Method and apparatus for conducting a game tournament

Abstract

A player is permitted to play in a tournament involving one or more instances of an online game. In one specific example, the player may choose, at a point of sale (POS), a tournament option that permits the player to play in a tournament-style game involving multiple game instances of a primary game. In one example, the primary game is a slot machine type game. In this way, the player may be permitted to enjoy the feeling of playing in a tournament against other players in the environment of an online game. In another example, the primary game result is driven by the result of a secondary game, such as a lottery or casino-based drawing (e.g., a Keno drawing). The secondary game is then played, and the result of the overall tournament is determined based on the results of the secondary game instances. Results of the secondary game instances and the result of the tournament are sent to an online gaming system. The player is then permitted to play an online game to reveal the results of the secondary game instances and the result of the overall tournament.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 130,796, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A GAME OF CHANCE,” filed on May 16, 2005, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 002,727, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A GAME OF CHANCE,” filed on Nov. 30, 2004 which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 569,030, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDUCTING A GAME OF CHANCE,” filed on May 7, 2004, each of which applications are herein incorporated by reference by their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The field of the invention relates generally to lotteries and gaming, and more particularly, to systems for conducting lottery-based games or casino-based gaming. BACKGROUND [0003] There are many different types of games that are provided that involve the issuance of a lottery ticket to play a game of chance. Lottery t...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] According to one aspect of the present invention, the player need not be present or play the online portion of the game (e.g., the primary game) in order to win one or more instances of the secondary game (and therefore, the tournament). However, a game-playing computer that conducts the online game may provide an indication to each player which player is currently leading in the tournament. Because players may not necessarily play the online game, there may be a method for representing to other players that the non-playing player is currently leading the tournament even though they are not present. To this end, a game-playing computer may indicate an identifier of the player currently winning the tournament. Because such an indication is provided, players are less likely to feel cheated, if at the end of the tournament, one of the actual participants does not win the race. Such an indication may be, for example, a token or other identifier (e.g., a username, nickname, or any other identifier) associated with the ticket. For players who have not selected a username (e.g., a player that arrives late and has not registered), one may be automatically assigned by a computer system conducting the tournament so that results may be displayed to other players participating in the tournament.

[0051] Because the decryption key is placed on the ticket, unauthorized access to the online game is not permitted without the physical ticket. In another embodiment, a portion of the decryption key is placed on the ticket, and another portion is stored in a database associated with the online game. In this manner, security cannot be breached without having both portions of the key (either having the issued ticket portion or the online portion). Thus, a hacker may not compromise a lottery ticket database without the ticket, and, by virtue of having a winning ticket, other winning ticket numbers may not be determined. Access to the online portion of the key may be obtained, for example, by providing some other information (e.g., a serial number printed on the ticket). However, it should be appreciated that the information used to gain access to the online portion of the key need not be printed on the ticket—the information may be provided on some other medium or by another method.

Problems solved by technology

One problem of providing players play over the Internet is that they do not see others playing a tournament-style game in which other players may be playing individual games where their play might affect a result of a tournament-type game.

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