US-20260127932-A1 - CONTROLLING ROULETTE ZONE FEATURE

US20260127932A1US 20260127932 A1US20260127932 A1US 20260127932A1US-20260127932-A1

Abstract

A method and/or system to perform operations associated with a gaming system. The operations include tracking outcome statistics over a range of roulette games and, based on analysis of the statistics, animating a highlight effect over a zone of a roulette wheel that corresponds to a subset of wheel number values (e.g. a contiguous grouping of number wheel segments), which have, according to the analysis, a specific statistical relevance (e.g., a relatively higher combined statistical occurrence) than other subsets of wheel number values over the range. The operations further include detecting placement, during a roulette game, of one or more betting tokens via a section of a betting layout associated with the subset of wheel number values. The operations can further include automatically verifying the placement for the subset based on a type of bet and/or automatically updating statistics and zone position using an outcome of the most recent game.

Inventors

Harikesh Kuttiparambil
Aljosa Krupenko
Dougal Austin

Assignees

LNW GAMING, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251104

Claims (20)

1 . A method comprising: tracking, by a processor, outcome results data for a range of roulette games performed by a roulette gaming system; determining, by the processor based on analysis of the outcome results data, a zone on a roulette wheel that contains a subset of wheel number values associated with the outcome results data, wherein the subset of wheel number values are associated with contiguous numbered segments of the roulette wheel; animating, by the processor, a highlight effect overlaid onto a portion of the roulette wheel associated with the zone; animating, by the processor, a section on a betting layout corresponding to the zone; detecting, by the processor in response to user input for a given roulette game, placement of one or more tokens via the section, wherein the placement of the one or more tokens correspond to a user selection of the subset of wheel number values in the zone for the given roulette game; presenting, by the processor via the roulette wheel, a random outcome for the given roulette game; and automatically updating, by the processor, the outcome results data based on the outcome of the given roulette game, wherein the automatically updating the outcome results data automatically updates the zone.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically verifying, by the processor, that the amount of the one or more tokens is sufficient to cover the placement depending on a type of bet associated with the zone, and wherein presenting the random outcome is in response to the automatically verifying.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the type of bet is one of either a single-value bet on each of the subset of wheel number values in the zone or a multi-value bet on any of the subset of wheel number values.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the placement of the single-value bet is a different minimum bet amount than the multi-value bet.
5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the one or more tokens are one or more virtual tokens, and wherein the verifying that the amount of the one or more virtual tokens is sufficient to cover the placement comprises: determining that, based on the type of bet selected for the zone, that the amount of the one or more virtual tokens is insufficient to cover a minimum bet amount for the zone; and automatically performing, by the processor, at least one of placing additional virtual tokens on additional sections of the betting layout that correspond to each layout number value associated with each of the subset of wheel number values, distributing a value of the one or more virtual tokens across the subset of wheel number values, or presenting, via a participant terminal, a message indicating an additional amount of virtual tokens that are required to meet the minimum bet amount.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the roulette gaming system is an electronic roulette system, wherein the roulette wheel is a virtual roulette wheel, wherein the animating the highlight effect comprises animating the highlight effect overlaid onto the portion of the virtual roulette wheel, wherein the animating the section on the betting layout comprises animating the section on a virtual betting layout presented via a graphical user interface (GUI) of a player terminal of the electronic roulette system, wherein the detecting the placement of the one or more tokens comprises detecting, by the processor in response to user input received via the GUI, placement of one or more virtual tokens via the section, wherein presenting the random outcome comprises animating, by the processor based on a random number generator (RNG), the random outcome via the virtual roulette wheel, and wherein the automatically updating the outcome results data based on the outcome of the given roulette game comprises automatically updating a location of the zone and automatically updating the outcome results data within the updated location of the zone.
7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising animating, by the processor, additional highlight effects associated with the zone, wherein the additional highlight effects specify statistics of occurrence of each wheel number value of the roulette wheel for the range of roulette games.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the zone is further based on one or more settings which comprises at least one of a setting that specifies the range of roulette games of over a last given number of roulette games, a setting that specifies a visual property of the zone, a setting that specifies a size of the subset of wheel number values associated with the zone, a setting that specifies a range of possible sizes for the subset of wheel number values within the zone, or a setting that specifies a range of different sizes of subsets of wheel number values associated with a plurality of zones.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining the zone is further based on a hierarchy of a statistical levels associated with a combined statistical condition for the subset of wheel number values, and wherein animating the highlight effect comprises modifying a property of the highlight effect to a degree based on a statistical level assigned to the zone from the hierarchy.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein animating the section comprises at least one of animating a label that identifies the zone, animating a listing of members of the subset of wheel number values associated with the zone, or animating a betting spot for placement of the one or more tokens as a bet on the zone.
11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising: detecting, by the processor in response to the placement of the one or more tokens, one of a plurality of bet types that is associated with the zone for the given roulette game, wherein the plurality of bet types comprises at least one of a multi-value bet type and a single-value bet type; and placing, by the processor, one or more bets for the members of the subset of wheel number values based on the detected one of the plurality of bet types.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the subset of wheel number values comprises members whose combined average statistical outcome occurrence is higher than that of any other subset of wheel number values on any other contiguous numbered segments on the roulette wheel.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the zone is one of a plurality of zones on the roulette wheel, wherein animating the highlight effect comprises animating the highlight effect onto a plurality of portions of the roulette wheel having different subsets of wheel number values associated respectively with each of the plurality of zones, and wherein each of the plurality of zones are associated with a different one of a hierarchy of levels.
14 . A system comprising: an image sensor; a digital display; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions, which when executed, cause the system to perform operations to: track, via the image sensor, outcome data of a physical roulette wheel for each wheel number value at a physical gaming table over a given range of roulette games; store the outcome data in a computer memory; present, via the digital display, a virtual representation of the physical roulette wheel; animate, via the digital display in response to automated analysis of the outcome data, a highlight effect over a zone of the virtual representation, wherein the zone corresponds to a combined statistic associated with a subset of roulette wheel values over the given range of roulette games; and automatically highlight, during a roulette game, a set of one or more bet spots on a betting layout, wherein the set of one or more bet spots are for placement of one or more betting tokens associated with the subset of roulette wheel values in the zone.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically highlight the set of one or more bet spots via a virtual betting layout on a dealer terminal.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the processor is configured to automatically highlight the set of one or more bet spots via presentation of indicators on a physical betting layout on a surface of the physical gaming table.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the presentation of indicators comprises one or more of projection, via a projector associated with the physical gaming table, of the indicators onto the set of one or more bet spots on the physical betting layout or back lighting the set of one or more bet spots from underneath a table felt associated with the physical betting layout.
18 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute one or more instructions that cause the system to perform operations to automatically highlight the set of one or more bet spots on the betting layout in response to at least one of a croupier input at a dealer station regarding a called player bet for the zone or machine learning model image analysis of player activity that indicates a player bet for the zone.
19 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions which, when executed, cause the system to perform further operations to: capture, by the image sensor, an image of the set of one or more bet spots during a betting stage of the roulette game; detect, via analysis of the image by a machine learning model trained to identify betting token values, placement of the one or more betting tokens on the set of one or more bet spots; detect, via analysis of the image by the machine learning model, a value of the one or more betting tokens; automatically determine, in response to detection of the value, whether the value covers a minimum bet amount required for the subset of roulette wheel values in the zone; and provide, via a dealer terminal, an indication as to whether the minimum bet amount is covered.
20 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute one or more instructions that cause the system to perform operations to automatically highlight the set of one or more bet spots for distribution of the one or more betting tokens to individual layout number values corresponding to the subset of roulette wheel values.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application claims priority benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/717,094 filed Nov. 6, 2024, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. COPYRIGHT A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Copyright 2024, LNW Gaming, Inc. FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to gaming systems, apparatus, and methods and, more particularly, to presentation and control of roulette games via animations, highlighting and/or effects associated with gaming system features. BACKGROUND The gaming industry depends upon player participation. Players are generally “hopeful” players who either think they are lucky or at least think they can get lucky—for a relatively small investment to play a game, they can get a disproportionately large return. To create this feeling of luck, a gaming apparatus relies upon an internal or external random element generator to generate one or more random elements such as random numbers. The gaming apparatus determines a game outcome based, at least in part, on the one or more random elements. Roulette is a well-known casino game which has been played for many years. A typical conventional roulette game includes a table bearing a felt covering upon which indicia forming a betting layout has been silk-screened or otherwise imprinted. A typical roulette wheel includes a number ring bearing a circular array of numbered segments bearing number values (or number indicia) “1” through “36.” The numbered segments may also be referred to as “pockets” as they each include a recessed portion, or “pocket,” into which a roulette ball can come to rest as a spin outcome for the game. The betting layout has individual betting spots that correspond to (and indicate) the number values. In addition to the number values “1” through “36,” the number ring (and corresponding betting layout) typically includes one or more additional number values (or number indicia) such as “0,” “00,” some combination thereof, etc. For example, a first version of roulette (called the “European” version) includes only the single “0” value on the roulette wheel and the betting layout whereas another version (called the “American” version) includes both the “0” and the “00” on the roulette wheel and the betting layout. Typically, for the American version, the “0” and the “00” are disposed at diametrically opposite locations on the number ring of the roulette wheel. The numbers values “1” through “36” are not disposed in numerical order, but are typically disposed in a predetermined arrangement based on the version of roulette being played. For example, the predetermined arrangement of the number values on the roulette wheel varies placement between the American version and the European version. The betting layouts may also appear different for the different versions of the game. Furthermore, both the roulette wheel segments and/or betting spots on the betting layout that correspond to the number values typically bear the alternating colors of red and black, with the exception of the “0” and “00” number values, whose wheel segments and/or betting spots are typically colored green. A ring of pockets corresponding in number to the plurality of numbers of the circular number ring lies adjacent, but radially inward of the number ring, on the typical roulette wheel. In addition, a typical roulette wheel includes a circular, inclined ball track, disposed above, and radially outwardly of the number ring. In operation of a typical roulette game, players place chips or tokens on the betting layout located on the roulette table, and then the dealer (referred to as a “croupier” in roulette) spins the roulette wheel to place the ball in motion about the circular ball track. As the roulette wheel slows, the ball moves radially inwardly and comes to rest in one of the pockets associated with a particular one of the numbers of the number ring. After the ball comes to rest in one of the pockets, the croupier or dealer settles the various wagers placed on the table layout in accordance with predetermined rules and wager odds. A significant technical challenge with some games, including roulette, is to provide new and improved functionality of a gaming device that presents a game of roulette, for example, to provide an improved level of game play that uses new or improved gaming apparatus animations. Animations represent improvements to the underlying technology or technical field of gaming apparatus and, at the same time, have the effect of encouraging prolonged and frequent player participation. SUMMARY According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method an