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Gaming device having a selection game with player choice and a predetermined game outcomeRelated Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Including Means For Processing Electronic Data (e.g., Computer/video Game, Etc.), In A Chance ApplicationGaming device having a selection game with player choice and a predetermined game outcome description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070032285, Gaming device having a selection game with player choice and a predetermined game outcome. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application relates to the following co-pending commonly owned patent applications: "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MODIFYING GENERATED VALUES TO DETERMINE AN AWARD IN A GAMING DEVICE," Ser. No. 09/957,018, Attorney Docket No. 112300-581; "GAMING DEVICE INCLUDING OUTCOME POOLS FOR PROVIDING GAME OUTCOMES," Ser. No. 10/261,744, Attorney Docket No. 112300-600; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM WITH A CENTRAL CONTROLLER PROVIDING A GAME OUTCOME AND A GAMING TERMINAL DETERMINING A PRESENTATION OF THE PROVIDED GAME OUTCOME," Ser. No. 10/371,723, Attorney Docket No. 112300-1213; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM WHERE THE SAME SEED IS USED TO GENERATE THE OUTCOMES FOR A PRIMARY GAME AND A SECONDARY GAME," Ser. No. 10/371,958, Attorney Docket No. 112300-1214; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM WHICH PROVIDES A PLAYER A CHOICE IN OUTCOMES," Ser. No. 10/442,318, Attorney Docket NO. 112300-1215; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM WITH A GAME OUTCOME GENERATED BY A GAMING TERMINAL AND APPROVED BY A CENTRAL CONTROLLER," Ser. No. 10/383,423, Attorney Docket No. 112300-1216; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM WITH A GAMING TERMINAL ASSISTING THE CENTRAL CONTROLLER IN THE GENERATION OF A GAME OUTCOME," Ser. No. 10/431,755, Attorney Docket No. 112300-1217 "CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM WITH A KENO GAME," Ser. No. 10/601,482, Attorney Docket No. 112300-1349; "GAMING DEVICE HAVING AN INTERACTIVE POKER GAME WITH PREDETERMINED OUTCOMES," Ser. No. 10/934,258, Attorney Docket No. 112300-2310; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION POKER GAME," Ser. No. 10/945,642, Attorney Docket No. 112300-2311; "GAMING DEVICE HAVING A PREDETERMINED RESULT POKER GAME," Ser. No. 11/031,663, Attorney Docket No. 112300-2578; "CENTRAL DETERMINATION OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE GAME WITH MULTIPLIER," Ser. No. 11/048,220, Attorney Docket No. 112300-2619; "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GENERATING A POOL OF SEEDS FOR A CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM," Ser. No. 11/046,354, Attorney Docket No. 112300-2684; "APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR GENERATING A POOL OF SEEDS FOR A CENTRAL DETERMINATION GAMING SYSTEM," Ser. No. 11/071,372, Attorney Docket No. 112300-2685; "METHOD FOR DISPLAYING AN INTERACTIVE GAME HAVING A PREDETERMINED OUTCOME," Ser. No. 10/829,578, Attorney Docket No. 115004-036; "METHOD FOR DISPLAYING AN INTERACTIVE GAME HAVING A PREDETERMINED OUTCOME," Ser. No. 10/846,448, Attorney Docket No. 115004-037; and "METHOD FOR DISPLAYING AN INTERACTIVE GAME HAVING A PREDETERMINED OUTCOME," Ser. No. 10/864,784, Attorney Docket No. 115004-038. COPYRIGHT NOTICE [0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. BACKGROUND [0003] The majority of the contemporary wagering gaming devices or gaming devices, such as slot machines, randomly generate awards and other outcomes. Such gaming devices typically include a relatively low probability associated with obtaining the highest award, relatively medium probabilities associated with obtaining medium range awards and relatively higher probabilities associated with obtaining low range awards. These gaming devices also include probabilities associated with obtaining losses or no award at all. The probabilities of obtaining the awards and the amount of the awards determine the average expected pay out percentage of these wagering gaming devices. Because the outcomes of these gaming devices are completely randomly determined, there is no certainty that a player will ever obtain any particular award. That is, no matter how many times a player plays the game, since the gaming device generates outcomes randomly or completely based upon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that the game will ever provide the player with a rare outcome, such as a jackpot award, or any other specific value for that matter. On the other hand, due to the random determination, the gaming device can provide the rare outcomes, such as jackpot awards, numerous times in a small number of plays. For example, a probability-based $1 slot machine gaming device may be programmed to payback, on average, 95% of all wagers placed with a 1% chance of generating a $10 win outcome, a 5% chance of generating a $5 win outcome, a 10% chance of generating a $2 win outcome, a 40% chance of generating a $1 win outcome and a 44% chance of generating a $0 loss outcome. However, when one hundred game outcomes are generated by the probability-based slot machine gaming device, the actual payback may be 137% of all wagers placed and the actual generated outcomes may be six $10 win outcomes, one $5 win outcome, eighteen $2 win outcomes, thirty-six $1 win outcomes and thirty-nine $0 loss outcomes. [0004] This uncertainty is faced by players and casinos or other gaming establishments. For example, certain casinos prefer that a relatively high number of players hit low awards while a relatively low number of players hit high awards. When players hit high awards periodically, casinos can attract more players, because of the positive publicity large wins generate. By using desired payback percentages or probabilities, the casinos can also expect to make a certain level of profit. The random determinations can, however, unexpectedly cause casinos to suffer a loss or, on the other hand, to reap great profit in the short run and lose business in the long run due to a reputation for only paying out low awards. Regulatory bodies in certain jurisdictions do not permit the use of probability-based gaming devices in-part for these reasons. These regulatory bodies permit the use of wagering gaming devices which are guaranteed to provide certain or definite awards, so that, for example, a certain number of wins is guaranteed and the overall amount paid back to players is guaranteed. That is, the actual payback percentage is fixed and not an average expected amount. One type of gaming device which complies with this requirement is an instant-type lottery gaming device. An instant-type lottery gaming device includes a finite pool or set of electronic tickets with each electronic ticket assigned to a predetermined game outcome. Alternatively, each electronic ticket could be assigned to a random number or game play seed. Each seed is deterministic of a predetermined game outcome. That is, the gaming device utilizes the random number or game play seed in a random number generating algorithm to generate random numbers that the gaming device then uses to determine and provide the predetermined game outcome. In an instant-type lottery gaming device, as the predetermined game outcome for each electronic ticket is revealed to a player on the gaming device, the ticket is removed (i.e., flagged as used) from the finite pool or set of electronic tickets. Once removed from the pool or set, a ticket cannot be used again to determine another game outcome. This type of gaming device provides players with all of the available outcomes over the course of the play cycle and guarantees the actual wins and losses. [0005] Since an instant-type lottery gaming machine has a finite pool of predetermined win/loss outcomes, it is possible to configure the pool to specific conditions or criteria requested by the casino or gaming establishment. An example of these conditions or criteria are the number of tickets in the pool and the exact payback percentage or payback sum for the pool as a whole. The payback percentage or sum represents the guaranteed payout for the entire pool of predetermined game outcomes. Other examples of conditions or criteria are what prizes will be awarded and the frequency of winning outcome tickets amongst the total number of tickets for the pool. For example, if a predetermined pool includes twenty $1 tickets and the pool has a payback sum of $10, then the pool might consist of one $5 win outcome, one $2 win outcome, three $1 win outcomes and fifteen $0 loss outcomes and may be represented as the following outcomes: 5, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0. It should be appreciated that the above described pool of twenty tickets is for illustration purposes only and a pool could include any suitable desired number of tickets including a large number such as one million or more. [0006] Even though a pool may contain more than one of the same game outcome (i.e., the loss or the win and if a win, the value), the presentation to the player (such as reel stops in the case of slot machines or simulated slot machines, cards dealt or drawn in the case of simulated card games and the like) is preferably varied for each sequential game outcome. For example, in the twenty ticket pool described above, while three game outcomes may each determine a win game outcome with a value of $1, in a slot machine type game, the three game outcomes are preferably presented to the player as different winning combinations of reel symbols. [0007] Central determination gaming systems are also generally known. A central determination gaming system provides a plurality of individual gaming devices, located in a gaming establishment, such as a casino, coupled by one or more communication links, to a central processor or controller. When a player plays a game on one of the gaming devices, a game outcome is randomly generated by the central controller based on probability data. The generated game outcome and how the game outcome is to be presented or displayed to the player are communicated from the central controller to the individual gaming device and then provided to the player. It should be appreciated that one central processor may continuously run hundreds or thousands of individual gaming devices at once. Additionally, each individual gaming device may include a plurality of different types of games played at a plurality of different denominations. [0008] To comply with the above mentioned regulatory rules that do not permit the use of probability-based gaming devices, central determination gaming systems have been implemented wherein the central system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of game outcomes. Each game outcome in each set or pool includes a game outcome component (i.e., a win, a lose, a secondary game trigger or other suitable outcome) with an associated value or payout amount, if any, and a game presentation component (i.e., how the game outcome is displayed or presented to the player). In these systems, when a player makes a wager on one of the gaming devices, the central system independently selects a game outcome from a set or pool of game outcomes and flags or marks the selected predetermined game outcome as used. Once a game outcome is flagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set or pool and cannot be selected by the central controller upon another wager. The selected predetermined game outcome is communicated to the individual gaming device. The individual gaming device displays or presents the game presentation component and provides the player the game outcome component with the associated value, if any, for the selected predetermined game outcome. Additionally, certain central determination gaming systems have also been implemented wherein the central system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of random number or game outcome seeds. [0009] There are a number of advantages to providing for centralized production of game outcomes at individual gaming devices. Central production or control can assist a casino or other entity in maintaining appropriate records, controlling gaming, reducing and preventing cheating or electronic or other errors, reducing or eliminating win-loss volatility and the like. However, it should be appreciated that existing central determination gaming systems involve minimal to no player interaction other than initiating a game play at a gaming device. That is, similar to an instant type lottery game, the central controller selects a game outcome from the pool and the selected predetermined game outcome is provided to the player with the player unable to influence the provided game outcome. Therefore, a need exists for a central determination gaming system that provides an increased level of player interaction. [0010] Moreover, gaming devices which provide a player one or more awards following one or more player selections are known. In these gaming devices, one or more awards are associated with one or more player selections. A player is enabled to pick one or more of the selections and the gaming device provides the player any award(s) associated with the player picked selection(s). [0011] As the game outcome in a central determination gaming system is predetermined by the central controller and involves minimal to no player interaction and as the game outcome in a player selection type game is determined by which selections a player picks, an inconsistency may occur if the award(s) associated with the player's picked selection(s) differs from the selected predetermined game outcome. This inconsistency can interfere with the play of the selection game because if the selected predetermined game outcome and the award(s) associated with the player's picked selection(s) differ, the player may be provided a game outcome they did not pick or the gaming device may provide the player a game outcome different from the selected predetermined game outcome. [0012] For example, in one selection type game, a player is displayed a plurality of value groups to pick from wherein each value group includes a plurality of values. After the player picks a value group, the gaming device picks one of the values from the player picked value group and provides the player the picked value. It should be appreciated that to provide the player a predetermined game outcome value in this type of selection game, the gaming device must insure that each of the value groups includes the predetermined game outcome value. However, if each of the value groups includes the predetermined game outcome value, it would become obvious to a player after a few games that the value in each of the value groups will be provided to the player, regardless of which value group the player picks. [0013] Accordingly, a need exists to provide a selection game which involves a high degree of player interaction that is operational in a central determination gaming system. SUMMARY [0014] The present disclosure relates in general to gaming device having a selection game with a player choice and a predetermined game outcome. The selection game includes a plurality of displayed value groups. Each value group includes a plurality of values, wherein for each value group, one of the values or the sum of one or more of the values equals a predetermined game outcome value. The gaming device enables the player to pick one of the value groups. After the player picks one of the value groups, the gaming device picks one or more of the values from the player picked value group, wherein the picked values are based on or otherwise equal the predetermined game outcome value. The gaming device provides the selected values (i.e., which equal the predetermined game outcome value) to the player and the selection game ends. [0015] In one embodiment, upon the initiation of game play, a predetermined game outcome value or payout is selected. The predetermined game outcome value represents the payout which must ultimately be provided to a player. For example, a predetermined game outcome value of four-hundred is selected. [0016] In one embodiment, the predetermined game outcome value is stored in a central controller. In this embodiment, upon a player initiating game play at the gaming device, the initiated gaming device communicates a game outcome request to the central server or controller. Upon receiving the game outcome request, the central controller independently selects a game outcome value from a set or pool of game outcome values and flags or marks the selected game outcome value as used. Once a game outcome value is flagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set or pool and cannot be selected by the central controller upon another wager. The selected game outcome value is communicated to the individual gaming device to be utilized in the initiated game. In another embodiment, the predetermined game outcome value is stored in a memory device of the gaming device. In this embodiment, the gaming device selects a game outcome value from a set or pool of stored game outcome values and flags the selected game outcome value as used. In another embodiment, upon a player initiating game play at the gaming device, the gaming device enrolls in a bingo game. In this embodiment, a bingo server calls the bingo balls that result in a specific game outcome value. The resultant game outcome value is communicated to the individual gaming device to be utilized in the initiated selection game. [0017] After the predetermined game outcome value is selected, the gaming device randomly determines a supplemental or designated value. The supplemental value may be greater than, less than or equal to the selected predetermined game outcome value. For example, the gaming device randomly generates a supplemental value of two-hundred-fifty. [0018] The gaming device next determines and displays a plurality of value groups, wherein each value group includes a plurality of values. In one embodiment, each value group includes the same number of values. In one embodiment, the gaming device determines the values in each of the value groups by distributing the predetermined game outcome value and the supplemental value across each of the values for each of the value groups. For each value group: (i) one of the values or the sum of one or more of the values equals the selected predetermined game outcome value; and (ii) the sum of each of the values equals the sum of the selected predetermined game outcome value and the generated supplemental value. It should be appreciated that in each embodiment which includes more than two values in each value group, as the selected predetermined game outcome value and the generated supplemental value represent only two values, one or both of the selected predetermined game outcome value and the generated supplemental value must be split or divided up into two or more values for each of the value groups. [0019] For example, for a first value group of four values, the gaming device divides the selected predetermined game outcome value of four-hundred into a value of twenty-five and a value of three-hundred-seventy-five. For the first value group, the gaming device also divides the generated supplemental value of two-hundred-fifty into a value of fifty and a value of two-hundred. After determining the values for each of the values in the first value group, the gaming device displays each of the four determined values (i.e., the values of twenty-five, three-hundred-seventy-five, fifty and two-hundred) for the first value group. [0020] For a second value group of four values, the gaming device divides the selected predetermined game outcome value of four-hundred into a value of one-hundred, a value of one-hundred-twenty-five and a value of one-hundred-seventy-five. For this second value group, the gaming device determines not to divide the supplemental value and thus the supplemental value of two-hundred-fifty will be associated with one of the selections. Accordingly, after determining the values for each of the selections in the second value group, the gaming device displays each of the four values (i.e., the values of one-hundred, one-hundred-twenty-five, one-hundred-seventy-five and two-hundred-fifty) for the second value group. Continue reading about Gaming device having a selection game with player choice and a predetermined game outcome... 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