Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ENHANCED ROULETTE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an improved roulette game.
BACKGROUND ART
The game of roulette is a well established casino game, which is enjoyed
around the world and has achieved long term popularity. It is popular both as
a
live manual casino game, a simulated casino game, an automated casino game,
and in various electronic and on-line forms.
Players place wagers on the outcome of the ball coming to rest, within a
wheel having a number of possible rest positions for the ball: Players may
either
bet on the occurrence of a particular number, or various configurations based
on
the betting layout, for example adjacent numbers in the layout, rows and
straights, or even money bets such as red and black, and odds and evens.
Common implementations are the single zero wheel, which has numbers one to
thirty six and a zero, and the double zero wheel, which has an additional
double
zero over the single zero wheel. The straight number wagers have win ratios
which are in favour of the house largely because of the addition of the zero
and
double zero numbers.
It is desirable with gaming machines to provide new features to enhance
the interest of players. The simplicity of the game and the lack of room for
player
strategy make additional features of the game difficult to develop.
Although roulette is popular, one of its limitations is the lack of added
incentives for players. These incentives are popular in other casino games,
particularly slot and poker machines. It is an object of the present invention
to
provide a roulette game that offers additional player features.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a broad form, the invention provides a method of operating a roulette
game with betting means to allow players to select and place wagers on
potential
game outcomes, said method comprising the step of determining, after all the
wagers have been made and before the outcome of the roulette game is known,
whether a bonus trigger event has occurred; wherein, if a bonus trigger event
is
determined to have occurred, providing a bonus feature.
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In one aspect, the invention provides a method of operating a game of
roulette comprising the steps of:
a) receiving players' selections and wagers on potential game
outcomes until a betting time is closed;
b) closing the betting time;
c) determining if a bonus trigger event has occurred;
d) playing the game to determine the outcome of the game; and
e) if a bonus trigger event has occurred, providing a bonus feature.
The bonus trigger event may be a particular game outcome from a
previous game, a random event or a predetermined non-game related event.
Preferably, it is a random event.
The bonus feature may be of any suitable type. It may be a free game (for
example to the same wager value as the game which triggered the bonus), a
winning wager multiplier, other special game play feature, or non-game related
prize.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a gaming machine
adapted to carry out the methods.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a software product for
programming a gaming system to carry out the methods.
The present invention accordingly provides a mechanism for allowing the
chance of a bonus to be awarded in a game of roulette. This provides a
significant added interest in the game of roulette for the players.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described
with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a Roulette gaming system on which the
present invention may be implemented.
DESCRIPTION
The present invention may be implemented in a variety of ways, for
standard roulette games, dealer determined result roulette wheels,
electronically
simulated roulette, or other implementations of the game such as online
roulette
or gaming machines. The preferred method is to use the system that drives
electronic terminals so that the occurrence of the bonus feature can happen
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randomly. It would be difficult to implement the present invention in a
standard
manual betting casino game, and accordingly it is preferred that the
implementation use electronic betting means, for example as provided for the
applicant's Rapid Roulette game. This is available commercially, for example
as
described at the applicant's website http://www.stargames.com.au. A further
description appears in US patent No 6659866, the contents of which are herein
incorporated by reference.
A game of this type is illustrated in figure 1. A gaming table 1 includes a
set of player terminals 2. The terminals allow each player to make bets and
receive payouts, and optionally may provide other features such as history for
the
table. The dealer in this implementation may accept payments and then credit
terminals. The dealer manually spins the wheel, to determine the game outcome,
which is input via terminal 5. A display 6 shows the result of the game. Of
course,
it will be understood that the present invention could be implemented with
fully
automated wheels, fully electronic betting, or the like.
In one embodiment, for each game, players have an opportunity to place
bets on their terminals. Betting time is regulated by a countdown. When this
countdown reaches zero, no bets can be made, changed or deleted. At this time,
the game outcome result may be determined in the conventional way. It is at
this
time - between when the system captures all bets (countdown reaches zero) and
before the result is determined - that the system randomly determines if the
bonus feature is to be provided for that game.
If the result is positive, that is the bonus feature will be provided, the
system will display to all winners that any wins occurring during that game
will be
multiplied by a random amount (that is, in this embodiment, the bonus feature
is a
winnings multiplier). As all bets are locked in the system, no changes can be
made. Any wins players achieve during that nominated game would be multiplied
by a pre-designated number.
Another embodiment uses a specific result from a previous game to trigger
a bonus feature in the current game. For example, a double zero roulette wheel
has numbers 1 to 36, a 0 and a 00. Conventionally operated, the 00 is a win
for
the house on all bets, unless specifically on 00. The bonus feature may be
triggered for games immediate following a game in which 00 was the result.
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In other embodiments, if the bonus feature is provided, each player has the
opportunity to select one card from 5 displayed on their screen. Behind one of
the
cards is a symbol, which awards the player 5 times their previous game bet.
So,
for example, if the player had bet $10 across various wagers, then he would be
awarded $50 if he selected the winning symbol. As all players are dependant
upon a central result, and play is delayed, time for selection is limited to
some
specific period, after which one is randomly selected for the player.
Accordingly, it will be apparent that the bonus feature may be to
commence play of a bonus game, with only some players ultimately benefiting.
The embodiments illustrated are only illustrative constructions, and many
alternative bonus features may be employed.
The bonus feature may of any suitable type including a free game (i.e. that
some/all wagers are returned but the bets stand), that the winnings for the
game
is multiplied by a nominated factor, other special game play feature or a non-
game related prize such as a free drink. The present invention is not limited
to
any specific bonus type.
It will be appreciated that the present invention is of broad application, and
can be implemented in a variety of ways. Variations and additions are possible
within the general scope of the present invention.
