Wide area gaming table system

Abstract

An electronic gaming table adapted to host table games involving wagers includes a physical surface adapted for the play of live table games that include live players and the use of a live dealer and physical game components, multiple player terminals having separate processors, a master table controller in communication with each of the player terminal processors and adapted to control a plurality of electronic gaming table functions, and at least one interface in communication with the master table controller and one or more additional electronic gaming tables remotely located from the electronic gaming table. Each player terminal allows for a live player stationed thereat to participate in a first live table game directly at the electronic gaming table and also a second live table game remotely at a remotely located table. The first and second live table games can be different games, and can be played simultaneously.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic gaming table adapted to host table games involving wagers, table games based on the wagers, and monetary awards based on the results of the table games, the electronic gaming table comprising:
 a physical surface adapted for the play of live table games that include the use of a live dealer and physical game components;   a dealer station situated proximate said physical surface and adapted to provide for the presence of a live dealer at the electronic gaming table, wherein the live dealer facilitates the play of said live table games;   a plurality of player terminals situated proximate to and distributed about said physical surface, wherein each of said plurality of player terminals provides for the presence of a live player at the electronic gaming table and includes a player terminal processor coupled to a player interface having one or more player input devices and one or more player output devices;   a master table controller in communication with each of said plurality of player terminal processors and adapted to control a plurality of electronic gaming table functions; and   at least one interface in communication with said master table controller and adapted for communications with one or more additional electronic gaming tables remotely located from said electronic gaming table, wherein at least one of said plurality of player terminals is adapted to allow a live player stationed thereat to participate in a first live table game at the electronic gaming table and also a second live table game at one of the additional remotely located electronic gaming tables.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , wherein the first live table game at the electronic gaming table is different than the second live table game at the remotely located electronic gaming table. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , wherein said one or more player input devices and one or more player output devices include a camera and a video screen. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 3 , wherein the camera is adapted to capture a gesture of the live player, convert the gesture to an equivalent game command, and associate the game command to the player position at the electronic gaming table. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , wherein the first live table game and second live table game are played simultaneously. 
     
     
         6 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of player terminals includes a touchscreen, buttons, bill acceptor, printer and card reader. 
     
     
         7 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , further including:
 an electronic shoe in communication with said master table controller and adapted to hold playing cards for the play of a live table game, wherein said electronic shoe is further adapted to read the playing cards and communicate information therefor to said master table controller.   
     
     
         8 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a camera situated proximate the physical surface and operatively coupled to the master table controller, the camera being configured to collect information on one or more live game play actions of the first live table game.   
     
     
         9 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more live game play actions are selected from the group consisting of: shuffling cards, cutting a card deck, dealing cards, squeezing cards, game flow control gestures by the dealer, collecting used cards, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 9 , wherein the camera is adapted to transmit video of the one or more live game play actions to the remotely located electronic gaming table such that the video can be presented to one or more players at the remotely located electronic gaming table. 
     
     
         11 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 8 , wherein the one or more live game play actions are associated with the physical game components. 
     
     
         12 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , wherein the physical game components are selected from the group consisting of: one or more playing cards, one or more mechanical wheels rotatable about one axle, one or more physical dice, one or more monetary value chips, one or more banker or dealer buttons or tokens, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one community display configured to display community information, wherein the at least one community display is situated proximate the physical surface and operatively coupled to the master table controller.   
     
     
         14 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 15 , wherein the community information is selected from the group consisting of: previous game results, leader board rankings, wagering statistics, win-loss statistics, current jackpot amounts, bonusing status, minimum wager requirements, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The electronic gaming table of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one player terminal is adapted to conduct financial transactions between the live player and one or more remotely located network devices via said at least one interface. 
     
     
         16 . An electronic gaming table system, comprising:
 a plurality of electronic gaming tables adapted to host table games involving wagers, table games based on the wagers, and monetary awards based on the results of the table games, wherein at least two of said plurality of electronic gaming tables are located remotely from each other and each includes:
 a physical surface adapted for the play of live table games that include the use of a live dealer and physical game components, 
 a dealer station situated proximate said physical surface and adapted to provide for the presence of a live dealer at the electronic gaming table, wherein the live dealer facilitates the play of said live table games, 
 a plurality of player terminals situated proximate to and distributed about said physical surface, wherein each of said plurality of player terminals provides for the presence of a live player at the electronic gaming table and includes a player terminal processor coupled to a player interface having one or more player input devices and one or more player output devices, 
 a master table controller in communication with each of said plurality of player terminal processors and adapted to control a plurality of electronic gaming table functions, and 
 at least one interface in communication with said master table controller and adapted for communications with the remaining electronic gaming tables from said at least two electronic gaming tables, wherein at least one of said plurality of player terminals is adapted to allow a live player stationed thereat to participate in a live table game at the electronic gaming table and also another live table game at one of the remaining electronic gaming tables; and 
   an electronic gaming table host server located remotely from and in communication with said at least two electronic gaming tables, said electronic gaming table host server being adapted to facilitate communications between said at least two electronic gaming tables.   
     
     
         17 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 16 , wherein a first live table game at a first electronic gaming table from said at least two electronic gaming tables is different than a second live table game at a second electronic gaming table from said at least two electronic gaming tables. 
     
     
         18 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 17 , wherein the first live table game and second live table game are played simultaneously. 
     
     
         19 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 16 , wherein said one or more player input devices and one or more player output devices include a camera and a video screen. 
     
     
         20 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 19 , wherein the camera is adapted to capture a gesture of the live player, convert the gesture to an equivalent game command, and associate the game command to the player position at the electronic gaming table. 
     
     
         21 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 16 , further including:
 a financial server in communication with each of said at least two electronic gaming tables, said financial server being adapted to facilitate financial transactions from said at least two electronic gaming tables.   
     
     
         22 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 21 , wherein one or more of said player terminal is adapted to conduct financial transactions between a live player and said financial server. 
     
     
         23 . The electronic gaming table system of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a plurality of remote player terminals located separately from all of the plurality of electronic gaming tables, each of said plurality of remote player terminals being adapted to allow a remote player not present at any of plurality of electronic gaming tables to participate in a live table game at one of the electronic gaming tables and also another live table game at another of the electronic gaming tables, wherein each remote player terminal includes a processor operatively coupled to:
 a player interface having one or more player input devices and one or more player output devices, 
 the electronic gaming table host server, and 
 a financial server in communication with the plurality of electronic gaming tables and the plurality of remote player terminals, said financial server being adapted to facilitate financial transactions between the plurality of electronic gaming tables and the plurality of remote player terminals. 
   
     
     
         24 . A method of providing live table games at a gaming table, comprising:
 providing a first electronic gaming table adapted to host table games involving wagers, table games based on the wagers, and monetary awards based on the results of the table games;   establishing a communication connection between the first electronic gaming table and a remotely located second electronic gaming table also adapted to host table games involving wagers, table games based on the wagers, and monetary awards based on the results of the table games;   presenting a first live table game involving a live dealer at the first electronic gaming table, wherein a live player located at the first electronic gaming table participates in the first live table game;   presenting a second live table game at the second electronic gaming table;   displaying a live feed of at least a portion of the second live table game at the first electronic gaming table, wherein the live player participates in the second live table game while being located at the first electronic gaming table; and   awarding a prize or monetary payout to the live player based on the outcome of the first live table game, the second live table game, or both.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein said first electronic gaming table includes:
 a physical surface adapted for the play of live table games that include the use of a live dealer and physical game components,   a dealer station situated proximate said physical surface and adapted to provide for the presence of a live dealer at the first electronic gaming table, wherein the live dealer facilitates the play of said live table games,   a plurality of player terminals situated proximate to and distributed about said physical surface, wherein each of said plurality of player terminals provides for the presence of a live player at the first electronic gaming table and includes a player terminal processor coupled to a player interface having one or more player input devices and one or more player output devices,   a master table controller in communication with each of said plurality of player terminal processors and adapted to control a plurality of electronic gaming table functions, and   at least one interface in communication with said master table controller and adapted for communications with the remaining electronic gaming tables from said at least two electronic gaming tables, wherein at least one of said plurality of player terminals is adapted to allow a live player stationed thereat to participate in a live table game at the electronic gaming table and also another live table game at one of the remaining electronic gaming tables.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein said live feed comprises a video feed. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the first live table game and second live table game are played simultaneously. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the first live table game is different than the second live table game.