US20110159949A1 - Method of gaming, a game controller and a prize controller - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of gaming including conducting a game having a prize, receiving wagers, deriving from the wagers contributions towards funding the game, and incrementing a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application claims priority to Australian Provisional Application No. 2009905473, having a filing date of Nov. 9, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
• [Not Applicable]
MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE
• [Not Applicable]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention relates to a method of gaming, a gaming system and a prize controller.
• Current electronic gaming machines allow a player to place a wager or bet, in return for which a play of a game is conducted. In addition, many gaming machines may participate in a progressive jackpot. Typically, a portion of turnover from each gaming machine is forwarded to a jackpot controller as a contribution to the progressive jackpot. That is, part of each wager goes towards incrementing the jackpot. The technique can also be extended to a so called wide area jackpot where gaming machines from a number of different venues contribute to the jackpot.
• While such gaming systems provide users with enjoyment, a need exists for alternative gaming systems in order to maintain or increase player enjoyment.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• In a first aspect, the invention provides a method of gaming comprising:
• conducting a game having a prize;
• receiving wagers;
• deriving from the wagers contributions towards funding the game; and
• incrementing a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
• In an embodiment the contributions are a designated percentage of the wagers.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises incrementing the probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions and a value of the prize.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining an initial probability of awarding the prize.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining the initial probability of awarding the prize based on a cash cycle of the contributions.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining the initial probability of awarding the prize based on the cash cycle and a value of a wager in the game.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises incrementing the initial probability of awarding the prize.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining a subsequent initial probability of awarding a subsequent prize after awarding the prize.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises obtaining a value of the prize based on an obtained percentage of the cash cycle.
• In an embodiment the prize is a progressive jackpot which increments.
• In an embodiment the method further comprises incrementing the progressive jackpot based on a first designated percentage of the wagers and incrementing the probability of awarding the jackpot based on a second designated percentage of the wagers.
• In a second aspect, the invention provides a gaming system comprising:
• a plurality of gaming devices; and
• a prize controller in data communication with the plurality of gaming devices, the prize controller arranged to:
• receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in games played with the gaming devices; and
• increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
• In an embodiment the gaming system awards the prize.
• In an embodiment the prize controller awards the prize.
• In a third aspect, the invention provides a prize controller arranged to:
• receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in games played with at least one gaming device; and
• increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
• In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a gaming system comprising:
• means for conducting a game having a prize;
• means for receiving wagers;
• means for deriving from the wagers contributions towards funding the game; and
• means for incrementing a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
• In a fifth aspect, the invention provides a gaming system comprising:
• a plurality of gaming devices, each gaming device comprising a cabinet, a display mounted within the cabinet, and a game play mechanism mounted to the cabinet incorporating at least one input device, the game play mechanism operable by a player to place wagers in games, and each gaming device being in data communication with a prize controller comprising a processor and a memory storing game control instructions which enable the prize controller to operate in response to operation of the game play mechanism, the prize controller arranged to:
• receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in the games played with the gaming devices; and
• increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
• In a sixth aspect, the invention provides a computer program code which when executed implements the above method.
• In a seventh aspect, the invention provides a tangible computer readable medium comprising the above program code.
• In an eighth aspect, the invention provides transmitting or receiving the above program code.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
• An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gaming system with a plurality of gaming devices and a prize controller;
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a stand alone gaming machine;
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the functional components of a gaming machine;
• FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the functional components of a memory;
• FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a network gaming system;
• FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a gaming system;
• FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment;
• FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an embodiment; and
• FIG. 9 is a further flow chart of an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• Referring to the drawings, there is shown a gaming method, and a gaming system and prize controller arranged to implement the method. The method comprising the steps of conducting a game having a prize, receiving wagers for the game, deriving from the wagers contributions towards funding the game and incrementing a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
Overview of Exemplary Gaming System
• FIG. 1 shows anexemplary gaming system1 where aprize controller150 is in data communication over a network2, such as an Ethernet, with a bank of fivegaming devices10A,10B,10C,10D, and10E. Theprize controller150 is arranged to communicate with thegaming devices10A to10E to receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in a game provided by at least one of the gaming devices. Theprize controller150 is further arranged to increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.
Gaming Devices
• Gaming devices capable of participating in the method of gaming of the embodiment can take any suitable form including stand alone gaming machines and server based gaming terminals.
• A gaming device in the form of a standalone gaming machine10 is illustrated inFIG. 2. Thegaming machine10 includes aconsole12 having adisplay14 on which are displayed representations of agame16 that can be played by a player. A mid-trim20 of thegaming machine10 houses a bank ofbuttons22 for enabling a player to interact with the gaming machine, in particular during game play. The mid-trim20 also houses acredit input mechanism24 which in this example includes acoin input chute24A and abill collector24B. Other credit input mechanisms may also be employed, for example, a card reader for reading a smart card, debit card or credit card. Other gaming machines may be configured for ticket in that they have a ticket reader for reading tickets having a value and crediting the player based on the face value of the ticker. A player marketing module (not shown) having a reading device may also be provided for the purpose of reading a player tracking device, for example as part of a loyalty program. The player tracking device may be in the form of a card, flash drive or any other portable storage medium capable of being read by the reading device. In some embodiments, the player marketing module may provide an additional credit mechanism, either by transferring credits to the gaming machine from credits stored on the player tracking device or by transferring credits from a player account in data communication with the player marketing module.
• Atop box26 may carryartwork28, including for example pay tables and details of bonus awards and other information or images relating to the game. Further artwork and/or information may be provided on afront panel29 of theconsole12. Acoin tray30 is mounted beneath thefront panel29 for dispensing cash payouts from thegaming machine10.
• Thedisplay14 shown inFIG. 2 is in the form of a video display unit, particularly a cathode ray tube screen device. Alternatively, thedisplay14 may be a liquid crystal display, plasma screen, any other suitable video display unit, or the visible portion of an electromechanical device. Thetop box26 may also include a display, for example a video display unit, which may be of the same type as thedisplay14, or of a different type.
• FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of operative components of a typical gaming machine which may be the same as or different to the gaming machine ofFIG. 2.
• Thegaming machine100 includes agame controller101 having aprocessor102 mounted on a circuit board. Instructions and data to control operation of theprocessor102 are stored in amemory103, which is in data communication with theprocessor102. Typically, thegaming machine100 will include both volatile and non-volatile memory and more than one of each type of memory, with such memories being collectively represented by thememory103.
• The gaming machine hashardware meters104 for purposes including ensuring regulatory compliance and monitoring player credit, an input/output (I/O)interface105 for communicating with peripheral devices of thegaming machine100. The input/output interface105 and/or the peripheral devices may be intelligent devices with their own memory for storing associated instructions and data for use with the input/output interface or the peripheral devices. A randomnumber generator module113 generates random numbers for use by theprocessor102. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the reference to random numbers includes pseudo-random numbers.
• In the example shown inFIG. 3, aplayer interface120 includes peripheral devices that communicate with thegame controller101 including one ormore displays106, a touch screen and/or buttons107 (which provide a game play mechanism), a card and/orticket reader108, aprinter109, a bill acceptor and/orcoin input mechanism110 and acoin output mechanism111. Additional hardware may be included as part of thegaming machine100, or hardware may be omitted as required for the specific implementation. For example, while buttons or touch screens are typically used in gaming machines to allow a player to place a wager and initiate a play of a game any input device that enables the player to input game play instructions may be used.
• In addition, thegaming machine100 may include a communications interface, for example anetwork card112. The network card may, for example, send status information, accounting information or other information to a bonus controller, central controller, server or database and receive data or commands from the bonus controller, central controller, server or database. In embodiments employing a player marketing module, communications over a network may be via player marketing module—i.e. the player marketing module may be in data communication with one or more of the above devices and communicate with it on behalf of the gaming machine.
• FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the main components of anexemplary memory103. Thememory103 includesRAM103A,EPROM103B and amass storage device103C. TheRAM103A typically temporarily holds program files for execution by theprocessor102 and related data. TheEPROM103B may be a boot ROM device and/or may contain some system or game related code. Themass storage device103C is typically used to store game programs, the integrity of which may be verified and/or authenticated by theprocessor102 using protected code from the EPROM1038 or elsewhere.
• It is also possible for the operative components of thegaming machine100 to be distributed, for example input/output devices106,107,108,109,110,111 to be provided remotely from thegame controller101.
• In a client server architecture a gaming device is provided by a gaming client and game server (and optionally other gaming network components). A gaming client has a similar outward appearance togaming machine10 but the game server implements most or all of the game and as such acts as the game controller while the terminal operated by the player essentially provides only the player interface. The gaming terminal receives player instructions, pass these to the game server which will process them and return game play outcomes to the gaming machine for display. Further details of a client/server gaming architecture can be found in WO 2006/052213 and PCT/SE2006/000559, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. In such an embodiment, a game controller can be provided, for example, by a dedicated server in data communication with the game server.
• FIG. 5 shows that a gaming device may be connected within agaming network200 which provides additional and/or enhanced functionality. Thegaming network200 includes anetwork201, which for example may be an Ethernet network.Gaming machines202, shown arranged in threebanks203 of twogaming machines202 inFIG. 5, are connected to thenetwork201. Thegaming machines202 provide a player operable interface and may be the same as thegaming machines10,100 shown inFIGS. 2 and 3. Whilebanks203 of two gaming machines are illustrated inFIG. 5, banks of one, three or more gaming machines are also envisaged.
• One ormore displays204 may also be connected to thenetwork201. For example, thedisplays204 may be associated with one ormore banks203 of gaming machines. Thedisplays204 may be used to display representations associated with game play on thegaming machines202, and/or used to display other representations, for example promotional or informational material.
• A game controller can be provided within such anetwork200 bygame server205, such that a game server may implement a game for a plurality of different banks of gaming machines rather than a specific controller being provided for each gaming machine or for each bank of gaming machines.
• Adatabase management server206 may manage storage of game programs and associated data for downloading or access by thegaming devices202 in adatabase206A. Typically, if the gaming system enables players to participate in a Jackpot game, aJackpot server207 will be provided to perform accounting functions for the Jackpot game. Aloyalty program server212 may also be provided.
• Servers are also typically provided to assist in the administration of thegaming network200, including for example a gamingfloor management server208, and alicensing server209 to monitor the use of licenses relating to particular games. Anadministrator terminal210 is provided to allow an administrator to run thenetwork201 and the devices connected to the network.
• Thegaming network200 may communicate with other gaming systems, other local networks, for example a corporate network, and/or a wide area network such as the Internet, for example through afirewall211.
• Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that in accordance with known techniques, functionality at the server side of the network may be distributed over a plurality of different computers. For example, elements may be run as a single “engine” on one server or a separate server may be provided. For example, thegame server205 could run a random generator engine. Alternatively, a separate random number generator server could be provided. Further, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that a plurality of game servers could be provided to run different games or a single game server may run a plurality of different games as required by the terminals.
Further Detail of Gaming System
• Referring now toFIGS. 6 and 7, it can be seen that the constitution of theprize controller150 is similar to that of the gaming machine illustrated in relation toFIGS. 2 to 4 in that it is a game controller with aprocessor151 arranged to implement program code stored inmemory152. Also, theprize controller150 has acommunication interface153 which is designed to enable theprocessor151 to communicate with each of thegaming devices10A to10E across the network2.
• Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the implementation of theprize controller150 is analogous to the implementation of bonus controllers in existing gaming systems and reference may be made to such bonus controllers for further details of implementation. However, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that in the case where the above described method of gaming is implemented on a stand alone gaming machine, such as the type illustrated inFIG. 2, thegame controller101 also implements the functions of theprize controller150.
• In an embodiment, theprocessor151 of theprize controller150 implements a number of modules, shown inFIG. 7, based on program code and data stored inmemory152. Theprocessor151 implements acontributions handler720 to receive contributions designated towards funding a prize derived from wagers in a game provided by at least one of the gaming devices. Theprocessor151 also implements aprobability incrementer721 to increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions. In addition, theprocessor151 implements anaward handler722 to award the prize to the respective gaming device. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that several of the modules could be implemented in some other way, for example by a dedicated circuit, or on a server remote from theprize controller150.
• In the embodiment shown inFIG. 7, a player of thegaming device10A operatesgame play mechanism116A to make a selection and input game instructions, selected from a plurality of available instructions displayed to the player ondisplay106A, to thegame controller101A to conduct a game having a prize. In this embodiment, the prize is referred to as a jackpot where a number of gaming devices contribute towards funding the jackpot and games are played in response to wagers placed at respective gaming devices in respective games. In another embodiment, the prize may increase to provide a progressive jackpot.
• As described above, thegame play mechanism116A can be in the form of a touch screen and/or buttons. In addition, the player may also operatecredit mechanism117A to input a wager, or a number of credits, so that the player can operate thegame play mechanism116A to input a wager as game instructions for a game. Thegame controller101A then executes program code stored as game rules642 inmemory103A to generate outcomes of the game in response to the operation of thegame play mechanism116A. This may be achieved using anoutcome generator622 to generate the game outcomes which are then evaluated by anoutcome evaluator623 for thegaming device10A. In addition to conducting the game, thegame controller101A derives from the wagers contributions towards funding the game and the jackpot at acontributions module625. Persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that these modules may be incorporated into thegame controller101A or on a server remote from thegaming device10A.
• In the embodiment shown inFIG. 7, data representing the derived contributions designated towards funding the jackpot is forwarded to thecontributions handler720 via thecommunication interface153 and stored in thememory152. The probability incrementer721 then increments a probability of awarding the jackpot based on these contributions if the jackpot is not determined to be won by theaward handler722.
• In this embodiment, theprocessor151 executes program code stored inmemory152 to repeatedly conduct random trials, for each contribution it receives, using arandom number generator723, the current probability of awarding the jackpot and the size of the contribution, to determine whether the jackpot is to be awarded. In this case, theaward handler722 communicates data via thedata communication interface153 over the network to all participatinggaming devices10A to10E advising that the jackpot has been awarded. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that theaward handler722 also communicates data to the gaming device where the jackpot is to be awarded so that it can make the award of the jackpot to the respective player. In an alternative embodiment, the prize controller may provide the current probability to each gaming device so that it can conduct a local random trial. In an alternative embodiment, the jackpot may be awarded based on an occurrence of a generated game outcome corresponding to a designated game event. For example, the game event may be designated as five aces displayed in a reel type game. In this embodiment, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the occurrence of the designated game event may be determined locally by theoutcome evaluator623 at each gaming device. For example, thegaming device10A may adjust a probability table for the designated game event such that theoutcome generator622 communicates with therandom number generator621, with reference to the current probability of awarding the jackpot, to generate the game outcome. In any case, theprize controller150 updates thememory152 once a jackpot has been awarded and the probability of awarding the jackpot is reset.
• In one example, one type of game played with thegaming device10A, conducted by thegame controller101A, is a typical spinning reel game. In another example, the game played is a poker game. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that different types of games may be played with different gaming devices at the same time. For example,gaming device10A may be conducting a spinning reel game whilstgaming device10B is conducting a poker game, and both gaming devices make contributions towards the jackpot. In this example, the jackpot is a random trial and is conducted based on contributions irrespective of the type of game played. Persons skilled in art will appreciate that in addition to the jackpot, the games may result in other awards based on the players win entitlement. It is typical for the player's win entitlement to be affected by the amount they wager and selections they make (i.e. the nature of the wager). For example, a player's win entitlement may be based on how many lines they select to play in the game, such as. a minimum of one line up to the maximum number of lines allowed by the game (noting that not all permutations of win lines may be available for selection). Such win or pay lines are typically formed by a combination of symbol display positions, one from each reel or column, the symbol display positions being located relative to one another such that they form a line.
• In addition, in many games the player's win entitlement is not strictly limited to the lines they have selected, for example, “scatter” pays are awarded independently of a player's selection of pay lines and are an inherent part of the win entitlement. Also, persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that win entitlements may not be specific to each gaming device and certain win entitlements may be available for all gaming devices eligible to participate in the jackpot.
• In the example of a spinning reel game, thegame controller101A includes anoutcome generator622 which obtains symbols specified by storedsymbol data641 using arandom number generator621 and advises them to adisplay controller624 which causes them to be displayed ondisplay106A at symbol display positions. These symbol display positions are evaluated by anoutcome evaluator623 against specified game rules to determine if a game event corresponding to the player being awarded a win entitlement, or the jackpot (in one embodiment), has occurred. Further, the game rules may specify whether the player is eligible to be awarded the jackpot. It is to be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the player of a gaming device may require to qualify to be awarded the jackpot by an eligibility criterion, such as wagering the maximum credits available in a game or placing an ante bet in the game.
• In an embodiment, wagers inputted by thegame play mechanism116A for a game are received by thecontributions module625 to derive contributions towards funding the game, any win entitlements of the game, and funding the jackpot. For example, the game rules642 may specify that a designated percentage of the received wagers is to contribute towards the jackpot, e.g. 1% of each wagered $1 is to form a contribution to the jackpot. Data representing the contributions is communicated to thecontributions handler720 which collates contributions data from a number ofgaming devices10A to10E for incrementing the probability of awarding the jackpot at theprobability incrementer721 and determining whether to award the jackpot. Thus, in the example, when a $1 wager is received, the probability of being awarded the jackpot is incremented by theprobability incrementer721 based on 0.01 and a value of the jackpot. If the value of the jackpot is $1000, theprobability incrementer721 increments the jackpot by 0.01×1/1000 (0.00001) for each $1 wagered. In addition, theprobability incrementer721 advises thememory153 and subsequently theaward handler722 of the current probability so that it can affect the random trials conducted to determine whether to award the jackpot.
• Furthermore, the jackpot may be awarded to a player of a gaming device once in a cash cycle, where the cash cycle is the total turnover or amount wagered by all participating gaming devices until the jackpot is awarded. That is, using the above example, players of participating gaming devices can place wagers to attempt to win individual win entitlements in respective games in addition to the jackpot (provided they are eligible) and these wagers, or a portion thereof, form turnover which is then used to determine the current probability of being awarded the jackpot. For example, the game rules642 may specify that the jackpot is to be awarded once in every $10000 wagered thus the initial probability of awarding the jackpot is 1/$10000 (0.0001) and the value of the jackpot may be obtained from a designated percentage of the cash cycle, for example the jackpot may set at 10% of the cash cycle ($1000). It can be seen that as the turnover increases in value to $10000, the probability of awarding the jackpot is incrementally increased. Also, the current value of the turnover and the value of the jackpot may be stored inmeter data643 andprize data642A.
• As stated above, the jackpot may be a progressive jackpot which increments. In this case, a first designated percentage of the contributions, derived from wagers by thecontributions module625 and forwarded as data to thecontributions handler720, is used to increment the probability of awarding the progressive jackpot and a second designated percentage, also derived from wagers by thecontributions module625 and forwarded as data to thecontributions handler720, is used to increment the value of the progressive jackpot.
• In the example, the initial probability of awarding the jackpot is 0.0001 and the value of the jackpot is $1000. Theprobability incrementer721 may then increment the probability of awarding the jackpot based on the derived contributions (0.01 of $1 wagered) and thus increments the probability by 0.01/$1000 (0.00001) so that the probability of being awarded the jackpot is now 0.00011, and so on until theaward handler722 determines, from a conducted random trial, to award the jackpot in response to a game played by a gaming device. Once the jackpot is awarded, the turnover is reset and the probability of being awarded the jackpot reverts back to 0.0001. If, for example, the turnover from thegaming devices10A to10E is at $5000 since the last jackpot was awarded, 0.01×$5000 (50) of this amount was derived as contributions towards funding the jackpot, i.e. increasing the probability of the jackpot being awarded, and the current probability of awarding the jackpot is now at 50/$1000 (0.05). If a player of onegaming device10A places a $2 wager in a game, thecontributions module625 derives 0.01×$2 (0.02) towards the jackpot and communicates this to thecontributions handler720 which, in turn, communicates this to theprobability incrementer721 which then increments the probability of awarding the jackpot by 0.02/$1000 (0.00002). Thus, the probability of the player being awarded the jackpot in the game after the $2 wager is 0.05002.
• The above example can be explained by the equations below.
• A probability increment can be determined by the following equation:
• $p=\frac{\mathrm{ib}}{S}$
• p represents the increment probability
• i represents the percentage of the wager forming the contribution
• b represents the value of a wager in a game
• S represents the value of the initial jackpot
• The current probability of being awarded the jackpot in a game can be determined by the following equation:
• $P=\frac{b}{C}+\frac{\mathrm{iB}}{S}$
• P represents the current probability of being awarded the jackpot
• b represents the value of a wager in a game
• C represents the cash cycle
• i represents the percentage of the wager forming the contribution
• B represents the value of turnover up to the current game
• S represents the value of the initial jackpot
• A method of gaming is also summarised inFIGS. 8 and 9. Themethod800 comprises conducting810 a game having a prize, receiving820 wagers, deriving830 from the wagers contributions towards funding the game and incrementing840 a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions. Themethod900 ofFIG. 9 also includes the above steps of conducting910 a game, receiving920 wagers and deriving930 from the wagers contributions towards funding the game. However, themethod900 further includes obtaining940 an initial probability of awarding the prize based on a cash cycle and the step of incrementing950 the initial probability of awarding the prize until the prize is awarded.
• Further aspects of the method will be apparent from the above description of the gaming system. Persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that the above method could be embodied in program code. The program code could be supplied in a number of ways, for example on a computer readable storage medium, such as a disc or a memory (for example, that could replace part of memory103) or as a data signal (for example, by transmitting it from a server).
• It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the invention that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, in particular it will be apparent that certain features of embodiments of the invention can be employed to form further embodiments.
• For example, theprize controller150 is shown inFIG. 1 as a separate entity to thegaming devices10. In an alternative embodiment, it could be provided by one of the gaming devices incorporating a server module arranged to implement the prize controller in the manner described in Australian patent application 2008205413 filed 13 Aug. 2008.
• It is to be understood that, if any prior art is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art in any country.
• In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word “comprise” or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims (20)

1. A method of gaming comprising:

conducting a game having a prize;

receiving wagers;

deriving from the wagers contributions towards funding the game; and

incrementing a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.

2. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the contributions are a designated percentage of the wagers.

3. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 2 further comprising incrementing the probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions and a value of the prize.

4. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising obtaining an initial probability of awarding the prize.

5. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 4 further comprising obtaining the initial probability of awarding the prize based on a cash cycle of the wagers.

6. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 5 further comprising obtaining the initial probability of awarding the prize based on the cash cycle and a value of a wager in the game.

7. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 4 further comprising incrementing the initial probability of awarding the prize.

8. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 1 further comprising obtaining a subsequent initial probability of awarding a subsequent prize after awarding the prize.

9. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 5 further comprising obtaining a value of the prize based on an obtained percentage of the cash cycle.

10. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 1 wherein the prize is a progressive jackpot which increments.

11. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 10 further comprising incrementing the progressive jackpot based on a first designated percentage of the wagers and incrementing the probability of awarding the jackpot based on a second designated percentage of the wagers.

12. A gaming system comprising:

a plurality of gaming devices; and

a prize controller in data communication with the plurality of gaming devices, the prize controller arranged to:

receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in games played with the gaming devices; and

increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.

13. A gaming system as claimed inclaim 12 wherein the gaming system awards the prize.

14. A gaming system as claimed inclaim 13 wherein the prize controller awards the prize.

15. A prize controller arranged to:

receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in games played with at least one gaming device; and

increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.

16. A gaming system comprising:

means for conducting a game having a prize;

means for receiving wagers;

means for deriving from the wagers contributions towards funding the game; and

means for incrementing a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.

17. A gaming system comprising:

a plurality of gaming devices, each gaming device comprising a cabinet, a display mounted within the cabinet, and a game play mechanism mounted to the cabinet incorporating at least one input device, the game play mechanism operable by a player to place wagers in games, and each gaming device being in data communication with a prize controller comprising a processor and a memory storing game control instructions which enable the prize controller to operate, the prize controller arranged to:

receive contributions towards funding a prize derived from wagers in the games played with the gaming devices; and

increment a probability of awarding the prize based on the contributions.

18. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising computer program code.

19. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 18, further comprising storing the computer program code in a tangible computer readable medium.

20. A method of gaming as claimed inclaim 19, further comprising transmitting or receiving the program code.

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