In-room gaming

Abstract

A method for in-room gaming suitable for cruise ships and remote hotels allows players to play electronic games of skill or chance on their room TV or on any other available TV. Players may interact with the games via an input device as simple as a standard telephone or as powerful as a palm-sized WiFi device fitted with a credit card reader. The method and system need not require any rewiring of the room and leverages on any data service already in place, such as an individual telephone line, a wired or Wifi local area network. The in-room gaming system may include a central gaming server that generates the game video rendering for each player, the video being streamed or otherwise provided to the associated TV via an individual TV channel, thereby enabling rich, powerful and secure gaming while reducing maintenance costs and preventing obsolescence. In-room players may enjoy the flexibility to wager from any available television and may use the in-room gaming system to build relationships and social networks with other players if they desire.

1 . A method for distributed in-room gaming in a hospitality industry establishment having a plurality of rooms, each of the rooms having a television and a telephony device, the method comprising the steps of: 
 decoding codes generated by the telephony device in a first of the plurality of rooms;    receiving the decoded codes in a central game server, the decoded codes being indicative of a wager input into the telephony device by a player in the first of the plurality of rooms;    responsive to the received decoded codes, generating a game outcome in the central game server, and    at least one of generating and selecting video and sound according to the generated game outcome, and    sending the video and sound to the television in the first room via a predetermined television channel for reception and display.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further including the steps of 
 displaying a code generated by the central game server on the television in the first room, and    authorizing a gaming session by requesting the player to enter the displayed code on the telephony device.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of encrypting the predetermined television channel.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the sending step is carried out with the television being configured to decrypt the predetermined television channel.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving step is carried out with the central game server further comprising player account means for storing individual player details, authentication credentials and credit balance, the player details including at least one of player usernames, player pictures, player-selected avatars and player payment instruments.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the decoding step is carried out using a touch tone decoder and wherein the telephony device is a standard tone dial telephone.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the decoder is connected to a predetermined telephone line and wherein the decoding step is carried out with the codes generated by the telephony device being dialed by the player composing a number from the telephony device in the first room.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a player verification step, the player verification step being carried out by requiring the player to enter his or her authentication credentials on the telephony device when initiating a gaming session with the central gaming server.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the telephony device is a credit card processor including a credit card reader and wherein the method further comprises a step of funding an account by receiving payment card information from a payment card inserted into the card reader by the player, and thereafter receiving player interaction and wagers via a keypad of the credit card processor.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the account funding step is carried out using a payment card further configured as a player card.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game outcome generating step is carried out by the central game server responsive to commands input via the in-room telephony device.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sending step includes the central game server transmitting graphics and sound to the television via a video and sound encoder.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising a step of crediting or debiting the player's payment instrument according to the outcome in the game outcome generating step.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of cashing out, the cashing out step including one of (a) crediting a remaining balance of the player to a credit card or bank account via electronic fund transfer and (b) awarding the player's remaining balance in cash.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of displaying a list of currently playing guests on at least one of the televisions in the plurality of rooms.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of enabling guests in different rooms to communicate with one another during game play.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising a step of enabling guests in different rooms to wager against one another in games of skill or chance.  
     
     
         18 . A gaming network in a hospitality industry establishment having a plurality of rooms, comprising: 
 a television in each participating one of the plurality of rooms;    a telephony device in each participating one of the plurality of rooms;    a game server remote from the televisions and from the telephony devices, and    between each participating room and the game server, 
 a first communication channel coupling the telephony device to the remote game server to enable the remote game server to receive player inputted commands directly from the telephony device, and  
   a second communication channel coupling the game server to the television to enable the game server to transmit game outcome content to the television responsive to the player-inputted commands.    
     
     
         19 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the second communication channel includes a TV channel encrypted using a TV encryption standard.  
     
     
         20 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the television or television set top box is equipped with at least one standard TV decryption card reader.  
     
     
         21 . The gaming network of  claim 20 , wherein a TV decryption card inserted in the standard TV decryption card reader is configured to be associated to the player, the central game server displaying the game outcome associated to the player on a predetermined encrypted TV channel decoded using the decryption card.  
     
     
         22 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the telephony device is one of a telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) including a data modem, a credit card processor, and a palm-sized device including a data modem.  
     
     
         23 . The gaming network of  claim 22 , wherein the palm-sized device includes a card reader.  
     
     
         24 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the telephony device is a telephone and wherein the first communication channel is established by the player composing a predetermined telephone number from his or her room.  
     
     
         25 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the telephony device is one of a PC, a laptop, a palmtop and a handheld device equipped with a telephony modem and wherein player interaction with the game server is made available via a standard network protocol.  
     
     
         26 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the telephony device is integral to one of a PC, a laptop, a palmtop, a game box and a handheld device equipped with a local area network (LAN) interface or WiFi, and player interaction with the game server is made available via a standard network protocol.  
     
     
         27 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the second communication channel is an RF communication channel and wherein the television is coupled to the second communication channel by an aerial antenna.  
     
     
         28 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the second communication channel is an RF communication channel and wherein the game server is coupled to the second communication channel by a satellite dish.  
     
     
         29 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , further including a TV cable disposed between the game server and the television and wherein the second communication channel is carried by the TV cable.  
     
     
         30 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the second communication channel is configured as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL).  
     
     
         31 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , further including a tone decoder coupled between the telephony device and the game server, the tone decoder being configured to interpret player-inputted commands from the telephony device and to transmit the interpreted player-inputted commands to the game server.  
     
     
         32 . The gaming network of  claim 31 , further comprising an RS232 line coupling the tone decoder to the game server.  
     
     
         33 . The gaming network of  claim 31 , further comprising a USB line coupling the tone decoder to the game server.  
     
     
         34 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , further including a video and audio encoder coupled to the television and wherein the game server is configured to transmit graphics and sound to the television via the video and audio encoder.  
     
     
         35 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the game server includes a plurality of blade servers.  
     
     
         36 . The gaming network of  claim 35 , wherein each of the plurality of blade servers is associated with a respective one of the televisions in the participating rooms.  
     
     
         37 . The gaming network of  claim 35 , wherein each blade server is associated with more than one of the televisions in the participating rooms.  
     
     
         38 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , further including a database coupled to the game server, the database being configured to store player information.  
     
     
         39 . The gaming network of  claim 38 , wherein the player information includes at least one of player usernames, player pictures, player-selected avatars and player payment instruments.  
     
     
         40 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the network and the central game server are configured to enable a player to play on any available television within the network using a telephony device.  
     
     
         41 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the game outcome content is an outcome of a game as determined by the game server.  
     
     
         42 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the second communication channel includes an Internet Protocol (IP) television channel allocated to the television and wherein the game server is configured to stream the game outcome content to the television channel allocated to the television over Internet Protocol (IP).  
     
     
         43 . The gaming network of  claim 41 , further comprising a random number generator coupled to the game server.  
     
     
         44 . The gaming network of  claim 41 , further comprising a plurality of game servers, and wherein each of the plurality of game servers is coupled to a different random number generator.  
     
     
         45 . The gaming network of  claim 41 , further comprising a plurality of game servers, and wherein the plurality of game servers are coupled to the same random number generator.  
     
     
         46 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the game server includes an inbound processing module configured to receive the player-inputted command over the first communication channel, an outcome determination module to determine an outcome of a game, a content rendering module to generate and render content according to the determined outcome of the game and an outbound video streaming module to stream the rendered content to the television over the second communication channel.  
     
     
         47 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein at least one of the first and second communication channels includes one of a wired and a wireless computer network.  
     
     
         48 . The gaming network of  claim 47 , wherein the computer network is encrypted.  
     
     
         49 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the gaming server is remotely located from the hospitality industry establishment and wherein the first communication channel is established between the game server and a telecom satellite, and wherein the second communication channel is established between the game server and a TV satellite.  
     
     
         50 . The gaming network of  claim 49 , further including a first communication dish to send and receive telephony data between the game server and the telecom satellite and a second communication dish for the game server to send TV content to the TV satellite.  
     
     
         51 . The gaming network of  claim 49 , further including a third communication dish to send and receive telephony data between the player telephony device and the telecom satellite and a fourth communication dish for the player TV to receive TV content from the TV satellite.  
     
     
         52 . The gaming network of  claim 18 , wherein the hospitality industry establishment is a cruise ship.