Method and apparatus for the casino Feng Shui slot machine game

Abstract

A slot machine that allows a player to make multiple bets of differing amounts for a simulated roll of three dice, and also allows the player to bet upon the selection of a given Feng Shui indictor from a set of Feng Shui indicators. The slot machine contains a display mechanism that includes a carousel wheel having inner and middle wheels divided into 6 segments and an outer wheel divided into six pairs of segments. Each wheel contains the numbers 1 to 6 and the outer wheel also contains the Feng Shui indicators. The carousel can be spun so that its wheels rotate with different degrees of freedom and independently of one another; the inner and middle wheels can spin in opposite directions of each other while the outer wheel can remain stationary while its designators are shuffled. The slot machine is controlled by a computer software program and the length of time that the control mechanism takes to create the session spin of the carousel can be at least partly dependent upon the total number of betting units wagered by a player for a session spin. The input mechanism of the slot machine allows a player to make session bets selected from a group of Sic Bo bets tied to the outcome of the simulated roll of three dice, and these bets can be represented by certain numbers related to the Sic Bo bets.

1 . A slot machine, comprising: 
 a display mechanism for representing the results of a simulated roll of three dice and a selection of a Feng Shui indicator from a set of Feng Shui indicators in which each indicator represents a single unique Feng Shui designation, for a given simulated roll of three dice and selection of the Feng Shui indicator;    an input mechanism for allowing a player to make one or more session bets for the given simulated roll of three dice and selection of the Feng Shui indicator;    a control mechanism that provides for the simulated roll of the three dice and selection of the Feng Shui indicator and then calculates a result of the one or more session bets; and    a player feedback mechanism that provides the player with the result of the one or more session bets.    
   
   
       2 . The slot machine of  claim 1 , wherein the set of Feng Shui indicators is comprised of six Feng Shui indicators.  
   
   
       3 . The slot machine of  claim 2 , wherein the six Feng Shui indicators are associated with luck, wealth, wind, longevity, health and fertility.  
   
   
       4 . The slot machine of  claim 2 , wherein the selection of the Feng Shui indicator is made by a simulated roll of a dice containing one of each of the six Feng Shui indicators on each of the dice's six faces.  
   
   
       5 . The slot machine of  claim 2 , wherein the display mechanism displays: 
 a carousel wheel with an inner wheel divided into six inner wheel segments, each of which bears a unique inner wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; a middle wheel divided into six segments, each of which bears a unique middle wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; and an outer wheel divided into at least six outer segments, each of which bears a unique outer wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; and the set of Feng Shui markers can be randomly distributed in the inner wheel, middle wheel and outer wheel segments; and    wherein the carousel can be spun so that each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels rotate with different degrees of freedom and independently of one another; and    wherein after the carousel is spun, and each of inner, the middle and the outer wheels have rotated, said wheels will stop such that one of the inner wheel segments will align itself moving outwardly from the inner wheel with one of the middle wheel segments, one of the outer wheel segments and one Feng Shui indicator.    
   
   
       6 . The slot machine of  claim 5 , wherein the outer wheel is rotated by shuffling the position of the unique outer wheel designations relative to one another when the carousel is spun.  
   
   
       7 . The slot machine of  claim 6 , wherein the rotation of each of the inner wheel, the middle wheel and the outer wheel stop at different points in time.  
   
   
       8 . The slot machine of  claim 2 , wherein the simulated roll of the three dice and selection of the Feng Shui indicator is performed by a computer software program.  
   
   
       9 . A slot machine, comprising: 
 an input mechanism for allowing a player to make two or more session bets of differing amounts of betting units for a given session event involving a simulated roll of three dice;    a display mechanism for representing the results of the given session event;    a control mechanism for accepting the session bets from the player, generating the given session event, and settling the session bets from the player based upon the results of the given session event; and    a player feedback mechanism for providing the player with the results of settling the session bets from the player based upon the results of the given session event.    
   
   
       10 . The slot machine of  claim 9 , wherein the input mechanism allows the player to make any of the following group of Sic Bo bets tied to the outcome of the simulated roll of three dice: 
 a Small Sic Bo bet;    a Big Sic Bo bet;    an Any Triple Sic Bo bet;    a Sic Bo bet of the total number of the session roll of 3 dice;    a Sic Bo bet for a pair of dice with the number x;    a Sic Bo bet for triples of the number x;    a Sic Bo bet for the number x, which may be from 1 to 6; and    a Sic Bo bet for both the numbers x and y;    wherein x and y can be from 1 to 6.    
   
   
       11 . The slot machine of  claim 9 , wherein the input mechanism allows the player to make session bets selected from a group of Sic Bo bets tied to the outcome of the simulated roll of three dice by using the following designations: 
 a number 1 is used to represent a Small Sic Bo bet;    a number 2 is used to represent a Big Sic Bo bet;    a number 3 is used to represent an Any Triple Sic Bo bet;    a number from 4 to 17 is used to represent a Sic Bo bet of the total number of the session roll of 3 dice;    a number selected from the group consisting of 2x is used to represent a Sic Bo bet for a pair of dice with the number x;    a number selected from the group consisting of 3x is used to represent a Sic Bo bet for triples of the number x;    a number 0x is used to represent a Sic Bo bet for the number x, which may be from 1 to 6; and    a number 0xy is used to represent a Sic Bo bet for both the numbers x and y;    wherein x and y can be from 1 to 6.    
   
   
       12 . The slot machine of  claim 9 , wherein the input mechanism also allows the player to make a bet, as one of the session bets, that one of a set of Feng Shui indicators will be selected for the given session event, and wherein each of the set of Feng Shui indicators uniquely represents a single unique Feng Shui designation.  
   
   
       13 . The slot machine of  claim 12 , wherein the display mechanism displays: 
 a carousel wheel with an inner wheel divided into six inner wheel segments, each of which bears a unique inner wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; a middle wheel divided into six segments, each of which bears a unique middle wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; and an outer wheel divided into six pairs of outer wheel segments, each of which bears a unique outer wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6 and one of the set of Feng Shui markers; and    wherein the carousel can be spun so that the inner and the middle wheels rotate in different directions and stop at different times from each and outer wheel designations are all shuffled relative to one another; and    wherein after the carousel is spun, and each of inner and the middle and wheels have rotated, and the outer wheel designations have been shuffled, the inner wheel, the middle wheel and the outer wheel will be aligned such that a chosen inner wheel designation will be aligned with a chosen middle designation and a chose pair of outer wheel segments.    
   
   
       14 . The slot machine of  claim 13 , wherein shuffling of the outer wheel stops after the inner and middle wheels have stopped rotating.  
   
   
       15 . The slot machine of  claim 14 , wherein the simulated roll of the three dice and selection of the Feng Shui indicator is performed by a computer software program.  
   
   
       16 . A slot machine, comprising: 
 a display mechanism that includes a carousel wheel, comprising:    an inner wheel divided into x inner wheel segments, each of which bears an inner wheel designation;    a middle wheel divided into y segments, each of which bears a middle wheel designation; and    an outer wheel divided into z outer wheel segments, each of which bears an outer wheel designation;    wherein the carousel can be spun so that each of the inner, the middle and the outer wheels rotate with different degrees of freedom and independently of one another; and    wherein y is greater than or equal to x, z is greater than or equal to y and both y and z are divisible by x;    an input mechanism for allowing a player to make one or more session bets for a session spin of the carousel;    a betting collection device for collecting betting units wagered by the player in association with the one or more session bets;    a control mechanism that creates the session spin of the carousel and then calculates a result of the one or more session bets based upon the session spin; and    a player payout device for distributing betting units to the player based upon the result of the one or more session bets.    
   
   
       17 . The slot machine of  claim 16 , wherein x is equal to 6 and each of the inner wheel segments bears a unique inner wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6, wherein y is equal to 6 and each of the middle wheel segments bears a unique middle wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; and wherein z is equal to 6 and each of the outer wheel segments bears a unique outer wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6.  
   
   
       18 . The slot machine of  claim 16 , wherein a is equal to 6 and each of the inner wheel segments bears a unique inner wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6, wherein y is equal to 6 and each of the middle wheel segments bears a unique middle wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6; and wherein z is equal to 12 and each pair of contiguous outer wheel segments bears a unique outer wheel designation representing the numbers 1 through 6 and a unique Feng Shui indicator.  
   
   
       19 . The slot machine of  claim 16 , wherein the inner wheel and the middle wheel rotate in opposite directions when the carousel is spun.  
   
   
       20 . The slot machine of  claim 16 , wherein the length of time that the control mechanism takes to create the session spin of the carousel is at least partly dependent upon the total number of betting units wagered by the player for the session spin.  
   
   
       21 . The slot machine of  claim 16 , wherein after the carousel is spun, and each of inner, the middle and the outer wheels have rotated, said wheels will stop such that each of the inner wheel segments will align itself moving outwardly from the inner wheel with (y÷x) of the middle wheel segments and (z÷x) of the outer wheel segments.  
   
   
       22 . The slot machine of  claim 16 , wherein the slot machine provides a mechanism for allowing the player to vary the length of time it takes for the carousel to perform the session spin.