Method and apparatus for the casino Feng Shui game

Abstract

A game of chance using a carousel wheel having an inner wheel divided into six inner wheel segments, a middle wheel divided into twelve segments, and an outer wheel divided into twenty-four outer equal segments. Each of the segments bears one of four secondary designations. When the carousel is spun, each of its wheels rotate with its own independent degree of freedom; when the spinning stops each of the inner wheel segments aligns itself with two of the middle wheel segments and four of the outer wheel segments. The game can be played in a casino game parlor having multiple tables for two to four players that use one or more carousel wheels displayed about the parlor, or each table, or some of the tables, can have their own carousel, or the game can be played by two or more players remotely located, each of which has an electronic device that is connected to the other players of the game. Each player receives a session set of ten markers, one of which represents a spot on the inner wheel, three of which represent spots on the middle wheel, and six of which represent spots on the outer wheel. Winnings for each player for each spin of the carousel are determined by a set of rules tied to odds for various possible combinations influenced by any exercise of an optional betting declaration.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is in the field of games of chance. In particular, this invention discloses a casino gaming method and apparatus requiring both luck and skill for the players to win. This game is used primarily for entertaining and gambling purposes in casinos but can also be made into a board game for the general public. In particular, the concept of this game relates to the Chinese folk culture of Feng Shui (Wind and Water) and the twelve Chinese Zodiac animal signs and the game therefore is expected to have a much stronger appeal to people with Chinese or Asian heritage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Mahjongg has been a popular gambling game in the Far East played among family members and friends in social circles for as long as one can remember. During the early '50's, there were Mahjongg parlors in most major casinos in Las Vegas to accommodate gamblers of Asian heritage, particularly Chinese, to play the Mahjongg game. The playing of Mahjongg games, particularly when there are quite a few tables located close to one another, is a very noisy affair because of the constant banging sound of the tiles when the game is in progress. But it is the loud noise that is generated when the tiles are being periodically shuffled that most people cannot stand except for the players themselves. Until the time when the Mahjongg parlors no longer existed, most casino operators in Las Vegas could withstand such annoyances as long as these Mahjongg parlors generated good incomes for them. Over the years, however, the derived incomes from the operation of Mahjongg parlors in casinos could no longer justify their existence. Consequently, by the early 1980's, most Mahjongg parlors had disappeared from the casino gambling scene in Las Vegas.

The absence of Mahjongg parlors in Las Vegas casinos have been quickly replaced with parlors playing other gambling games such as Poker and Baccarat. However, the appeal of these new gambling games can hardly match that for the Mahjongg to the ethnic gamblers who simply love to play Mahjongg because of their cultural background. In order to attract back some of this class of gamblers, who have long been recognized as being loyal and high-gambling, some casino operators over the years have tried to import Chinese style gambling games such as “Pai Gau”, “Fan Tan”, and various exotic dice games etc. to the Las Vegas casinos. The results, however, have been mediocre at best and certainly not spectacular as they would hope.

Thus, there exists a need with Las Vegas casino operators since the early 1980's for a new gambling game to take the place of Mahjongg. And, such a game would also be useful in many other casinos outside of Las Vegas, wherever gambling is allowed by law. However, the promises that this new game must deliver, both to the casino operators and to the ethnic gamblers, are indeed overwhelming. Let us start with the expectations of the casinos from operating successfully such a game. The first and most important issue to them is the everyday net income from operating such a game. The game must be able to generate, even in the worst gambler occupancy capacity of 10-20%, sufficient income to cover the facility and staffing overhead and a return on investment not less then 10%. Second, the game should not pose any unacceptable risk of financial liability to the operator from such occurrences as injuries to staff or players, property damage, intellectual properties infringements, publicity slanders etc. Third, the game must be very appealing to an average player and much more so to ethnic players. Fourth, the initial setup investment to run such a game must be reasonable and fall within the return on investment expectation. Finally, the game must be not only be very interesting to the gambling folks but also be very easy for them to learn to play.

For the players, especially the ethnic gamblers who seek to find a replacement for the Mahjongg game in casinos, the expectations from them are equally overwhelming. Some of these expectations are the same as those for the casino operators, but they will be repeated here for the sake of completeness. First, they expect a game just as fun to play, or close to it, as the Mahjongg. Second, since they love to gamble, this game must satisfy them to the extent that they can win big money if they are lucky. Third, this game must afford them to play as short or as long a time as they please without any encumbrance. Fourth, like the Mahjongg game, players can play with their family members or close friend and not playing against the casino establishment or other strangers. Finally, this game must be very easy to learn, easy to master in a very short time without having to remember any rules, make any complicated decisions or calculations in order to play. In short, the game must be one of the “no-brain” types because, after all, they are just simple people that love to gamble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a new game played with a carousel wheel having an inner wheel divided into six inner wheel segments, a middle wheel divided into twelve segments, and an outer wheel divided into twenty-four outer equal segments; each of the segments bearing its own unique designation and one of four secondary designations. In addition to the carousel, the game uses 40 markers (which can be tiles, cards, or even represented electronically). Four of the markers represent four of the spots on the inner wheel of the carousel, twelve of the markers represent each of the spots on the middle wheel of the carousel, and twenty-four of the markers represent each of the spots on the outer wheel of the carousel. In the inner and outer wheels, the secondary designations are used for consecutive blocks of three and six segments, respectively. The two segments of the inner wheel that are not represented by a marker each have their own secondary designation that is different from the secondary designations used with the segments of the inner wheel that are represented by a marker. When the carousel is spun, each of the inner, middle and outer wheels rotate with its own independent degree of freedom and after the carousel is spun and each of the wheels has rotated, each of the inner wheel segments will align itself moving outwardly from the inner wheel with two of the middle wheel segments and four of the outer wheel segments.

In a first, separate group of aspects of the present invention, the secondary identifications are colors; the six unique inner wheel designations are a Harmony designation (which may be red), a North designation, an East designation, a Flood designation (which may be black), a South designation and a West designation; the twelve unique middle wheel designations are the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac which may be arranged to follow the sequence of the Chinese Zodiac; and the twenty-four unique outer wheel designations are numbers 1 through 24 which may be sequenced to increase monotonically from 1 to 24. The positioning of the unique designations of the three wheels relative to one another in a given wheel can remain fixed or be varied when the carousel is spun.

In other, separate aspects of the present invention, the game can be played in a casino game parlor having multiple tables for two to four players that use one or more carousel wheels displayed about the parlor, or each table, or some of the tables, can have their own carousel. Also, the game can be played by two or more players remotely located, each of which has an electronic device that is connected to the other players of the game.

In still other, separate aspects of the present invention, the game of the present invention is played by two to four players who first receive a session set of ten markers, each of which has one marker representing a spot on the inner wheel, three markers representing spots on the middle wheel, and six markers representing spots on the outer wheel. For each session spin of the carousel, at least one of the players can be allowed to make an optional betting declaration in which the player either does not use the player's marker for the inner wheel, or the player's marker for the inner wheel plus one marker for each of the middle and outer wheels, or one player is designated the banker and that player is allowed to place a six to one bet that one of that player's markers for the outer wheel will turn up in that player's session spin set of designations determined by a predetermined designation location for the player (which may be a pointer) for the spin. Next, the carousel wheel is spun and each player's session set of designations is compared with that player's session set of markers, plus any optional betting declaration, to establish any winnings of each of the players from the other players for the session spin. Winnings for each player are determined by a set of rules tied to odds for various possible combinations influenced by any exercise of an optional betting declaration. The session set of markers for each player is used for eight spins of the carousel and then each player receives a new session set of markers.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved game of chance for use in casinos and elsewhere.

This and further objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art in connection with the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the carousel of the casino Feng Shui game.

FIG. 2 shows the three sets of asset tiles used to play the game. FIG. 2A shows the set of Feng Shui asset tiles (4 in a set); FIG. 2B shows the set of Animal asset tiles (12 in a set) and FIG. 2C shows the set of Time Passage asset tiles (24 in a set).

FIG. 3 shows the layout of a typical Feng Shui parlor inside a casino for the playing of the casino Feng Shui game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The presently invented game is designed to meet the expectations of Las Vegas and other casino operators, as well as the players themselves, with special emphasis on satisfying ethnic gamblers, and especially the Chinese. Before addressing the details of an especially preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will first be explained in summary fashion how these expectations are met, and then the especially preferred embodiment will be described in even greater detail later on in connection with the Figures.

In order to meet the expectation of the ethnic gamblers, especially the Chinese, who love to play Mahjongg (normally played by four people) which has its origin dated back hundreds of years to ancient China, the presently invented game uses the Chinese folk culture of “Feng Shui” and the twelve Chinese Zodiac animal signs as backgrounds. Feng Shui in Chinese means wind and water. Its origin dates back several thousand years to ancient China. The geography of that vast land requires careful consideration when constructing a building since the mountain winds can be severe and the lower areas are prone to flooding. Hence Feng Shui means wind and water. Today one tends to use Feng Shui to guide one to look at how the placement of objects can bring harmony to the environment. It can be as simple as placing your couch in the best location in your living room or as complex as placing your house in the best location on your property.

Unlike the Western astrology which is related to the heavens or the Zodiac and has 12 constellations or signs for astrological purposes, the Chinese Zodiac uses twelve animal signs—namely Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Boar—in its representation. Each animal of the Chinese zodiac has its own special characteristics. Many people in China believe that these characteristics affect events that happen during the year. Furthermore, they believe that people born in a certain year will have qualities of that year's animal. The presently invented casino game uses both the Feng Shui and the twelve Chinese zodiac animal signs in the formation of its core structure or carousel, which is used to determine the outcome of a particular play for the game in the passage of time as represented by the spinning motion of the carousel.

The present game is designed for two to four players to play. Since the players are basically playing against one another, any number of players between two and four can play this game. Besides casino chips which are used as game money, the game equipment comprises a carousel and 40 asset markers, which are preferably tiles, but could take other forms, such as cards. Tiles are especially preferred because tiles are traditionally used in Mahjongg games. The carousel is a composite structure of three wheels sharing a common axis but each of them has its own degree of freedom. In other words, each of the three wheels can either rotate clockwise or counterclockwise and can land at its own final spot or location independent of the others after a spin. Furthermore, the members or contents of each of the three wheels can be made to shuffle their respective positions during the spinning of the wheel. This feature is purposely designed in, if needed, to increase the randomness of the game. The innermost wheel is called the Feng Shui wheel, the middle the Animal wheel and the outermost the Time Passage wheel. There are four pointers located at four distinct locations on the outside perimeter of the outermost wheel. Before the game starts, each player (up to four) takes up one of the respective four pointers marked according to where the player sits around a square table for four. What comes out of a spin for a player depends on where each of the three wheels respectively ends up at the player's pointer.

In addition to being assigned a specific pointer, each player takes possession of 10 asset tiles. The 40 asset tiles make up three distinct asset sets clearly marked on the back of the tiles for asset set differentiation, namely the Feng Shui set, the Animal set and the Time Passage set. The Feng Shui set has four asset tiles and they are respectively the four wind directions East (E), South (S), West (W) and North (N). The Animal set has 12 asset tiles each is being represented by a zodiac animal. The Time Passage set has 24 asset tiles each representing a period of one hour and cover uniquely the 24 hours time span of a day. Of the 10 asset tiles randomly picked by a player before a play, one comes from the Feng Shui set, 3 from the Animal set and the remaining 6 from the Time Passage set.

The basic play for this game involves 1) the spinning of the carousel; 2) determination of the spinning outcome for each player according to the player's assigned pointer and 3) a comparison between a player's spinning outcome with the player's asset tiles in order to determine the player's winning for that particular spin. Since the players are playing against one another, each player will pay the other players their winnings but will also receive winnings from them. Thus, a player will have a winning spin if the player receives more than the player pays out. On the other hand, the player will have a losing spin if the player pays out more than the player receives. The payment to the players by one another or the money settlement for each spin of the carousel must be completed prior to the start of another spin. The casino operator will demand a service charge from the players after a predetermined number of spins have been completed which can be one or four etc. and is the sole choice for the casino operator.

As a casino game, a number of tables, typical 24 and each sitting four players, can be set in a so-called Feng Shui Parlor having an area of approximately 3,000 to 5,000 sq. ft. The Feng Shui carousel can be set up electronically on three giant screens (16 ft.×20 ft. typical) on three sides of the parlor such that every player, irrespective of where the player sits, can enjoy a clear view of the carousel. The spinning of the carousel on the screens is also electronically controlled by a casino staff (projection technician), although this function could be automated if so desired. The next spinning of the carousel will start a certain amount of time after the sounding of an audible musical tone (e.g., 15 seconds) that alerts all players to get ready for the next spin. The carousel can spin for approximately 10 seconds from start to stop. A fixed or variable amount of time (e.g., 30 seconds or until the projection technician sounds the audible alarm) is allocated to the money settlement for each spin. Accordingly, complete carousel play can be completed, if desired, in a minute or less.

The rules for the players to participate in this casino Feng Shui game, the fulfillment of expectations desirous of casino operators and ethnic gamblers, together with a detailed description of this invention will now be made along with reference to the accompanying Figures.

FIG. 1 shows the carousel 1 which is a composite structure of three wheels and four pointers for the respective players used to play the currently invented casino game. The innermost wheel 2 is called the Feng Shui wheel or the 1^st wheel. The middle wheel 3 is called the Animal wheel or the 2^nd wheel. The outermost wheel 4 is called the Time Passage wheel or the 3^rd wheel. The Feng Shui wheel 2 has six (6) equal segments or wedges each occupying 60° of angular span out of a total of 360° for a full circle. Starting with any wedge 5 or “West” and going clockwise, the wedges are occupied respectively by “Harmony”, North (N), East (E), “Flood”, South (S) and West (W) again. When this wheel is spun (electronically or otherwise), the stopping position of this wheel at the players' respective pointer 6, 7, 8 or 9 (pointer 9 in this case shown) always ends up in the middle of a particular wedge 5 or “West”. In other words, each wedge 5 (“West”) of the 1^st wheel 2 always encompasses two contiguous truncated wedges of the 2^nd or Animal wheel 3 (in this case Rooster and Dog) and 4 contiguous truncated wedges of the 3^rd or Time Passage wheel 4 (in this case “17”, “18”, “19”, “20”). In addition, only the “Harmony” wedge 10 is colored “Red” and the “Flood” wedge 11 “Black” while the “East” 12 and “West” 5 wedges are colored “Green”and the “South” 13 and “North” 14 wedges are colored “Yellow”.

The middle wheel (or 2^nd wheel) 3 is the Animal wheel. The Animal wheel 3 has twelve (12) equal segments or wedges each occupying 30° of angular span out of a total of 360° for a full circle. Starting from truncated wedge 15 or “Rat” and going clockwise, the truncated wedges are occupied consecutively by “Ox”, “Tiger”, “Rabbit”, “Dragon”, “Snake”, “Horse”, “Goat”, “Monkey”, “Rooster”, “Dog” and “Boar”. When this wheel 3 is spun, its stopping position at the players' respective pointers 6, 7, 8 or 9 always ends up in the middle of two truncated wedges 16 (in this case “Dragon” and “Rabbit” for pointer 6). In other words, as pointed out previously two truncated wedges of this wheel 3 always line up exactly within one wedge of the 1^st wheel 2 (in this case wedge “East”) and encompass four (4) truncated wedges of 3^rd wheel 4 (in this case “5”, “6”, “7” and “8”). The three truncated wedges “Boar”, “Dog” and “Rooster” are colored “Yellow”, those three from “Rabbit”, “Dragon” and “Snake” are colored “Green”, those three from “Horse”, “Goat” and “Monkey” are colored “Black” and the remaining three “Rat”, “Ox” and “Tiger” are colored “Red”.

The outermost wheel 4 is the “Time Passage” or 3^rd wheel. This wheel has twenty-four (24) equal segments or wedges each occupying 15° of angular span out of 360° for a full circle. Each wedge of this wheel is also truncated because of the over-shadowing by the 1^st wheel 2 and the 2^nd wheel 3, and represents a period of one hour. The entire 3^rd wheel 4 with its 24 wedges covers uniquely the 24 hours of a day starting from midnight. Thus starting from truncated wedge 17 or “1” and going clockwise, the truncated wedges are occupied consecutively by the 24 one-hour time periods, starting from “1” to “24”. When this wheel is spun, its stopping position at the players' respective pointers 6, 7, 8 or 9 always ends up at the middle divider 18 of the four wedges (in this case “13”, “14”, “15” and “16” for pointer 7). In other words, as pointed out previously, four contiguous truncated wedges of the Time Passage wheel 4 always line up exactly within two contiguous truncated wedges of the 2^nd wheel 3 and one wedge of the 1^st wheel 2. Truncated wedges “1” through “6” are colored “Black”, those from “7” to “12” are colored “Yellow”, those from “13” to “18” are colored “Red” and the remaining “19” to “24” are colored “Green”.

FIG. 2 shows the three sets of asset tiles used for playing the game. The Feng Shui set 19 is shown in FIG. 2A. In this set, there are a total of four (4) tiles representing the four wind directions East, North, West and South respectively. The Animal set 20 is shown in FIG. 2B. Here there are 12 tiles and each represents the twelve different Chinese zodiac animal signs. The Time Passage set 21 is shown in FIG. 2C. There are 24 tiles representing the 24 time periods of one hour each, together covering the 24 hours of a full day.

The carousel 1 can be implemented on a PC or Laptop computer monitor screen using custom developed software. The developed custom software is capable of rotating the three wheels 2, 3 and 4 with different degrees of freedom and independently of one another, depending upon the degrees of freedom and characteristics sought for a given application. For example, the innermost wheel or 1^st wheel 2 and the outermost wheel or 3^rd 4 can be made to rotate in one direction (say, clockwise) while the middle wheel or 2^nd wheel 3 can be made to rotate in the opposite direction (counterclockwise). To start the rotation of the carousel, all one needs is to press a button on the keyboard of the PC or Laptop like the “Space Bar”. The carousel will stop automatically under software control after it starts to spin for a pre-determined period of time, typically 10-15 seconds. Development of software to perform such functions is within the level of a person of ordinary skill in the art of computer programming, once that person is given the present disclosure and instructed what characteristics are desired (e.g., length of time for spin, directions of spin, etc.)

In addition to being able to spin the three wheels of the carousel independently of one another, the developed computer software can also shuffle the positions of all the wedges within any one wheel while the carousel is rotating. For example, the wedges of the 3^rd wheel 4 might be ordered in monotonically increasing positions from “1” to “24 to start. During the spin, all the positions of the wedges belonging to the 3^rd wheel 4 can be independently varied, or shuffled, so that when the carousel stops spinning, the positions of the wedges will no longer be ordered monotonically increasing like before. Instead, the positions of the previously ordered wedges will now be randomly arranged around the wheel. The same can be made to happen for the positions of the wedges in the 1^st wheel 2 or the 2^nd wheel 3 before and after the carousel spin. There is a subtle difference between rotating the three fixed wheels independently of one another and the shuffling of the wedges in the three wheels. Statistically the results are only slightly different in our current application with the shuffling of the wedges being a little bit more random than the rotation of fixed wheels. However, the aesthetics of the rotating fixed wheels with different directions and speeds is more pleasing for the players to look at during the playing of the game.

Prior to the start of the game or the spinning of the carousel electronically by the casino (i.e., by a casino projection technician, unless this function is automated), the four players (assuming the number of players to be four) sit at a square table with the positions of the seat clearly marked to correspond to the respective pointers of the carousel to be spun. This way each of the four players will have been assigned a pointer position around the carousel before the start of the game. Next, one of the players throws three dice to determine which player will start as the banker first. They then shuffle the asset tiles on the table just like playing Mahjongg and arrange them neatly in stack of two's according to the three asset sets. Since the backs of the tiles will be color-coded according to which asset set the tiles belong, it will not be difficult for the players to carry out this task.

The players then take turn to collect their 10 asset tiles each (one from the Feng Shui set, 3 from the Animal set and 6 from the Time Passage set) from the stacks of two's tiles and arrange the tiles in front of them. Next and before the carousel starts to spin, each of the players can declare how they would like to play the ensuing game. The players need not take turns to declare their intentions and can make them parallel in time. For any player, the player can either declare a “MUFF 1” or “MUFF 3” option play, but not both. By a “MUFF 1” option play is meant that the player purposely chooses not to count the player's one and only Feng Shui tile by placing the tile face-up in front of the rest of the player's asset tiles. By sacrificing the possibility of scoring a “Triple Match” or Feng Shui spin (see below), the player earns double winnings for matches achieved with the player's remaining tiles. By a “MUFF 3” option play is meant that the player purposely chooses not to count one tile each from the player's Animal asset tiles and Time Passage asset tiles, in addition to not counting the Feng Shui tile. The player will show the three tiles face-up in front of the rest of the player's tiles. By giving up the matching opportunities afforded by the three tiles, the player earns triple winnings for matches achieved with remaining tiles.

The banker (only one player can be the banker at any one time) has one extra option to gamble and it is called the “Number Bet”. From the six Time Passage asset tiles that the banker possesses, the banker can put up one and place it face-up in front of the player's other tiles. The banker can then place a bet behind this tile. The maximum for the “Number Bet” is five units of gambling (the betting limit can be optionally set according to the desire of the casino operator). For the “Dollar” tables, the unit of gambling is one dollar. For the “Five-Dollar” table, the unit of gambling is five dollars and so on. Suppose a player is betting one unit of gambling in a “Number Bet” and is playing at a Dollar table. Since the odds of matching one number is exactly 6:1, if the banker matches this number with the spin outcome (see below), then the banker wins six units of gambling or $6 from each of the three players in this case. If the banker fails to match this number with the spin outcome, the banker has to pay each of the three players one unit of gambling or $1.

To determine the winnings after every spin of the carousel each of the four players compare the outcome of the spin with the player's own pointer position to see if there are any matches from the carousel with the player's asset tiles. A player can collect winnings from the other players according to the following payout schedule:

Matching one wedge in each of the three 10 units of gambling
wheels (“Triple Match”)
Matching one wedge in any two wheels 4 units of gambling
Matching one wedge in any wheel  1 unit of gambling

If there is a “Color Match”, meaning there is a common color showing up in each of the three wheels (other than the “Harmony” and “Flood” wedges of the Feng Shui or 1^st wheel), the above winnings will be doubled.

Finally there are the so-called “Harmony” and “Flood” spins. The “Harmony” spin occurs when all wedges of the three wheels are “Red”. The player receives 50 units of gambling from the other players. The “Flood” spin occurs when all wedges of the three wheels are “Black”. In this case the player pays the other players 50 units of gambling. Note that when either the “Harmony” or “Flood” spins take place, all other matches do not count. The casino operator can take a fixed percentage or payout (e.g., 5% or 10 units of gambling) of all money transactions from such occurrences.

After the completion of eight (8) spins of the carousel (number can be decided by the casino operator), the asset tiles will be reshuffled and the players will receive their ten (10) new asset tiles before any more spins take place.

To enhance the playing efficacy in the casino for the currently invented Feng Shui game, several additional rules to play this casino game are suggested as follows:

• • 1. Player can join in (if there is vacancy at the table) at any time and leave the table at any time without encumbrance.
  • 2. The minimum gambling money (capital) to join is 200 units of gambling. For example, for a Dollar table, the unit of gambling is $1 so the minimum initial capital required will be $200.
  • 3. The “All Out” gambling rule applies to this game. This means that as long as a player has money left before a round (spin) starts, his loss obligation shall not exceed what the player has before the spin. But the player will have to leave the table when the player cannot fulfill the player's payout (loss) obligation to the other players at any time. If the player chooses to continue, the player will have to come up with another minimum capital and fulfill any payout obligation before the player can participate in the next spin.
  • 4. The rules “MUFF 1” and “MUFF 3” shall always be enforced. The rule of “Number Bet” will also be always enforced for the banker.
  • 5. Banker shall change from one player to the next after each spin of the carousel in a selected direction (e.g., counterclockwise).
  • 6. If a player decides to vacate when it is the player's turn to be the Banker, the Banker will be advanced to the next player. No player who first joins a table to play can be the Banker at the time of joining.
  • 7. The casino's service fee for sponsoring the Feng Shui game shall be one unit of gambling per spin of the carousel. In addition, the casino operator will also collect 5% of any money transaction when a “Harmony” or “Flood” or both occur during the game.

Let us now discuss why the presently invented casino game will meet the expectations of the casino operators. Referring to the earlier discussion, one of the most important issues to a casino operator willing to start a new game is the net income and the return on investment. From the standpoint of operation, let us make the following analysis. FIG. 3 shows a 3,000 sq. ft. room used to house 24 tables each sitting four players for playing the casino Feng Shui game. Also shown in FIG. 3 is the presence of three casino staff members working at all time, one of whom shall be the screen projection technician. The outlay per month of operation for the casino can be summarized, based upon a theoretical operation, as follows:

Staff salaries assuming $30/Hr. inclusive of overhead $64,800
and 3 shifts of 8 Hrs. each . . . 3 × $30 × 24 Hr × 30 days
3,000 sq. ft space inclusive of utilities and insurance $15,500
Depreciation (assuming $50,000 initial capital investment $2,000
to set up Casino Feng Shui game
Total expenditure per month to operate casino $82,300
Feng Shui game

The anticipated income per month from service fee based upon 2 minutes per carousel spin, $1 per spin per table (all 24 are Dollar tables) and average playing capacity of 30% . . . 60/2×24 Hr.×30×0.3×24×$1 . . . $ 155,520

Thus, from an extremely conservative projection, the monthly profit for the casino operator is $ 73,220 per month or $878,640 per year. (Note that the breakeven occupancy of players averaged over 24 hours is 15%.) Should one fourth of the tables be $5 tables, the profit will be doubled to $ 1,757,300 per year. Furthermore, if the average player occupancy over 24 hours is 50% instead of 30%, the profit will be almost ˜3M per year! Thus from the anticipated operational income standpoint, the currently invented casino Feng Shui game easily meets the expectations of the casino operator.

As for the other expectations of the casino operator such as freedom from financial liabilities, potential injuries to staff or players, property damages etc., the currently invented casino Feng Shui game is similar to other table games like Craps, Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat etc. and should therefore pose no unacceptable level of such threats.

Now from the expectations of the potential players, especially the ethnic types such as the Chinese, this game is literally invented for them trying to fill the void left by the absence of Mahjongg parlors in casinos. No casino games have ever been advanced to date with this depth of focus to special interests of potential players before. First of all, using the Chinese folk culture of Feng Shui and Chinese zodiac animals as background to design this game is certainly unprecedented. There is very little doubt that from the cultural point of view, this game will fare very well with the gamblers of Chinese ethnic background.

Since the Chinese love to gamble, this casino Feng Shui game is designed as a truly gambling game. The gambling action is fast and furious yet it is very simple to learn to play. Winning techniques to play this game have been borrowed from the earlier Mahjongg game so that for those who know how to play Mahjongg, they should have no difficulty at all catching on to the playing subtleties of this game. Finally, when compared to the Mahjongg game, the currently invented casino Feng Shui game can be played in a much more relaxed manner by simply watching the beautiful carousel spin and then gracefully come to a stop to reveal the play's outcome. In many ways, playing this game is like playing a number of other popular table games combined. In certain ways the casino Feng Shui behaves like a slot machine. It also has the look and action of a roulette game. Furthermore, it carries many aspects of the venerable Mahjongg game and a touch of Baccarat and Poker. But by far the most exciting attribute of this game is its furious gambling action for both the players and the casino operator. Every spin of the carousel, money will change hands, sometimes relatively small, but it could be very large dependent upon the taste of the player and luck. With such characteristics, this game should quickly become the talk of Las Vegas, the darling game for Chinese ethnic gamblers and a winner for all those who love to gamble!

However, the present invention, while ideally suited for use in Las Vegas, or other casinos, is not limited to such locations. Indeed, the casino Feng Shui game described and disclosed herein can be configured as an independent game set just like the Mahjongg set which can be purchased by anyone to use at home or on outdoor camping trips or elsewhere to play among family members and friends. In this case the custom developed software is provided in a CD and can be loaded to any electronic device with a display, such as a PC or laptop computer using a CD driver, but without the need of any special application software. The computer monitor screen will replace the giant screens set up in a casino Feng Shui parlor to display the carousel outcome during the game play. Alternatively, the custom developed software can be downloaded onto an electronic device, like certain currently existing cell phones or PDAs, and then played using the display screen of such devices. In such a scenario, or on the camping trip, tiles or chips (or some other form of marker) can be provided with the CD.

Alternatively, the casino Feng Shui game described herein can be adapted for use or play by players in a networked environment, such as the Internet. The software necessary to play the game, including software that will represent the 40 asset markers, and even the gambling units being used, or a relative score between the players, can all be part of a software program that is either client or server based. Also, in the same manner that current websites (e.g., Yahoo® or MSN®) provide parlors for various games, such as backgammon or card games, the same could be done with the casino Feng Shui game described herein. Indeed, there can be casino Feng Shui tournaments played online in the same fashion that poker tournaments are presently available online. Or, casino Feng Shui tournaments could be played in a casino. Also, even within a “Feng Shui parlor” of a casino, the game can be played by using a common carousel, or one or more tables could have their own carousel that could be spun once all of the players at the table are ready for the next spin.

While the invention has been described herein with reference to certain preferred embodiments, those embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and not to limit the scope of the invention. Additional embodiments thereof will be obvious to those skilled in the art having the benefit of this detailed description. Further modifications are also possible in alternative embodiments without departing from the inventive concept. For example, although it is believed that it would be far less aesthetically desirable, there is no reason why all of the segments need necessarily be of equal sizes, or why they would have to precisely line up when forming a player session spin set of designations, and such minor departures from the description of the preferred embodiment do not fall outside of the scope of the present invention. Similarly, one could always alter the odds for certain matches or odds associated with optional betting declarations by the players. However, every game must have rules, and, in this case, the rules have been established by the inventor of the new casino Feng Shui game with an eye toward an exciting, desirable game. Still, just like there are many variants on the game of poker, there can be many variants to the play, rules and characteristics of the game set forth in this disclosure.

Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that still further changes and modifications in the actual concepts described herein can readily be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed inventions as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A game, comprising:

a carousel wheel with an inner wheel divided into six inner wheel segments, each of which bears a unique inner wheel designation; a middle wheel divided into twelve segments, each of which bears a unique middle wheel designation; and an outer wheel divided into twenty-four outer equal segments, each of which bears a unique outer wheel designation;

a first set of four markers, each of which uniquely represents a single unique inner wheel designation such that the first set of four markers represents four of the unique inner wheel designations;

a second set of twelve markers, each of which uniquely represents a single unique middle wheel designation such that the second set of twelve markers represents all twelve of the unique middle wheel designations; and

a third set of twenty-four markers, each of which uniquely represents a single unique outer wheel designation such that the third set of twenty-four markers represents all twenty-four of the unique outer wheel designations;

wherein one of the unique inner wheel designations, a first contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a first contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a first secondary identification;

wherein one of the unique inner wheel designations, a second contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a second contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a second secondary identification;

wherein two of the unique inner wheel designations, a third contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a third contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a third secondary identification;

wherein two of the unique inner wheel designations, a fourth contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a fourth contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a fourth secondary identification;

wherein the carousel can be spun so that each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels rotate with its own independent degree of freedom; and

wherein after the carousel is spun, and each of inner, the middle and the outer wheels have rotated, said wheels will stop such that each of the inner wheel segments will align itself moving outwardly from the inner wheel with two of the middle wheel segments and four of the outer wheel segments.

2. The game of claim 1, wherein the first, the second, the third and the fourth secondary identifications are colors.

3. The game of claim 1, wherein the six unique inner wheel designations are comprised of a Harmony designation, a North designation, an East designation, a Flood designation, a South designation and a West designation; and

wherein the first set of markers represents the North, East, South and West designations.

4. The game of claim 3, wherein the location of the North designation in the inner wheel is opposite the South designation, the location of the East designation in the inner wheel is opposite the West designation, the location of the Harmony designation in the inner wheel is opposite the Flood designation; and

wherein the Harmony designation bears the first secondary identification, the Flood designation bears the second secondary identification, the North and the South designations bear the third secondary identification and the East and West designations bear the fourth secondary identification.

5. The game of claim 4, wherein the first secondary identification is a red color.

6. The game of claim 5, wherein the second secondary identification is a black color.

7. The game of claim 6, wherein the third and fourth secondary identifications are two colors other than red and black.

8. The game of claim 1, wherein the twelve unique middle wheel designations are comprised of twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac.

9. The game of claim 8, wherein the location of the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac in the middle wheel relative to each other is such that they follow the sequence of the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac for a given twelve year period.

10. The game of claim 7, wherein the twelve unique middle wheel designations are comprised of the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac.

11. The game of claim 1, wherein the twenty-four unique outer wheel designations are comprised of comprised of the numbers 1 through 24.

12. The game of claim 10, wherein the twenty-four unique outer wheel designations are comprised of the numbers 1 through 24.

13. The game of claim 11, wherein the twenty-four unique outer wheel designations are ordered in monotonically increasing positions from 1 to 24.

14. The game of claim 1, wherein the positioning of the unique designations relative to one another in at least one of the inner, the middle or the outer wheels is varied when the wheel is spun.

15. The game of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second and third set of markers is comprised of a set of tiles.

16. The game of claim 15, wherein each tile of the first, second and third set of markers has a marking to identify whether it is in the first, second or third set of markers on one of its sides and a second marking on its other side to represent its unique designation of one of the inner, middle or outer wheel designations.

17. The game of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second and third set of markers is comprised of a set of cards.

18. The game of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second and third set of markers is electronically generated and represented on an electronic display mechanism.

19. The game of claim 18, wherein the game can be played by two or more players remotely located, each of which has an electronic device that is connected to the other players of the game.

20. A casino game parlor, comprising:

at least one carousel wheel with an inner wheel divided into six equal inner wheel segments, each of which bears a unique inner wheel designation selected from a group consisting of a Harmony designation, a North designation, an East designation, a Flood designation, a South designation and a West designation; a middle wheel divided into twelve equal segments, each of which bears a unique middle wheel designation representing one of twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac; and an outer wheel divided into twenty-four equal outer segments, each of which bears a unique outer wheel designation of a number from 1 to 24; and

a plurality of tables, each of which is comprised of: four playing positions; a first set of four markers, each of which uniquely represents one of the unique inner wheel designations; a second set of twelve markers, each of which uniquely represents one of the middle wheel designations; a third set of twenty-four markers, each of which uniquely represents one of the outer wheel designations; and a plurality of unit gambling markers;

wherein the Harmony designation, a first contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a first contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a first secondary identification;

wherein the Flood designation, a second contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a second contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a second secondary identification;

wherein two of the group consisting of the North, the East, the South and the West designations, a third contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a third contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a third secondary identification;

wherein the other two of the group consisting of the North, the East, the South and the West designations, a fourth contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a fourth contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a fourth secondary identification;

wherein the carousel can be spun so that each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels rotate with its own independently degree of freedom; and

wherein after the carousel is spun, and each of inner, the middle and the outer wheels have rotated, said wheels will stop such that each of the inner wheel segments will align itself moving outwardly from the inner wheel with two of the middle wheel segments and four of the outer wheel segments.

21. The game of claim 20, wherein the first secondary identification is red, the second secondary identification is black, and the third and fourth secondary identifications are two colors other than red and black.

22. The game of claim 20, wherein the location of the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac in the middle wheel relative to each other is such that they follow the sequence of the twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac for a given twelve year period.

23. The game of claim 22, wherein the twenty-four unique outer wheel designations are ordered in monotonically increasing positions from 1 to 24.

24. The game of claim 20, wherein the positioning of the unique designations relative to one another in at least one of the inner, the middle or the outer wheels is varied when the wheel is spun.

25. The game of claim 20, wherein each of the first, second and third set of markers is comprised of a set of tiles.

26. The game of claim 20, further comprising a second carousel wheel.

27. The game of claim 26, wherein the two carousel wheels are synchronized so that they both display the same results for when they are spun.

28. The game of claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of tables further comprises its own carousel wheel.

29. The game of claim 28, wherein the carousel wheel of each of the plurality of tables is not synchronized with the carousel wheel of any of the other of the plurality of tables.

30. A method of gambling for two to four players, comprising the steps of:

selecting a session set of markers for each player, wherein the session set of markers is comprised of:

a first marker from a first set of four markers;

three markers from a second set of twelve markers; and

six markers from a third set of twenty-four markers;

wherein each of the first set of markers uniquely represents a single unique inner wheel designation of an inner wheel of a carousel divided into six inner wheel segments, each of which bears its own unique inner wheel designation;

wherein each of the second set of markers uniquely represents a single unique middle wheel designation of a middle wheel of the carousel divided into twelve middle wheel segments, each of which bears its own unique middle wheel designation;

wherein each of the third set of markers uniquely represents a single unique outer wheel designation of an outer wheel of the carousel divided into twenty-four outer wheel segments, each of which bears its own unique outer wheel designation;

wherein one of the unique inner wheel designations that is not represented by the first set of four markers, a first contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a first contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a first secondary identification;

wherein a second of the unique inner wheel designations that is not represented by the first set of four markers, a second contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a second contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a second secondary identification;

wherein two of the unique inner wheel designations, a third contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a third contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a third secondary identification; and

wherein two of the unique inner wheel designations, a fourth contiguous group of three of the unique middle wheel designations and a fourth contiguous group of six of the outer wheel designations bear a fourth secondary identification;

allowing at least one player to make an optional betting declaration;

spinning the carousel wheel so that each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels rotate with its own independent degree of freedom and, after the spinning has stopped, each of the inner wheel segments will align itself moving outwardly from the inner wheel with two of the middle wheel segments and four of the outer wheel segments to form a session spin, and each of the players will have a player session spin set of designations made up of one of the inner wheel designations, two of the middle wheel designations and four of the outer wheel designations, wherein the player session spin set of designations is determined by a predetermined inner wheel designation location for the player; and

using each player's session set of designations with said player's session set of markers, plus any optional betting declaration, to establish any winnings of each of the players from the other players for the session spin.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the players are remotely located and the session set of markers for each player is electronically displayed.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the six unique inner wheel designations are comprised of a Harmony designation, a North designation, an East designation, a Flood designation, a South designation and a West designation;

wherein the first set of markers represents the North, East, South and West designations; and

wherein the twelve unique middle wheel designations are comprised of twelve animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the twenty-four unique outer wheel designations are comprised of the numbers 1 through 24.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein the outer and inner wheels rotate in a direction opposite the rotation of the middle wheel when the carousel is spun.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein the predetermined inner wheel designation location for each of the players for the session spin is determined by a pointer for that player.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein winnings for each player are determined by a set of rules comprised of:

(1) if all ten of the player's session set of designations bears the first secondary identification, then that player receives 50 units of gambling from each of the other players;

(2) if all ten of the player's session set of designations bears the second secondary identification, then that players pays 50 units of gambling to each of the other players;

(3) if either (1) or (2) applies for the session spin, then no other rules apply for the session spin;

(4) if there is a match between the player's session set of designations with the session set of markers in each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels, then the player receives 10 units of gambling from each of the other players;

(5) if there is a match between the player's session set of designations with the session set of markers in only two of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels, then the player receives 4 units of gambling from each of the other players;

(6) if there is a match between the player's session set of designations with the session set of markers in only one of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels, then the player receives 1 unit of gambling from each of the other players; and

(7) if there is a match of the secondary designation in the player's session set of designations between a player's session marker in each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels, then the player receives twice the number of gambling from each of the other players that would otherwise be awarded according to (4) through (6).

37. The method of claim 36, wherein each player may make the optional betting declaration of choosing not to play the player's marker from the first set of markers in connection with the session spin.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the rules for any player making the optional betting declaration set forth in claim 36 are modified as followed:

said player is not eligible to receive or pay out units of gambling pursuant to rules 1, 2 and 7 based upon said player's session set of designations; and

any winnings the player might otherwise receive from rules 5 and 6 are doubled.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein each player may make the optional betting declaration of choosing not to play the player's marker from the first set of four markers and one of the player's markers from the second and third set of markers in connection with the session spin.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the rules for any player making the optional betting declaration set forth in claim 36 are modified as followed:

said player is not eligible to receive or pay out units of gambling pursuant to rules 1, 2 and 7 based upon said player's session set of designations; and

any winnings the player might otherwise receive from rules 5 and 6 are tripled.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein one of the players is designated as a banker for the session spin who is allowed to select one of said player's markers from the third set of markers and place a number bet that said selected marker will be included in the banker's session set of designations for the session spin and receive six times the number bet from each of the other players if said selected marker is included in the banker's session set of designations for the session spin but be required to pay one times the number bet to each of the other players if said selected marker is not included in the banker's session set of designations for the session spin.

42. The method of claim 30 wherein the session set of markers for each player is used for eight spins of the carousel and then each player receives a new session set of markers.