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WO2017117065A1 - Machine à sous spécialisée pour mettre en œuvre un jeu de pari à l'aide d'un contenu d'événement en temps réel ou en direct - Google Patents

Machine à sous spécialisée pour mettre en œuvre un jeu de pari à l'aide d'un contenu d'événement en temps réel ou en direct Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017117065A1
WO2017117065A1 PCT/US2016/068570 US2016068570W WO2017117065A1 WO 2017117065 A1 WO2017117065 A1 WO 2017117065A1 US 2016068570 W US2016068570 W US 2016068570W WO 2017117065 A1 WO2017117065 A1 WO 2017117065A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
players
slot machine
bid
player
contestants
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2016/068570
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Philip Paul GIVANT
Original Assignee
Givant Philip Paul
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US14/981,408 external-priority patent/US9589418B2/en
Application filed by Givant Philip Paul filed Critical Givant Philip Paul
Publication of WO2017117065A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017117065A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
    • G07F17/32—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for games, toys, sports, or amusements
    • G07F17/326—Game play aspects of gaming systems
    • G07F17/3272—Games involving multiple players
    • G07F17/3276—Games involving multiple players wherein the players compete, e.g. tournament

Definitions

  • This patent application relates to gaming machines, slot machines, computer- implemented software, networked systems, and gaming systems according to one embodiment, and more specifically to a specialized slot machine for conducting a wagering game using real time or live action event content.
  • gaming machines such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like for many years.
  • Slot machines have proven to be very popular with players and profitable for the venue.
  • the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the possibility of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options.
  • Players are usually attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines, which are constructed with features and enhancements to attract frequent play and increase profitability for the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for slot machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and improve gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
  • Fantasy players are matched up against a single opponent to compete against for a given round.
  • the fantasy player whose athletes score more combined fantasy points are declared the winner and their opponent is declared the loser.
  • the won/lost records of these fantasy players are recorded. The better records receive special recognition.
  • Duplication of athletes is not permitted in these tournaments. Often, leagues are actually built within the tournament structure. Fantasy players are allowed to remain in the tournament for quite some time even if they happen to be performing poorly. There is a selection process in place where fantasy players either bid on or draft athletes. Lineups are submitted from a very limited and well defined pool of athletes. They consist of athletes that a fantasy player has on their roster that they either drafted or bid on. Head-to-Head Format Limitations
  • Some tournament formats operate as a lottery style tournament because the format mirrors what a lottery does. For example, millions of people can select the number "3" in a lottery and share that number. But, the number is meaningless unless that number is selected as one of the winning numbers and the other five or six numbers that the lottery player has are also selected as winning numbers. The same thing happens with fantasy sports lottery tournaments. Three million people might have the highest scoring athlete for a given day, week or month, but how many of them have that in combination with the next five or six highest scoring athletes? This is a very unlikely combination to have and is why this style of play mimics a lottery. The lottery effect format requires hundreds, thousands or even an unlimited number of entries to play each other simultaneously.
  • Fantasy players compete against the entire field simultaneously.
  • Tournament format not conducive to charging an entry fee, although some do, because fantasy players are not optimistic they can beat out hundreds to millions of players at the same time for the high score.
  • Generally considered an inferior format to the match play method because it is nothing more than an accumulated points system over a day, week, month or entire season and forces fantasy players to compete against the entire field at the same time.
  • fantasy tournaments have every feature described in the two formats above. However, all of them though have enough of them in combination with one another to create insurmountable roadblocks for the type of toumament the applicant believes is needed to fill the hole in the industry. The only way around them is to seek non-traditional solutions. Ultimately, the goal is to create a vehicle so that an unlimited number of fantasy players can participate, without having to play the entire field simultaneously. Again, there isn't a single format currently in existence on the market that allows this to happen. The reason for this is that there are several non-obvious features that are required to make this happen.
  • FanDuel has been hosting a tournament for two years that they hope will eventually pay the winner one million dollars (in 2012 the winner received $150,000). Their entry fee is either $10 or $109.
  • FanDuel is a good illustration of how big money fantasy sports tournaments struggle with trying to avoid the Lottery Effect while at the same time trying to offer a big money grand prize. What they have created is a paradigm that offers two types of qualifying tournaments for a chance to compete in a 24 person tournament that crowns the winner with $150,000. For the $109 qualifier, they limit it to 250 people each week that it is run. For the $10 qualifier they cap it at just over 2,000 entries.
  • the intent is to minimize the Lottery Effect by capping the number of people who can participate, but it is still creates a Lottery Effect when you have to be the best score in a large field to qualify. Moreover, the prize money to the winner is compromised and can never be in the multi-millions of dollars because they are creating caps for the number of people that can enter.
  • the FanDuel format is a good example to illustrate the problem that currently exists. Nobody has been able to determine how to offer the multi-million dollar grand prize without forcing contestants to simultaneously play millions of people. FanDuel clearly is trying to address the issue, but because of their flawed strategies in creating their format, they offer BOTH the Lottery Effect and a less than desirable grand prize in their offering.
  • the National Fantasy Football Championship Primetime (NFFCP) is offering a $150,000 grand prize for the 2012 NFLTM season. Their entry fee is $1,500. Analysis— The prize money is not in the millions and the entry fee is way too high to attract the masses. The format limits the number of entries, because they haven't developed a tournament format that allows a large number of fantasy players to compete.
  • the National Fantasy Football Championship Classic (NFFCC) is offering a $75,000 grand prize for the 2012 NFLTM season. Their entry fee is $1,500. Analysis— The prize money is not in the millions and the entry fee is way too high to attract the masses. The format limits the number of entries, because they haven't developed a tournament format that allows a large number of fantasy players to compete.
  • the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC) is offering a $200,000 grand prize for the 2012 NFLTM season. Their entry fee is $1,600. Analysis— The prize money is not in the millions and the entry fee is way too high to attract the masses.
  • the format limits the number of entries, because they haven't developed a tournament format that allows a large number of fantasy players to compete.
  • specialized slot machines for conducting wagering games using real time or live action event content via a computer system and/or a data network are disclosed.
  • specialized slot machines for conducting fantasy sports tournaments via a computer system and/or a data network are disclosed.
  • this patent application relates to computer or network implemented specialized gaming systems and/or fantasy sports tournaments.
  • the computer or network implemented gaming system as described herein can be in data network communication with a plurality of user platforms.
  • the user platforms can be client computing devices, mobile computing devices, mobile communication devices, or the like operated by gaming contestants or administrators.
  • a host site or server can be used to execute the software and systems implementing the gaming structure as described herein.
  • the host site and the networked system become a special purpose computing platform particularly configured to support the computer or network implemented gaming system as described herein.
  • the host site and the user platforms may communicate and transfer data and information in a data network environment via a wide area data network (e.g., the Internet).
  • Various components of the host site can also communicate internally via a conventional intranet or local area network (LAN).
  • LAN local area network
  • the computer or network implemented gaming system as described herein can be in data network communication with a plurality of contestants and other network resources.
  • Contestants can represent the network locations of clients or client computing systems being managed by contestants, teams, gaming players, or other client users operating an embodiment as described herein.
  • contestants or other users at a user platform can interact with a computer-generated user interface provided by the gaming system to participate in and communicate with the gaming system.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of a free standing slot machine embodying the example embodiment
  • Figure 2 is a perspective view of a handheld slot machine embodying the example embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system in an example embodiment suitable for operating the slot machines of Figure 1 and Figure 2;
  • Figure 4 illustrates an example embodiment of a gaming system in a network-enabled environment
  • Figure 5 illustrates another example embodiment of a networked system in which various embodiments may operate
  • Figure 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a fantasy sports tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine;
  • Figure 10 is a flowchart showing how player groups are formed one group at a time
  • Figure 1 1 is a flowchart showing how some fantasy players advance in the group play tournament while some are eliminated or disqualified;
  • Figure 12 is a flowchart showing how head-to-head fantasy players submit athletes via a blind submission process over a set number of submission rounds. In this example, three rounds are used;
  • Figure 13 is a flowchart showing how groups submit athletes via a blind submission process
  • Figure 14 is a flowchart showing how group tournaments can also be filled by creating a pre-determined number of groups and then adding one fantasy player to each group before any one group gets bumped higher;
  • Figure 15 is a flowchart showing how fantasy players are randomly assigned for a head- to-head Main Event tournament match
  • Figure 16 through Figure 19 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a web application (app), which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a fantasy sports tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds;
  • Figure 20 is a processing flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of gaming processing logic for conducting wagering games using real time or live action event content;
  • Figure 21 is a processing flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of gaming processing logic for conducting a fantasy sports tournament.
  • Figure 22 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the example form of a stationary or mobile computing and/or communication system within which a set of instructions when executed and/or processing logic when activated may cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies described and/or claimed herein.
  • a slot machine 10 can be used in gaming venues such as casinos.
  • the slot machine 10 may be any type of slot machine and may have varying structures and methods of operation.
  • the slot machine 10 may be an electromechanical gaming machine configured to play mechanical slots, or it may be an electronic gaming machine configured to play a video casino game, such as slots, keno, poker, blackjack, roulette, etc.
  • the slot machine 10 may also be an electromechanical lottery machine in an alternative embodiment.
  • the slot machine 10 comprises a housing 12 and includes input devices, including a value input device 18 and a player input device 24.
  • the slot machine 10 includes a primary display 14 for displaying information about the basic wagering game.
  • the primary display 14 can also display information about a bonus wagering game and a progressive wagering game.
  • the slot machine 10 may also include a secondary display 16 for displaying game events, game outcomes, and/or signage information. While these typical components found in the slot machine 10 are described below, it should be understood that numerous other elements may exist and may be used in any number of combinations to create various forms of a slot machine 10.
  • the value input device 18 may be provided in many forms, individually or in combination, and is preferably located on the front of the housing 12.
  • the value input device 18 receives currency and/or credits that are inserted by a player.
  • the value input device 18 may include a coin acceptor 20 for receiving coin currency (see Figure 1).
  • the value input device 18 may include a bill acceptor 22 for receiving paper currency.
  • the value input device 18 may include a ticket reader, a barcode scanner, or a QR code scanner for reading information stored on a credit ticket, a card, or other tangible portable credit storage device.
  • the credit ticket or card may also authorize access to a central account, which can transfer money to the slot machine 10.
  • the player input device 24 comprises a plurality of push buttons 26 on a button panel for operating the slot machine 10.
  • the player input device 24 may comprise a touch screen 28 mounted by adhesive, tape, or the like over the primary display 14 and/or secondary display 16.
  • the touch screen 28 contains soft touch keys 30 denoted by graphics on the underlying primary display 14 and used to operate the slot machine 10.
  • the touch screen 28 provides players with an altemative method of input. A player enables a desired function either by touching the touch screen 28 at an appropriate touch key 30 or by pressing an appropriate push button 26 on the button panel.
  • the touch keys 30 may be used to implement the same functions as push buttons 26.
  • the push buttons 26 may provide inputs for one aspect of the operating the game, while the touch keys 30 may allow for input needed for another aspect of the game.
  • a lever or handle on the side of the slot machine can be used by a user to provide input to the slot machine 10.
  • the various components of the slot machine 10 may be connected directly to, or contained within, the housing 12, as seen in Figure 1 , or may be located outboard of the housing 12 and connected to the housing 12 via a variety of different wired or wireless connection methods.
  • the slot machine 10 comprises these components whether housed in the housing 12, or outboard of the housing 12 and connected remotely.
  • the operation of the basic wagering game is displayed to the player on the primary display 14.
  • the primary display 14 can also display the bonus game associated with the basic wagering game.
  • the primary display 14 may take the form of a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a high resolution liquid-crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, an LED (light emitting diode) display, or any other type of display suitable for use in the slot machine 10.
  • the primary display 14 includes the touch screen 28 overlaying the entire display (or a portion thereof) to allow players to make game-related selections.
  • the primary display 14 of the slot machine 10 may include a number of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic reels to display the outcome in visual association with at least one payline 32.
  • the slot machine 10 is an "upright” version in which the primary display 14 is oriented vertically relative to the player.
  • the slot machine may be a "slant-top” version in which the primary display 14 is slanted at about a thirty-degree angle toward the player of the slot machine 10.
  • a player begins play of the basic wagering game by making a wager via the value input device 18 of the slot machine 10.
  • a player can select a type of play by using the player input device 24, via the buttons 26 or the touch screen keys 30.
  • the basic game consists of a plurality of symbols arranged in an array, and includes at least one payline 32 that indicates one or more outcomes of the basic game. Such outcomes can be randomly selected in response to the wagering input by the player. As described in more detail below for various example embodiments, the outcomes can also be based on player input and real time or live action content retrieved by the slot machine 10 from a network information source. At least one of the plurality of outcomes determined by the slot machine 10 may be a start-bonus outcome, which can include any variations of symbols or symbol combinations triggering a bonus game.
  • the slot machine 10 may also include a player information reader 52 that allows for identification (ID) of a player by reading a card with information indicating his or her true identity.
  • the player information reader 52 is shown in Figure 1 as a card reader, but may take on many forms including a ticket reader, barcode scanner, QR code scanner, RFID (radio-frequency identification) transceiver or computer readable storage medium interface.
  • identification is generally used by casinos for rewarding certain players with complimentary services or special offers. For example, a player may be enrolled in the gaming establishment's loyalty club and may be awarded certain complimentary services as that player collects points in his or her player-tracking account.
  • the player inserts his or her card into the player information reader 52, which allows the casino's computers to register that player's wagering at the slot machine 10.
  • the slot machine 10 may use the secondary display 16 or other dedicated player-tracking display for providing the player with information about his or her account or other player-specific information.
  • the information reader 52 may be used to restore game assets that the player achieved and saved during a previous game session.
  • the handheld slot machine 610 is preferably an electronic gaming machine configured to play a video casino game such as, but not limited to, blackjack, slots, keno, poker, blackjack, and roulette.
  • the handheld slot machine 610 comprises a housing or casing 612 and includes input devices, including a value input device 618 and a player input device 624.
  • the handheld slot machine 610 includes, but is not limited to, a primary display 614, a secondary display 616, one or more speakers 617, one or more player-accessible ports 619 (e.g., an audio output jack for headphones, a video headset jack, etc.), and other conventional input/output (I/O) devices and ports, which may or may not be player-accessible.
  • the handheld slot machine 610 comprises a secondary display 616 that is rotatable relative to the primary display 614.
  • the optional secondary display 616 may be fixed, movable, and/or detachable/attachable relative to the primary display 614.
  • Either the primary display 614 and/or secondary display 616 may be configured to display any aspect of a non-wagering game, wagering game, secondary games, bonus games, progressive wagering games, group games, shared-experience games or events, game events, game outcomes, scrolling information, text messaging, emails, alerts or announcements, broadcast information, subscription information, and handheld slot machine status.
  • the player-accessible value input device 618 may comprise, for example, a slot located on the front, side, or top of the casing 612 configured to receive credit from a stored-value card (e.g., casino card, smart card, debit card, credit card, etc.) inserted by a player.
  • a stored-value card e.g., casino card, smart card, debit card, credit card, etc.
  • the player-accessible value input device 618 may comprise a sensor (e.g., an RF, radio frequency sensor) configured to sense a signal (e.g., an RF signal) output by a transmitter (e.g., an RF transmitter) carried by a player.
  • the player-accessible value input device 618 may also or alternatively include a ticket reader, barcode scanner, or QR code scanner for reading information stored on a credit ticket, a card, or other tangible portable credit or funds storage device.
  • the credit ticket or card may also authorize access to a central account, which can transfer money to the handheld slot machine 610.
  • Still other player-accessible value input devices 618 may require the use of touch keys 630 on the touch-screen display (e.g., primary display 614 and/or secondary display 616) or player input devices 624.
  • touch keys 630 on the touch-screen display (e.g., primary display 614 and/or secondary display 616) or player input devices 624.
  • secondary authorization information e.g., a password, personal identification number (PIN), stored value card number, predefined key sequences, etc.
  • the handheld slot machine 610 may be configured to permit a player to only access an account the player has specifically set up for the handheld slot machine 610.
  • the player-accessible value input device 618 may itself comprise or utilize a biometric player information reader, which permits the player to access available funds on a player's account, either alone or in combination with another of the aforementioned player-accessible value input devices 618.
  • the player-accessible value input device 618 comprises a biometric player information reader
  • transactions such as an input of value to the handheld device, a transfer of value from one player account or source to an account associated with the handheld slot machine 610, or the execution of another transaction, for example, could all be authorized by a biometric reading, which could comprise a plurality of biometric readings, from the biometric device.
  • a transaction may be optionally enabled only by a two- step process in which a secondary source confirms the identity indicated by a primary source.
  • a player-accessible value input device 618 comprising a biometric player information reader may require a confirmatory entry from another biometric player information reader 652, or from another source, such as a credit card, debit card, player ID (identification) card, fob key, PIN (personal identification number), password, hotel room key, etc.
  • a transaction may be enabled by, for example, a combination of the personal identification input (e.g., biometric input) with a secret PIN, or a combination of a biometric input with a fob input, or a combination of a fob input with a PIN, or a combination of a credit card input with a biometric input.
  • the personal identification input e.g., biometric input
  • a secret PIN e.g., biometric input
  • the player input device 624 comprises a plurality of push buttons on a button panel for operating the handheld slot machine 610.
  • the player input device 624 may comprise a touch screen 628 mounted to a primary display 614 and/or secondary display 616.
  • the touch screen 628 is matched to a display screen having one or more selectable touch keys 630 selectable by a user's touching of the associated area of the screen using a finger or a tool, such as a stylus pointer.
  • a player enables a desired function either by touching the touch screen 628 at an appropriate touch key 630 or by pressing an appropriate push button 626 on the button panel.
  • the touch keys 630 may be used to implement the same functions as push buttons 626.
  • the push buttons may provide inputs for one aspect of the operating the game, while the touch keys 630 may allow for input needed for another aspect of the game.
  • the various components of the handheld slot machine 610 may be connected directly to, or contained within, the casing 612, as seen in Figure 2, or may be located outboard of the casing 612 and connected to the casing 612 via a variety of hardwired (tethered) or wireless connection methods.
  • the handheld slot machine 610 may comprise a single unit or a plurality of interconnected parts (e.g., wireless connections) which may be arranged to suit a player's preferences.
  • the operation of the basic wagering game on the handheld slot machine 610 is displayed to the player on the primary display 614.
  • the primary display 614 can also display the bonus game associated with the basic wagering game.
  • the primary display 614 preferably takes the form of a high resolution LCD, a plasma display, an LED, or any other type of display suitable for use in the handheld slot machine 610.
  • the size of the primary display 614 may vary from, for example, about a 2-3" display to a 15 " or 17" display. In at least some aspects, the primary display 614 is a 7"-10" display. As the weight of and/or power requirements of such displays decreases with improvements in technology, it is envisaged that the size of the primary display may be increased.
  • coatings or removable films or sheets may be applied to the display to provide desired characteristics (e.g., anti-scratch, anti-glare, bacterially-resistant and anti-microbial films, etc.).
  • the primary display 614 and/or secondary display 616 may have a 16:9 aspect ratio or other aspect ratio (e.g., 4:3).
  • the primary display 614 and/or secondary display 616 may also each have different resolutions, different color schemes, and different aspect ratios.
  • a player begins play of the basic wagering game on the handheld slot machine 610 by making a wager (e.g., via the value input device 618 or an assignment of credits stored on the handheld slot machine via the touch screen keys 630, player input device 624, or buttons 626) on the handheld slot machine 610.
  • the basic game may comprise a plurality of symbols arranged in an array, and includes at least one payline 632 that indicates one or more outcomes of the basic game. Such outcomes can be randomly selected in response to the wagering input by the player. As described in more detail below for various example embodiments, the outcomes can also be based on player input and real time or live action content retrieved by the slot machine 610 from a network information source. At least one of the plurality of outcomes determined by the slot machine 610 may be a start-bonus outcome, which can include any variations of symbols or symbol combinations triggering a bonus game.
  • the player-accessible value input device 618 of the handheld slot machine 610 may double as a player information reader 652 that allows for identification of a player by reading a card with information indicating the player's identity (e.g., reading a player's credit card, player ID card, smart card, etc.).
  • the player information reader 652 may alternatively or also comprise a bar code scanner, RFID transceiver or computer readable storage medium interface.
  • the player information reader 652 shown by way of example in Figure 2, comprises a biometric sensing device.
  • a central processing unit (CPU) 34 also referred to herein as a controller or processor (such as a microcontroller or microprocessor).
  • the controller 34 executes one or more game programs stored in a computer readable storage medium, in the form of memory 36.
  • the controller 34 can perform the random selection (using a random number generator (RNG)) of an outcome from the plurality of possible outcomes of the wagering game.
  • RNG random number generator
  • the random event may be determined at a remote controller.
  • the remote controller may use either an RNG or pooling scheme for its central determination of a game outcome.
  • the controller 34 may include one or more microprocessors, including but not limited to a master processor, a slave processor, and a secondary or parallel processor.
  • the controller 34 is also coupled to the system memory 36 and a money/credit detector 38.
  • the system memory 36 may comprise a volatile memory (e.g., a random-access memory (RAM)) and a non-volatile memory (e.g., an EEPROM).
  • RAM random-access memory
  • EEPROM non-volatile memory
  • the system memory 36 may include multiple RAM and multiple program memories.
  • the money/credit detector 38 signals the processor that money and/or credits have been input via the value input device 18.
  • these components are located within the housing 12 of the slot machine 10. However, as explained above, these components may be located outboard of the housing 12 and connected to the remainder of the components of the slot machine 10 via a variety of different wired or wireless connection methods.
  • the controller 34 is also connected to, and controls, the primary display 14, the player input device 24, and a payoff mechanism 40.
  • the payoff mechanism 40 is operable in response to instructions from the controller 34 to award a payoff to the player in response to certain winning outcomes that might occur in the basic game or the bonus game(s).
  • the payoff may be provided in the form of points, bills, tickets, coupons, cards, etc.
  • the payoff mechanism 40 includes both a ticket printer 42 and a coin outlet 44.
  • any of a variety of payoff mechanisms 40 well known in the art may be implemented, including cards, coins, tickets, smartcards, cash, etc.
  • the payoff amounts distributed by the payoff mechanism 40 can be determined by one or more pay tables stored in the system memory 36.
  • I/O circuits 46, 48 Communications between the controller 34 and both the peripheral components of the slot machine 10 and external systems 50 occur through input/output (I/O) circuits 46, 48. More specifically, the controller 34 controls and receives inputs from the peripheral components of the slot machine 10 through the input/output circuits 46. Further, the controller 34 communicates with the external systems 50 via the I/O circuits 48 and a communication path (e.g., serial, parallel, IR, RC, lObT, etc.).
  • the external systems 50 may include a gaming network, other gaming machines, a gaming server, a central server, a central server database, Internet nodes/sites, communications hardware, or a variety of other interfaced systems or components.
  • Controller 34 comprises any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware that may be disposed or resident inside and/or outside of the slot machine 10 that may communicate with and/or control the transfer of data between the slot machine 10 and a bus, another computer, processor, or device and/or a service and/or a network.
  • the controller 34 may comprise one or more controllers or processors.
  • controller 34 in the slot machine 10 is depicted as comprising a CPU, but the controller 34 may alternatively comprise a CPU in combination with other components, such as the I/O circuits 46, 48 and the system memory 36.
  • the controller 34 may reside partially or entirely inside or outside of the machine 10.
  • the control system for a handheld slot machine 610 may be similar to the control system for the free standing slot machine 10 except that the functionality of the respective on-board controllers may vary.
  • the slot machines 10, 610 may communicate with external systems 50 (in a wired or wireless manner) such that each machine operates as a "thin client,” having relatively less functionality, a “thick client,” having relatively more functionality, or through any range of functionality therebetween (e.g., a "rich client”).
  • the slot machine 10, 610 may operate primarily as a display device to display the results of gaming outcomes processed externally, for example, on a server as part of the external systems 50.
  • the server executes game code and determines game outcomes (e.g., with a random number generator), while the controller 34 on board the slot machine 10, 610 processes display information to be displayed on the display(s) of the machine.
  • the server determines game outcomes, while the controller 34 on board the slot machine 10, 610 executes game code and processes display information to be displayed on the display(s) of the machines.
  • the controller 34 on board the slot machine 10, 610 executes game code, determines game outcomes, and processes display information to be displayed on the display(s) of the machine.
  • Numerous alternative configurations are possible such that the aforementioned and other functions may be performed onboard or external to the slot machine 10, 610 as may be necessary for particular applications.
  • the slot machines 10, 610 may take on a wide variety of forms such as a free standing machine, a portable or handheld device primarily used for gaming, a mobile telecommunications device such as a mobile telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA), a counter top or bar top gaming machine, or other personal electronic device such as a portable television, MP3 player, entertainment device, etc.
  • a mobile telecommunications device such as a mobile telephone or personal digital assistant (PDA)
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • counter top or bar top gaming machine or other personal electronic device such as a portable television, MP3 player, entertainment device, etc.
  • the above-described slot machines 10, 610 may be used to interact with a wagering game having outcomes that are based, at least in part, on real time or live action event content and related real time features. Various embodiments of these real time or live action wagering games implemented with real time features on slot machines 10, 610 are described in more detail below.
  • the above-described slot machines 10, 610 may also be used to interact with wagering games having fantasy sports gaming features. Various embodiments of these fantasy sports wagering games implemented on slot machines 10, 610 are described in more detail below.
  • the real time features and the fantasy sports gaming features may relate to, for example, a sporting event, a live event, a news event, a political event, social media trending topics, or any other real time or live action event or activity having statistical information that can be tracked.
  • the decisions the players are making with the wagering game itself are based on events that are happening at the time the wagering game is being played.
  • various types of game play and wagering options may be provided as described in more detail below. For example, a user may be prompted to select particular players, positions, teams, etc. or to select from particular divisions, conferences, leagues, etc.
  • the fantasy sports gaming feature can monitor one or more tracked statistics and determine a resultant winner or winners as will be described in greater detail below with respect to Figure 6 through Figure 9.
  • the tracked statistics can be utilized to resolve the user's wager and may be tracked over a period of time.
  • the statistics used to resolve the user's wager may be tracked over a period of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or even years.
  • the statistics may be tracked over a single play or group of plays, or over one or more innings, quarters, periods, halves, or races. Additionally or alternatively, the statistics may be tracked over a single game or group of games, a season or portion(s) thereof, or any time period desired by the operator.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment 100 of a gaming system 200 in a network- enabled environment.
  • the network- enabled gaming system environment 100 is disclosed.
  • an application or service typically provided by or operating on a host site (e.g., a website) 1 10, is provided to simplify and facilitate the downloading or hosted use of the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment.
  • the gaming system 200, or a portion thereof can be downloaded from the host site 1 10 by a user at a user platform 140.
  • the gaming system 200 can be hosted by the host site 1 10 for a networked user at a user platform 140.
  • the details of the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment are provided herein.
  • the gaming system 200 can be in network communication with a plurality of user platforms 140.
  • the user platforms 140 can be implemented as the slot machines 10, 610 described above.
  • a client version of the gaming system 200 can also be implemented within each specialized slot machine 10, 610 itself.
  • the above-described slot machines 10, 610 may be used to interact with a wagering game, implemented within the slot machine 10, 610 itself or implemented by the gaming system 200, wherein the wagering game determines outcomes that are based, at least in part, on real time or live action event content and related real time features.
  • Various embodiments of these real time or live action wagering games implemented with real time features on slot machines 10, 610 are described in more detail below.
  • the above-described slot machines 10, 610 may also be used to interact with wagering games having fantasy sports gaming features. Various embodiments of these fantasy sports wagering games implemented on slot machines 10, 610 are described in more detail below.
  • the host site 110 and user platforms 140 may communicate and transfer data and information in the data network environment 100 shown in Figure 4 via a wide area data network (e.g., the Internet) 120.
  • Various components of the host site 110 can also communicate internally via a conventional intranet or local area network (LAN) 1 14.
  • LAN local area network
  • the gaming system 200 can also be in network communication with a plurality of contestants 150 and a plurality of network resources 155.
  • Contestants 150 can represent the network locations of clients or client computing systems being managed by contestants, players, teams, tournament players, or other client users operating an embodiment described herein.
  • contestants 150 can represent the network locations of clients or client computing systems of tournament participants, contestants, teams, tournament players, brokers, dealers, agents, or the like.
  • Contestants 150 can participate using the user platforms 140, which can be implemented as the slot machines 10, 610 described above.
  • Contestants 150 can interact with the user interface provided by the gaming system 200 to participate in a real time or live action wagering game and/or a fantasy sports tournament.
  • Network resources 155 can represent the network locations of sources of information related to the real time or live action wagering game and/or the fantasy sports tournament, such as real time event information, real time news information, real time political or social media information, actual team or athlete information, document sources, photos, maps, reviews, statistics, venue information, publications, articles, or other related information associated with the real time or live action wagering game and/or the fantasy sports tournament of the example embodiment.
  • Networks 120 and 114 are configured to couple one computing device with another computing device.
  • Networks 120 and 1 14 may be enabled to employ any form of computer readable media for communicating information from one electronic device to another.
  • Network 120 can include the Internet in addition to LAN 1 14, wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through an Ethernet port or a universal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media, or any combination thereof.
  • WANs wide area networks
  • USB universal serial bus
  • a router and/or gateway device can act as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent between computing devices.
  • communication links within LANs may include optical fiber data lines, twisted wire pairs or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks may utilize analog telephone lines, full or fractional dedicated digital lines including Tl, T2, T3, and T4, Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), optical fiber, wireless links including satellite links, or other communication links known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
  • ISDNs Integrated Services Digital Networks
  • DSLs Digital Subscriber Lines
  • optical fiber including satellite links, or other communication links known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
  • remote computers and other related electronic devices can be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a wireless link, WiFi, BLUETOOTHTM, satellite, or modem and temporary telephone link.
  • Networks 120 and 114 may further include any of a variety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alone ad-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an infrastructure- oriented connection. Such sub-networks may include mesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, and the like. Networks 120 and 114 may also include an autonomous system of terminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by wireless radio links or wireless transceivers. These connectors may be configured to be moved freely and randomly and to organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topology of networks 120 and 114 may change rapidly and arbitrarily.
  • WLAN Wireless LAN
  • Networks 120 and 114 may further employ a plurality of access technologies including 2nd (2G), 2.5, 3rd (3G), 4th (4G) generation radio access for cellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, and the like.
  • Access technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G, and future access networks may enable wide area coverage for mobile devices, such as one or more of client devices 141, with various degrees of mobility.
  • networks 120 and 114 may enable a radio connection through a radio network access such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), CDMA2000, and the like.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communication
  • GPRS General Packet Radio Services
  • EDGE Enhanced Data GSM Environment
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • CDMA2000 Code Division Multiple Access 2000
  • Networks 120 and 114 may also be constructed for use with various other wired and wireless communication protocols, including TCP/IP, UDP, SIP, SMS, RTP, WAP, CDMA, TDMA, EDGE, UMTS, GPRS, GSM, UWB, WiFi, WiMax, IEEE 802. l lx, and the like.
  • networks 120 and 114 may include virtually any wired and/or wireless communication mechanisms by which information may travel between one computing device and another computing device, network, and the like.
  • network 114 may represent a LAN that is configured behind a firewall (not shown), within a business data center, for example.
  • the gaming system in various example embodiments can be implemented using any form of network transportable digital data.
  • the network transportable digital data can be transported in any of a group of data packet or file formats, protocols, and associated mechanisms usable to enable a host site 110 and a user platform 140 to transfer data over a network 120.
  • the data format for the user interface can be HyperText Markup Language (HTML). HTML is a common markup language for creating web pages and other information that can be displayed in a web browser.
  • the data format for the user interface can be Extensible Markup Language (XML). XML is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding interfaces or documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable.
  • JSON JavaVASCRIPTTM Object Notation
  • JSON is a text-based open standard designed for human-readable data interchange.
  • the JSON format is often used for serializing and transmitting structured data over a network connection.
  • JSON can be used in an embodiment to transmit data between a server, device, or application, wherein JSON serves as an alternative to XML.
  • the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or secure HTTP (HTTPS) can be used as a network data communication protocol.
  • a user platform 140 with one or more client devices 141 enables a user to access data and provide data and/or instructions for the gaming system 200 via the host 110 and network 120.
  • Client devices 141 may include virtually any computing device that is configured to send and receive information over a data network, such as network 120.
  • client devices 141 may include portable devices 144, such as, cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, radio frequency (RE) devices, infrared (IR) devices, global positioning devices (GPS), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, wearable computers, tablet computers, integrated devices combining one or more of the preceding devices, and the like.
  • portable devices 144 such as, cellular telephones, smart phones, display pagers, radio frequency (RE) devices, infrared (IR) devices, global positioning devices (GPS), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, wearable computers, tablet computers, integrated devices combining one or more of the preceding devices, and the like.
  • RE radio frequency
  • IR infrared
  • Client devices 141 may also include other computing devices, such as personal computers 142, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PC's, and the like. Client devices 141 may also include other processing devices, such as consumer electronic (CE) devices 146 and/or mobile computing devices 148, which are known to those of ordinary skill in the art. As such, client devices 141 may range widely in terms of capabilities and features. For example, a client device configured as a cell phone may have a numeric keypad and a few lines of monochrome LCD (liquid-crystal display) display on which only text may be displayed.
  • LCD liquid-crystal display
  • a web-enabled client device may have a touch sensitive screen, a stylus, and many lines of color LCD display in which both text and graphics may be displayed.
  • the web-enabled client device may include a browser application enabled to receive and to send wireless application protocol messages (WAP), and/or wired application messages, and the like.
  • WAP wireless application protocol
  • the browser application is enabled to employ HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML, Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), Wireless Markup Language (WML), WMLScript, JAVASCRIPTTM, Extensible HTML (xHTML), Compact HTML (CHTML), and the like, to display and/or send digital information.
  • mobile devices can be configured with applications (apps) with which the functionality described herein can be implemented.
  • Client devices 141 may also include at least one client application that is configured to send and receive content data or/or control data from another computing device via a wired or wireless network transmission.
  • the client application may include a capability to provide and receive textual data, graphical data, video data, audio data, and the like.
  • client devices 141 may be further configured to communicate and/or receive a message, such as through an email application, a Short Message Service (SMS), direct messaging (e.g., TWITTERTM), Multimedia Message Service (MMS), instant messaging (IM), internet relay chat (IRC), mIRC, JABBER, Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), text messaging, Smart Messaging, Over the Air (OTA) messaging, or the like, between another computing device, and the like.
  • SMS Short Message Service
  • TWITTERTM Multimedia Message Service
  • MMS Multimedia Message Service
  • IM instant messaging
  • IRC internet relay chat
  • mIRC internet relay chat
  • JABBER Enhanced Messaging Service
  • EMS
  • the gaming system 200 can be downloaded to a user device 141 of user platform 140 and executed locally on a user device 141.
  • the downloading of the gaming system 200 application can be accomplished using conventional software downloading functionality.
  • the gaming system 200 can be hosted by the host site 110 and executed remotely, from the user's perspective, on host system 110.
  • the gaming system 200 can be implemented as a service in a service-oriented architecture (SOA) or in a Software-as-a-Service (SAAS) architecture.
  • SOA service-oriented architecture
  • SAAS Software-as-a-Service
  • the functionality performed by the gaming system 200 is as described herein, whether the application is executed locally or remotely, relative to the user.
  • the host site 110 of an example embodiment is shown to include a gaming system database 103.
  • the network-accessible central database 103 is used in an example embodiment for data storage of real time event data, tournament data, player or contestant data, group data, award or prize data, configuration data, scheduling data, reporting data, and the like.
  • Database 103 can be in data communication with the gaming system 200 directly or via intranet 114. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the database 103 can represent multiple datasets and can be used for the storage of a variety of data in support of the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment.
  • host site 110 of an example embodiment is shown to include the gaming system 200.
  • the gaming system 200 can include a User Interface Processing Module 210, a Gaming Processing Module 220, a User Account Management module 230, and an Administrative Management module 240.
  • Each of these modules can be implemented as software components executing within an executable environment of the gaming system 200 operating wholly or in part on host site 110 or user platform 140.
  • Each of these modules of an example embodiment is described in more detail herein in connection with the figures provided herein.
  • the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment is shown to include a User Interface Processing Module 210.
  • the User Interface Processing Module 210 is responsible for receiving input from a user, contestant, player, toumament player, team, or a network-connectible device, the input corresponding to the selections, parameters, commands, or other wagering game or tournament inputs received from a contestant 150, and for displaying wagering game or toumament data to a user, contestant, player, tournament player, team, or other client user via any of the user interface platforms 141 described above.
  • the User Interface Processing Module 210 can receive their contestant-specific information, wagering game selections, athlete or fantasy player selections, and other contestant information associated with the wagering game or tournament and particular rounds in which the contestant is playing. The details of the interactions between the contestants in the wagering game or tournament are described in more detail herein.
  • This contestant-related information can be used to create contestant status records for each contestant of a plurality of contestants 150.
  • the contestant status records can be retained in the network-accessible central data repository 103 and shared with the Gaming Processing Module 220.
  • the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment is shown to include a Gaming Processing Module 220.
  • the Gaming Processing Module 220 is responsible for managing the operation of the wagering game or fantasy sports tournament and the plurality of rounds played therein.
  • the Gaming Processing Module 220 manages the wagering game contestants and groups of contestants in the fantasy sports tournament, obtains real time and live action event data via the network, calculates contestant standings, records contestant statistics, promotes winning contestants to advanced rounds, and determines the overall winner of the wagering game or fantasy sports tournament.
  • the Gaming Processing Module 220 can also provide notifications to contestants of the wagering game or fantasy sports tournament.
  • the details of the wagering game and fantasy sports tournament operation, the provisioning of contestant groups, the management of multi- contestant rounds, and the management of contestants in the wagering game or fantasy sports tournament are described in more detail herein.
  • a user platform 141 can include a mobile device on which a mobile application (app) can be executed.
  • An example embodiment, implemented as a mobile device app, can be used to support a mobile device user interface for the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments can also be implemented as a web application (app) with one or more webpages or other types of user interfaces.
  • a mobile version of an example embodiment provides a user-friendly interface from which the user can easily view the relevant contestant/client information from a mobile device.
  • a mobile software application embodying a mobile version of an example embodiment as described herein can be installed and executed on a mobile device, such as a smart phone, laptop computer, tablet device, or the like.
  • a splash screen appears whenever the user opens or launches the mobile application on the mobile device. This splash screen can display a host logo and wallpaper image while opening the login screen or a live feed of processed client information.
  • User log-in functionality in the web application or the mobile app provides a user- friendly user interface in which the user can provide identifying information (e.g., an email address and password) associated with the user account. If the user does not have an account, the user can create an account from this user interface.
  • the process of creating a user account in an example embodiment only requires the user to provide the identifying information (e.g., name, surname, e-mail address, and password). By completing this information, the user can create an account and get access to tournament and contestant information.
  • the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment is also shown to include a user account management module 230.
  • the user account management module 230 can be used to create and maintain a user account on the host site 110.
  • the user account management module 230 can also be used to configure user settings, create and maintain a client/user profile on host site 110, and otherwise manage user data and operational parameters on host site 1 10.
  • a user can register as an identified contestant in order to share wagering game or fantasy sports tournament information, receive wagering game or fantasy sports tournament information and communications, or interact with other wagering game or fantasy sports tournament-related content or other contestants.
  • the registered user can enter their identifying information during a log-in phase and thereafter can share wagering game or fantasy sports tournament-related content and interact with other contestants.
  • the gaming system 200 of an example embodiment is shown to include an administrative management module 240.
  • the administrative management module 240 can be used by an agent or administrator of the gaming system 200 to manage user accounts, configure system features, and to manage the operation and configuration of the gaming system 200.
  • the administrative management module 240 can also be used to enforce privacy protections and tournament controls for contestants.
  • the administrative management module 240 can also be used to generate and/or process a variety of analytics associated with the operation of the gaming system 200.
  • the administrative management module 240 can generate various statistical models that represent the activity of the community of contestants throughout the wagering game or fantasy sports tournament. These analytics can be shared, licensed, or sold to others.
  • the host site 110 is shown to include the gaming system 200.
  • the gaming system 200 is shown to include the functional components 210 through 240, as described above.
  • the host site 110 may also include a web server 404, having a web interface with which users may interact with the host site 1 10 via a user interface or web interface.
  • the host site 110 may also include an application programming interface (API) 402 with which the host site 110 may interact with other network entities on a programmatic or automated data transfer level.
  • the API 402 and web interface 404 may be configured to interact with the gaming system 200 either directly or via an interface 406.
  • the gaming system 200 may be configured to access a data storage device 103 and data 408 therein either directly or via the interface 406.
  • Figure 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a fantasy sports tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the user interface can be used to implement the fantasy sports slot machine format of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of the specialized slot machine format in an example embodiment.
  • Fantasy sports specialized slot machines, as described herein, are placed in casinos or other venues throughout the world. These specialized slot machines can be programmed to play whatever fantasy sport a contestant desires to play.
  • Contestants sit at their own individual fantasy sports specialized slot machine/terminal as described herein. They are given the choice to enter for $1 , $5, $20, $50 and $ 100 contests (or any other entry amount that casinos/venues find attractive for a slot machine).
  • the contestant puts an amount of money into the specialized slot machine/terminal corresponding to the level of play at which they want to participate. For example, the contestant might put $ 1 in for the dollar game, $ 10 in for the ten dollar game, or $20 in for the twenty dollar game, to enter the game.
  • the contestant then pulls down the handle (or activates a lever or pushes a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) and the specialized slot machine/terminal starts generating a variety of enticing and entertaining graphics that flash around until the contestant has a full group of six other players to play against (who are also playing for the same entry amount). Because the game will fill quickly with players, the graphic display generations, which take about five seconds, will take longer than the time needed to fill a live group of players, which will happen immediately, because the game and the players are linked to casinos/venues throughout the country/world (e.g., geographically distributed).
  • Groups are always comprised of six contestants in an example embodiment.
  • the other five contestants who will fill the remaining five places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal, will be anonymous on the display screen in front of a given contestant.
  • the user interface logic will configure the user interface of the example embodiment for each player to identify the different player positions as "YOU”, “Contestant #1”, “Contestant #2”, etc. (see Figure 9).
  • contestants will be instructed by the user interface of the example embodiment that they will see three fantasy sports athletes.
  • each athlete's current fantasy sports points per game average will be used as the fantasy score benchmark for each one of them. If these athletes are competing in a sport not in season, their fantasy point game average from the previous season will be used.
  • the top scoring two contestants in each of these groups are considered winners. There is no distinction between finishing first and second.
  • the top scoring two contestants are both winners and are eligible for the same prize if they choose to cash out.
  • the two top scoring winners for each group have one of two options.
  • the two top scoring winners can either: 1) cash out by pressing a button (or activating a virtual object on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) that cashes them out and automatically doubles their money, or 2) they can choose to "let it ride” by pulling the handle (or activating a lever or pushing a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) to form a new group with five other new contestants and try to redouble their money by playing in a new round.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants of a group are eliminated and lose their money.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants can either leave the specialized slot machine or put more money into the specialized slot machine to play again by playing in a new group of six contestants.
  • the casino/venue provides powerful motivation in two directions for winning contestants to stay in for another round instead of cashing out.
  • winning contestants can "let it ride” and attempt to redouble their money each time they stay in instead of cashing out.
  • the specialized slot machine experience of the example embodiment offers another huge incentive for people to stay in. Any contestant who advances ten consecutive times will play in a Tournament of Champions (TOC) sponsored by the casino/venue in which they are playing.
  • TOC Tournament of Champions
  • the TOC usually occurs during the playoffs during a given sports real live action playoffs.
  • the TOC's format can use traditional live action fantasy sports or can be conducted the same way that the specialized slot machines operate by using fantasy point per game averages.
  • the rationale for offering TOC is to provide a huge incentive for contestants to not cash out and to continue playing on the specialized slot machines.
  • the TOC pays out millions of dollars to the winner and other top finishers and is a very attractive incentive for people to try and qualify for (and therefore not cash out).
  • Contestants can play up to 15 rounds on a specialized slot machine as they attempt to double their money each new round. This means they can continue to try and re-double their money even after qualifying for the TOC by successfully winning ten consecutive times. If a TOC qualifier loses in rounds 11 to 15, they do not forfeit their TOC seat.
  • the specialized slot machine begins the selection process by shuffling the deck and laying down the first three cards.
  • Contestants have 30 seconds to make a bid.
  • a contestant pulls the lever of the specialized slot machine (or otherwise activates a button or an object displayed on the display screen of the specialized slot machine). If a contestant fails to make a bid during the allotted time, the contestant automatically receives a "No Bid". Bids are time stamped based on the time when the lever was pulled (or other object was activated) to break ties.
  • the percentage bid cannot be a decimal or a fraction. It must be a whole percent.
  • Contestants will either have a green, red or black circle by their spot on the display screen at all times.
  • a green circle denotes that they have turned in their bid.
  • a red circle denotes that they have not yet submitted their bid.
  • a black circle denotes that they have already secured their bloc from a previous round.
  • a value of the contestant's bid is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount. In this manner, a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • the setup may not seem fair in one critical way. For example, a bloc of three athletes could potentially have three duds like all kickers for a football contest while another bloc of three athletes has all high value athletes like quarterbacks for the same competition. Isn't this unreasonable since quarterbacks are much more valuable than kickers?
  • the described format actually rums the selection process into a riveting high wire exercise where skill becomes a major factor. Think of these groups of athletes as stocks. The more valuable the stock, the more aggressive the bidding will be. The correct price will be set by the bids. Three kickers at 95% of their fantasy points might be more valuable than three quarterbacks at 12% of their fantasy points. This bidding process creates a tremendous amount of strategy for participants to consider.
  • Blocs can have multipliers on them for each athlete in a bloc.
  • the ranges of multipliers for the entire blocs will vary from 6X (read "6 times") all the way to 10X. They aren't assigned uniformly to each athlete in the bloc, though.
  • the multipliers will be split up and have different levels of intensity on individual athletes.
  • the specialized slot machine might flash that the multiplier is 7X, which means that the three athletes shown (e.g., see Figure 9) will have multipliers that have a sum total of 7X; however, their placement will be random as will their intensity (or value) on each athlete.
  • the second card turned over would mean the athlete would be worth double their fantasy score.
  • the third card turned over would mean the athlete would be worth triple their fantasy score. (Note: Fantasy score is defined as the percentage of fantasy points a group of athletes is eligible for that was determined by the bid for which the bloc was secured.)
  • the specialized slot machine will show the bidding range for each round. For example, for the first round, the specialized slot machine will give the range as 1% to 100%. By the fourth round, this range will be down to 1% to 76%. This creates an urgency to get involved in the bidding process for each round, but also have enough skill to know what a proper bid is for a given bloc so that it isn't secured with an unreasonably low bid. After five rounds of bidding have occurred, the last person remaining in the group without a bloc automatically gets the last bloc that wasn't bid on for 60% of the fantasy points for each athlete in the bloc.
  • the maximum bid for the reintroduced blocs go down 8% each time a new one is reintroduced and bid on. If there is a tie for a final position, amongst tied players, the person who secured their bloc in the lowest or latest round advances.
  • the six contestants in the group are scored for final positions.
  • the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment can gather the data for all athletes in the contest and then compute the final positions. This computation will take no more than five seconds after all contestants have secured their blocs.
  • the specialized slot machine can tabulate the scores for all of the athletes and then add the three scores together for each bloc of athletes. Each contestant will then be ranked 1-6 (one through six) on the specialized slot machine user interface screen (e.g., see Figure 7 through Figure 9). For example, to tabulate the score of a single athlete, three components of information are required.
  • the athlete's average fantasy game score has to be a part of the database linked to the managing entity website for easy retrieval.
  • the second component of information needed is the bid with which the athlete was secured.
  • the multiplier on the athlete has to be included in the computation.
  • Tom Brady has a running fantasy game point total of 10. Then assume he is secured at 68% of his fantasy points and the multiplier on him is 3X. Since 68% of 10 is 6.8 and when 6.8 is multiplied by 3, the result is 20.4. This means that Brady's score would be added to the other two athletes in his bloc for a final score to be posted for that contestant. Finally, tied positions always are broken by awarding the person who secured their bloc in the later round the higher spot.
  • the alternative slot machine embodiment includes everything described above, but adds one more variable.
  • This alternative embodiment calls for contestants to create the groups upon which the contestants bid. The process for this alternative embodiment is described below. There are 18 cards in a deck.
  • Contestants creates one of the six blocs that will be introduced in the bidding process. Contestants select three of the 18 athletes to represent the bloc that they created for the bidding process. They have 30 seconds to make their picks.
  • the selection process is "blind" so none of the six contestants in a group knows what the other members of the group are selecting.
  • 3X is read as "three times” which represents the number of times an athlete is selected by one of the six members of the group.
  • the duplicated athlete would appear in three of the six blocs that are introduced for bidding and each time they appear this athlete would only be worth 60% of their fantasy point value— a strong point to consider when contestants make their bids.
  • fantasy sports slot machine embodiments as described herein provide a unique idea that has never been seen in the market.
  • key elements that are new to the fantasy sports genre that these embodiments introduce and that support the implementation. These four key elements include the following:
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format of contestants playing in small groups of three or more participants — Fantasy sports contests have always been contested in one of two ways— both of which mimic real life sports. They either are conducted using a head-to-head format or they are configured where the entire field plays against each other simultaneously. Again, the reason why these two formats have emerged is because these are the formats for how real live sporting events are contested and fantasy sports contests have always tried to come as close as possible to mimicking reality. Of the two, the head-to-head format is the most common way real life sports are contested ⁇ for both team and individual competitions. For example, in team sports competitions, there are never three (or more) baseball teams playing each other simultaneously. That would be unheard of.
  • fantasy sports tournament organizers have copied is the "entire field" concept.
  • An entire field event is when real live sports are contested in a manner where individuals or teams have to compete against the entire field at one time. While this is not nearly as prevalent as the head-to-head format, it is still quite often used. Examples of this are golf, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, track and field, etc. Teams or individuals compete in one huge event and they are then ranked according to either their finish or their final scores.
  • Fantasy sports tournament organizers have tried to re-create the real live action formats that are used in sports to appeal to those who like to participate in fantasy sports events. For this reason, they have always configured their offerings to mimic these real live sporting events by either using a one-on-one format or an "entire field" format.
  • This unique format is also counterintuitive to how real life sporting events are contested and is why nobody has ever done this before.
  • the novel method of a fantasy sports slot machine format as described herein is to have small groups of three or more contestants competing against one another at the same time.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein a portion of an athlete's fantasy points are or can be scored. Fantasy sports games have always been an all or nothing proposition. Contestants who "own” a certain athlete have always received all of the fantasy points that their athlete scored in their real live sports competition. Conversely, contestants who don't own an athlete receive nothing or zero points for them. This is a very valuable tool that helps make a fantasy sports slot machine implementation possible. This method involves giving contestants a portion or fraction of the fantasy points that a given athlete that they have secured scores. This fractional scoring method of an example embodiment can be implemented in two different ways as described below.
  • Percentage Bid This is a bidding process where the bids involve taking a percentage of the athlete's fantasy points.
  • contestants in order to secure an athlete, make a percentage bid on a given athlete.
  • the rules dictate that the contestant who submits the lowest percentage bid secures that athlete for their lineup. For example, if three contestants bid, 68%, 81% and 98% for a given athlete, then two things happen. First, the contestant who made the 68% bid receives that athlete in their fantasy sports lineup. Secondly, the contestant only receives 68% of the fantasy points that this athlete scores in the competition.
  • a value of the contestant's bid is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount.
  • a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level, b.
  • Duplication Penalties This format allows fantasy contestants to share athletes instead of owning them exclusively, but there is a price to pay when duplication occurs. Each time an athlete is duplicated, their fantasy point value goes down a set predetermined percentage.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein fantasy sports matches are contested using fantasy game point averages instead of always using real live action scoring— People love fantasy sports because the games are fun. Who says though that fantasy sports games have to solely be based on live competitions in the real world? Why can't contests be based on averages that athletes already have with their fantasy point per game averages? Using point per game averages helps open the door for a fantasy sports slot machine to work. Instead of having to wait until a real live sports game is actually on or actually in season, people can go to a fantasy sports slot machine anytime and play.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein blocs of athletes for a lineup can be selected through an auction process.
  • Fantasy sports contests have always operated one of two ways, either: a) contestants select their entire lineup and submit it, or b) they draft athletes individually to create their "team".
  • contestants are shown groups of two or more athletes to be evaluated simultaneously.
  • the contestants who are interested in this "bloc" have to evaluate the comparative strength of the entire unit over other potential ones.
  • This process creates a new twist because contestants are now forced to put a value on a unit that has multiple moving parts. This is not a part of traditional fantasy sports play, but creates a critical gaming component for a fantasy sports slot machine.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • a Fantasy Music Legends Tournament is a tournament format for any genre of music.
  • a given tournament can be designed for a specific genre like Rock & Roll, Pop, Rhythm & Blues, Country, Rap, etc.
  • This concept can be a marketing tool for a company or it can be a standalone tournament that charges an entry fee and offers cash prizes for the top finishers of the Tournament of graduates (TOC). If it is used as a marketing tool, the tournament can offer interesting music perks for the top finishers.
  • TOC Tournament of Champions
  • a top overall winner might have a different kind of top prize, such as winning a rare guitar for their efforts.
  • the key components as a marketing tool are to allow contestants special perks. These perks will allow them to compete in a smaller group size than is normally required or skip a round(s) entirely. Contestants can take advantage of these perks by purchasing something off a particular website. When they do so, they are allowed to skip a round (or two) or play in a smaller group for the next round. For example, someone might be able to play the next round against only 9 people instead of the standard 12 if they purchase a song. They might be able to skip 2 rounds if they buy concert tickets.
  • Legendary musicians eligible to be picked for a Fantasy Music Legends Tournament are any people who have played in a group with two or more people who had at least 1 hit in the top 40 in the United States in their genre of expertise. For example, Adam Ridgeley would be eligible because he was a member of Wham and has had at least one hit song that made the Billboard Hot 100 chart for his genre in the U.S.
  • the tournament does not disqualify someone if their "band" is missing a piece (like a drummer) that is usually associated as a key component of a typical band.
  • the Carpenters are considered a "band" by the definitions of this game.
  • Some legendary musicians have played in more than one band. For example, Paul McCartney played with The Beatles and with Paul McCartney and Wings. For this reason, Legendary Musicians score fantasy points for all bands in which they participated.
  • the Fantasy Music Legends Tournament Structure in an Example Embodiment [0098] The following description provides a general overview of the Fantasy Music Legends Tournament structure in an example embodiment.
  • Fantasy players submit four starters— one Lead Singer, one Drummer, one Guitar Player, one Wildcard (can be anyone)
  • Contestants will be given a percentage of the fantasy points their Legendary Musician scored depending on how many other fantasy players selected that SAME Legendary Musician. This is called their Adjusted Fantasy Score. Each time a Legendary Musician is duplicated, he/she will be worth 9% LESS of their fantasy points. For example, using the table below, if 12 fantasy players in a group are playing in a match and 4 of them select Keith Richards to be their guitarist, then each of them will receive 73% (see box highlighted in yellow below) of the fantasy points that Richards scores.
  • IX is read as "one time” which means a given Legendary Musician was selected by exactly 1 of the 12 competitors
  • the table below shows the starting Legendary Musicians in the Pop/Rock category that a 12 person group selected.
  • the percentage under each musician's name represents the percentage that the fantasy player will get to keep of the actual fantasy points that their given Legendary Musician scored. This percentage is based on the number of times a Legendary Musician was duplicated and is taken directly from the above table (Table 1). It is important to note that if a Legendary Musician performed in more than one band and also had a solo career (e.g., Eric Clapton— The Yardbirds and Cream and a distinguished solo career), all of their works and honors will be computed in their fantasy score.
  • a solo career e.g., Eric Clapton— The Yardbirds and Cream and a distinguished solo career
  • Profile rankings are achieved by how many consecutive times a contestant advances out of group play by finishing in the top 3 of their group.
  • Contestants can always skip rounds or have their groups reduced from 12 all the way down to 6 by purchasing items.
  • a plurality of levels can be defined for the Fantasy Band Legends.
  • An example of these various levels for the example embodiment are provided below.
  • Level 2 Video Game Guitar Hero Champ— This is a person who has advanced one time, but has never advanced two consecutive times, by finishing in the top 3 in group play in a national competition.
  • Level 3 High School Air Band Winner— This is a person who has advanced two consecutive times by finishing in the top 3 in group play in a national competition.
  • Level 5 Local Bar Circuit— This is a person who has advanced four consecutive times by finishing in the top 3 in group play in a national competition.
  • Level 8 Concert Headliner— This is a person who has advanced seven consecutive times by finishing in the top 3 in group play in a national competition.
  • Level 9 Grammy Award Winner— This is a person who has advanced eight consecutive times by finishing in the top 3 in group play in a national competition.
  • Level 11 Mount Rushmore of Rock— This is a person who has advanced ten consecutive times by finishing in the top 3 in group play in a national competition. They automatically win a seat in the TOC and get a chance to compete for the Grand Prize.
  • the managing entity presents the Tournament of Players (TOC) format for Fantasy Band Legends designed for contestants who advance 10 consecutive rounds during a qualifying competition.
  • the TOC is six rounds with the final round culminating with the top 8 contestants remaining vying for final positions.
  • the same Fantasy Band Legends scoring system described above can be used for the TOC.
  • Each round consists of decks of cards with exactly 30 Fantasy Band Legends.
  • the dealer begins the selection process by shuffling the deck and laying down the first three cards.
  • the presentation of cards can also be implemented electronically in the specialized slot machine as described above.
  • the percentage bid cannot be a decimal or a fraction. It must be a whole percent.
  • the setup may not seem fair in one critical way. For example, a bloc of three could potentially have three second tier artists and another have three icons. It is possible and yet it is not as evident as one might think.
  • the described format actually turns the selection process into a riveting high wire exercise where skill becomes a major factor. Think of these groups of Legends as stocks. The more valuable the stock, the more aggressive the bidding will be. The correct price will be set by the bids. Three second tier artists at 95% of their fantasy points might be more valuable than three icons at 12% of their fantasy points.
  • the dealer will announce the highest bid possible before the start of each round. For example, for the first round, the dealer will announce the max bid at 100%. By the sixth round, they will announce the highest possible bid at 75%. This creates an urgency to get involved in the bidding process for each round, but also have enough skill to know what a proper bid is for a given bloc so that it isn't secured with a veryly low bid.
  • the maximum bid for a new round does not go down 5% if the previous bloc was a mulligan. When they are reintroduced though at the end, they go down 5% each time a new one is reintroduced. If there is a tie during fantasy eliminator for last place, from the tied players (two or more), the one who secured their bloc in the latest round automatically is declared the advancing contestant.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • real time/live events and related tournament formats are implemented on a specialized slot machine. These example embodiments bring slot machines into the 21st century and use real life events to transform the specialized slot machine from a static entity, that is currently based solely on canned information, into a real time/live event gaming apparatus.
  • a real time/live event it is important to distinguish what is meant by a real time/live event for the purposes of this example embodiment.
  • An example of what is not meant by a real time/live event format is having a bunch of poker players playing in an online slot tournament. This might be a real time/live event, but that designation only refers to the participants who are playing— not the gaming material itself they are using for the tournament.
  • the example embodiments describe real time/live action events that constitute the gaming material itself. No longer are slot machines simply based on pre-defined sets of cards that show up, lining up three consecutive cherries or even spinning a wheel in hopes of creating a fortune. This specialized slot machine and the particular tournament formats of the various example embodiments described herein are based on real time/live event data.
  • This real time/live event slot idea can be used for all types of real life events.
  • the described example embodiment uses the specialized slot machine with real time/live sporting events to create a new type of slot machine. Even more specifically, the described example embodiment is used for fantasy sports by modifying some of the current ways fantasy sports games are played to enhance the real time/live event slot machine embodiment as described herein.
  • the specialized slot machines are placed in casinos or other venues throughout the world. These specialized slot machines can be programmed to provide a competition related to any real time/live event contestants may desire to play.
  • Contestants sit at their own individual specialized slot machine/terminal as described herein. They are given the choice to enter for $1, $5, $20, $50 and $100 contests (or any other entry amount that casinos/venues find attractive for a slot machine).
  • the contestant puts an amount of money into the specialized slot machine/terminal corresponding to the level of play at which they want to participate. For example, the contestant might put $ 1 in for the dollar game, $ 10 in for the ten dollar game, or $20 in for the twenty dollar game, to enter the game.
  • the contestant then pulls down the handle (or activates a lever or pushes a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) and the specialized slot machine/terminal starts generating a variety of enticing and entertaining graphics that flash around until the contestant has a full group of six other players to play against (who are also playing for the same entry amount). Because the game will fill quickly with players, the graphic display generations, which take about five seconds, will take longer than the time needed to fill a live group of players, which will happen immediately, because the game and the players are linked to casinos/venues throughout the country/world (e.g., geographically distributed).
  • Groups are always comprised of six contestants in an example embodiment.
  • the other five contestants who will fill the remaining five places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal, will be anonymous on the display screen in front of a given contestant.
  • the user interface logic will configure the user interface of the example embodiment for each player to identify the different player positions as "YOU”, “Contestant #1”, “Contestant #2”, etc. (see Figure 9).
  • contestants will be instructed by the user interface of the example embodiment that they will see three fantasy sports athletes.
  • contestants will be instructed that the game will be based on live action scoring from some sporting event(s) that is currently in progress.
  • the top scoring two contestants in each of these groups are considered winners. There is no distinction between finishing first and second.
  • the top scoring two contestants are both winners and are eligible for the same prize if they choose to cash out.
  • the two top scoring winners for each group have one of two options.
  • the two top scoring winners can either: 1) cash out by pressing a button (or activating a virtual object on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) that cashes them out and automatically doubles their money, or 2) they can choose to "let it ride” by pulling the handle (or activating a lever or pushing a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) to form a new group with five other new contestants and try to redouble their money by playing in a new round.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants of a group are eliminated and lose their money.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants can either leave the specialized slot machine or put more money into the specialized slot machine to play again by playing in a new group of six contestants.
  • the casino/venue provides powerful motivation in two directions for winning contestants to stay in for another round instead of cashing out.
  • winning contestants can "let it ride” and attempt to redouble their money each time they stay in instead of cashing out.
  • the specialized slot machine experience of the example embodiment offers another huge incentive for people to stay in. Any contestant who advances ten consecutive times will play in a Tournament of Players (TOC) sponsored by the casino/venue in which they are playing.
  • TOC Tournament of Players
  • the TOC format in an example embodiment uses the same real time/live action live fantasy sports format either on a specialized slot machine, online, or in a casino/venue ballroom.
  • TOC The rationale for offering TOC is to provide a huge incentive for contestants to not cash out and to continue playing on the specialized slot machines.
  • the TOC pays out millions of dollars to the winner and other top finishers and is a very attractive incentive for people to try and qualify for (and therefore not cash out).
  • Contestants can play up to 15 rounds on a specialized slot machine as they attempt to double their money each new round. This means they can continue to try and re-double their money even after qualifying for the TOC by successfully winning ten consecutive times. If a TOC qualifier loses in rounds 11 to 15, they do not forfeit their TOC seat.
  • Contestants only get one bloc of three athletes for their entire fantasy lineup. • The first time a contestant wins a bid, they receive all three athletes that they bid on which completes their lineup. They no longer are allowed to bid on anymore blocs of athletes. A black circle will be placed by their position on the specialized slot machine display screen indicating that they are done trying to secure a bloc.
  • the specialized slot machine begins the selection process by shuffling the deck and laying down the first three cards.
  • Contestants have 30 seconds to make a bid.
  • a contestant pulls the lever of the specialized slot machine (or otherwise activates a button or an object displayed on the display screen of the specialized slot machine). If a contestant fails to make a bid during the allotted time, the contestant automatically receives a "No Bid". Bids are time stamped based on the time when the lever was pulled (or other object was activated) to break ties.
  • the specialized slot machine computes the final score of the match immediately based on the real time/live action fantasy point totals each athlete in the respective blocs has in progress.
  • the percentage bid cannot be a decimal or a fraction. It must be a whole percent.
  • Contestants will either have a green, red or black circle by their spot on the display screen at all times.
  • a green circle denotes that they have turned in their bid.
  • a red circle denotes that they have not yet submitted their bid.
  • a black circle denotes that they have already secured their bloc from a previous round.
  • a value of the contestant's bid is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount. In this manner, a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • the setup may not seem fair in one critical way. For example, a bloc of three athletes could potentially have three duds like all kickers for a football contest while another bloc of three athletes has all high value athletes like quarterbacks for the same competition. Isn't this unreasonable since quarterbacks are much more valuable than kickers?
  • the described format actually rums the selection process into a riveting high wire exercise where skill becomes a major factor. Think of these groups of athletes as stocks. The more valuable the stock, the more aggressive the bidding will be. The correct price will be set by the bids. Three kickers at 95% of their fantasy points might be more valuable than three quarterbacks at 12% of their fantasy points. This bidding process creates a tremendous amount of strategy for participants to consider.
  • Blocs can have multipliers on them for each athlete in a bloc.
  • the ranges of multipliers for the entire blocs can vary from 6X (read "6 times") all the way to 10X. They aren't assigned uniformly to each athlete in the bloc, though.
  • the multipliers can be split up and have different levels of intensity on individual athletes.
  • the specialized slot machine might flash that the multiplier is 7X, which means that the three athletes shown (e.g., see Figure 9) will have multipliers that have a sum total of 7X; however, their placement will be random as will their intensity (or value) on each athlete.
  • the second card turned over would mean the athlete would be worth double their fantasy score.
  • the third card turned over would mean the athlete would be worth triple their fantasy score. (Note: Fantasy score is defined as the percentage of fantasy points a group of athletes is eligible for that was determined by the bid for which the bloc was secured.)
  • the specialized slot machine will show the bidding range for each round. For example, for the first round, the specialized slot machine will give the range as 1 % to 100%. By the fourth round, this range will be down to 1% to 76%. This creates an urgency to get involved in the bidding process for each round, but also have enough skill to know what a proper bid is for a given bloc so that it isn't secured with an unreasonably low bid. After five rounds of bidding have occurred, the last person remaining in the group without a bloc automatically gets the last bloc that wasn't bid on for 60% of the fantasy points for each athlete in the bloc. See the, "Table Showing Max and Min Bidding Percentages Allowed Each Round" set forth above for an example embodiment.
  • the maximum bid for the reintroduced blocs go down 8% each time a new one is reintroduced and bid on. If there is a tie for a final position, amongst tied players, the person who secured their bloc in the lowest or latest round advances.
  • the six contestants in the group are scored for final positions.
  • the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment can gather the data for all athletes in the contest and then compute the final positions. This computation will take no more than five seconds after all contestants have secured their blocs.
  • the specialized slot machine can tabulate the scores for all of the athletes and then add the three scores together for each bloc of athletes. Each contestant will then be ranked 1-6 (one through six) on the specialized slot machine user interface screen (e.g., see Figure 7 and Figure 8). For example, to tabulate the score of a single athlete, three components of information are required.
  • the athlete's average fantasy game score has to be a part of the database linked to the managing entity website for easy retrieval.
  • the second component of information needed is the bid with which the athlete was secured.
  • the multiplier on the athlete has to be included in the computation.
  • Tom Brady has a running fantasy game point total of 10. Then assume he is secured at 68% of his fantasy points and the multiplier on him is 3X. Since 68% of 10 is 6.8 and when 6.8 is multiplied by 3, the result is 20.4. This means that Brady's score would be added to the other two athletes in his bloc for a final score to be posted for that contestant. Finally, tied positions always are broken by awarding the person who secured their bloc in the later round the higher spot.
  • the alternative slot machine embodiment includes everything described above, but adds one more variable.
  • This alternative embodiment calls for contestants to create the groups upon which the contestants bid. The process for this alternative embodiment is described below.
  • Contestants select three of the 18 athletes to represent the bloc that they created for the bidding process. They have 30 seconds to make their picks.
  • fantasy sports slot machine embodiments based on real time/live action events as described herein provide a unique idea that has never been seen in the market.
  • the contestants themselves do not constitute the real time/live action event(s), rather it is the game itself that uses real time/live action events as the competition unfolds.
  • These example embodiments fundamentally change the way slot machines are currently used. Slot machine players are suddenly playing with the outcomes that are based on events that are unfolding as they are playing. This adds a dimension to slot machines that has never been provided before.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format of contestants playing in small groups of three or more participants — Fantasy sports contests have always been contested in one of two ways— both of which mimic real life sports. They either are conducted using a head-to-head format or they are configured where the entire field plays against each other simultaneously. Again, the reason why these two formats have emerged is because these are the formats for how real live sporting events are contested and fantasy sports contests have always tried to come as close as possible to mimicking reality. Of the two, the head-to-head format is the most common way real life sports are contested ⁇ for both team and individual competitions. For example, in team sports competitions, there are never three (or more) baseball teams playing each other simultaneously. That would be unheard of.
  • fantasy sports tournament organizers have copied is the "entire field" concept.
  • An entire field event is when real live sports are contested in a manner where individuals or teams have to compete against the entire field at one time. While this is not nearly as prevalent as the head-to-head format, it is still quite often used. Examples of this are golf, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, track and field, etc. Teams or individuals compete in one huge event and they are then ranked according to either their finish or their final scores.
  • Fantasy sports tournament organizers have tried to re-create the real live action formats that are used in sports to appeal to those who like to participate in fantasy sports events. For this reason, they have always configured their offerings to mimic these real live sporting events by either using a one-on-one format or an "entire field" format.
  • This unique format is also counterintuitive to how real life sporting events are contested and is why nobody has ever done this before.
  • the novel method of a fantasy sports slot machine format as described herein is to have small groups of three or more contestants competing against one another at the same time.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein a portion of an athlete's fantasy points are or can be scored. Fantasy sports games have always been an all or nothing proposition. Contestants who "own” a certain athlete have always received all of the fantasy points that their athlete scored in their real live sports competition. Conversely, contestants who don't own an athlete receive nothing or zero points for them. This is a very valuable tool that helps make a fantasy sports slot machine implementation possible. This method involves giving contestants a portion or fraction of the fantasy points that a given athlete that they have secured scores. This fractional scoring method of an example embodiment can be implemented in several different ways as described below.
  • Percentage Bids This is a bidding process where the bids involve taking a percentage of the athlete's fantasy points.
  • contestants in order to secure an athlete, make a percentage bid on a given athlete.
  • the rules dictate that the contestant who submits the lowest percentage bid secures that athlete for their lineup. For example, if three contestants bid, 68%, 81% and 98% for a given athlete, then two things happen. First, the contestant who made the 68% bid receives that athlete in their fantasy sports lineup. Secondly, the contestant only receives 68% of the fantasy points that this athlete scores in the competition.
  • a value of the contestant's bid is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount.
  • a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • Duplication Penalties This format allows fantasy contestants to share athletes instead of owning them exclusively, but there is a price to pay when duplication occurs. Each time an athlete is duplicated, their fantasy point value goes down a set predetermined percentage.
  • Partial Scoring This format allows the actual fantasy sports contests to begin and end before the related real time/live sporting event has finished. This means that a given athlete now has only a portion of their fantasy points scored. Only the points that the athlete scored in their real time/live action game up to the point that the fantasy contest ends will count.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein blocs of athletes for a lineup can be selected through an auction process.
  • Fantasy sports contests have always operated one of two ways, either: a) contestants select their entire lineup and submit it, or b) they draft athletes individually to create their "team".
  • contestants are shown groups of two or more athletes to be evaluated simultaneously.
  • the contestants who are interested in this "bloc" have to evaluate the comparative strength of the entire unit over other potential ones.
  • This process creates a new twist because contestants are now forced to put a value on a unit that has multiple moving parts. This is not a part of traditional fantasy sports play, but creates a critical gaming component for a fantasy sports slot machine of the various embodiments described herein.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • real time/live events and related tournament formats are implemented on a specialized slot machine. These example embodiments use real life events to transform the specialized slot machine from a static entity, that is currently based solely on canned information, into a real time/live event gaming apparatus.
  • the real time/live action events of the example embodiments constitute the gaming material itself.
  • This specialized slot machine and the particular tournament formats of the various example embodiments described herein are based on real time/live event data.
  • the decisions the players are making with the game itself are based on events that are happening at the time the game is being played.
  • This real time/live event slot idea can be used for all types of real life events.
  • the described example embodiment uses the specialized slot machine with real time/live current events (e.g., non-sporting events) to create a new type of specialized slot machine.
  • the current event specialized slot machines are placed in casinos or other venues throughout the world. These specialized slot machines can be programmed to provide a competition related to any real time/live event contestants may desire to play.
  • Contestants sit at their own individual specialized slot machine/terminal as described herein. They are given the choice to enter a wager for $1 , $5, $20, $50 and $100 contests (or any other entry amount that casinos/venues find attractive for a slot machine).
  • the contestant puts an amount of money into the specialized slot machine/terminal corresponding to the level of play at which they want to participate. For example, the contestant might put $ 1 in for the dollar game, $ 10 in for the ten dollar game, or $20 in for the twenty dollar game, to enter the game.
  • the contestant then pulls down the handle (or activates a lever or pushes a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) and the specialized slot machine/terminal starts generating a variety of enticing and entertaining graphics that flash around until the contestant has a full group of six other players to play against (who are also playing for the same entry amount). Because the game will fill quickly with players, the graphic display generations, which take about five seconds, will take longer than the time needed to fill a live group of players, which will happen immediately, because the game and the players are linked to casinos/venues throughout the country/world (e.g., geographically distributed).
  • Groups are always comprised of six contestants in an example embodiment.
  • the other five contestants who will fill the remaining five places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal, will be anonymous on the display screen in front of a given contestant.
  • the user interface logic will configure the user interface of the example embodiment for each player to identify the different player positions as "YOU”, “Contestant #1”, “Contestant #2”, etc. (see Figure 9).
  • the contestants are instructed that they will see three categories of news stories displayed for them on the display screen of the specialized slot machine. The contestants are prompted to decide on whether they want to choose the displayed categories or not. The contestants are instructed that the game will be based on the frequency these types of news stories are currently being reported on national television news stations like Fox, CNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, ABC, Headline News, etc.
  • the news categories are stories that can involve: l)Natural Disasters, 2) Sports, 3) Presidential Politics, 4) Military, 5) Singers, 6) Actors/ Actresses, 7) Crime, 8) Congressional Politics, 9) Education, 10) Science, 11) Interviews (e.g., sit down studio interviews— not live on the street reaction interviews), 12) Religion, 13) Non- Crime/Non-Natural Disasters such as plane crashes, major accidents, etc., 14) Foreign Affairs, 15) Human Interest (about an interesting person or animal), 16) Economy, 17) Medical, 18) Other— e.g., anything not related to the other 17 categories.
  • the two top scoring winners for each group have one of two options.
  • the two top scoring winners can either: 1) cash out by pressing a button (or activating a virtual object on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) that cashes them out and automatically doubles their money, or 2) they can choose to "let it ride” by pulling the handle (or activating a lever or pushing a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) to form a new group with five other new contestants and try to redouble their money by playing in a new round.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants of a group are eliminated and lose their money.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants can either leave the specialized slot machine or put more money into the specialized slot machine to play again by playing in a new group of six contestants.
  • the casino/venue provides powerful motivation in two directions for winning contestants to stay in for another round instead of cashing out.
  • winning contestants can "let it ride” and attempt to redouble their money each time they stay in instead of cashing out.
  • the specialized slot machine experience of the example embodiment offers another huge incentive for people to stay in. Any contestant who advances ten consecutive times will play in a Tournament of Champions (TOC) sponsored by the casino/venue in which they are playing.
  • TOC Tournament of Champions
  • the rationale for offering TOC is to provide a huge incentive for contestants to not cash out and to continue playing on the specialized slot machines.
  • the TOC pays out millions of dollars to the winner and other top finishers and is a very attractive incentive for people to try and qualify for (and therefore not cash out).
  • Contestants can play up to 15 rounds on a specialized slot machine as they attempt to double their money each new round. This means they can continue to try and re-double their money even after qualifying for the TOC by successfully winning ten consecutive times. If a TOC qualifier loses in rounds 11 to 15, they do not forfeit their TOC seat.
  • the specialized slot machine begins the selection process by showing three of the 18 current event news categories as a "bloc" to be bid on.
  • Contestants have 30 seconds to make a bid.
  • a contestant pulls the lever of the specialized slot machine (or otherwise activates a button or an object displayed on the display screen of the specialized slot machine). If a contestant fails to make a bid during the allotted time, the contestant automatically receives a "No Bid". Bids are time stamped based on the time when the lever was pulled (or other object was activated) to break ties.
  • the specialized slot machine computes the final score of the match immediately based on a scoring that includes the following three scoring factors:
  • o Factor #1 Raw Score— This is the point total a current event news category is given. The point total is based on how much time the category was on the air in the last hour ⁇ up until the moment the bidding process ends and the final scores are tabulated. This number is determined by the total minutes of time that a current events news category appeared on all of the national news stations in comparison to all of the minutes from all of the other current events news categories. This number is represented as a percent that is calculated by the following process: total combined minutes a given category appeared on all news stations divided by the total time (in minutes) that all categories (including the category being measured) were on in the last hour. This number will be represented as a percentage. There is a straight across correlation of this percentage to the total raw score. For example, if 7% of the overall minutes were devoted to presidential politics, then the total raw score for presidential politics would be 7 points.
  • the percentage bid a contestant makes cannot be a decimal or a fraction. It must always be a whole percent.
  • Contestants will either have a green, red or black circle by their spot on the display screen of the specialized slot machine at all times.
  • a green circle denotes that they have turned in their bid.
  • a red circle denotes that they have not yet submitted their bid.
  • a black circle denotes that they have already secured a bloc of live action news categories from a previous round and are ineligible to bid.
  • this bloc will be reintroduced later as a "mulligan" (see below for a more detailed explanation on a mulligan). In other words, there will not be a new bloc of current event categories that replaces a round that has no bidders.
  • a 1 % bid will undoubtedly win a contestant the current events news categories that they desire, but this bid also represents the percentage of raw points from each current events category that they are eligible for in the game itself. For example, if a contestant bids 1% to win the current event categories that they desire, which consists of Sports, Medicine and Congressional Politics, the contestant will be severely disappointed to learn that they also only get 1 % of the raw points that each of these categories tallied. As a result, a value of the contestant's bid, as represented by the percentage bid, is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount. In this manner, a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • Each current events category can have multipliers assigned to them.
  • the ranges of multipliers can vary from 6X (read "6 times") all the way to 10X. They aren't assigned uniformly to each current events category, though.
  • the multipliers can be split up and have different levels of intensity based on individual current events categories. For example, the specialized slot machine might flash that the multiplier is 7X, which means that the three current event categories now up for bid will have multipliers that have a sum total of 7X. However, their placement will be random as will their intensity (or value) on each current events news category.
  • the specialized slot machine will show the bidding range for each round. For example, for the first round, the specialized slot machine will give the range as 1 % to 100%. By the fourth round, this range will be down to 1% to 76%. This creates an urgency to get involved in the bidding process for each round, but also have enough skill to know what a proper bid is for a given bloc so that it isn't secured with a veryly low bid. After five rounds of bidding have occurred, the last person remaining in the group without a bloc automatically gets the last bloc that wasn't bid on for 60% of the raw points that each particular current events category scores in the one hour interval that is being measured. See the, "Table Showing Max and Min Bidding Percentages Allowed Each Round" set forth above for an example embodiment.
  • the maximum bid for the reintroduced blocs go down 8% each time a new one is reintroduced and bid on. If there is a tie for a final position, amongst tied players, the person who secured their bloc in the lowest or latest round advances. [00134]
  • the contestants in the group are scored for final positions.
  • the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment can gather the data for all current events categories in the contest and then compute the final positions. This computation will take no more than five seconds after all contestants have secured their blocs.
  • the specialized slot machine will tabulate the scores for all of the current events categories. Once the specialized slot machine tabulates final scores for individual current events categories, the specialized slot machine can add the scores together for blocs of current events categories belonging to the same contestant. The contestants will then be ranked 1 -6 (one through six) on the specialized slot machine display screen. For example, to tabulate the score of a single current events news category, three components of information are required. First, the news category's raw score is calculated. The second component of information needed is the bid with which that the news category was secured. Finally, the multiplier on the news category is factored in. Let's assume a religion news category has a 4.7% of the airtime raw score when the bidding process ends.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • real time/live events and related tournament formats are implemented on a specialized slot machine. These example embodiments use real life events to transform the specialized slot machine from a static entity, that is currently based solely on canned information, into a real time/live event gaming apparatus.
  • the real time/live action events of the example embodiments constitute the gaming material itself.
  • This specialized slot machine and the particular tournament formats of the various example embodiments described herein are based on real time/live event data.
  • the decisions the players are making with the game itself are based on events that are happening at the time the game is being played.
  • This real time/live event slot idea can be used for all types of real life events.
  • the described example embodiment uses the specialized slot machine with real time/live current political debate events to create a new type of specialized slot machine.
  • the current political debate event specialized slot machines are placed in casinos or other venues throughout the world. These specialized slot machines can be programmed to provide a competition related to any real time/live event contestants may desire to play.
  • Contestants sit at their own individual specialized slot machine/terminal as described herein. They are given the choice to enter for $1 , $5, $20, $50 and $ 100 contests (or any other entry amount that casinos/venues find attractive for a slot machine).
  • the contestant puts an amount of money into the specialized slot machine/terminal corresponding to the level of play at which they want to participate. For example, the contestant might put $ 1 in for the dollar game, $ 10 in for the ten dollar game, or $20 in for the twenty dollar game, to enter the game.
  • the contestant then pulls down the handle (or activates a lever or pushes a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) and the specialized slot machine/terminal starts generating a variety of enticing and entertaining graphics that flash around until the contestant has a full group of three other players to play against (who are also playing for the same entry amount). Because the game will fill quickly with players, the graphic display generations, which take about five seconds, will take longer than the time needed to fill a live group of players, which will happen immediately, because the game and the players are linked to casinos/venues throughout the country/world (e.g., geographically distributed).
  • Groups are always comprised of three contestants in an example embodiment.
  • a game or competition e.g., a debate
  • the number of debaters associated with each contestant in a group of three contestants can vary.
  • Contestants in the game are each associated with at least one debater in the debate.
  • the following list defines the number of debaters that are associated with each of the three contestants in each group depending on the number of debaters who are participating in the debate:
  • the other contestants who will fill the remaining two places in the debate group as presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal, will be anonymous on the display screen in front of a given contestant.
  • the user interface logic will configure the user interface of the example embodiment for each player to identify the different player positions as "YOU”, "Contestant # 1 ", "Contestant #2”, etc.
  • contestants are instructed that they will see from one to three debaters (depending on the parameters described above).
  • the contestants are instructed that the game will be based on live action scoring from the debate that is currently in progress.
  • the top finishing contestant in each of these groups is considered a winner.
  • top scoring winners for each group have one of two options.
  • the top scoring winners can either: 1) cash out by pressing a button (or activating a virtual object on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) that cashes them out and automatically doubles their money, or 2) they can choose to "let it ride” by pulling the handle (or activating a lever or pushing a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) to form a new group with two other new contestants and try to redouble their money by playing in a new round.
  • the bottom scoring two contestants of a group are eliminated and lose their money.
  • the bottom scoring two contestants can either leave the specialized slot machine or put more money into the specialized slot machine to play again by playing in a new group of three contestants.
  • the casino/venue provides powerful motivation in two directions for winning contestants to stay in for another round instead of cashing out.
  • winning contestants can "let it ride” and attempt to redouble their money each time they stay in instead of cashing out.
  • the specialized slot machine experience of the example embodiment offers another huge incentive for people to stay in. Any contestant who advances ten consecutive times will play in a Tournament of Champions (TOC) sponsored by the casino/venue in which they are playing.
  • TOC Tournament of Champions
  • TOC The rationale for offering TOC is to provide a huge incentive for contestants to not cash out and to continue playing on the specialized slot machines.
  • the TOC pays out millions of dollars to the winner and other top finishers and is a very attractive incentive for people to try and qualify for (and therefore not cash out).
  • Contestants can play up to 15 rounds on a specialized slot machine as they attempt to double their money each new round. This means they can continue to try and re-double their money even after qualifying for the TOC by successfully winning ten consecutive times. If a TOC qualifier loses in rounds 11 to 15, they do not forfeit their TOC seat.
  • Embodiment [00139] The following description provides a general overview of the specialized slot machine tournament structure for current debate events in an example embodiment:
  • Contestants bid on either one, two or three debaters at one time.
  • the number of debaters a contestant bids on at one times depends on the number of debaters available for each contestant to receive. If contestants bid on more than one debater at the same time, this group of two or three debaters is called a "bloc".
  • the specialized slot machine begins the selection process by showing the name or names of the debater(s) to bid on.
  • Contestants have 30 seconds to make a bid.
  • a contestant pulls the lever of the specialized slot machine (or otherwise activates a button or an object displayed on the display screen of the specialized slot machine). If a contestant fails to make a bid during the allotted time, the contestant automatically receives a "No Bid". Bids are time stamped based on the time when the lever was pulled (or other object was activated) to break ties.
  • the specialized slot machine computes the final score of the match immediately based on a scoring that includes the following three scoring factors:
  • o Factor #1 Raw Score— This is the point total a debater is given for their performance. This number is determined by a real time/live tracking poll that gives the favorability rating for how each debater is doing based on a live polling process amongst debate watchers. There is a straight across correlation between the percentage favorability rating and total points. If 73% of the viewers like what "Debater A" has to say, then that debater is scored with 73 points.
  • o Factor #2 Percentage Bid — The raw score is then multiplied by the percentage bid to determine the portion of the raw score for which the contestant qualifies.
  • Contestants will either have a green, red or black circle by their spot on the display screen of the specialized slot machine at all times.
  • a green circle denotes that they have turned in their bid.
  • a red circle denotes that they have not yet submitted their bid.
  • a black circle denotes that they have already secured a debater or a bloc of debaters from a previous round and are ineligible to bid.
  • a 1% bid will undoubtedly win a contestant the debater(s) that they desire, but this bid also represents the percentage of each debater's points that they are eligible for in the game itself. For example, if a contestant bids 1% to win a debater(s) they desire, such as Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, the contestant will be notably disappointed to learn that they also only get 1% of the points that each of these debaters scored. As a result, a value of the contestant's bid, as represented by the percentage bid, is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount. In this manner, a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • multipliers can vary from 6X (read "6 times") all the way to 10X. They aren't assigned uniformly to situations that involve blocs though.
  • the multipliers will be split up and have different levels of intensity on individual debaters. For example, the specialized slot machine might flash that the multiplier is 7X, which means that the three debaters shown will have multipliers that have a sum total of 7X. However, their placement will be random as will their intensity (or value) on each debater. For the 7X example, this means that the total on the multipliers for the three debaters must add up to seven. It could be that the first debater is worth IX their point total, the second debater 5X, and the third debater IX. It could also be 2X, 2X and 3X respectively.
  • the second debater shown would mean the debater would be worth double their point total.
  • the third debater shown would mean the debater would be worth triple their point total.
  • the maximum bid possible will be 10% less than the first round.
  • the specialized slot machine will show the bidding range for each round. This means that the second round has a maximum of 90%.
  • the maximum bid for the reintroduced blocs go down 10% each time a new one is reintroduced and bid on. If there is a tie for a final position, amongst tied players, the person who secured their debaters/bloc in the lowest or latest round advances.
  • the contestants in the group are scored for final positions.
  • the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment can gather the data for all debaters in the contest and then compute the final positions. This computation will take no more than five seconds after all contestants have secured their debaters/blocs.
  • the specialized slot machine can tabulate the scores for all of the debaters/blocs. Once the specialized slot machine tabulates final scores for individual debaters/blocs, the specialized slot machine can add the scores together for debaters/blocs belonging to the same contestant. The contestants can then be ranked 1-3 (one through three) on the specialized slot machine display screen.
  • the debater's raw score is retrieved from a polling source.
  • the second component of information needed is the bid with which the debater was secured.
  • the multiplier on the debater is factored in.
  • the prepared contestant is going to have an idea how the action in the debate is unfolding to make a more educated bid during the bidding process. Again, how debaters are valued at any given time is no different than the fluctuations of the stock market. This feature is exactly why real time/live action play redefines what slot play is all about.
  • a Slot Machine for Real Time Live Action Events Trending on Social Media (e.g.. TwitterTM)
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • real time/live events and related tournament formats are implemented on a specialized slot machine. These example embodiments use real life events to transform the specialized slot machine from a static entity, that is currently based solely on canned information, into a real time/live event gaming apparatus.
  • the real time/live action events of the example embodiments constitute the gaming material itself.
  • This specialized slot machine and the particular tournament formats of the various example embodiments described herein are based on real time/live event data.
  • the decisions the players are making with the game itself are based on events that are happening at the time the game is being played.
  • This real time/live event slot idea can be used for all types of real life events.
  • the described example embodiment uses the specialized slot machine with real time/live current "trending on TwitterTM" events or topics to create a new type of specialized slot machine.
  • Contestants sit at their own individual specialized slot machine/terminal as described herein. They are given the choice to enter for $1 , $5, $20, $50 and $ 100 contests (or any other entry amount that casinos/venues find attractive for a slot machine).
  • a contestant looks at the display screen of the specialized slot machine/terminal, they will see an image on the display screen, as presented by the user interface logic of an example embodiment described herein, showing a virtual card table with six places (e.g., see Figure 9).
  • the contestant at the specialized slot machine/terminal will be one of the players occupying one of these six places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal.
  • the contestant puts an amount of money into the specialized slot machine/terminal corresponding to the level of play at which they want to participate. For example, the contestant might put $ 1 in for the dollar game, $ 10 in for the ten dollar game, or $20 in for the twenty dollar game, to enter the game.
  • the contestant then pulls down the handle (or activates a lever or pushes a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) and the specialized slot machine/terminal starts generating a variety of enticing and entertaining graphics that flash around until the contestant has a full group of six other players to play against (who are also playing for the same entry amount). Because the game will fill quickly with players, the graphic display generations, which take about five seconds, will take longer than the time needed to fill a live group of players, which will happen immediately, because the game and the players are linked to casinos/venues throughout the country/world (e.g., geographically distributed).
  • Groups are always comprised of six contestants in an example embodiment.
  • the other five contestants who will fill the remaining five places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal, will be anonymous on the display screen in front of a given contestant.
  • the user interface logic will configure the user interface of the example embodiment for each player to identify the different player positions as "YOU”, "Contestant # 1 ", "Contestant #2”, etc. (see Figure 9).
  • the contestants are instructed that they will see three categories that are some of the most popular topics trending on TwitterTM at the moment. The contestants will decide on whether they want the categories or not. The contestants are instructed that the game will be based on the most popular topics trending on TwitterTM at that very moment.
  • TwitterTM topics there are 18 TwitterTM topics in an example embodiment. These TwitterTM topics are the
  • TwitterTM topics will all be worth a set value.
  • the point value will be determined by the following process: The number of people following a given topic divided by the number of people following all 18 of the other topics combined. This value will be displayed as a percentage. This percentage will then be converted to a point total. For example, let's assume that one of the 18 top trending topics on TwitterTM is Adele's new song "Hello". Let's assume that amongst the top 18 trending TwitterTM topics, it has garnered 7.4% of the followers. This means that this topic is worth 7.4 points for the competition— before the bidding percentages and multiplier bonuses are factored in.
  • the top scoring two contestants in each of these groups are considered winners. There is no distinction between finishing first and second.
  • the top scoring two contestants are both winners and are eligible for the same prize if they choose to cash out.
  • the two top scoring winners for each group have one of two options.
  • the two top scoring winners can either: 1) cash out by pressing a button (or activating a virtual object on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) that cashes them out and automatically doubles their money, or 2) they can choose to "let it ride” by pulling the handle (or activating a lever or pushing a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) to form a new group with five other new contestants and try to redouble their money by playing in a new round.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants of a group are eliminated and lose their money.
  • the bottom scoring four contestants can either leave the specialized slot machine or put more money into the specialized slot machine to play again by playing in a new group of six contestants.
  • the casino/venue provides powerful motivation in two directions for winning contestants to stay in for another round instead of cashing out.
  • winning contestants can "let it ride” and attempt to redouble their money each time they stay in instead of cashing out.
  • the specialized slot machine experience of the example embodiment offers another huge incentive for people to stay in. Any contestant who advances ten consecutive times will play in a Tournament of Champions (TOC) sponsored by the casino/venue in which they are playing.
  • TOC Tournament of Champions
  • TOC The rationale for offering TOC is to provide a huge incentive for contestants to not cash out and to continue playing on the specialized slot machines.
  • the TOC pays out millions of dollars to the winner and other top finishers and is a very attractive incentive for people to try and qualify for (and therefore not cash out).
  • Contestants can play up to 15 rounds on a specialized slot machine as they attempt to double their money each new round. This means they can continue to try and re-double their money even after qualifying for the TOC by successfully winning ten consecutive times. If a TOC qualifier loses in rounds 11 to 15, they do not forfeit their TOC seat.
  • the specialized slot machine begins the selection process by showing three of the 18 hottest topics currently trending on TwitterTM as a "bloc" to be bid on.
  • Contestants have 30 seconds to make a bid.
  • a contestant pulls the lever of the specialized slot machine (or otherwise activates a button or an object displayed on the display screen of the specialized slot machine). If a contestant fails to make a bid during the allotted time, the contestant automatically receives a "No Bid". Bids are time stamped based on the time when the lever was pulled (or other object was activated) to break ties.
  • o Factor #1 Raw Score— This is the point total a topic currently trending on TwitterTM is given. This is calculated by taking the number of people following a trending TwitterTM topic and then dividing it by the total number of people following the hottest 18 TwitterTM topics at any given moment. This percentage is then converted to a raw point total.
  • o Factor #2 Percentage Bid — The raw score is then multiplied by the percentage bid to determine the portion of the raw score for which the contestant qualifies.
  • o Factor #3 Multiplier Bonus— Whatever the percentage of the raw score a contestant has, this total is then multiplied by the multiplier bonus that a given current TwitterTM topic has by its spot on the display screen of the specialized slot machine.
  • Contestants will either have a green, red or black circle by their spot on the display screen of the specialized slot machine at all times.
  • a green circle denotes that they have turned in their bid.
  • a red circle denotes that they have not yet submitted their bid.
  • a black circle denotes that they have already secured a bloc of TwitterTM topics from a previous round and are ineligible to bid.
  • a 1% bid will undoubtedly win a contestant the trending on TwitterTM topics that they desire, but this bid also represents the percentage of raw points from each trending on TwitterTM topic that they are eligible for in the game itself. For example, if a contestant bids 1% to win the trending on TwitterTM topics that they desire, which hypothetically might consist of, "President Obama's Dog”, “The New Star Wars Movie,” and “The Royals Just Won the World Series", the contestant will be wildly disappointed to learn that they also only get 1% of the raw points that each of these categories tallied. As a result, a value of the contestant's bid, as represented by the percentage bid, is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount. In this manner, a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • Each trending on TwitterTM topic can have multipliers assigned to them.
  • the ranges of multipliers can vary from 6X (read "6 times") all the way to 10X. They aren't assigned uniformly to each trending on TwitterTM topic, though.
  • the multipliers can be split up and have different levels of intensity based on individual trending on TwitterTM topics. For example, the specialized slot machine might flash that the multiplier is 7X, which means that the three trending on TwitterTM topics now up for bid will have multipliers that have a sum total of 7X. However, their placement will be random as will their intensity (or value) on each trending on TwitterTM topic. For the 7X example, this means that the total on the multipliers for the three trending on TwitterTM topics must add up to seven.
  • TwitterTM topic is worth IX its raw point total
  • TwitterTM topic 5X the second trending on TwitterTM topic 5X
  • the third trending on TwitterTM topic IX It could also be 2X, 2X and 3X respectively.
  • the second trending on TwitterTM topic shown would be worth double its point total.
  • the third trending on TwitterTM topic shown would be worth triple its point total.
  • the specialized slot machine will show the bidding range for each round. For example, for the first round, the specialized slot machine will give the range as 1% to 100%. By the fourth round, this range will be down to 1% to 76%. This creates an urgency to get involved in the bidding process for each round, but also have enough skill to know what a proper bid is for a given bloc so that it isn't secured with a veryly low bid. After five rounds of bidding have occurred, the last person remaining in the group without a bloc automatically gets the last bloc that wasn't bid on for 60% of the raw points that each particular trending on TwitterTM topic scores in the one hour interval that is being measured. See the, "Table Showing Max and Min Bidding Percentages Allowed Each
  • the maximum bid for the reintroduced blocs go down 8% each time a new one is reintroduced and bid on. If there is a tie for a final position, amongst tied players, the person who secured their bloc in the lowest or latest round advances.
  • the contestants in the group are scored for final positions.
  • the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment can gather the data for all trending on TwitterTM topics in the contest and then compute the final positions. This computation will take no more than five seconds after all contestants have secured their blocs.
  • the specialized slot machine will tabulate the scores for all of the trending on TwitterTM topics. Once the specialized slot machine tabulates final scores for individual trending on TwitterTM topics, the specialized slot machine can add the scores together for blocs of trending on TwitterTM topics belonging to the same contestant. The contestants will then be ranked 1-6 (one through six) on the specialized slot machine display screen.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • Two gaming formats have been blended together.
  • One format involves the daily fantasy sports games that are enormous popular and the other format exploits their popularity by combining them with a skill based national tournament.
  • Top four finishers have a choice to make. They can either cash out and double their entry fee or let it ride.
  • top four finishers let it ride, they are put in a new group of 12 and the process repeats itself. If any of the previous top four finishers finish again in the top four, they redouble their money (now 4X their entry fee). If they finish 5th through 12th, they are out and lose everything and leave with nothing.
  • the combined gaming format described above for an example embodiment guarantees a minimum of 23% share of the entry fee revenue to the "house” (e.g., the lottery provider) for daily games. This is much better than the 10% that most companies (e.g., lottery providers) take for daily games. However, this percentage dramatically increases if players opt to keep playing. Additionally, the percentage take for the lottery provider is always the same for whatever the entry fee is.
  • this group format of an example embodiment guarantees a minimum of 23% to the lottery for each group of 12 players.
  • the ratios work the same for any entry fee.
  • the retums immediately jump to 45.6% to the lottery if a given player lets their winnings ride one time by playing in a round two group.
  • the lottery makes significantly more money— see the "Lottery Gets" column in Tables #1 and #2. It is essential to create incentives to continue playing.
  • Contestants use a value input device at a lottery terminal to put value (e.g., cash or credit) into the lottery terminal in an amount of the contestant's choosing.
  • value e.g., cash or credit
  • Contestants are prompted to enter or select the quantity of consecutive rounds they wish to play. The minimum is one and the maximum is ten.
  • Contestants are invited to go on-line, to the state lottery website they are playing from, to look at the payouts for the game implemented with the example embodiment described herein.
  • the goal of the example embodiment is to encourage contestants to play as many consecutive rounds as possible (up to 10). This is because the lottery retains larger and larger percentages of the entry fee pool the longer people are willing to stay in the game (see tables #1 and #2 above). If every contestant always played only one round each time they entered, the lottery would receive 23% of the entry fees from all of these players. Conversely, if every contestant always played 10 consecutive rounds at a time, the lottery would make 88.3% of all entry fee revenue.
  • Contestants at their local lottery terminal can select six athletes for their lineup.
  • fantasy football For purposes of the example embodiment described herein, we will use fantasy football as an example. However, the group gaming format of the described embodiments can work for all sports.
  • the required positions to fill out for a fantasy football lineup are one QB, two RBs, two WRs and one TE. If a contestant only wants to play one round, their lineup will be printed on a lottery ticket with "Rd 1" on it as well as a game number so the contestant can go to the lottery's website to identify their group of 12 players against whom they are playing. The contestants are also able to check their lineup against the other eleven people they are playing in their group.
  • a contestant wants to play more than one consecutive round there is an exact process for lineup submissions for these situations. Firstly, they can't submit the same lineup for more than one round. The reason for this is because if a contestant hits with six athletes that have fantastic games, then the contestant has a chance to quickly advance ten consecutive rounds with one hot lineup, which is not desirable for the lottery holding the contest. At the same time, contestants are not allowed to sit at the lottery terminal and select entire new lineups for each new round of consecutive play. This would keep contestants at the lottery terminal for too long of a time period.
  • the lottery game format allows contestants to print lineups for several consecutive rounds (up to 10) in a very quick and timely manner.
  • the format requires contestants to always change one third of their lineup for every new round while also requiring them to keep the other two thirds of their lineup exactly the same as it was for the previous round.
  • contestants are not allowed to decide what two lineup positions they want to swap athletes out for.
  • the lottery will determine these positions that are to be changed to keep the contestant focused on only two positions instead of a possible six for swap outs. Contestants who opt to play multiple consecutive rounds will see the following lineup submission process on their lottery terminal beginning with Round 2:
  • the lineup parameters that a contestant follows in an example embodiment are set forth below.
  • the contestant follows through a progression that is based on the quantity of consecutive rounds for which the contestant originally signed up to play.
  • Rd 1 Contestant makes all six lineup selections.
  • Rd 2 Contestant selects new QB and TE. The other four athletes must remain the same.
  • Rd 3 Contestant selects two new RB's. The other four athletes must remain the same.
  • Rd 4 Contestant selects two new WR's. The other four athletes must remain the same.
  • Rd 5 Contestant selects new QB and TE. The other four athletes must remain the same.
  • Rd 6 Contestant selects two new RB's. The other four athletes must remain the same. •
  • Rd 7 Contestant selects two new WR's. The other four athletes must remain the same.
  • the lottery game can close on a Sunday morning, right before kickoff of the first Sunday morning game.
  • the final results are tabulated and dispersed on each participating lottery's website at the conclusion of the Sunday night game.
  • Monday night games (as well as all other non-Sunday games) are ineligible for athlete selection purposes. The rationale for this is to have everything finalized by Sunday night so contestants are buying new lottery tickets on Monday instead of what might happen in their Monday night game.
  • the Sunday night statistics are final— no matter what happens later in the week. Occasionally the NFLTM changes statistics during the following week after looking at film. For example, a pass completion might be changed to a run because the film showed what initially looked like a pass was changed to a lateral. These types of changes will not be considered relevant. It is not in the lottery's best interest to have entire scenarios recalibrated and have people who thought they won on Sunday night find out they lost on Tuesday morning.
  • a multi-state lottery system can offer the following to contestants:
  • the lottery system control mechanism can determine the number of contestants who qualified for the TOC and then calculate the number of consecutive rounds needed for all players to compete in a one day event that creates a champion and other top finishers. Most likely the number of rounds will be between an eight to ten round tournament.
  • Fantasy players are placed in groups of twelve players.
  • Fantasy players submit six starters— one QB, two RBs, two WRs, and one TE
  • 3rd tiebreaker Lineup with the athlete with the highest raw fantasy score— i.e., before points are subtracted for duplication.
  • Fantasy Point Values • All fantasy players in a group submit their lineups via a blind submission process (i.e., submissions won't be known to players until all players in a group have submitted their lineups).
  • Fantasy players will be given a percentage of the fantasy points their NFLTM player scored depending on how many other fantasy players selected that same NFLTM player. This is called their Adjusted Fantasy Score. For example, using the table set forth below, if twelve fantasy players in a group are playing in a match and four of them select Tom Brady to be their QB, then each of them will receive 73% of the fantasy points that Brady scores for the week (e.g., see table below).
  • the table below shows an example of the starting NFLTM players that a twelve person group selected. Note that there is no TE in this example.
  • the percentage under each player's name represents the percentage that the fantasy player will get to keep of the actual fantasy points that their given NFLTM player scored for a particular week. This percentage is based on the number of times an NFLTM player was duplicated and is taken directly from the above table (Table 4).
  • Fantasy players 3, 5, 11 and 12 would move on.
  • Figure 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different toumament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of one such toumament format in an example embodiment.
  • real time/live events and related toumament formats are implemented on a specialized slot machine. These example embodiments use real life events to transform the specialized slot machine from a static entity, that is currently based solely on canned information, into a real time/live event gaming apparatus.
  • the real time/live action events of the example embodiments constitute the gaming material itself.
  • This specialized slot machine and the particular tournament formats of the various example embodiments described herein are based on real time/live event data.
  • the decisions the players are making with the game itself are based on events that are happening at the time the game is being played.
  • This real time/live event slot idea can be used for all types of real life events.
  • the described example embodiment uses the specialized slot machine with real time/live sporting events to create a new type of slot machine. Even more specifically, the described example embodiment is used for a sports book format, using fantasy sports, by modifying some of the current ways fantasy sports games are played to enhance the real time/live event slot machine embodiment as described herein.
  • the fantasy sports books application can be implemented as follows:
  • Fantasy sports book specialized slot machines are placed in casinos or other venues throughout the world. These specialized slot machines can be programmed to provide a competition related to any fantasy sport a contestant desires to play. These specialized slot machines are linked to a central network-accessible database so that contestants competing in a given "group game" can be playing in different casinos/venues throughout the world. In other words, if a person sits down in the MGMTM in Las Vegas, they don't have to sit and wait until their group of six people is filled by people sitting in that particular MGMTM casino. The other five players competing against them can be sitting in casinos/venues anywhere in the world.
  • Contestants sit at their own individual specialized slot machine/terminal as described herein. They are given the choice to enter for $1 , $5, $20, $50 and $100 contests (or any other entry amount that casinos/venues find attractive for a slot machine).
  • a contestant looks at the display screen of the specialized slot machine/terminal, they will see an image on the display screen, as presented by the user interface logic of an example embodiment described herein, showing a virtual card table with six places (e.g., see Figure 9).
  • the contestant at the specialized slot machine/terminal will be one of the players occupying one of these six places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal.
  • the contestant puts an amount of money into the specialized slot machine/terminal corresponding to the level of play at which they want to participate. For example, the contestant might put $ 1 in for the dollar game, $ 10 in for the ten dollar game, or $20 in for the twenty dollar game, to enter the game.
  • the contestant then pulls down the handle (or activates a lever or pushes a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) and the specialized slot machine/terminal starts generating a variety of enticing and entertaining graphics that flash around until the contestant has a full group of six other players to play against (who are also playing for the same entry amount). Because the game will fill quickly with players, the graphic display generations, which take about five seconds, will take longer than the time needed to fill a live group of players, which will happen immediately, because the game and the players are linked to casinos/venues throughout the country/world (e.g., geographically distributed).
  • Groups are always comprised of six contestants in an example embodiment.
  • the other five contestants who will fill the remaining five places at the virtual card table presented by the specialized slot machine/terminal, will be anonymous on the display screen in front of a given contestant.
  • the user interface logic will configure the user interface of the example embodiment for each player to identify the different player positions as "YOU", "Contestant # 1 ", "Contestant #2”, etc. (see Figure 9).
  • the contestants are instructed that they will see two hypothetical fantasy sports contests with a betting line.
  • the contestants are instructed that the scoring for these two games will be based on live action scoring from some sporting event(s) that are currently in progress.
  • the two winners for each group have one of two options.
  • the two winners for each group can either: 1) cash out by pressing a button that cashes them out and automatically doubles their money, or 2) they can choose to "let it ride” by pulling the handle (or activating a lever or pushing a button on the user interface of the specialized slot machine/terminal) to form a new group with five other new contestants and try to redouble their money by playing in a new round.
  • the casino/venue provides powerful motivation in two directions for winning contestants to stay in for another round instead of cashing out.
  • winning contestants can "let it ride” and attempt to redouble their money each time they stay in instead of cashing out.
  • the specialized slot machine experience of the example embodiment offers another huge incentive for people to stay in. Any contestant who advances ten consecutive times will play in a Tournament of Champions (TOC) sponsored by the casino/venue in which they are playing.
  • TOC Tournament of Champions
  • the rationale for offering TOC is to provide a huge incentive for contestants to not cash out and to continue playing on the specialized slot machines.
  • the TOC pays out millions of dollars to the winner and other top finishers and is a very attractive incentive for people to try and qualify for (and therefore not cash out).
  • Contestants can play up to 15 rounds on a specialized slot machine as they attempt to double their money each new round. This means they can continue to try and re-double their money even after qualifying for the TOC by successfully winning ten consecutive times. If a TOC qualifier loses in rounds 11 to 15, they do not forfeit their TOC seat.
  • Contestants are shown four hypothetical teams that are competing in two hypothetical games with real professional athletes.
  • the structure has two teams competing against one another in one game and the other two teams competing against one another in the other game.
  • a sports betting line can be established for both of these contests.
  • One team will be favored over another team by a certain number of fantasy points (or the game can be declared even with no point spread).
  • the betting line can be established by taking the sum of the fantasy game average of all players on one team and then the sum of the fantasy game average on the other team they are playing and calculating the difference.
  • the athletes are randomly selected athletes playing in a real life game currently in progress.
  • Contestants can be shown all four teams and the athletes on them as well as the betting line for the two games. Contestants can then randomly be shown one of these four teams on which to bid.
  • the specialized slot machine begins the first round of bidding by randomly selecting one of the four teams.
  • Contestants have 30 seconds to make a bid.
  • a contestant pulls the lever of the specialized slot machine (or otherwise activates a button or an object displayed on the display screen of the specialized slot machine). If a contestant fails to make a bid during the allotted time, the contestant automatically receives a "No Bid". Bids are time stamped by when the lever was pulled (or other object was activated) to break ties.
  • the specialized slot machine computes the final score of each of these two hypothetical games immediately based on the real time/live action fantasy point totals each athlete from the various teams has— in progress.
  • Contestants will either have a green, red or black circle by their spot on the display screen of the specialized slot machine at all times.
  • a green circle denotes that they have turned in their bid.
  • a red circle denotes that they have not yet submitted their bid.
  • a black circle denotes that they have already secured their team from a previous round. • The lowest bid wins the hypothetical team that is being bid on. If there is a tie amongst two or more contestants for the best bid, the contestant who submitted their bid first receives the team.
  • a value of the contestant's bid is used to discount or reduce the contestant's score or quantity of points received by a corresponding amount. In this manner, a contestant bidding at a minimal level will also only receive a score or quantity of points at a correspondingly minimal level.
  • Each team will have three special multipliers on three randomly selected athletes.
  • One of the athletes will have a 3X by their name, which means that whatever their fantasy point total turns out to be, the total will be multiplied by three for their final score.
  • Two other athletes on the team will be randomly assigned a 2X by their names. This means that whatever these two athletes have as their final score, the score will be multiplied by two for their respective final scores. Contestants need to factor in the value of the athletes who have these special multipliers during the bidding process.
  • the six contestants on a team can be scored in the manner described below:
  • fantasy sports slot machine embodiments based on real time/live action events as described herein provide a unique idea that has never been seen in the market.
  • the contestants themselves do not constitute the real time/live action event(s), rather it is the game itself that uses real time/live action events as the competition unfolds.
  • These example embodiments fundamentally change the way slot machines are currently used. Slot machine players are suddenly playing with the outcomes that are based on events that are unfolding as they are playing. This adds a dimension to slot machines that has never been provided before.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format of contestants playing in small groups of three or more participants — Fantasy sports contests have always been contested in one of two ways— both of which mimic real life sports. They either are conducted using a head-to-head format or they are configured where the entire field plays against each other simultaneously. Again, the reason why these two formats have emerged is because these are the formats for how real live sporting events are contested and fantasy sports contests have always tried to come as close as possible to mimicking reality. Of the two, the head-to-head format is the most common way real life sports are contested ⁇ for both team and individual competitions. For example, in team sports competitions, there are never three (or more) baseball teams playing each other simultaneously. That would be unheard of.
  • fantasy sports tournament organizers have copied is the "entire field" concept.
  • An entire field event is when real live sports are contested in a manner where individuals or teams have to compete against the entire field at one time. While this is not nearly as prevalent as the head-to-head format, it is still quite often used. Examples of this are golf, cycling, gymnastics, swimming, track and field, etc. Teams or individuals compete in one huge event and they are then ranked according to either their finish or their final scores.
  • Fantasy sports tournament organizers have tried to re-create the real live action formats that are used in sports to appeal to those who like to participate in fantasy sports events. For this reason, they have always configured their offerings to mimic these real live sporting events by either using a one-on-one format or an "entire field" format.
  • This unique format is also counterintuitive to how real life sporting events are contested and is why nobody has ever done this before.
  • the novel method of a fantasy sports slot machine format as described herein is to have small groups of three or more contestants competing against one another at the same time.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein a portion of an athlete's fantasy points are or can be scored. Fantasy sports games have always been an all or nothing proposition. Contestants who "own" a certain athlete have always received all of the fantasy points that their athlete scored in their real live sports competition. Conversely, contestants who don't own an athlete receive nothing or zero points for them. This is a very valuable tool that helps make a fantasy sports slot machine implementation possible.
  • This method involves giving contestants a portion or fraction of the fantasy points that a given athlete that they have secured scores.
  • This fractional scoring method of an example embodiment can be implemented in several different ways as described below.
  • a. Percentage Bids This is a bidding process where the bids involve taking a percentage of the athlete's fantasy points.
  • contestants in order to secure an athlete, make a percentage bid on a given athlete.
  • the rules dictate that the contestant who submits the lowest percentage bid secures that athlete for their lineup. For example, if three contestants bid, 68%, 81% and 98% for a given athlete, then two things happen. First, the contestant who made the 68% bid receives that athlete in their fantasy sports lineup.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format wherein blocs of athletes for a lineup can be selected through an auction process. Fantasy sports contests have always operated one of two ways, either: a) contestants select their entire lineup and submit it, or b) they draft athletes individually to create their "team”. As provided by the example embodiments as described herein, there is another way that makes the fantasy sports slot machine work.
  • contestants are shown groups of two or more athletes to be evaluated simultaneously.
  • the contestants who are interested in this "bloc" have to evaluate the comparative strength of the entire unit over other potential ones.
  • This process creates a new twist because contestants are now forced to put a value on a unit that has multiple moving parts.
  • This is not a part of traditional fantasy sports play, but creates a critical gaming component for a fantasy sports slot machine of the various embodiments described herein.
  • the fantasy sports slot machine of an example embodiment provides a novel format for creating a betting line for hypothetical fantasy sports contests similar to how it is done in real live sports contests. Fantasy sports has already created an alternate reality with hypothetical teams that people select and manage. This has been going on for decades.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide for the creation of a fantasy sports betting line for a hypothetical game that allows people to evaluate two hypothetical teams competing in a hypothetical match and to bet on the outcome based on an established betting line that creates a favorite and an underdog.
  • the betting line that can be established can be determined by the parameters set forth below for an example embodiment:
  • This betting line can also create betting situations other than for the winner and loser of a hypothetical sporting contest.
  • An example embodiment can establish a betting line over or under the total fantasy points scored between the two teams in a hypothetical fantasy match, one team in the contest or individual athletes (or groups of athletes) in that contest— much like they do in real live sports betting. The big difference, though, is that all of the betting is based on fantasy points and hypothetical teams competing in fantasy sports contests.
  • Figure 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a tournament with multi-contestant small group rounds on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment. The following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • Fantasy sports games have become a cultural phenomenon. People select their teams and then compete against other individuals. These hypothetical teams have become so real to people that, in some cases, they pull harder for their fantasy teams than their local hometown team. [00191] If people are creating hypothetical or imaginary teams to play against other hypothetical teams, why not have a betting line for these games too? In other words, one application of fantasy sports that hasn't emerged is a sports books format that mimics the sports betting on real life games. For example, people might make a $200 bet that the San Francisco 49ers beat the N.Y. Jets in a football game as long as they get seven points. If the 49ers lose by 7 points or less (or win outright), the person who made the bet wins. If the 49ers lose by 8 or more points, then the person who made the bet loses.
  • This betting format can apply directly to imaginary fantasy sports teams as well.
  • a gaming institution using the fantasy sports book format as described herein, could make up their own fantasy sports "games" that mimic real life games and support bets made on the fantasy sports games.
  • games For example, an embodiment can be illustrated by an example below using two imaginary teams for a fantasy football game between the Spiders and the Steamrollers. The composition of these two example imaginary fantasy football teams is set forth below.
  • a betting line can be established by using the difference which is 2.9 fantasy points to establish the original betting line. Because 2.9 rounds to 3, the initial betting line can be established, in this example, as follows:
  • This betting line can fluctuate based on other factors too.
  • the betting line can fluctuate based on: 1) the individual matchups the athletes have in their real life games, and 2) the real life betting action that is happening on these matchups.
  • the scratched athlete could potentially create chaos.
  • the athlete can be given their current seasonal average (rounded to the nearest whole number) as their fantasy point total for the match. If it is the first set up games for a season, their average fantasy game score from the previous season can be used.
  • betting lines for other elements of the imaginary fantasy sports game can also be offered.
  • an over/under for the total fantasy points these two teams combine for can be bet on.
  • the over/under for fantasy points for each team can be bet on.
  • the over/under for each athlete or group of athletes can be bet on.
  • Other embodiments can similarly provide betting lines on a variety of aspects of the imaginary fantasy sports teams and the games they play. > An Example Embodiment Providing a Specialized Slot Machine for Implementing:
  • Figure 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a large scale tournament on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • Lotteries work best when people are selecting from a decent sized sample space and there is a true randomness to the selection process. They don't work nearly as well when everyone is making the same selections. So how is the problem rectified? What can be done so that the people of Massachusetts seriously consider picking someone other than Tom Brady — especially when he has a really good match-up?
  • the answer is the duplication penalty system provided by an example embodiment. This system penalizes contestants at an increasingly higher level of severity the more times a given athlete is selected. For example, let's assume that 91.3% of the state of Massachusetts selected Tom Brady while only 3.6% selected Aaron Rogers for the quarterback position.
  • the duplication penalty system provided by an example embodiment would work in the following manner:
  • Step #1 The control process of the example embodiment would take the percentage rate that each athlete was selected and subtract it from 100%.
  • Step #3 This new percentage that was just calculated is called their adjusted fantasy percentage. What that means is that all of the people participating in the lottery who selected Tom Brady, will get Brady in their lineup, but he is only worth 8.7% of his fantasy points he scores that weekend to all of those who selected him. Similarly, since significantly fewer people selected Rogers, this means that a much higher percentage of the fantasy points he scores for the week will go to each person who selected him.
  • the example above mimics a traditional lottery; but, the example is contrary to the practices in a fantasy sports tournament. In the above example, all someone would need to do is check their ticket stub and see if they selected all seven athletes for their lineup. If they hit them all, they would be a grand prize winner. Because this example format would be comparable to a traditional lottery, the example format would completely eliminate the fantasy sports element where participants root for their athletes in their real life games. The whole idea behind a fantasy sports lottery is to actually include fantasy sports into the equation. The above example turns the athletes into nothing more than "numbers" like a traditional lottery and they would have no inherent value from a fantasy sports point of view.
  • the lottery commission could still make meaningful random selections as long as they aren't winning lottery "numbers". This keeps the random selection process in place that people expect from traditional lotteries, but also adds a whole new dimension to the fantasy sports contest.
  • a fantasy sports lottery system can make these selections bonuses instead of winning numbers. For example, let's assume that on a Sunday morning, the percentages for each athlete in the NFLTM for the positions of QB, RB, WR and TE were already known and published. These percentages would be based on the duplication penalty system of the example embodiment as described above Solution #1. Let's further assume that the seven athletes were worth the following percentages of their fantasy points they scored later that day:
  • these seven athletes had another factor applied to their fantasy point values (a bonus factor) that none of the other athletes had for a given week. These seven athletes also happened to be the athletes randomly selected by the lottery commission in their drawing. Instead of representing winning numbers like a traditional lottery, the selected athletes instead represent athletes who are awarded a huge statistical bonus to contestants who selected them. For example, the first six athletes would receive a 20% boost to their fantasy point values and the flex athlete would receive a 30% boost to their fantasy point value. Instead of the percentages these athletes earned through the duplication penalty process as described above, these athletes now would be worth the following fantasy point value percentages after the lottery drawing:
  • the bonus factor would be worth a little more— something like a 30% boost. In this case, because Murray was selected as the flex athlete, he would then be worth 129.7% of his fantasy points for anyone who selected him.
  • This boost (the bonus factor) for these winning athletes will add a lot of drama as contestants will tune in to see if any of the athletes they selected received this bump.
  • the interesting part is that the bonus factor wouldn't necessarily decide who was going to win the lottery for a given week. These athletes would still have to perform to make their percentage increases mean anything. This process will create enormous drama even before the actual fantasy sports competition takes place— exactly what a lottery wants in order to capture the interest of as many people as possible.
  • the lottery drawing could be done in a more traditional sports-oriented manner, like they do with all-star teams. This would put more athletes in the mix for the bonus factor.
  • the lottery commission could select six athletes for the 20% bonus as the "1st team" with a flex athlete at the 30% level, six more athletes could be selected as the "2nd team” for a 15% bonus with a flex athlete worth 25% and a "3rd team” of six athletes could be selected for a 10% bonus with the flex at 20%. Once an athlete is selected, they didn't be selected again. This would give 21 athletes a bonus percentage and would undoubtedly create even more interest.
  • Solution #3 Creating a "rollover" effect—
  • the use of a rollover in a particular embodiment may or may not be a desirable feature from the standpoint of the state lottery commission.
  • a state lottery might want to include a feature that creates the possibility that there isn't a winner for a given week.
  • the lottery commission might use a format of simply paying out a guaranteed weekly grand prize winner(s). If this is the case, then a solution is not needed to create the rollover effect. If on the other hand, it is desirable to have a rollover effect possibility, then an additional feature is needed in an alternative embodiment.
  • This solution requires a minimum fantasy point threshold that a contestant would have to meet in order for them to be eligible to be a grand prize winner. For example, the game might require that the grand prize winner must score a minimum of 300 points to be eligible to collect the top prize. This creates the possibility that nobody hits this threshold for a given week.
  • a minimum point total would have to be selected that would do two important things. First, the minimum point total would be high enough so that it isn't a given that someone will emerge out of hundreds of thousands of contestants each week. Secondly, the minimum point total would have to be attainable at some point so that the lottery actually has winners on a fairly regular basis.
  • Contestants can have the option to either select their fantasy sports lineups themselves or have the specialized fantasy sports slot machine do it for them.
  • the specialized fantasy sports slot machine can also allow contestants to submit multiple entries simultaneously— by both methods described above.
  • the number of athletes the fantasy sports lottery format will require can be five, six, or another number depending on the sport.
  • the fantasy sports lottery format can also select a power ball athlete.
  • the athletes can be required to fit specific positions on the field.
  • Football would require a selection process of exactly one QB, two RB's, two WR's, one TE and one Flex (e.g., the flex athlete can be any RB, WR, or TE who wasn't already selected) for each entry.
  • the contestant can be asked for each entry to pick six position ballplayers and one power ball without concern for position (as long as the position is not a pitcher for the slugger's game and not a slugger for the pitcher's game).
  • fantasy sports lottery system of an example embodiment can calibrate and determine the percentage of fantasy points each athlete will be worth in their game (or series of games) that encompasses the lottery timeframe. For example, for the football lottery, let's assume that one hour before kickoff in the first Sunday NFLTM football game, no more entries can be submitted by contestants in the fantasy sports lottery. At that point, contestants can go to a fantasy sports lottery website to see what percentage each athlete is worth. Moreover, during this one hour time period before the first kickoff, the bonus athletes can be drawn and their new percentages can be displayed too.
  • Lottery players often like to play different types of games.
  • a fun variation in an alternative embodiment is a Fantasy Eliminator game. This is a game where contestants have to stay in the top 50% tier or they are eliminated as the real life fantasy contests are progressing. To illustrate the operation of this game format, an example embodiment is described below with football as the example fantasy sports game.
  • the Fantasy Eliminator game would begin with a timing mechanism that starts with the kickoff of the last moming (early) NFLTM football game. Once this happens, every ten minutes (or other pre-determined time period) that goes by, the bottom 50% of the field is eliminated. This process continues with the clock running and 50% of the field eliminated every ten minutes (or other pre-determined time period). The only time this clock stops is when every single game is on a halftime break— at the same time— and there is no NFLTM action from any of the moming (early) games. If this never happens, the clock will never stop until the last moming (early) game is complete. The clock resumes during situations when all games are in halftime the moment one of the contests resumes its third quarter action.
  • a typical NFLTM football contest runs for about three hours. Assuming there will be a ten minute interval where no games are going on during the approximate halftime time slot; this leaves approximately 17 ten minute intervals during the course of the morning (early) games. Let's assume 5 million people signed up to play the Fantasy Eliminator game. The table below shows how the field would pare down according to the rules of the game:
  • the time interval that is used to eliminate players can fluctuate depending on how many entries there are. The fewer entries there are, the longer the time interval is to eliminate contestants. The more entries there are, the shorter this eliminator time interval becomes.
  • the correct time intervals can be pre-programmed based on how many contestants there are in a given Fantasy Eliminator game.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a large scale tournament on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • the following description illustrates the structure and rules for a fantasy sports scratcher game (a 5/25/50 format).
  • This game format can be used for any fantasy sport.
  • the example embodiment provides a format and system wherein contestants can purchase scratchers with the names of athletes from a given fantasy sport that are hidden and waiting to be scratched off. The contestant will be guaranteed that each athlete will play in their game. If an athlete on a scratcher does not play in their game, the athlete's fantasy point per game average can be used for their score.
  • Scoring systems can vary depending on the sport. In general, the five athletes on a scratcher must score about 10% higher across the board on their fantasy points per game average to enable the contestant to get their money back.
  • the object of the game is for the athletes on the scratcher to score a combined number of fantasy points that puts them in the winner's circle. The better the combined score of the athletes on the scratcher, the more money the contestant can win. For example, the sum of the athletes' fantasy points for a particular game might warrant that the fantasy score for the five athletes is ten points higher than their seasonal average. If this happens, the contestant would get their money back. The contestant would then be able to win higher increments of money depending on the combined total fantasy points of the athletes who are on the scratcher.
  • the following table illustrates an example of how the process works in the example embodiment:
  • the sum of the averages in the example set forth above is 55.9, which is about 56 points.
  • the fantasy sports scratcher game of the example embodiment would require that the contestant needs to produce a scratcher with a combined score of 62 points (10% higher) to get their money back, 68 points for 5X their money, 74 points for 25X their money, and 80 points for 50X their money for this particular example.
  • the structure and rules for a fantasy sports scratcher game can be implemented in a variety of ways.
  • rules can be defined to structure the format and operation of the fantasy sports scratcher game.
  • these rules can be defined as follows:
  • Rule #1 There are five athletes to scratch off with a coin.
  • Rule #2 Contestants determine how much they want to play for. Entry points might be $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100, for example.
  • Rule #3 The athletes' names are hidden under the position slots on the scratcher. Contestants can scratch off each position to reveal the athlete that was randomly given to them.
  • Rule #4 Contestants will be guaranteed that each of their athletes will play in their game. If an athlete doesn't play (e.g., including injury, suspension or coach's decision) in their game, the athlete's fantasy point game average for the season or a prior season can be used.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a large scale tournament on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • the structure and rules for a Tic-Tac-Toe scratcher game can be implemented in a variety of ways.
  • rules can be defined to structure the format and operation of the Tic-Tac-Toe scratcher game. In the particular embodiment, these rules can be defined as described below.
  • contestants get a scratcher with nine athletes' names printed on it in nine distinct spots on the scratcher (see example below). Initially, all of the names of the athletes on the scratcher are obscured. The athletes printed on the scratcher may all play the same position (like the example below) or the athletes may play different positions.
  • contestants can scratch off a variable number of distinct spots on the scratcher to reveal the athletes' names printed at the scratched spots.
  • the number of scratched spots can correspond to a plurality of achievements accomplished by the contestant. These achievements in an example embodiment are described below.
  • Achievement # 1 The contestant wins 2X (twice) the entry fee— The contestant scratches off three spots that make three in a row. The other six spots are left unscratched. If the combined fantasy score of the athletes hits a pre-determined benchmark (about 15% more than their combined average), the contestant wins 2X their entry fee.
  • Achievement #2 The contestant wins 4X (four times) the entry fee— The contestant scratches off any six spots and leaves three unscratched. If the combined fantasy sport score of the six athletes at the scratched spots hits a pre-determined benchmark (about 20% more than their combined average), the contestant wins 2X their entry fee. Achievement #1 is not in play for contestants who scratch off only six spots. [00227] Achievement #3— The contestant wins 8X (eight times) the entry fee— The contestant scratches off all nine spots. If all three in a row combinations of the combined fantasy sport score of the athletes at the scratched spots hits a pre-determined benchmark (about 10% more than their combined average), the contestant wins 8X their entry fee. Achievements #1 and #2 are not in play for contestants who scratch off all nine spots.
  • Achievement #4 The contestant wins 16X (sixteen times) the entry fee — The contestant scratches off all nine spots. If all three in a row combinations of the combined fantasy sport score of the athletes at the scratched spots hits a pre-determined benchmark (Achievement #3) and each of the four athletes outscore the middle athlete, the contestant wins 16X their entry fee. Achievements # 1 and #2 are not in play for contestants who scratch off all nine spots.
  • athletes appearing on a scratcher must play in their game. If the athlete doesn't play, then the point total they receive is exactly one third (1/3) of what is needed to make the three in a row requirement. In the case of this example, if 100 is the three in a row total, then an athlete who didn't play is worth 33.3 points. This rule guarantees that suspended, hurt, or demoted athletes will still have a fair value.
  • athletes appearing on a scratcher must start. If an athlete doesn't start for any reason, then the athlete gets the better score between the one third (1/3) requirement described above or the score the athlete actually scored. This rule guarantees contestants that they will get real starters for their scratchers.
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a large scale tournament on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • the structure and rules for a Two Touchdown scratcher game can be implemented in a variety of ways.
  • rules can be defined to structure the format and operation of the Two Touchdown scratcher game.
  • these rules can be defined as described below.
  • the Two Touchdown scratcher game supports a game format that is not necessarily based on fantasy points. Not all sports games have to be based on fantasy points to create a fun offering. In the example embodiment, there are two versions of this game. The formats of these two versions of the Two Touchdown scratcher game are described below. In the example embodiment, all athletes on a given scratcher must appear in their respective games or the scratcher can be redeemed for a new play the following week. If it is the last week, then the money is refunded.
  • the game is structured to look like each of the four quarters of a football game as well as having a chance for overtime.
  • a tight end (TE), wide receiver (WR), and running back (RB) are all under a spot on the scratcher that says "first half. If all three of these athletes each score at least one touchdown (not throwing for one) in their respective games, the contestant wins 5X their entry fee. The contestant can cash out or risk their winnings by scratching off the third quarter spot on the scratcher to play for more.
  • the contestant will have an NFLTM team listed in this overtime spot to be scratched. If this NFLTM team scores a special teams touchdown (e.g., a punt return, kickoff return, blocked kick, etc. and not including a defensive touchdown), the contestant wins 100,000X their entry fee. If this NFLTM team does not score a special teams touchdown, the contestant wins nothing.
  • a special teams touchdown e.g., a punt return, kickoff return, blocked kick, etc. and not including a defensive touchdown
  • FIG. 6 through Figure 9 illustrate an example embodiment, implemented as a specialized slot machine, which shows the basic elements of the user interface for implementing a large scale tournament on the specialized slot machine.
  • the specialized slot machine and the user interface thereon can be used to implement a variety of different tournament formats on the specialized slot machine of an example embodiment.
  • the following description provides a general overview of one such tournament format in an example embodiment.
  • a luck-based second chance game is described. For every team in the NFLTM, for example, there are some combinations in the scratcher game that can make contestants eligible for prizes at the end of the season. These combinations can have real life teammates appearing at the same time on the same scratchers. For example, if a single scratcher had exactly two 49ers on it, then the scratcher could be worth a $5 bonus at the end of the NFLTM playoffs. If the single scratcher had three 49ers on it, then the scratcher might be worth a $ 100 bonus at the end of the NFLTM playoffs. If the single scratcher had four 49ers on it, then the scratcher might be worth a $ 10,000 bonus at the end of the NFLTM playoffs.
  • the scratcher had five 49ers on it, then the scratcher might be worth a $100,000 bonus at the end of the NFLTM playoffs. If the single scratcher had six 49ers on it, then the scratcher might be worth a million dollar bonus at the end of the NFLTM playoffs.
  • a lottery administrator can pre-determine the number of winning tickets the lottery administrator will distribute for each level of common teammates. For example, there might be five million dollar winners for having six common teammates, 20 $100,000 winners for five common teammates, etc. The way the lottery administrator would do this is by printing exactly five one million dollar tickets with six 49ers on it, exactly 20 $100,000 tickets with five 49ers on it, etc.
  • the lottery administrator can then print these combinations as described above for the 49ers for every NFLTM team.
  • the lottery administrator can also print the same number of potential winning scratchers, for each level, in the increments as described above for the 49ers. Contestants would be inclined to save any scratcher ticket they got with common teammates; because, these scratchers might be worth something at the end of the season.
  • only the scratchers with combinations featuring the Super Bowl winning team at the end of the year will have any meaning.
  • the Super Bowl winning team at the end of the year automatically pays off for these amounts for each ticket at the combination level for which they are good. Again, all other combination tickets with common teammates are rendered meaningless.
  • Casinos and other gaming venues have an opportunity to enter the exploding fantasy sports market via traditional slot machines that are designed to create games of intense skill- based strategy.
  • the specialized fantasy sports slot machine such as the example embodiments described herein, implements games of skill that feature live players competing against one another. The entire game is designed to involve skill; because, variables involving luck are eliminated. This concept becomes possible because the data used is solely based on known statistics and not live action scoring where all kinds of variables get introduced.
  • the disclosure herein provides a general overview of the specialized slot machine in an example embodiment.
  • slot machines for conducting wagering games using real time or live action event content via a computer system and/or a data network are disclosed.
  • this patent application relates to computer or network implemented gaming systems and/or fantasy sports tournaments. Fantasy sports is a competitive gaming structure where participants pick real life professional or amateur athletes to fill out a personalized team. They then use this lineup or roster that they picked to compete against teams selected by other fantasy players by comparing the accumulated statistics earned of their respective athletes.
  • This patent application describes various embodiments of computer and network implemented systems and processes providing a tournament structure for fantasy sports that has never been on the market. One reason it hasn't been available before is because the systems and methods that it uses are counter-intuitive to what fantasy players are accustomed. At the same time, these new strategies address a tremendous need in the industry.
  • Athlete A professional or amateur athlete that is selected from a real life sports team to represent a fantasy player's team for a fantasy game.
  • Adjusted Fantasy Points A process for deducting or increasing an athlete's fantasy points based on potential bonuses and deductions.
  • Blind submission Process A process where fantasy players attempt to secure athletes for their fantasy teams by putting in their requests without knowing what their opponents requested.
  • Bonus Fantasy Points Additional fantasy points that are awarded up and beyond what an athlete actually scores in their real life athletic competition. This happens when multipliers are introduced for prioritizing a given athlete over others.
  • Caps The process of creating an upper bound (it can be extremely high) for the number of fantasy players that can participate in a given qualifying tournament. It is essential to coordinate the upper bounds of all the qualifying tournaments with each other so that the fixed number of seats in the Main Event tournament is not exceeded.
  • Contingency Lineup When a fantasy player is required to submit a second lineup (or possibly more) from games later in the day. This second lineup is contingent upon them advancing from proceedings that happened using the first lineup (or prior lineup). The reason a contingency lineup is needed is because there is not enough time to submit a new lineup after the fantasy player advanced to the next round.
  • Draft Room Place where fantasy players get together to draft athletes. This concept can be extended to a virtual draft room where fantasy players "meet" via the Internet and select athletes using their computers.
  • Entry— Refers to a fantasy player that signs up to play in a fantasy sports toumament.
  • Fantasy Game A game with rules that is played between two or more fantasy players to see who accumulates the better fantasy score from accumulated statistics of athletes from live sporting events.
  • Fantasy Player A person that enjoys playing fantasy sports games.
  • Fantasy Points What an athlete accrues based on performing positive actions in their real life athletic competition.
  • Fantasy Tournament A tournament format where fantasy players compete against each other to see who emerges as the winner.
  • Group Three or more fantasy players placed together to compete against each other at the same time for a given match.
  • Group Play This format is used for tournaments with groups of three or more fantasy players competing against each other at the same time. A predetermined number of top finishers advance to the next round for each group involved.
  • Head-to-Head Method When two fantasy players are paired against each other in a fantasy match. This is one of the two formats that is currently used in tournament play. The other is the lottery style of play.
  • Locked In A term that is used to represent an athlete has been submitted and accepted into the lineup of a fantasy player competing in a head-to-head match.
  • Lottery Method Tournament format where fantasy players are required to compete against the entire field simultaneously. This is one of the two formats that is currently used in tournament play. The other is the head-to-head style of play.
  • Main Tournament This is the portion of a Holy Grail tournament where the qualifying tournament winners meet to determine an overall champion.
  • Penalties for Duplication Point penalties that occur when the same athlete is selected by two or more fantasy players during a blind submission process.
  • Percentage Multiplier A number that represents the fraction of fantasy points that a fantasy player receives from their athlete's actual fantasy score based on duplication rules that are in place. This number is multiplied by an athlete's fantasy points to recalibrate their fantasy point total to give them their adjusted fantasy point total.
  • Qualifying Tournament A tournament that is held to qualify fantasy players for the Main Event tournament.
  • Re-entry Format A type of Holy Grail tournament format that allows fantasy players that are eliminated in a given round to buy back into the tournament. This can be done in four different ways: Players can either 1) immediately advance to the next round as if they did't eliminated; 2) return back to the round that they were eliminated; 3) start over again in the same round they originally entered; or 4) completely re-enter under a different round structure.
  • RINGS is an acronym for, "Rounds Involving Narrow Group Size".
  • the term and the related concepts as described herein can be used in fantasy sports tournaments of various embodiments and involve using small groups of fantasy contestants competing over two or more rounds of play.
  • Serpentine Draft Format A drafting format that snakes back up from bottom to top once everyone has drafted. This is used instead of starting back up at the beginning again. For example, if four people are drafting, then the drafting order would be player A, player B, player C, player D, player D (again), player C, player B, player A, player A (again), player B, etc. This is not a new concept to the fantasy sports industry.
  • Single Round Elimination Tournament A tournament structure where fantasy players are eliminated once they lose a round.
  • Slotted position The ranking or priority a fantasy player gives a given athlete for their lineup. This procedure is used for tournaments where fantasy players are asked to list the athletes they covet in order of preference.
  • Super Wild Card Format A format for conducting a fantasy sports tournament where more than one round is needed for a given live real world athletic competition or group of competitions that are running concurrently. This is not to be confused with a Wildcard Format where more than one round is needed during the same day.
  • Weighting Athletes A process for giving additional or higher fantasy point values to athletes that are slotted higher.
  • Wildcard Format A format for conducting a fantasy sports tournament where more than one round is needed for a given day. This is not to be confused with a Super Wildcard Format where more than one round is needed during the same game (or games running concurrently).
  • Fantasy sports tournaments have never been able to create a process where an unlimited number of people can play without creating a lottery type of effect.
  • a lottery effect is the very undesirable result of having so many fantasy players entered in a tournament that there is no longer enough room to have them play each other in head-to-head matchups.
  • Fantasy tournament organizers are reluctant to alter the format of the way the game has traditionally been played. This mindset has definitely helped preserve tradition, but it has come at a price. It has stifled creativity.
  • Low entry fee A tournament with a large prize pool must attract the masses or it is doomed. Tournament organizers would much rather have 5 million people pay $ 1 and generate 5 million dollars as opposed to 50,000 people paying $100 and generating 5 million dollars. There is a much higher probability that more people will pay a lower cost buy-in.
  • the key concept here is that a low risk entry point for the consumer, especially for a chance at a high reward like a multi-million dollar prize, is always more successful than a high risk entry point even if the reward is something much higher like 10 million dollars.
  • the low risk entry point for the consumer can be considered to be a buy -in of less than or equal to $50 per fantasy player or per entry.
  • the low risk entry point for the consumer can be considered to be a buy-in of less than or equal to $5 per fantasy player or per entry.
  • a Multi-Million dollar Grand Prize A multi-million dollar grand prize guarantees that the winner will have tremendous incentive to play—especially since the buy-in cost is so low. This type of opportunity creates a frenzied climate where people start believing they have to get into the tournament, especially if the risk is low as provided by the low cost buy-in of the first element of the tournament format described herein.
  • Re-Entry Component The only way that a tournament that charges low cost (e.g., $5) entry fees for a chance to win a multi-million dollar grand prize can be successful is if people continue to circulate back into the tournament if they get knocked out. People are much more willing to spend $200 on tournament entry fees if the fees are paid in increments of $5 and $ 10 dollars over a two or three month time span as opposed to a one time up-front payment. If there is no re-entry component, a potential $200 customer only gets one chance to spend $5. This is a recipe to render a high stakes fantasy sports tournament insolvent very quickly.
  • low cost e.g., $5
  • a re-entry component only has meaning when a tournament has a progression of rounds so that players can either immediately advance to the next round as if they did't eliminated, return back to the round that they were eliminated, start over again in the same position they originally entered or completely re-enter under a different round structure.
  • the FanDuel tournament is a good example to illustrate what is NOT a re-entry format. FanDuel has 24 different one round qualifying tournaments that they use for people to get into their Main Event. This would not be considered a re-entry type of tournament because it doesn't have a progression of rounds.
  • group play within a tournament— No other fantasy sports tournament in existence uses group play (as a matter of fact, group play doesn't exist for any fantasy sports contests— tournament or no tournament). Yet, group play is the only way to create the spacing that allows a low entry fee while at the same time not forcing fantasy players to compete against the entire field simultaneously. The reason for this is that group play allows tournament organizers to create ratios other than the standard 2: 1 ratio where one person advances per two people playing. Nobody has ever introduced a group play format for fantasy tournaments.
  • the feature of advancing instead of winning — Meeting a minimum threshold to advance (as opposed to having to win to advance) is an important feature that no other tournament format uses to create the right ratios for spacing.
  • Group play allows participants the opportunity to advance without necessarily having to win to move on in a tournament. For example, a group of 12 can permit the top 3 players to advance.
  • the high stakes fantasy sports toumament format described herein can eliminate the need for a traditional draft. There are five features listed below that are employed in various embodiments described herein to eliminate traditional drafts. Each of these features involve a blind submission process where the participants in a group or match play event don't know what their opponents have submitted
  • fantasy players are penalized points (e.g., the players' point totals are reduced) from their athletes' actual fantasy points earned based on how many other fantasy players in their group selected that athlete. For example, if a fantasy player is the only one to select a particular athlete, that fantasy player gets the particular athlete at 100% of the athlete's fantasy point value. However, if three other fantasy players in the group also submit/select that particular athlete, the three other fantasy players in the group would all get that particular athlete for their lineup, but each of the three fantasy players may only get 75% (or some other percentage less than 100%) of the actual fantasy points earned by the particular athlete.
  • Multipliers Feature Athletes are selected based on desirability. The higher a fantasy player values the athlete, the higher the multiplier is for their fantasy points. If there are five athletes selected, the first slotted athlete might get five times their fantasy points, the second slotted athlete might get four times their fantasy points, etc.
  • Athletes can be selected and slotted on a scale ranging from any percentages that a tournament organizer decides. For example, the first slot can be for 100%, the second slot can be for 85%, the third slot for 70%, etc. This allows fantasy players to select the same athletes, but the fantasy players might have their athletes valued at different percentages.
  • Feature for Disqualifying Athletes that are Duplicated Disqualifying athletes that are duplicated is an especially effective feature in head-to-head matches. If both fantasy players in a match submit the same athlete, that athlete is disqualified and cannot be resubmitted.
  • Blind Percentage Bid Feature Fantasy players are required to not only submit an athlete, but also a bid specifying a percentage of their fantasy points they will get for the match. For cases when both fantasy players select the same athlete, the bid is used by the example embodiment to decide who gets the athlete. The fantasy player who bids the lower percentage of fantasy points gets the athlete.
  • fantasy player A is willing to take a given athlete at 73% of their fantasy points and fantasy player B is only willing to take the given athlete at 98% of their fantasy points, then fantasy player A would receive this athlete, but would only receive 73% percent of the fantasy points that athlete scored in the match. If both fantasy players bid the same percentage, nobody would get that athlete.
  • Re-entry Feature for Creating New Qualifiers with the Same Number of Rounds This feature allows a fantasy player to continue playing in a new qualifier, but creates new paths to duplicate the same number of rounds that fantasy players who are still playing are required to play. This process is not as simple as it may sound; but, the capability is highly desirable, because it allows people to re-enter at very low prices and retains the fairness of the tournament.
  • an example embodiment can hold multiple rounds in the same day or even multiple rounds in the same game. This is because the qualifying tournament sometimes has only one day to duplicate the many rounds that another player took many weeks to complete.
  • the various embodiments create new qualifiers to duplicate the same number of rounds by manipulating a smaller time period to create the same number of rounds thereby enabling the reentry price to remain fixed.
  • Creating a Format for Condensed Seasons and Events Many real life sporting seasons and events are so condensed that the only way to hold a viable high stakes fantasy tournament is to hold two or more rounds on the same day. For example, it is difficult to hold a high stakes fantasy tournament for the Olympics, World Cup of Soccer, or even the NFLTM playoffs where millions of fantasy players can play for a low entry fee, win a high value prize, and still play in groups.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a format that supports these condensed seasons and events. At least two features provided by an example embodiment enable these types of tournaments to be feasible. These features are described below.
  • the various embodiments as described herein provide the systems and methods (solutions) required for a fantasy sports machine or program that allows an unlimited number of fantasy players to enter a fantasy sports tournament without requiring them to play the entire field at the same time.
  • the various embodiments as described herein are not tied to a particular fantasy sports game. Rather, the various embodiments provide a how-to guide for the features required to create a tournament format that is not currently available on the market. Before going into detail, some background information is helpful to understand some key practices that have created barriers for this new type of format.
  • Fantasy sports has become a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow exponentially. Emerging from this immense growth has been a culture that has created certain expectations for how a fantasy tournament should look. Unfortunately, these expectations have not always been conducive for progress and have actually hindered the development of new types of formats. Factors that have contributed to this mindset and impeded progress include the common practices, beliefs and expectations that are described below. [00306] Once such common practice is the practice of fantasy players competing against each other in a head-to-head format whenever possible. This is a by-product of how real life sports teams compete. The reasoning seems to be that you don't see three football teams competing against each other in the same game; therefore, you shouldn't have three fantasy players competing against each other in the same fantasy match.
  • a first common practice in traditional tournament structures is the practice of fantasy players exclusively competing against each other in either head-to-head or lottery type formats.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a non-obvious solution or feature to address this common practice.
  • fantasy players compete in small player groups of three or more in the same match. This feature of the example embodiment runs counter to what fantasy players think should happen. Fantasy players are used to their sports teams competing head-to-head so they expect the same from their fantasy matchups.
  • a group is not the same as a league.
  • a player group is defined as a small cluster of fantasy players who are put together to compete against one another in a single match.
  • Leagues have groups of fantasy players competing against one another in head-to-head matches.
  • This format only allows two fantasy players to compete against each another at the same time.
  • a group is defined as three or more fantasy players who compete against each another at the same time.
  • This format of the example embodiment with groups of three or more creates much needed spacing that allows more fantasy players to enter without subjecting them to the Lottery Effect.
  • a second common practice in traditional tournament structures is the tendency of fantasy tournament organizers to preserve the tradition of "league play" within the tournament structure.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a non-obvious solution or feature to address this common practice.
  • a solution is implemented to eliminate the under-performing participants in a consistent and timely manner.
  • it is simply not possible to keep low performing fantasy players in a tournament that looks to crown an overall champion, especially when there are millions of entries in the tournament. It creates a spacing nightmare, because nobody goes away until it is too late. There is no way to whittle millions of fantasy players down to one overall champion if the tournament format doesn't eliminate the participants in a consistent and timely manner.
  • a solution paradigm is to create single elimination fantasy sports tournaments. This format requires fantasy players to meet a minimum expectation for every round in which they play or they are immediately eliminated. It doesn't matter if it is the first round, the last round or any round in between. The expectation might be that they have to beat a single opponent in a head-to-head format or the expectation might be that they have to finish in the top four of their player group to advance. Whatever it is, there has to be a minimum expectation to remain in for every round.
  • a single elimination type of format is common in sports and can be found in tennis, the NFLTM playoffs and the NCAA college basketball playoffs.
  • a third common practice in traditional tournament structures is the reluctance to eliminate fantasy competitors early on in the tournament, even when they are doing poorly.
  • fantasy players consider fantasy sports to be an entertainment outlet for the entire season. Early elimination from a tournament runs counter to this fundamental expectation.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a non-obvious solution or feature to address this common practice/problem.
  • a single elimination tournament structure helps to address the problem of slow elimination of under-performing players.
  • this solution does not address the finality of getting eliminated quickly in the tournament.
  • a solution is implemented to offset this problem by creating non-lottery effect qualifying tournaments that are staggered throughout the beginning of a given sports season and that provide a re-entry component.
  • fantasy players can play in the tournament for quite some time like they traditionally have, but it also creates a format to hold a single round elimination tournament where fantasy players are eliminated if they lose a particular match.
  • Some fantasy tournaments may appear to offer a re-entry component, but they really aren't. Each week they are holding a new lottery with the winner gaining a seat into the main tournament.
  • the embodiments described herein provide a system and method enabling fantasy players to have the opportunity to buy their way back into a tournament and still compete in small player groups without penalizing the players who advanced from the previous round(s).
  • fantasy players can pay higher fees to replace the rounds that they skipped to buy back into the tournament.
  • a method as disclosed herein is provided to allow fantasy players back into the tournament for the same price, yet replicating the same number of rounds that contestants who signed up earlier, and have already advanced at least one round, are required to play. In this manner, re-entry players do not gain an advantage over players who advanced from the previous round(s).
  • a fourth common practice in traditional tournament structures is the practice of fantasy players exclusively owning their athletes. This is a universal practice in traditional tournaments with the exception of lottery effect tournaments.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a non-obvious solution or feature to address this common practice.
  • For tournament play it is not practical to have a draft before every round.
  • group play is a feature of the tournament, there has to be a system in place where athletes are selected quickly. The best way to do this is to permit duplication of athletes similar to what is done in lottery tournaments; but only if duplication of athletes comes at a price. There must be penalties for duplication of athletes. The way to accomplish this is to have a blind submission process where the more a given athlete is duplicated, the fewer fantasy points everyone in the player group that selected that athlete receives.
  • a fifth common practice in traditional tournament structures is the limited strategy that currently exists with submitting lineups. With current formats, what one fantasy player submits has almost no bearing at all on what their opponent submits in terms of potential bonuses and penalties.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a non-obvious solution or feature to address this common practice.
  • the example embodiment penalizes fantasy players for duplication of athletes. This is not the only way to penalize them though.
  • the example embodiment is also configured to penalize fantasy players for not valuing a given athlete highly enough. This will force fantasy players to evaluate athletes not only on merit, but also on the likelihood that several other competitors in their player group might potentially select the same athletes. Also, the example embodiment is configured to offer bonuses by weighting the athletes.
  • fantasy players can be done by requiring fantasy players to submit lineups with a listing of athletes in order of preference. The higher the athlete is ranked or "slotted", the more potential bonus points the player will receive. This will create strategy where fantasy players really have to think about where their athletes should be placed on the lineup and create a climate where competing fantasy players try to out-think each other.
  • a sixth common practice in traditional tournament structures is the inability of many fantasy enthusiasts to differentiate between the actual fantasy games that have created a cultural phenomenon (and simply don't need to be changed) and separate this from the flawed toumament structures that need to be fixed. Fantasy sports games are so compelling that it makes it less likely that people will look to find out-of-the-box solutions for fixing flawed tournaments formats for fear of incurring the wrath of fantasy players. As a result, the status quo remains in place.
  • the various embodiments described herein provide a non-obvious set of solutions or features to address the failures of the traditional toumament structures.
  • the various embodiments of systems and methods for creating a Holy Grail tournament are described herein.
  • the tournament format in an example embodiment utilizes a two tiered structure. First, qualifying tournaments are used to qualify fantasy players that feed directly into a main event tournament. Secondly, a main tournament is used to determine an overall winner as well as other top finishers. It is important to note that individual features within each of these two toumament formats don't necessarily have to be in the order described. Some are not even required to hold a Holy Grail tournament, but are listed to enhance the quality of the tournament. Finally, the idea of having qualifying tournaments to get into a main event isn't unprecedented.
  • FanDuel offers a Main Event where hundreds or even thousands of people are forced to compete against one another simultaneously to try and qualify for the Main Event. It is extremely discouraging for fantasy players to enter a toumament knowing that the only way to gain entry into the Main Event is if they post the highest score out of several hundred or thousand people.
  • the goal is to create a predetermined number of qualifying tournaments that feed into a Main Event toumament.
  • these qualifying tournaments have the following features. Matches are played in small groups of three or more fantasy players. A predetermined number of "winning" fantasy players advance to the next qualifying round (or qualify directly into the Main Event tournament). For example, if groups are set at 12 members each, it might be determined that the top three scores in each group will advance.
  • the particular scoring system for determining fantasy points for an athlete can be any that is commonly used or one that is completely new to the industry. Fantasy players submit their lineups via a blind submission process. The more duplication that occurs for a given athlete during this blind submission process, the less they will be worth.
  • a re-entry component that allows contestants to opt back in either by 1) by allowing them to pay more money for playing less rounds or 2) allowing them to re-enter at the same price by duplicating the number of rounds that advancing contestants have been required to play. If they re-enter by paying more money for less rounds there might be a qualifying tournament where it only takes advancing four rounds to qualify directly into the Main Event tournament and there might be a qualifying tournament that takes nine rounds to advance to the Main Event Tournament. The qualifying tournament that takes more rounds to qualify would be less expensive to enter. There is also an alternative version that can be used instead of the version previously described. If they re-enter by paying the same amount of money, that particular qualifying tournament would have to have the same number of rounds.
  • This format requires creating options to include more and more rounds in a shorter period of time. What ends up happening is that individual rounds are contested in different ways than the earlier rounds (see Explanation #4 below). Portions of some qualifying toumaments can run concurrently with other qualifying tournaments while other portions don't have to run concurrently. Fantasy players can purchase multiple entries for the same qualifying tournament. Fantasy players can enter more than one qualifying tournament at the same time.
  • the Main Event tournament has a predetermined number of seats; therefore, it is critical that the satellite rounds are capped at an appropriate number so that there aren't more fantasy players qualifying for the Main Event tournament than there are seats available. Qualifying rounds can have several different types of formats for weighting athletes depending on where they are slotted (see Explanation #1).
  • Main Event consists of fantasy players who advanced via qualifying tournaments or directly buying in.
  • the number of seats available for fantasy players in the Main Event is predetermined before the tournament even started.
  • Main Event can either be a head-to-head format or a continuation of group play. If the Main Event is head-to-head, fantasy players are randomly assigned an opponent. If there is nobody to whom they can be assigned, they receive a bye to the next round. If the Main Event is group play, then a predetermined number of fantasy players advance from each group for a given round. For the final group, during the last round, fantasy players play for final positions.
  • the scoring system for the Main Event should be a simple scoring system that fantasy players are familiar with from whatever sport the tournament is featuring.
  • the Main Event should have a predetermined number of seats to ensure that it is possible to crown an overall champion as well as recognize top finishers.
  • Step #1 Fantasy players are presented with different options for entering a qualifying toumament. They will find that the more rounds a qualifying toumament offers, the less expensive they are to play in (see Explanation #3 and Table 1 in the Appendix below). Table 1 shows a satellite tournament structure for a fantasy sports tournament.
  • Step #2 Caps are established by the computer program to ensure that there are not more seats allocated for the Main Event Tournament than it can support (see Table 2 in the Appendix below). Table 2 shows how caps are established for qualifying tournaments.
  • Step #3 Once a fantasy player has entered a qualifier, they will be assigned a group.
  • Group play is a technique that helps create the proper spacing a tournament needs to accommodate millions of fantasy players (see Explanation #2 below for different group formats).
  • Step #4 Fantasy players are required to turn in their lineups via a blind submission process (see Figure 12 and Figure 13). Fantasy players will have to take into consideration how athletes are weighted and also the likelihood of being duplicated (see Explanation #1 below).
  • Step #5 The scoring system can be a commonly used and accepted format.
  • Step #6 The computer program of an example embodiment calculates the fantasy point value each athlete is worth based on duplication of athletes (see Table 3 and Table 4 in the Appendix below). Table 3 shows how a given athlete loses a percentage of their fantasy points based on two or more fantasy players selecting that same athlete for their lineups. Table 4 shows the calculations of several athletes' recalibrated fantasy points based on how much duplication occurred.
  • Step #7 If a player fails to get their lineup in for a match, their previous lineup will be submitted as a default lineup for the match by the computer program of an example embodiment.
  • Step #8 Live athletic competition in the corresponding sport takes place. The computer program of an example embodiment has ongoing scoring updates and shows each fantasy player, their running score, and where they rank overall in their group.
  • Step #9 Once all of the real life sporting events are completed that are relevant to the group fantasy match, the computer program of an example embodiment tabulates final scores based on the given weighting and duplication systems used for the match (see Table 5 in the Appendix below). Table 5 shows a final tally of a fantasy match that incorporates both weighting bonuses and duplication penalties.
  • Step #10 The computer program of an example embodiment determines a cutoff for each group.
  • the number of fantasy players that are qualified to advance for a given round of the qualifying process move onto the next qualifying round (or move onto the Main Event Tournament if they advance during the last qualifying round) and the remaining members of the group are eliminated (see Figure 11).
  • Step #11 The process begins anew for qualifying rounds and the first ten steps are repeated over and over until a fantasy player is either eliminated or qualifies for the Main Event Tournament. Fantasy players can either re-enter by buying into a new qualifying tournament or they have advanced from a previous round of a qualifying tournament and are placed in a group for the new round.
  • Step #12 -For Main Event Tournament rounds the same format is in place if group play is in effect. The only exception is for the last round of the tournament where fantasy players compete for final positions instead of trying to advance. If the Main Event Tournament is structured in a head-to-head format, fantasy players are randomly assigned to play in a particular match. Each single match (keep in mind that the number of matches is predetermined) must have one fantasy player assigned to it before assignments for an opponent are made (see Figure 15).
  • Step #13 Any match that has only one fantasy player assigned to it results in that fantasy player receiving a bye for the round and automatically advancing to the next round (see Figure 15).
  • Step #14 If for some reason there isn't a fantasy player assigned to a match, a double bye is declared and a "bye" will be entered into the mix for the next round. The fantasy player that is assigned this bye will be awarded a bye during that new round and will move on to the next round (see Figure 15).
  • Step #15 The format for the match will be determined (see Explanation #2 for different match formats).
  • Step #16 The scoring system can be a commonly used and accepted format.
  • Step #17 The fantasy player with the better score moves on to the next round, the loser is eliminated from the tournament.
  • Step #18 The last two standing will play for the championship with the fantasy player with the higher fantasy point total earning the tournament championship and their opponent earning the runner-up position.
  • Explanation #1 Weighting the point values of fantasy players based on a) the slotted position in which an athlete was selected, and/or b) how many fantasy players selected them. Weighting athletes based on how they were prioritized and/or how often they were duplicated is a process that forces fantasy players to think very carefully about which athletes they submit and where they place them in their lineup hierarchy. This is especially true for formats that require fantasy players competing against each other to turn in their lineups via a blind submission process.
  • a blind submission method is where all the fantasy players in a group competing against one another are required to turn in their lineups before they find out what the others in the group submitted.
  • Fantasy players are awarded multiples of the fantasy points their athletes scored depending on where their athletes were selected. For example, assume each fantasy player selects five athletes. For each fantasy player's first slotted athlete, the athlete could be worth five times the fantasy points they scored in their match. For each fantasy player's second slotted athlete, the athlete could be worth four times the fantasy points they scored in their match. For each fantasy player's third slotted athlete, the athlete could be worth three times the fantasy points they scored in their match. For each fantasy player's fourth slotted athlete, the athlete could be worth two times the fantasy points they scored in their match. For each fantasy player's fifth slotted athlete, the athlete could be worth face value of the fantasy points they scored in their match. The following is a table illustrating a hypothetical example that could be from a 12 player group competing, for example, in a fantasy cricket tournament:
  • Another weighting method that can be implemented in an alternative embodiment is one where fantasy players are given a percentage of the fantasy points an athlete earned depending on where the player selected that athlete. For example, if each fantasy player is asked to select eight athletes, the selected athletes can be weighted by having the first athlete everyone selects be worth 100% of their fantasy points, the second athlete selected can be worth 87.5% of their fantasy points, the third worth 75% of their fantasy points, the fourth worth 62.5% of their fantasy points, the fifth worth 50% of their fantasy points, the sixth worth 37.5% of their fantasy points, the seventh worth 25% of their fantasy points, and the eighth worth 12.5% of their fantasy points.
  • the following is a table illustrating a hypothetical example of this method using athletes from the Philippine Basketball League as an example (Note that duplication of athletes is permitted in this example):
  • Another format that can be implemented in an alternative embodiment penalizes fantasy players for duplication of athletes. Using this method, fantasy players are allowed to share athletes, but the more duplication that occurs reduces the percentage of fantasy points each fantasy player receives for that given athlete. For example, here is a sample duplication table for up to a 12 player fantasy match.
  • the highlighted (bolded and underlined) portion of the table represents a seven player fantasy group where five of the members submitted the same athlete. Because duplication of athletes is permitted in an example embodiment, each of the members would have that athlete in their lineups, but each of the members would receive only 33% of the fantasy points that athlete scored in their match.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne une machine à sous spécialisée pour mettre en œuvre un jeu de pari à l'aide d'un contenu d'événement en temps réel ou en direct. Un mode de réalisation particulier comprend : inviter une pluralité d'utilisateurs au niveau d'une pluralité de plateformes d'utilisateurs réparties géographiquement à soumettre chacun un pari pour participer à un jeu de pari en direct en temps réel; diviser une pluralité de joueurs du jeu de pari en direct en temps réel en groupes de joueurs, les groupes de joueurs comprenant chacun une quantité prédéterminée de joueurs, les joueurs dans chaque groupe de joueurs étant en compétition avec d'autres joueurs d'un même groupe de joueurs pour avancer dans un nombre prédéterminé de tours jusqu'à un tournoi principal, les joueurs dans chaque groupe de joueurs ne jouant contre d'autres membres du même groupe de joueurs que durant un tour donné; obtenir un contenu d'événement en direct ou en temps réel par le biais du réseau de données tandis que la pluralité de joueurs jouent au jeu de pari en direct en temps réel; diviser le contenu d'événement en direct ou en temps réel en une pluralité de catégories de contenu; générer un score brut pour chacune des catégories de contenu sur la base d'informations en temps réel obtenues par le biais du réseau de données; recevoir des joueurs dans chaque groupe de joueurs une annonce correspondant à au moins l'une des catégories de contenu; attribuer un score à chacun des joueurs dans chaque groupe de joueurs sur la base de leurs annonces et du score brut de la catégorie de contenu correspondant à leurs annonces; classer chacun des joueurs dans chaque groupe de joueurs sur la base de leur score; et permettre à une quantité prédéfinie de joueurs les plus haut classés de chaque groupe de joueurs d'avancer jusqu'au tour suivant.
PCT/US2016/068570 2015-12-28 2016-12-23 Machine à sous spécialisée pour mettre en œuvre un jeu de pari à l'aide d'un contenu d'événement en temps réel ou en direct WO2017117065A1 (fr)

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