Slot Machine with Variable Suspense Factor

Abstract

A slot machine which can be adjusted to alter the suspense level without changing the mathematics of the gameplay. By evaluating the final outcome before the reels stop spinning, the order in which the reels stop may be adjusted to either increase or decrease the level of suspense for the player, when compared with the standard left-to-right order.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims benefit to provisional application 61 / 083,518, filed in the USPTO on Jul. 25, 2008, entitled, “Slot Machine with Variable Suspense” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present general inventive concept is directed to a method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium directed to a slot machine game with a variable level of player suspense.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Slot machine games are a very popular form of casino gaming. A typical electromechanical slot machine game displays wagering outcomes by spinning and then stopping (or “resolving”), three physical reels containing images (symbols) alternated with blanks. Specifically, after a player initiates gameplay, the software operating the machine uses a pseudo-random number generator to determine the final positions of the three reels, then sets the r...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent aims to offer more flexibility and create new options for players in casino games.

Problems solved by technology

However, an excess of near misses may lead players to believe the game is rigged or malfunctioning.

Therefore, resolving the middle (center) reel last would not have Inoue's desired effect, and indeed may actually decrease the suspense of a typical slot machine game since most games have more virtual blank spaces on the rightmost reel than the center.

Further, the visibility of symbols above and below the payline in a standard slot machine is not present in the game of Inoue, and Inoue does not address the presence of symbols outside his “observation windows”.

However, the practice of near miss programming, that is, substituting one losing outcome with another when that other outcome was not actually selected by the random number generator, was ruled deceptive and made illegal during a series of Nevada Gaming Commission hearings in 1988.

Notwithstanding this regulation, there is still some level of suspicion about the fairness of near misses even when not specifically programmed; that is, when achieved due to clustering techniques on weighted virtual reels.

It is possible that such additional studies on near misses may lead regulators to want to decrease near misses by eliminating the practice of virtual reels, or decrease them even further beyond what is possible with uniformly-weighted reels.

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