Method and apparatus for indicating win proximity

Abstract

In one aspect, a system displays a winning one of multiple mystery bonus awards before identifying a winner of the winning award from among a plurality of players of base games. In another aspect, the system displays a winning one of multiple mystery bonus awards after identifying a winner of the winning award from among a plurality of players of base games.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 903,959 filed Feb. 27, 2007 whose contents are incorporated herein for all purposes.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to novel methods of presenting multi-level mystery bonus awards on games of chance.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Playing games of chance is a popular recreational activity. There are many types of games of chance including table games where players wager against a live dealer such as blackjack, Pai Gow, roulette, Baccarat. Other types of games of chance are offered as automated machines. Examples include slots, poker, bingo, etc. Still other types of games of chance allow players to wager against one another, such as a poker table. In return for a wager, games of chance generate randomly determined outcomes, some of which result in a winning event. Games of chance are often played with wagers having financial value but some...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019]My invention is a device and method which improves the player appeal of mystery bonus awards. Specifically, my invention provides a method of conducting a game of chance displaying a plurality of mystery bonus award values, comprising the steps of: (a) displaying each of the plurality of mystery bonus award values to a player; (b) making a wager to initiate play of the game; (c) determining that a mystery bonus award has been won; (d) upon the occurrence of a win, displaying to a player that a win has occurred; (e) executing an indication process wherein at least two of the plurality of mystery bonus awards are indicated to a player in a sequence, with less than all mystery bonus awards indicated at any one time; (f) ending the indication process with the winning mystery bonus award indicated to a player; and (g) paying the indicated mystery bonus award to a player. My invention is also directed to providing an indication of proximity of a win, of wager size, and to sequences of revealing win occurrence, win amount and winner identification.

Problems solved by technology

Because there are so many numbers, multi-level mystery progressives are confusing to many players and this limits their appeal.

Effectiveness of multi-level mystery bonus awards is limited by the confusion of displaying multiple bonus award values and player enjoyment would increase if such displays are simplified.

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