Patent ID: 9652932
Date: 2017-05-16
CPC Classifications: G07F

Claim:
1. A gaming system, comprising, in combination: one or more gaming machines; and an account-adjusting device in data communication with each of the gaming machines; wherein each of the gaming machines includes a housing; a value-addition mechanism by which a player adds gaming media to be bet to the gaming machine; a validator which validates the authenticity of bills or other physical, value-bearing media used to add gaming media to be bet to the gaming machine; a plurality of input buttons including a bet button by which the player wagers an amount of gaming media that has been added to the gaming machine via the value-addition mechanism and that has monetary value associated therewith; a spin button by which the player causes a game to be executed; and a payout button by which the player can obtain from the gaming machine a payout of an amount of gaming media; and an associated game-play microcomputer including a microprocessor, wherein the game-play microcomputer is programmed to perform the steps, as a result of the player having wagered gaming media and having caused a game to be executed, of (i) executing the game; (ii) determining an award, if any, to be paid to the player based on a result of the game and the amount of gaming media the player has wagered; and (iii) determining whether the award to be paid to the player, if any, is subject to a tax payment and, if so, sending a tax-payment-processing-request to the account-adjusting device without reducing the amount of the award to be paid by the amount of the tax payment to which it is subject and without suspending the ability to execute games on the gaming machine; and wherein the account-adjusting device includes an account-adjusting microcomputer including a microprocessor, the account-adjusting microcomputer being programmed to perform the steps of a) receiving a tax-payment-processing-request message sent by the game-play microcomputer associated with one of said gaming machines in response to a given player winning a taxable award at said one of said gaming machines; b) receiving data pertaining to non-gaming charges accumulated by the given player throughout an establishment in which the gaming system is installed; c) using the data pertaining to non-gaming charges accumulated by the given player; uncollected award amounts, if any; and any tax payments to which awards are subject, determining a total amount due from the given player in settlement of an account associated with the given player; and d) providing tax-payment-certification data to an output device upon settlement of the account associated with the given player.