Patent ID: 6110044
Filing Date: 2000-08-29
Classification: G07F

Abstract:
A method for issuing and validating a payout ticket for a gaming machine for playing a game that has a payout event that entitles a customer to a payout amount when the customer wins the game, the method comprising:(1) upon occurrence of a payout event in a gaming machine, automatically determining a validation number and printing payout-event-related imprint data on a payout ticket, the payout-event-related imprint data comprising the validation number and a payout amount, the validation number (V) being a predetermined function (F) of at least one parameter (v) selected from the following group of parameters: the payout amount, a win time representative of a time when the payout event occurred, a win date representative of a date on which the payout event occurred, a machine number representative of identity of the gaming machine, and a ticket number representative of a serial number associated with the ticket, so that V=F(v);(2) automatically embodying in the payout ticket a machine-readable indicium, the machine-readable indicium being representative of payout-event-related embodiment data, the payout-event-related embodiment data comprising the validation number;(3) automatically issuing the payout ticket to a customer;(4) causing the payout ticket to be taken to a cashier station and presented for redemption;(5) electronically scanning the payout ticket to read the machine-readable indicium thereof, to provide a data signal which is representative of putative embodiment data of which the machine-readable indicium of the payout ticket is representative, said putative embodiment data comprising a putative validation number;(6) electronically processing the data signal to determine whether the data signal is consistent with the payout ticket's being genuine; and(7) automatically providing a human-intelligible indicium of whether, as a result of the electronically processing the data signal in step (6), it is determined that the data signal is consistent with the payout ticket's being genuine.