by conducting electronic debit transactions to the advertisers or sponsors bank account using a special interface 58.
The final step in the billing cycle is to determine which advertisements and sponsorships have expired. This is done with the aid of an off-line database. The billing server 56 will then compose an SQL command to remove the records for each of the expired advertisements and sponsorships from the working billing databases maintained in the ACS 55.
Alternative Embodiments
While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, it is contemplated that alternatives, modifications, permutations, and equivalents thereof will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and study of the drawings. It is therefore intended that the true spirit and scope of the present invention include all such alternatives, modifications, permutations, and equivalents. Some, but by no means all of the possible alternatives are described herein.
The invention uses an SQL database engine and allows remote devices to interact with the databases using the structured query language. Any other suitable database management system that allows clients to interact with a main set of databases is sufficient to support the database needs of the present invention.
The invention employs a standard web browser that can present HTML web pages and execute java-scriptand Java applets. Other possible embodiments would include a custom web GUI definition language and psudo code executive. One such other implementation would be a multimedia presentation created in MacroMedia™ Flash™ MPEG-4 technology could likewise be utilized.
The invention is based on TCP/IP protocols. Other alternative, including the use of isochronous channels to carry multimedia to the client devices and asymmetrical protocols could also be used. Any suitable networking structure that provides for client sever interaction is an acceptable alternative to TCP/IP.
The invention is based on client device connected to computer network. Wireless devices such as PDA's and cell phones interface with slot machines to identify the contestant and then effect any financial transactions the contestant authorizes. Other alternatives include using wireless devices with other client devices such as a personal computer, a set-top box and a ubiquitous Internet appliance. Each client device contains a wireless network interface. The wireless network interface uses low-power radio-frequency communications to communicate with personal electronic devices such as PDA's and cell phones.
The wireless network interface incorporated into the invention uses a frequency-hopping scheme in conjunction with an encryption mechanism that supports secure transactions. The wireless network interface of the present invention conforms to the Bluetooth specification adopted by an industry consortium. It should be noted that any suitable wireless network interface can be utilized so long as secure transactions, wireless transactions with small personal devices can be accommodated. When a contestant first approaches the client device, the wireless network interface establishes a connection with the contestant's personal device. This connection allows the client device to identify the contestant and then effect any financial transactions the contestant authorizes.
The invention is based on a PGS wired to client devices. Another preferred embodiment includes the use of wireless communication devices employing wireless protocols to connect the client devices to the PGS. Monies are transferred to and from the PGS and the client devices. Transactions are secured using the Bluetooth specification as described previously.
Claims
1. A method for presenting advertisements to a user comprising the steps of:
- receiving personal information about the user;
- providing a game for the user to play;
- selecting an advertisement from a pool of advertisements according to said personal information;
- integrating said advertisement into the game; wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
- allowing the player to select preferences for prizes;
- monitoring the players preference selections; and
- updating said personal information to reflect said preference selections.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
- allowing the user to activate an advertisement during the course of its presentation;
- retrieving additional information for the activated advertisement; and
- presenting said additional information to the user.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in the form of a graphic image.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in the form of an animated graphic image.
6. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in the form of a video clip.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in the form of an interactive multimedia presentation.
8. The method of claim 3 wherein the additional information is in the form of an audio clip.
9. A method for presenting advertisements to a user comprising the steps of:
- providing a game for the user to play;
- selecting an advertisement from a pool of advertisements according to a set of propensities describing the user;
- integrating said advertisement into the game;
- wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of:
- a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:
- allowing the player to select preferences for prizes;
- monitoring the players preference selections; and
- updating said propensities to reflect said preference selections.
11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:
- allowing the user to activate an advertisement during the course of its presentation;
- retrieving additional information for the activated advertisement; and
- presenting said additional information to the user.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in the form of a graphic image.
13. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in the form of an animated graphic image.
14. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in the form of a video clip.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in the form of an interactive multimedia presentation.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information is in the form of an audio clip.
17. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game comprising the steps of:
- allowing the user to play a game;
- monitoring the users activity during game play to determine if the user is exhibiting a preference for a particular prize;
- presenting prizes that the user can win by playing said game wherein the prizes are selected based on a set of propensities exhibited by the user;
- updating said set of propensities to reflect said exhibited prize preference.; and
- wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
18. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game comprising the steps of:
- receiving a plurality of personal attributes describing a user;
- selecting a prize based on a subset of the said plurality of attributes; and
- wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
19. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game comprising the steps of:
- receiving a plurality of personal attributes describing a user;
- segregating a collection of prizes into a plurality of categories;
- selecting one of said categories based on a first personal attribute of the user;
- selecting a prize from said selected category based on a second personal attribute of the user; and wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
20. A method for selecting prizes that a user can win in a game comprising the steps of:
- presenting an enumeration of prizes that the user can win;
- receiving from the user a selection of a prize presented in the enumeration; and wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of: a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance and a slot machine.
21. A method for determining what prizes are of more interest to a contestant comprising the steps of:
- establishing an account for a contestant;
- presenting a plurality of prizes that the contestant can win;
- allowing the contestant to select a prize that the contestant wants to win;
- allowing the contestant to engage a random process to determine if the
- prize should be awarded in exchange for a debit of a first quantity of points from said account;
- allowing the contestant to improve the likelihood of winning in exchange for a second quantity of points from said account;
- recording the prize selected by the contestant;
- counting the number of times that the contestant engages said random process; and
- counting the number of times that the contestant improves the odd that thecontestant.
22. A method for awarding prizes to a contestant comprising the steps of:
- offering to a contestant a plurality of prizes that the contestant can win;
- tracking the cost of each of said plurality of prizes;
- associating an advertisement with each of said prizes;
- tracking the income received for each impression of the advertisement presented to the contestant; and
- adjusting a probability that the contestant will win the prize so as to ensure that the income received for all impressions of the advertisement over a period of time exceeds the cost of the prize.
23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the steps of:
- allowing the contestant to engage a random process with said adjusted
- probability to determine if the prize is to be awarded; and
- allowing the contestant to print a coupon that can be used to redeem the prize after it is awarded.
24. An advertisement presentation unit comprising:
- database of personal information describing a plurality of attributes for a plurality of users;
- attribute reception interface;
- database manager that receives attributes from the attribute reception unit and stores said attributes in said database of personal information;
- advertisement database comprising fields for a category for each advertisement record;
- advertisement reception unit that receives advertisements together with a category label and stores the advertisements together with their category labels in said advertisement database;
- orrelation unit that receives an input that specifies one user and retrieves a personal attribute for that user from the database of personal information and reads a correlation category from a table using the retrieved personal attribute as an index;
- selection unit that receives the correlation category and retrieves an advertisement from said advertisement database where the category label of the advertisement retrieved matches the correlation category; and
- advertisement delivery unit capable of delivering the advertisement to a game.
25. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 24 further comprising a computer game that:
- receives advertisements from said advertisement delivery unit and presents them to a user;
- allows players to win prizes;
- allows players to select what prizes they want to win;
- records the players selection activities; and
- updates the personal information about a user stored in the database of personal information.
26. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 25 further comprising:
- monitoring unit that receives activation requests from a user together with an indication of what advertisement was activated;
- information retrireview unit that receives an indication of what advertisement was activated by the user from the monitoring unit and retrieves additional information about the advertisement; and
- multimedia presentation unit that retrieves additional information attached to an advertisement from the information retrireview unit and presents said information to a user.
27. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the additional information is in the form of a graphic image.
28. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the additional information is in the form of an animated graphic image.
29. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the additional information is in the form of a video clip.
30. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the additional information is in the form of an interactive multimedia presentation.
31. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 26 wherein the additional information is in the form of an audio clip.
32. An advertisement presentation unit comprising:
- database of personal propensities describing a plurality of attributes for a plurality of users;
- advertisement database comprising fields for a category for each advertisement record;
- advertisement reception unit that receives advertisements together with a category label and stores the advertisements together with their category labels in said advertisement database;
- correlation unit that receives an input that specifies one user and retrieves a personal propensities for that user from the database of personal propensities and reads a correlation category from a table using the retrieved personal attribute as an index;
- selection unit that receives the correlation category and retrieves an advertisement from said advertisement database where the category label of the advertisement retrieved matches the correlation category; and
- advertisement delivery unit capable of delivering the advertisement to a game.
33. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 32 further comprising a computer game that:
- receives advertisements from said advertisement delivery unit and present them to a user;
- allows players to win prizes;
- allows players to select what prizes they want to win;
- records the players selection activities; and
- updates the personal propensities about a user stored in the database of personal propensities.
34. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 33 further comprising:
- monitoring unit that receives activation requests from a user together with an indication of what advertisement was activated;
- information retrireview unit that receives an indication of what advertisement was activated by the user from the monitoring unit and retrieves additional information about the advertisement; and
- multimedia presentation unit that retrieves additional information attached to an advertisement from the information retrireview unit and presents said information to a user.
35. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34 wherein the additional information is in the form of a graphic image.
36. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34 wherein the additional information is in the form of an animated graphic image.
37. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34 wherein the additional information is in the form of a video clip.
38. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34, wherein the additional information is in the form of an interactive multimedia presentation.
39. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 34, wherein the additional information is in the form of an audio clip.
40. A prize selection unit comprising:
- database of available prizes containing a plurality of prize descriptions;
- database of personal information containing a plurality or attributes for a plurality of users;
- attribute reception unit that receives a plurality of attributes for a plurality of users and stores said received attributes in the database of personal information; and
- selection unit that:
- receives an identification of a user and an indicator of required selection attributes;
- retrieves the required selection attributes from the database of personal information for the identified user; and
- selects a prize that matches the retrieved selection attributes from the database of available prizes.
41. A prize selection unit comprising:
- database of available prizes containing a plurality of prize descriptions that are segregated into categories;
- database of personal information containing a plurality or attributes for a plurality of users;
- attribute reception unit that receives a plurality of attributes for a plurality of users and stores said received attributes in the database of personal information; and
- selection unit that:
- receives an identification of a user and an indicator of a first and second required selection attributes;
- retrieves the first and second required selection attributes from the database of personal information for the identified user; and
- selects a prize category that matches the retrieved selection attribute from the database of available prizes.
42. A prize selection unit comprising:
- database of personal propensities;
- monitoring unit that detects selection request from a user and issues an enumeration request;
- presentation module that presents an enumeration of available prizes to the user upon receiving an enumeration request; and
- selection module that receives from a user a plurality prize selections and stores the selections received in said database of personal propensities.
43. A prize interest quotient acquisition device comprising:
- database of personal propensities;
- account register that stores the balance of points that a user has;
- prize presentation unit that presents a user with a selection of prizes that can be won;
- prize selection unit that receives from the user a indication of what prize is to be played for and stores this indication in the database of personal propensities; and
- contest unit that:
- receives an indication from a user to engage a random process to determine if the prize is won, decrements the value stored in the account register by a first quantity of points and then stores the indication of random process together with the prize selection in the database of personal propensities; and
- receives an indication from a user that the probability of winning the prize is to be enhanced, decrements the value stored in the account register by a second quantity of points and then stores the indication of probability enhancement together with the prize selection in the database of personal propensities.
44. A prize fulfillment unit comprising:
- database of a plurality of advertisements available for presentation that comprises an income value for each impression of each of the plurality of advertisement;
- database of a plurality of prizes available for award to a contestant that comprises a cost value for each prize and an indicator that associates each prize with an advertisement; and
- cost correlator that: receives a request,from a game for a probability indicator for a selected prize; uses the indicator of the selected prize as an index to retrieve the cost of the prize from the database of a plurality of prizes; retrieves from the database of a plurality of advertisements the income value for the advertisement that has an indicator that associates that advertisement with the indicator of the selected prize; calculates the number of impressions that are required to result in income greater than the cost of the selected prize; and issues a probability indicator that is based on said calculated number of impressions required and the cost of the selected prize.
45. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 44, further comprising:
- random number generator that accepts a probability indicator issued by the cost correlator and determines if the selected prize is to be awarded; and
- coupon generator that creates a coupon that can be printed by the user and can be used to redeem the prize.
46. The method of claim 45 wherein said client devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of:
- a personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
47. The method, of claim 46 wherein said wireless device is used to identify said user and perform financial transactions.
48. The method of claim 45, wherein said game is accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
49. The prize selection unit of claim 24, wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of:
- a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance, and a slot machine.
50. The prize selection unit of claim 49, wherein said client devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of:
- a personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
51. The prize selection unit of claim 50, wherein said wireless device is used to identify said user and perform financial transactions.
52. The prize selection unit of claim 49, wherein said game is accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
53. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 32, wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of:
- a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance, and a slot machine.
54. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 53, wherein said client devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of:
- a personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
55. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 54, wherein said wireless device is used to identify said user and perform financial transactions.
56. The advertisement presentation unit of claim 55, wherein said game is accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
57. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 44, wherein said game is accessed by client devices comprising any of:
- a personal computer, a set-top box, a ubiquitous Internet appliance, and a slot machine.
58. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 57, wherein said client devices are interfaced with wireless devices comprising any of:
- a personal digital assistant and a cellular phone.
59. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 58, wherein said wireless device is used to identify said user and perform financial transactions.
60. The prize fulfillment unit of claim 59, wherein said game is accessed by said client devices using a wireless means.
61. The method of claim 21, wherein said contestant increases or decreases said points in said account based upon the outcome of a game.
62. The method of claim 61, wherein said game is a game of chance.
63. The method of claim 62, wherein said game of chance comprises any of: slots, blackjack, poker, roulette and lottery.
64. The method of claim 18, wherein said game is selected based on said subset of the said plurality of attributes.
65. The prize interest quotient acquisition device of claim 43, wherein said contestant increases or decreases said points in said account based upon the outcome of a game.
66. The prize interest quotient acquisition device of claim 65, wherein said game is a game of chance.
67. The prize interest quotient acquisition device of claim 66, wherein said game of chance comprises any of:
- slots, blackjack, poker, roulette and lottery.
68. The prize selection unit of claim 40, wherein a game is played allowing said user to earn said prizes and wherein said game is selected based on said plurality of attributes.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 15, 2005
Publication Date: Dec 15, 2005
Inventor: Douglas Barry (Tiburon, CA)
Application Number: 11/154,835