MULTI TERMINAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to electronic gaming and in particular to a system and method for providing electronic wagering for casino style games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Popular casino style games, such as Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack and the like, have typically been played in casinos where players are physically present at one location at the gaming site. On a traditional table game, this is so a dealer can control a finite number of players, while in an automated table game, the table game feel can be achieved for a potentially infinite number of players. Some casino table games are best suited for communal play — that is, where all the players are located at the same table. While it may be necessary to play live games such as Blackjack in this manner, in particular, where the player's actions can affect the outcome of the game, it is not necessary to play all live games in this manner. In particular, where games depend on centrally determined results with no player interaction in the game play (other than placing bets), it is not necessary for the players to be seated at the same game.

Accordingly, all players do not need to be physically in the same location. As a consequence, fully electronic versions of popular casino style communal games have provided an alternative for players who typically have only played slot machines. One example is Shuffle Master, Inc.'s Table Master™ gaming system. Another example is Stargame's Vegas Star™ system.

Electronic versions of casino style games retain many of the advantages of slot machines, such as increased security for players, increased privacy and lower labour costs. As a result, these games are attractive to casinos and other gaming venues the world over.

Gaming operators seek to convert players to multiple-player casino style games from the often more popular slot machines. One of the virtues of slot machines is that to change from machine to machine is a relatively easy process.

In some instances, slot machines have multiple games on one machine that allow a player to alternate between games as they desire.

Presently, most electronic versions of multiple-player casino style games are set up with a central video screen that displays a graphical representation of an outcome from a table game, or a live video feed from a dealer determined output. This screen is usually positioned in front of a number of player terminals, so that players can place bets on the game shown on the central result screen. Alternatively, additional units may have smaller screens associated with the player terminal so that the player can play the game and see the outcome even though they are not in the immediate vicinity of the central result screen.

Casino operators are constantly seeking new ways to increase the options available to players of casino style games to maintain the interest of new and existing players.

It is an object of the present invention to provide greater choice and variety for players in electronically implemented casino games. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly, the present invention provides an arrangement in which players have access to multiple communal outcome casino style games, and optionally other games, from a single terminal. The games are displayed on a common display. The displayed games may either be fully electronic, an electronic representation of a live table game, or alternatively a live table game that can be shown on the player terminal via a video feed.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for allowing multiple players to play a plurality of casino style games, each player playing on one machine, said system including: at least one community display screen for displaying each of the plurality of casino style games being offered; a plurality of player terminals configured to allow a player to choose at least one of a plurality of said casino style games; a controller in communication with each of said player terminals and said at least one community display screen for operating said system and determining the result of each said game; and a video display controller for communicating output from the controller to each community display screen.

The terminals may simply allow players to make wagers and game selections for community display screens in the vicinity, or may allow for remotely located games to be played and seen via an in-screen display or similar mechanism. Preferably, each player terminal further allows players to change from one game to another, while retaining a common credit balance. This allows players to transfer betting credits between the different games. Preferably, the system further allows a player to play more than one game at the same time.

In one embodiment, the player plays one game at a time. In another embodiment, the player plays multiple games at one time. When the player is playing multiple games, the games may be the same game or different games. For example, the terminal may allow the player to play up to four different roulette games simultaneously. The roulette games may be live gaming tables within the casino, or virtual games. The player may additionally select non-casino style games to play while the player is waiting for a wagering game to begin. This increases the player's interest and allows a number of games to be played without having to move locations. For example, the player may engage in a game of solitaire while waiting for betting to close in a roulette game. In one form of the invention, the display screens for the various games are provided as sub screens within a larger screen, allowing players to view the status and results of all the available games at any time. In an alternative form, the display screens are provided on a rotation basis within a larger screen, allowing a larger image to be portrayed on the display screen of each game simulation and result. In one form of the invention, the player terminals are incorporated in a slot machine, preferably allowing players to play at least one game and play a slot machine game at the same time, whilst retaining a common credit balance. This further increases interest for players by having more choices of games to play. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for operating a gaming machine which allows a player to play a plurality of casino style games on one machine, said method including the steps of: displaying each of a plurality of casino style games on at least one community display screen;

allowing a player to select at least one of said plurality of casino style games from a player terminal, and to make wagers on said game, wherein there are a plurality of player terminals, all of said terminals sharing a common game outcome; playing said game and determining an outcome; and communicating said outcome to at least one of said player terminal or said community display screen, and paying any winning wagers.

The inventors have recognised it would be advantageous for both casino operators and players if there were multiple electronic casino style games available to be played on one machine. The games may be of the same type, i.e. — multiple Sic Bo games, or may be different types of games, i.e. Roulette, Sic Bo, Baccarat and Double Down Stud. This would allow a player to easily alternate between games without having to move from one location to another. It would also preferably allow a player the ability to transfer game credits between different games on the same machine. These games may either be fully electronic, an electronic representation of a live table game, or alternatively a live table game that can be shown on the player terminal via a video feed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates the architecture of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates the visual representation of an exemplary central display screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 illustrates the visual representation of the player terminals in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will be described with reference to a particular implementation of the present invention. The implementation shown is intended to be illustrative and not limitative of the present invention. It will be appreciated that game designers could implement the present invention in many different ways to satisfy the demands of their particular game and systems.

Figure 1 shows the basic architecture of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown, there are four community display screens 11 ,12,13,14 each showing a different game being played in their usual manner. Display screens 11 ,12,13,14 are preferably located in a central location or readily visible location in the casino, where a large number of players can see the games being played and the results displayed. There may be a number of identical sets of display screens 11 ,12,13,14 in various locations throughout the gaming area to allow the majority of patrons to see the screens wherever they are located in the casino. While the embodiment of figure 1 shows four separate display screens, it may be preferred to have one unitary display screen showing all four games on the one screen, as shown in figure 2. In this arrangement, four separate areas 31 , 32, 33, 34 are provided within a single screen 30. All games are preferably shown on the display screen at the same time to allow players to always be aware of the status and results of each game they are playing or may wish to play. However, an alternative arrangement would allow for rotation of displays over time between different games, or for different games to appear on a main screen whilst the others are visible but a smaller size. The present invention is not limited to any specific display arrangement, provided that the games are displayed on a shared or community basis so that they can be viewed by multiple potential players.

Figure 2 shows a visual representation of a display screen 30 showing four different wagering games being played. The number of games being offered at the one time and shown on the screen is unimportant to the invention. The casino or game designer may decide the number of games being displayed on a community display. This invention allows for at least two games to be offered at the one time, but can be implemented to offer a large number of games at the one time.

In figure 2, four different games are being displayed on the one display screen. Alternatively, multiple games of the same type could be displayed, such as the live feed from four separate Rapid Roulette™-type games. The display screen has been divided horizontally in this example to allow all four games to be displayed at one time. The four games shown are Roulette 31 , Sic Bo 32,

Baccarat 33, and Double Down Stud 34. It will be appreciated that this is by way of example, and other games could be substituted.

Where "casino style games" is referred to in this specification, this refers broadly to games that may be played in a casino and is not limited to traditional "casino" table games such as Roulette, Baccarat and the like. For example, non- traditional casino style games like Keno could also be offered. This invention is not limited in this regard. However, games are limited to those with communal game outcomes where player selections cannot alter the outcome for other players. Whilst the game outcome needs to be communal, it will be appreciated that different players may have wagered on different outcomes or in different amounts, so that the outcomes may well differ for each player. In one form of the invention, the game can be operated with a standard timing from the beginning to the end that cannot be affected by any player. It is also preferred that the games be offered at remote terminals, outside of the viewing area of the community display. When there are remote terminals, it is desirable to display the community game outcome on the terminal itself. Otherwise, it is not necessary to display the game outcome on an individual player display. However, displaying common game outcomes on all or a portion of the player terminals is contemplated. The games being offered may either include fully electronic casino style games, including those wholly administered operated and played via means of computer operated software. Alternatively, the games being offered may include an electronic version of a live table game, including those where the game is administered, operated and played via casino operators or the like, with the game being represented graphically on the player terminals or result screens in an electronic format, for example through animations and the like. Alternatively, the games being offered may include live table games that are shown on the player terminals or result screens via a video feed. The present invention is not limited to any format or mode of games in particular. Returning to figure 1 , the video display controller 2 determines the animations being shown on each screen 11 ,12,13,14. Preferably, the display screen 1 shows a countdown allowing a player to see their betting time remaining, followed by animations of the actual game being played, for example

cards being dealt or roulette wheels being spun, and replications of the results being generated. A history of recent results may be also displayed. The general operation of such a device is well understood in the art, and will not be further described in detail. The master result unit 3 may be stand-alone or alternatively be part of the player terminal 4 that houses the mechanism (i.e.-a random number generator) to create a result for each game. This result is relayed to the video display controller 2 that subsequently provides display instructions to the community display screens 11 ,12,13,14. The master results unit 3 will also evaluate all bets from players and update the player terminals 4 once a result has been determined. The master unit may be a single device which controls multiple games, or in an alternative implementation could be several devices, each controlling one or more games. In the latter case, one device would need to assume overall control of credit levels available to all games. Control arrangement would also be required to ensure that when the player selected a particular game, the correct data relating to wagers and outcomes selected was relayed to the correct game.

The master result unit 3 according to this implementation acts as controller for the games and communicates with player terminals 17-22. The player terminals 17-22 may be located throughout the casino as independent machines, or alternatively may form part of a slot machine to allow a player to play both casino games and slot machines at the one location. Each player terminal 17-22 preferably includes a means for players to insert money to increase their betting credits. However, alternative arrangements using electronic or magnetic cards, or any other suitable arrangement for providing credit could be used. Each player terminal 17-22 also includes an game selection interface to allow a player to select and play different games. As each game is chosen and bet and player selections (if applicable) are made, this information is collected by the master result unit 3. After the game has been played the master result unit 3 determines the results of the game, prizes awarded and updates the player terminals 4 accordingly. In some implementations, the master result unit 3 may simply send result information for the player terminal 4 to test against players' selections and wagers and credit locally. Alternatively, the player wager information may be determined centrally and merely communicated, as screen display information for

example, to the local terminal. The division of processing between the player terminals and the master controller for processing wagers, credits and the like is not critical to the present invention and any suitable arrangement may be used. Preferably, players can transfer their remaining credits between different games. It is also preferred that a player can play more than one game at the same time.

Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of a player terminal screen layout 40. The available games to be played are shown as Roulette, Sic Bo, Baccarat and Double Down Stud. The player can choose which game to play by pressing the appropriate button or touching the appropriate place on the screen. The layout of figure 3 also displays the credit remaining ($62.00) for that particular player or machine. Once the player has chosen the game they wish to play, they are prompted to place a bet for that game. An appropriate interface is provided for each game, in any suitable format. Such interfaces are known for stand alone electronic versions of casino type games, and any suitable type may be used. In games that are formatted with a time-out or time-down feature, there is preferably provided a game countdown indicator shown on the player terminal 4 screens corresponding to the countdown indicator shown on the display screen 11-14. When the countdown ends, the player can watch the game being played and subsequently the results of the game on the display screens 11-14.

Each specific game interface preferably includes a button or other player interface device which when selected take the player back to the game selection screen. Preferably, if a win occurs on a game while the player has another interface operative, a visual or audio indication of the win is provided. The interface screen will also preferably have a history of wagers for the particular player, so that when the player returns to another game they can verify the outcomes of their wagers.

In one example of the invention, the results of the game are shown on the screen of each player terminal 17 - 22 after the game is played. Other information may also be shown on the screen of the player terminal as desired, for example a history of results, game rules, credit balances, win amounts or advertisements for other games available.

The components of the system may communicate using any suitable network or communications arrangement, having regard to security and authentication considerations which apply in a casino environment.

It will be appreciated that the terminal could also be configured to additionally permit the play of other games, for example conventional slot games, non-wagering games such as Scrabble®, solitaire, etc. on the same terminal if desired.

It will be understood that many variations and additions are possible to implement the present invention but still falling within its general scope.