Gaming system having player-profile input feature for maintaining player ...

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(12) United States Patent

Rothschild et al.

(io) Patent No.: (45) Date of Patent:

US 7,384,338 B2 Jun. 10, 2008

(54) GAMING SYSTEM HAVING

PLAYER-PROFILE INPUT FEATURE FOR
MAINTAINING PLAYER ANONYMITY

(75) Inventors: Wayne H. Rothschild, Northbrook, IL (US); Richard T. Schwartz, Chicago, IL (US)

(73) Assignee: WMS Gaming, Inc., Waukegan, IL (US)

( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 561 days.

(21) Appl. No.: 10/744,972

(22) Filed: Dec. 22, 2003

(65) Prior Publication Data

US 2005/0137006 Al Jun. 23, 2005

Int. CI.

A63F 9/24 (2006.01)

U.S. CI 463/29

Field of Classification Search 463/25,

463/27, 29, 20 See application file for complete search history.

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(51)

(52) (58)

(56)

A method of operating a wagering game includes conducting a wagering game at a gaming terminal, and receiving inputs from a player that relate to a profile of the player. The inputs exclude a player's true identity. The method includes comparing the player inputs with a plurality of player-profile data sets to match the player inputs with a particular playerprofile data set. In response to this comparison yielding a matched player-profile data set, the method includes activating one or more personalized attributes at the gaming terminal associated with the matched player-profile data set. The method can be practiced within a gaming system comprising a database, a controller, and at least one gaming terminal. The database stores the player-profile data sets. Each data set is associated with and maintains anonymity of a respective player. An input device at the gaming terminal receives player-profile inputs for comparison to the playerprofile data sets.

48 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets

Page 2

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