Nova Patents
CA2542908C

Method and apparatus for monitoring casinos and gaming

Abstract

A system automatically monitors playing and wagering of a game, including the gaining habits of players and the performance of employees. A card deck reader automatically reads a symbol from each card in a deck of cards before a first one of the cards is removed. The symbol identifies a respective rank and suit of the card. A chip tray reader automatically images the contents of a chip tray, to periodically determine the number and value of chips in the chip tray, and to compare the change in contents of the chip tray to the outcome of game play for verifying that the proper amounts have been paid out and collected. A table monitor automatically images the activity occurring at a gaming table. Periodic comparison of the images identify wagering, as well as the appearance, removal and position of cards and other game objects on the gaming table. A drop box automatically verifies an amount and authenticity of a deposit and reconciles the deposit with a change in the contents of the chip tray. The drop box employs a variety of lighting and resolutions to image selected portions of the deposited item. The system detects prohibited playing and wagering patterns, and determines the win/loss percentage of the players and the dealer, as well as a number of other statistically relevant measures. The measurements provide automated security and real-time accounting. The measurements also provide a basis for automatically allocating complimentary player benefits.

CA2542908C, drawing sheet 1
Sheet 1 of 17

Term

Term ended

Expired 19 April 2020, 6.4 years ago.

  1. Priority
  2. Filed
  3. Granted
  4. Expired
  5. Today

17 claims: 5 independent, 12 dependent

  1. 1
    CA 02542908 2014-02-05 WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:1. A method of tracking customer activity in a casino via a computer· implemented customer tracking system, comprising;associating by the customer tracking system a customer whose identity is unknown at a gaming table with a customer identifier;reading by a monitoring system communicably coupled to the customer tracking system a unique serial number from a wagering piece each time the wagering piece is placed as a wager;tracing by the customer tracking system a path of the wagering piece between the casino and a plurality of customers, wherein the customer is one of the plurality of customer;matching by the customer tracking system the unique serial number to the customer identifier;automatically determining by the customer tracking system an amount won or lost by the customer at the gaming table;determining by the customer tracking system a level of complimentary benefits to be provided to the customer based on the determined won or lost amount;and providing by the customer tracking system at least one complimentary benefit to the customer corresponding to the determined level of complimentary benefits.
  2. 2
    A method of tracking a player in a gaming environment via a computer-implemented customer tracking system, comprising:providing a wagering piece having a unique serial number to a player of a plurality players, each player of the plurality of players having a respective identifier;storing by the customer tracking system in a computer readable medium a respective relationship between the unique serial number of the wagering piece and the identifier of the first player;CA 02542908 2014-02-05 automatically monitoring by a monitoring system communicably coupled to the customer tracking system at least one gaming station for an appearance of the wagering piece placed as a wager by the player;matching by the customer tracking system the unique serial number to a customer identifier associated with the first player if the identity of the first player is unknown;and matching by the customer tracking system the unique serial number to a player identifier associated with the first player if the identity of the first player is known.
  3. 7
    A computer implemented method of tracking players in a gaming environment, comprising:a computer readable medium including machine readable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to function as a customer tracking system by: associating by the customer tracking system a unique serial number from a wagering piece with a first player;reading by monitoring system communicably coupled to the customer tracking system the unique serial number from the wagering piece each time the wagering piece is placed as a wager on a round of a game;determining by the customer tracking system whether the first player won the wager;continuing to associate by the customer tracking system the unique serial number with the first player if the first player has won the wager;and if the first player lost the wager, discontinuing by the customer tracking system the association between the unique serial number and the first player, determining by the customer tracking system a number of players from a plurality of players who won a respective wager on a respective round of the game, wherein the number of players that won is greater than two, and concurrently associating by the customer tracking system the wagering piece with each player of the number of players that won a respective wager on the respective round of the game if the wagering piece is not in a bank tray.
  4. 10
    A computer implemented method of tracking players in a gaming environment, comprising:a computer readable medium including machine readable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to function as a customer tracking system by: associating by the customer tracking system a unique serial number from a wagering piece with an identifier of a first player;optically reading by a monitoring system communicably coupled to the customer tracking system the unique serial number from the wagering piece each time the wagering piece is placed as a wager;maintaining by the customer tracking system the association between the unique serial number and the player identifier each time the player associated with the player identifier wins a wager;discontinuing by the customer tracking system the association between the unique serial number and the player identifier each time the player associated with the player identifier loses a wager;CA 02542908 2014-02-05 concurrently associating by the customer tracking system the unique serial number with a respective identifier of at least two players having a respective winning wager;and tracking by the customer tracking system a path of the wagering piece between various gaming tables.
  5. 15
    A computer implemented method of tracking players in a gaming environment, comprising:providing a first player of a plurality of players with a wagering piece having a unique serial number;associating by a customer tracking system the unique serial number of the wagering piece with an identifier of the first player of the plurality of players;automatically monitoring by a monitoring system communicably coupled to the customer tracking system a first gaming station for an appearance of a wagering piece having a unique serial number placed as a respective wager in a respective round of a game played at the first gaming station;determining by the customer tracking system a respective first number of players of the first plurality of players that won in a respective round of the game played at the first gaming station, wherein the first player lost the wagering piece in a wager placed by the first player on the game played at the first gaming station;associating by the customer tracking system the serial number of the wagering piece with a respective identifier of at least two players of the first number of CA 02542908 2014-02-05 players of the first plurality of players that won the respective round of game played at the first gaming station if the wagering piece is not in a first bank tray, wherein a second player of the at least two players of the first number of players of the plurality of players received the wagering piece;and storing in a computer readable medium communicably coupled to the customer tracking system a relationship between the serial number of the wagering piece and a respective identifier of each of the at least two players of the first number of players of the first plurality of players.
Independent claims5