Gaming System Segmented Progressive and Supplemental Awards
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mystery progressive gaming systems often lead to infrequent wins, discourage multiple players, and make it difficult for players to understand who won the progressive award and why it was reset, while also being mathematically and financially challenging to maintain desirable levels.
Innovation Solution
A gaming system with a central server that provides both progressive and supplemental awards, where supplemental awards are funded by player wagers and can be given during the time it takes to build progressive awards, ensuring more frequent bonus events without affecting progressive award funding, and displaying information to players about bonus events and awards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If mystery progressive awards are used in gaming systems, then progressive awards can be provided to players, but the wins become infrequent and players are discouraged from continuing to play
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single progressive award system into multiple segments: mystery progressive awards and supplemental awards. This segmentation allows the system to provide both large progressive jackpots and frequent supplemental awards, increasing overall player engagement while maintaining the integrity of the progressive award structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces supplemental awards as an intermediary mechanism between player wagers and progressive award funding. These supplemental awards are funded separately from progressive awards, allowing frequent player recognition without depleting progressive award funds, thus maintaining both high frequency and player engagement
2Productivity
If supplemental awards are funded from progressive award pools, then more frequent bonus events can occur, but the progressive award levels decrease and become less exciting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the award funding into separate pools: progressive award pools and supplemental award pools. This allows supplemental awards to be funded independently without reducing progressive award levels, enabling frequent bonus events while maintaining exciting progressive jackpot amounts
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different funding qualities to different award types: progressive awards receive funding from progressive pools at rates designed to build large jackpots, while supplemental awards receive funding from separate pools at rates enabling frequent distribution. Each award type has its own optimal funding characteristics
3Productivity
If mystery progressive awards are used, then progressive awards can be provided, but it becomes difficult for players to understand who won and why the award was reset
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that provide players with information about supplemental award winners and the status of progressive awards. This feedback loop maintains the mystery element while reducing player confusion about award distribution and reset timing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the supplemental award system as an intermediary communication channel to inform players about system status. By announcing supplemental award winners and providing status information, the system maintains player engagement and understanding without revealing the mystery progressive triggering conditions
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming system including a central server linked to a plurality of gaming machines. The central server monitors wagers on the gaming machines. Based at least in part on the wagers the central server determines when bonus events will occur and which gaming machine(s) will provide the bonus awards. In one embodiment, the central server determines which gaming machine(s) will provide progressive awards and/or supplemental bonus awards, wherein the number of provided supplemental awards is determined based on the number of active gaming machines. Each supplemental bonus award provided by each gaming device is based on any accumulated wagers placed at that gaming device.