The present invention relates to the field of the gambling houses intended as a set of equipment, installations and furnishings provided to optimize the playing of newly devised games.

More particularly, the present invention has been conceived to allow games so-called "Wormholegame Machine" (registered Trademark) and "Wormholegame Dice" (registered Trademark) to be played owing to the use of the machine which is the object of a patent filed by the same applicant. Such a machine also acts as gambling-table and is conceived so as to casually combine several predetermined events caused by the simultaneous operation of a central mixer which selects and draws eight coloured balls, i.e. blue, brown, cyan, green, orange, pink, red, and yellow, and a mechanism which, in the two above- mentioned games, operates suitable devices as follows: - in "Wormholegame Machine", nine mechanical roulettes, each provided with a white ball which at the end of its movement falls down into one of twelve grooves and cause one of twelve predetermined scores 0 to 11 to be casually drawn; in "Wormholegame Dice", nine mechanical dice-box agitators which are provided each with two dice and cause at the end of their movement one of twelve predetermined scores 0 to 11 to be casually drawn.

Such nine devices are the same and can be watch from the outside as well as the nine drawn scores and the eight

coloured balls drawn at any throw.

In both above-mentioned games, each match played with the machine ends after three or four throws, i.e. three or four draws, and allows five gambling ways, i.e. the following five matches, all of them being registered Trademarks:

"OPEN NUMBERS MATCH"

"SHUT NUMBERS MATCH"

"OPEN COLOURS MATCH"

"SHUT COLOURS MATCH"

"SUPER WORMHOLE MATCH" In the latter match, Open Numbers and Shut Numbers matches called Open Active and Shut Active, respectively, are alternately played.

In "Wormholegame Machine" and "Wormholegame Dice", five matches are simultaneously played, in which by way of example:

- the bank and at most eight players take part in each matc ;

- one of the drawn colours is assigned to each player and one of the drawn scores is assigned to the bank and to each player at any throw;

- the bank plays then five different matches;

- each player may play only one of the five matches;

- the maximum number of players who may take part in "Wormholegame Machine" or "Wormholegame Dice" games is forty corresponding to the seats around the gambling-table and suitable stands.

Each player is represented by either a number or a colour on the gambling-table according to the selected match, and namely:

- one of the eight numbers shown on the surface of the machine in Open Numbers, Shut Numbers, and Super Wormhole matches;

- one of the eight colours drawn in Open Colours and Shut Colours matches by the coloured balls which are combined with one of the eight numbers at the first throw.

The numbers and the colours are also imprinted on the four stands according to a predetermined succession representing the players in the matches; in addition, the successions of numbers imprinted on the machine and the stands in Open Numbers and Shut Numbers matches and the succession of colours imprinted on the stands in Open Colours and Shut Colours matches are important rules of the games as they assign the position to the players with respect to the bank having the lead.

Only the players taking part in the Super Wormhole match are seated around the machine and then watch closely and from above the course of the match, while the other thirty-two players are seated in groups of eight in four stands which are located round the machine and have the names of the matches to be played, i.e. Open Numbers, Shut Numbers, Open Colours and Shut Colours; the thirty-two players watch the match in one of the large displays located in full view of everyone.

The rules of "Wormholegame Machine" and "Wormholegame Dice" games briefly provides that in each match there is only one winner, i.e. either the bank or one of the eight players, and all of the matches are based upon the total scores, the advantages points, the combinations of colours, two types of superbonus (sbz and sbc) , a variety of won and lost tokens, and so on, the whole being

controlled by a software which allows all of the players to follow the partial and final results of the matches on a main display, and the information relative to the single match on further displays.

Also the game control, including the access to the game, is regulated by a computerized procedure which manages the bookings made by the players. Such operations are performed by means of a magnetic card which any player is provided of and through which any player, after having booked the selected match, approach his gambling-seat provided with a computer connected to a main frame and comprising suitable peripherals such as a terminal with monitor, keyboard and a slot for the magnetic card.

The situation of the bookings of all of the matches is shown on further displays located above.

The playing of the game is such that the progress of the partial and final results, scores, combinations, tokens, and bookings are shown on suitable displays designed for receiving all useful information which is abbreviated as follows:

BANK "B" or "BA"

ADVANTAGE "A" or "AD"

PARTIAL SCORE "P"

FINAL SCORE "FS"

TOTAL "T"

GAME NUMBER "GN"

SUPERBONUSZERO "SBZ"

SUPERBONUSCOLOURS "SBC"

WINNER "W"

COMBINATION "CO"

SIMPLE CHIPS "SC"

MODIFIED CHIPS "MC"

FINAL CHIPS "FC"

In the displays in which the players are represented by the colours, which are the same as those of the coloured balls, such colours are replaced by letters A to H in the same succession imprinted at the two stands of Open Colours and Shut Colours matches which follows the alphabetical order of the names of the colours, and namely: A = blue; B = brown; C = cyan; D = green; E = orange; F = pink; G = red; H = yellow. The staff employed in playing the game is:

- a hall manager operating by means of a remote control the first and the fourth throws within the predetermined times, the second and the third throws being mandatory;

- a computer assistant who digitizes the drawn colours and scores;

- two cashiers who move among players during the intervals of the matches;

- a central cashier.

The present invention aims at optimizing the playing of the above-described games and to control the approach of the players thereto and the arrangement of the latter in the gambling-hall so as to make the game itself functional and easier.

To this end there is provided a fitted out hall and equipment for playing the games so-called "Wormholegame Machine" (registered Trademark) in an octagonal hall and "Worπiholegame Dice" (registered Trademark) in a circular hall, comprising:

- a machine of the type described in the above-mentioned patent which is located at the centre of the hall and forms the gambling-table around which eight players are seated in a raised position, said machine being provided with an upper surface which is octagonal in the "Wormholegame Machine" variant, and circular in the "Wormholegame Dice" variant. In the "Wormholegame Machine" variant said surface includes nine mechanical roulettes, one for the bank and eight for the players, and eight holes for positioning eight coloured balls drawn out in the course of the throws. Provided on the surface are also eight octagons designated by a number between one and eight and facing the players and located in a clockwise succession from the lowest to the highest number which identifies each player and each of the eight segments into which the surface of the table is divided. In "Wormholegame Dice" variant, the mechanical roulettes are replaced by mechanical dice-box agitators enclosed in a circular container, while the octagonal members are replaced by equivalent circular members;

- two pairs of like stands of eight seats each located around the machine at a predetermined distance and positioned on a raised plane with respect to the plane of the machine and the hall, the stands being separated from one another by a free space. Said stands are identified in the clockwise direction by the names of the matches and by the predetermined succession of numbers 1 to 8, still in clockwise direction from left hand side to right hand side, for Open Numbers and Shut Numbers matches, and by the colours blue, brown, cyan, green, orange, pink, red, and yellow for Open Colours and Shut Colours matches. Said

numbers and colours are representative signs in the matches. Such stands in "Wormholegame Machine" game are positioned along a polygonal line in the form of an octagon, two adjacent sides of which are occupied by each stand, while in "Wormholegame Dice" the stands are positioned along a circular line opened among stands so that each stand occupies an arc of circumference;

- two videodisplays with several specific functions, each comprising a large screen and nine displays and being located at each end of the hall in the opposite position with respect to the pair of Open Numbers/Shut Numbers and Open Colours/Shut Colours stands and in a raised position over the floor of the hall in order to allow the players to watch the imagines and the information relative to the game;

- two moving trolleys for cash operation, each provided with an electromotor and driven by a cashier among stands;

- a stationary central cash;

- a two-level construction, in the upper part of which a hall manager and a computer assistant find place;

- a camera secured to the ceiling above the machine.

The achieved advantages essentially consist in that each player may at best and very easily take advantage of any chance offered by the game.

A second advantage consists in that a high number of players may simultaneously take part in gambling without any problem.

A further advantage is given by the economic and industrial utilization of the game due to the manifold

variants provided by the game rules, the layout of the hall and the specific hardware and software. These and other advantages will be more readily understood by anyone skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying drawings given by way of a not limiting example, in which the reference numbers are followed, when necessary, by either letter M (Machine) or letter D (Dice) to differentiate the figures of each hall, in which:

Figs. 1M and ID show schematically a plan view of a hall for "Wormholegame Machine" and "Wormholegame Dice" according to the present invention, respectively;

Fig. 2 shows the cross-section view of the halls of Figs. 1M and ID exhibiting the difference in level of the gambling-table and the players seated in the stands and the sight lines to the videodisplays;

Figs. 3M and 3D show a plan view of the gambling-table and the arrangement of eight seats occupied by the players in

"Wormholegame Machine" and "Wormholegame Dice", respectively;

Figs. 4M and 4D show the respective plan views of the devices located on the surfaces of the gambling-tables of the two hall variants, i.e. a mechanical roulette and a mechanical dice-box agitator, the faces of the dice used in "Wormholegame Dice" being developed in a plane;

Fig. 5a shows a front view and Fig. 5b a plan view of a

moving trolley which the cashiers are provided with;

Figs. 6M and 6D show a plan view of the arrangement of the four eight-seat stands in "Wormholegame Machine" and "Wormholegame Dice" of Figs. 1M and ID, respectively;

Figs. 7M and 7D show a front view and a top view of the two-level construction for "Wormholegame Machine" and "Wormholegame Dice", respectively;

Fig. 8 shows the entire videodisplay which is the same for both halls and two of which are present in each hall;

Fig. 9 shows the central board horizontally divided into two like parts, i.e. a large screen and a display, the latter displaying specific information of the games;

Fig. 10 shows one side board horizontally divided into four like parts, i.e. four displays for the specific information of the games;

Fig. 11 shows the second side board horizontally divided into four like parts, i.e. four displays for the specific information of the games,

In its essential construction a hall equipped and fitted out for playing the "Wormholegame Machine" (registered Trademark) and "Wormholegame Dice" (registered Trademark) games includes:

- a machine, the mechanism of which is disclosed and illustrated in the above-mentioned patent and the upper

surface of which forms the gambling-table 1 which has the form of an octagon in "Wormholegame Machine" and the form of a circle in "Wormholegame Dice" and, except for the central part, is divided into eight like segments the outer sides or arcs of which are equipped with the seats 11 of the eight players taking part in the Superwormhole match which are raised to the surface of the gambling- table so as to allow the players to follow the game and designated by the numbers 1 to 8 oriented to the players and arranged in clockwise direction, the gambling-table with the seats of the players being at a lower level than the level of the hall;

- a gambling-table, the upper surface of which is lower than the seats of the players who can follow the match from above, said surface including in "Wormholegame Machine", from the center to the periphery, a mechanical roulette 10m assigned to the bank, which is circumscribed by an octagonal member; eight recesses for positioning the drawn coloured balls near eight slots into which the same balls are put for being mixed at each throw by the mixer; eight mechanical roulettes 10m like the first roulette, assigned to the players and arranged at the same reciprocal distance along an inner concentric circumference outside the slots; eight octagons imprinted on a raised bench which allows the players to lean and follow the match from above, each octagon being designated by a number 1 to 8 facing the player in clockwise direction from the lowest to the highest numbers and identifying the players and the eight segments into which the surface of the gambling-table is divided; in "Wormholegame Dice" the roulettes are replaced by

mechanical dice-box agitators lOd and the octagonal member is replaced by a circular member;

- two pairs of like eight-seat stands 2 arranged at the same distance from each other along a circle concentric to the gambling-table and located at a predetermined distance from the same, said stands being separated from one another by a free space, stand 2a (left hand side, above in Figs. 1M and ID) receiving the players of the Open Numbers match, stand 2b (right end side, above) receiving the players of the Shut Numbers match, stand 2c (right hand side, below) receiving the players of the Open Colours match, stand 2d (left hand side, below) receiving the players of the Shut Colours match, said stands being further identified from the left hand side to the right hand side and in clockwise direction by the succession of numbers 1 to 8 in Open Numbers and Shut Numbers matches and by the colours in Open Colours and Shut Colours matches which correspond to a letter of the alphabet in the same order as that of the videodisplays described thereafter, and namely: A = blue; B = brown; C = cyan; D = green; E = orange; F = pink; G = red; H = yellow.

Said numbers and colours represent the players in the matches.

As can be seen in Figs. 6M and 6D, the stands are arranged in "Wormholegame Machine" along a polygonal line in the form of an octagon opened among stands, two adjacent sides of which are occupied by each stand, while in "Wormholegame Dice" the stands are positioned along a circular line opened among stands so that each stand occupies an arc of circumference;

- two moving trolleys 3 for the cashiers provided with

electromotor and moving among stands and players along predetermined paths to carry out cash operations, said trolleys being stationary during the match and located at diametrically opposite positions according to Figs. IM and ID near the first player of the Open Numbers match (-1-) and the first player of Open Colours match (blue) ; - two videodisplays 4 as shown in Fig. 8 spaced apart by about 100 cm from the wall of the hall and having several specific functions, and comprising a central board divided into two like parts and two side boards divided into four like parts, each videodisplay being positioned in front of one of the two pairs of Open Numbers/Shut Numbers stands (2a and 2b) and Open Colours/Shut Colours stands (2c and 2d) and being raised with respect to the floor of the hall to permit the players to watch at best the imagines and the information relative to the game and to allow support consoles 7 shown in Fig. 2 to be positioned under said display, and particularly comprising:

. a central board 41, as shown in Fig. 9, horizontally divided into two like parts, the first part being a large screen 411 to which the imagines of the match played with the machine and taken by a camera secured to the ceiling above the surface of the gambling-table are shown, the second part being a central display 412 showing the results of each match and the summary of all specific information of the Super Wormhole match (Open Active or Shut Active) ;

. two like side boards 42, shown in Figs. 10 and 11, which give the same or different information with a different display lay-out to offer the best sight of the results to the players, said side boards being positioned at 22,5° to

the central board 41 and being horizontally divided into four like parts, where the upper part is further divided vertically into tree like parts; the first side board 42a, shown in Fig. 10, is positioned in front of the Open Numbers stand 2a and on the opposite side in front of the Open Colours stand 2c and is provided, from the top to the bottom, with the displays for booking Open Numbers, Open Colours and Super Wormhole matches followed by the displays of Open Numbers, Shut Numbers and Open Colours matches; the second side board 42b, shown in Fig. 11, is positioned in front of the Shut Numbers stand 2b and on the opposite side in front of the Shut Colours stand 2d and is provided, from the top to the bottom, with the displays for booking Shut Numbers, Shut Colours and Super Wormhole matches followed by the displays of Shut Numbers, Open Numbers and Shut Colours matches.

It is further to be noted that in order to allow the best sight of all information, Open Numbers and Shut Numbers matches are shown twice on the displays as well as the bookings of Super Wormhole match.

- a stationary central cash 5;

- a two-level construction 6 of transparent material, in the upper part of which a hall manager who operates the machine by a remote control and a computer assistant find place;

- two moving trolleys 3 provided with an electromotor and driven by a cashier who moves among stands for cash operations carried out by computer;

- a camera secured to the ceiling above the machine and not shown in the figures.

The hall can accept till forty players in its central part and provide further room for people engaged in other games behind the stands.

Such gambling-table 1 is provided with a succession of numbers 1 to 8 imprinted at the seats 11 of the players and oriented toward the latter on a suitable raised bench placed along the periphery of the gambling-table with the purpose of designate the eight segments of such table (except for the central part reserved to the bank and provided either with the mechanical roulette 10m or the mechanical dice-box agitator lOd) . The mechanical roulette 10m, shown in Fig. 4M, is provided with twelve slots in which the numbers 0 to 11 are imprinted in clockwise direction, while the mechanical dice-box agitator lOd, shown in Fig. 4D, contains two dice the faces of which are also shown in Fig. 4D and give rise to scores between 0 and 11. In a preferred embodiment the colours are detected by suitable optical readers which transmit to the computer the succession of colours and scores drawn in the course of the several throws.

As can be seen from Fig. 2, the hall of the present invention is at the same level in both games, except for the central part which is lower and in which there is provided the machine and the gambling-table with the seats of the players located in a raised position to allow the boards 41, 42a and 42b to be better seen by the players round the gambling-table 1 and the players seated in stands 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d as well as by further players. In a preferred embodiment the difference in level between the floor of the hall and the central part confined among the eight players seated round the gambling-table is about

30 cm, while the radial distance between gambling-table 1 and stands 2 is about 280 cm in the "Wormholegame Machine" hall and 305 cm in the "Wormholegame Dice" hall. In such embodiment, the free space among the four stands 2 is about 120 cm in "Wormholegame Machine" hall and about 165 cm in "Wormholegame Dice" hall. The distance between the videodisplay and the stands is about 360 cm in "Wormholegame Machine" hall and about 400 cm in "Wormholegame Dice" hall. The central and side boards have the size of 145 x 290 x 30 cm, are raised by 210 cm over the floor and are at a distance of 650 to 700 cm from the gambling-table having a preferred diameter of about 250 cm.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 show the central board 41 and the side boards 42a and 42b, respectively. As can be seen, board 41 is divided into two like parts, the upper part 411 having the function of large screen where the imagines of the match taken by a hidden camera secured to the ceiling are shown, and the lower part 412 consisting of several squares with the function of displaying information. Side boards 42a and 42b are in turn divided each into four horizontal parts 421 consisting of squares, only the upper parts of which being divided into three vertical parts, the general function of such boards being that of displaying information; all of the displays give the players the information relative to the development of the game detailed in Figs. 9, 10 and 11.

The hall of the present invention is further provided with two moving trolleys which follow predetermined paths for cash operations in the intervals between matches.

As can be seen from the preceding description, the hall of the invention allows forty players positioned round the gambling-table 1 and in the four stands 2 to take part in the game, as shown in Figs. IM and ID, however, there might be provided additional room for further people engaged in other games, such as bets, the services therefor being provided in adjacent rooms outside the hall.

The present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiment, however, it should be understood that anyone skilled in the art can make equivalent modifications without departing from the scope of the present industrial invention.