Parallel Prize Accumulation System for Gaming Venues
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Solution Overview
Problem
In smaller gaming venues, the awarding of jackpot prizes is less frequent due to lower wagers, leading to longer periods between prize awards and lower average prize values, which complicates cost management and maintaining payout percentages during low turnover periods.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that includes memory for storing prize data, an input device for increment signals from gaming terminals, an increment device for parallel incrementing of accumulated values towards current prize values, and a comparator to determine when to award prizes, with weightings that can be adjusted to prioritize certain prizes for faster accumulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional jackpot systems are used in smaller gaming venues, then prize awarding frequency decreases and average prize values drop, but implementing the patent's parallel incrementing system with adjustable weightings increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the weighting factors for different prize levels based on accumulated wager amounts. As wagers accumulate, the system modifies which prize levels are prioritized for awarding, allowing flexible adaptation to varying venue sizes and wager volumes without requiring separate systems for different venue types
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of weighting factors assigned to different prize levels. By adjusting these weightings, the system controls the probability and timing of prize awards, enabling smaller venues to maintain regular prize awarding while managing cost expectations through parameter modification rather than structural system changes
2Reliability
If multiple jackpot prizes are simultaneously available, then gamer interest is maintained, but the cost management and payout percentage control becomes more difficult in low turnover periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors accumulated wager amounts and uses this feedback to determine when to award prizes and at what levels. The weighting factors are adjusted based on feedback from total wagers, allowing the system to maintain multiple available prizes while automatically controlling payout percentages through dynamic probability adjustment
Solution Approach 2:
The availability and weighting of multiple prize levels are made dynamic rather than static. The system can adjust which prize levels remain available and their respective weighting factors based on accumulated wagers, enabling cost management while maintaining gamer interest through the perception of multiple winning opportunities
3Reliability
If prize values are randomly determined within ranges, then fairness is maintained, but in smaller venues with lower wagers, it takes longer for average prize values to approximate the defined range averages, affecting payout percentage stability
Solution Approach 1:
The system preliminarily assigns weighting factors to different prize levels before wagers are accumulated. These pre-established weightings guide the probability distribution of prize awards, ensuring that even with limited wagers, the system progresses toward expected average prize values by biasing selections toward more probable outcomes rather than purely random selection
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus is disclosed for determining the award of a set of prizes where each prize in the set has a respective prize value. The apparatus includes memory for storing prize data indicative of the prize values in the set. An input device is responsive to input signals from a respective plurality of gaming terminals for providing an increment signal. An increment device accesses the prize data to select at least two prize values from the set to define respective current prize values, and is responsive to the increment signal for incrementing in parallel a plurality of accumulated values toward the respective current prize values. A comparator is responsive to the current prize values and the accumulated values for determining if one of the current prize values is to be awarded and, if so, generating an award signal and removing from the set the prize value corresponding to the one of the current prize values.