Abstract:
A system is provided for the creation and management of promotional coupons or vouchers using coupon templates written in a template definition language, promotions, and promotional campaigns for the generation and issuance of promotional coupons either in real time or based on a predetermined date and/or time by a printer for use in a gaming, vending, or other business environment. The system uses a host system and a graphical front-end to a template definition language. Promotional coupons include coupons for merchandise, food, beverages, parking, lodging, special events such as a boxing or a tournament, personal events such as a birthday or an anniversary, entertainment, and a free play of a game or certain types of games. These promotional coupons can offer a discount, a refund, a rebate, or a free product or service. Promotions include those for a tangible or intangible product, a service, an event, and lodging. Promotional campaigns include those for events such as a holiday, contest, drawing, tournament, and other special events such as boxing.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/707,378, filed Aug. 10, 2005, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if stated in full herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to a promotional couponing system for the creation and management of promotional coupons, promotions, and promotional campaigns using a host system and a graphical front-end to a template definition language for the generation and issuance of promotional coupons either in real time or based on a predetermined date and/or time by a printer for use in a gaming, vending, or other business environment.  
         [0003]     Gaming machine manufacturers have introduced cashless enabled gaming machines to the market and these have begun to find wide acceptance in the gaming industry. Cashless enabled gaming machines are so named because they can conduct financial exchanges using a mixture of traditional currencies and vouchers. Typically, a cashless enabled gaming machine has a gaming printer to produce vouchers and a bill acceptor that supports automatic reading of vouchers. To coordinate the activities of multiple cashless enabled gaming machines, one or more cashless enabled gaming machines may be electronically coupled to a cashless enabled gaming machine system that controls the cashless operations of a cashless enabled gaming machine.  
         [0004]     Cashless enabled gaming machines have found increasing acceptance and use in the gaming industry with players who enjoy the speed of play and ease of transporting their winnings around a gaming establishment and the gaming establishments who have realized significant labor savings in the form of reduced coin hopper reloads in the games, and an increase in revenue because of the speed of play. Gaming and vending machine manufacturers have increasingly added additional printing features to their gaming and vending machines. One of these features is the ability to create promotional coupons from the vending machines. However, there is no method or system in place to create, issue, and manage promotional coupons, promotions, or promotional campaigns which may be transmitted to, stored in, and used by a printer.  
         [0005]     Promotional coupon generation and issuance can include a system which edits the layout of a coupon template. While this method may allow a user to design coupons, it does not allow the association of coupons to one or more promotions or the association of one or more promotions to a promotional campaign. Another problem with this method is the inability to copy coupon print regions from one coupon template to another template.  
         [0006]     Promotional coupon generation and issuance can also include the direct mailing of coupons from a gaming or other business establishment to consumers. One problem that plagues this method is that the promotion must be planned well in advance to accommodate the printing and mailing of the promotional coupons to consumers. Another problem is direct mailing and printing is not cost effective. Another problem is that the preprinted promotional coupons cannot be directly inserted into or read by a bill acceptor in a gaming or vending machine. The preprinted promotional coupons must be processed by hand, the process which lends itself to fraud and security issues such as forgery.  
         [0007]     Promotional coupon generation and issuance can also include providing consumers the means to download promotions from a networked environment (typically the Internet) for a gaming or other business establishment. In addition to some of the problems cited for the previously described existing methods, problems for this existing method also include the lack of the consumer&#39;s presence at a gaming or other business establishment which reduces the promotion&#39;s overall effectiveness and coupon redemption.  
         [0008]     In a method related to the generation and issuance of promotional coupons, comps can be issued by a gaming establishment to a consumer. Comps can include free meals, drinks, show tickets, special room rates, room upgrades, match play coupons, and free cash. One problem with this method is that the comp is usually processed or issued by a cashier, pit boss, or floor person whereby it must be determined if the consumer should receive a comp.  
         [0009]     Therefore, gaming establishments and vendors use multiple promotion methods to induce individuals to patronize the gaming establishment or associated gaming establishments or other types of establishments. However, there is no method or system in place to create, issue, and manage promotional coupons, promotions, and promotional campaigns which may be transmitted to, stored in, and used by a printer already installed within a cashless enabled gaming machine system. There exists a need, therefore, to provide a way to create, issue, and manage promotional coupons, promotions, and promotional campaigns. Various systems in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention meet such a need.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     In one example situation, a restaurant opens down the street from a movie theatre. The movie theatre, equipped with a kiosk or multiple kiosks, each coupled to a printer, can issue movie tickets directly to a consumer. The restaurant wants to promote their business by offering customers of the movie theatre a buy-one-get-one-free dinner. The restaurant pays the movie theatre to advertise this promotion using promotional coupons generated from each printer in each kiosk at the movie theatre. The movie theatre or the restaurant creates a promotional coupon for the restaurant using a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention described herein. In addition, parameters for the promotion such as start and end date and time are set. The data for the promotional coupon is then saved on a host system and sent to a printer in each kiosk at the movie theatre. Based on the criteria set up for the promotion, a consumer can receive the promotional coupon for the restaurant when the consumer, for example, purchases a movie ticket from a kiosk at the movie theatre.  
         [0011]     In another example situation, a gaming establishment desires to create a promotion for a new cashless enabled slot machine by offering match play coupons. Using a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention described herein, a gaming establishment can create a promotional coupon for the match play promotion. Parameters for the promotion such as start and end date and time, and number of coupons to issue are set. The data for the match play promotional coupon is saved on a host system and sent to a printer in one or more cashless enabled gaming machines. After a consumer plays and cashes out of a cashless enabled gaming machine, and if the criteria set for the promotion is met, the consumer receives the match play promotional coupon. The consumer can then play the new cashless enabled slot machine using the match play promotional coupon by inserting the match play promotional coupon into the bill acceptor of the new cashless enabled slot machine.  
         [0012]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a user can create promotional coupons, promotions, and promotional campaigns in real time, thereby allowing up-to-the-minute or last-minute implementations. For example, a gaming establishment desires to create a last-minute promotion to issue a promotional coupon to consumers who have played for more than two consecutive hours on the same gaming machine. Using a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention described herein, the gaming establishment creates the promotional coupon template and the promotion. The data for the promotional coupon and promotion is saved on the host system and sent to a printer in one or more cashless enabled gaming machines. If the criteria set for the promotion is met, the printer then issues the promotional coupon to a consumer who plays for more than two consecutive hours on the same gaming machine.  
         [0013]     These and other advantages can be realized by various systems in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In one aspect, a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention defines coupon templates written in a template definition language, promotions, and promotional campaigns for the creation and management of promotional coupons, promotions, and promotional campaigns using a host system and a graphical front-end to a template definition language for the generation and issuance of promotional coupons in real time or based on a predetermined criteria, such as a predetermined date and/or time by a printer, for use in a gaming, vending, or other business environment.  
         [0014]     Promotional coupons include coupons for merchandise, food, beverages, parking, lodging, special events such as a boxing or a tournament, personal events such as a birthday or an anniversary, entertainment, and a free play of a game or certain types of games. These promotional coupons can offer a discount, a refund, a rebate, or a free product or service.  
         [0015]     Promotions include those for a tangible or intangible product, a service, an event, and lodging. Promotional campaigns include those for events such as a holiday, contest, drawing, tournament, and other special events such as boxing.  
         [0016]     In one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to define a promotional coupon, the promotional coupon template where the layout and print regions of text, graphics, barcodes, lines, and boxes are defined as displays. A gaming or other business establishment defines the layout of a promotional coupon template by placing print regions on the promotional coupon template. For example, the user desires to place a barcode as a print region on the promotional coupon template. The user selects the barcode option to define the parameters for that barcode. The parameters include, for example, region ID, region data, region size, object ID, object rotation, object width, object justification, object attributes, print attributes, and print color among others. These parameters are also used to modify a print region.  
         [0017]     The user can move any region to another area on a promotional coupon template, place a region in front of other regions, or place a region behind other regions.  
         [0018]     Furthermore, one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows multiple promotional coupon templates to be created based on existing promotional coupon templates. In this system, a gaming or other business establishment selects an existing promotional coupon template on which additional promotional coupon templates are based. Each additional promotional coupon template inherits the characteristics of the selected existing promotional coupon template but can be separately modified. Using the promotional coupon template editor which displays, a gaming or other business establishment can create a new promotional coupon template, delete a selected promotional coupon template, and display or hide print regions on a promotional coupon template.  
         [0019]     Another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows the user to adjust the workspace for structuring the promotional coupon template. Thus, if desired, the user can zoom in on the overall layout and print regions of a promotional coupon template to closely view and modify the overall layout and print regions. This feature also permits users to zoom out to view the overall layout and print regions of a promotional coupon template.  
         [0020]     After the gaming or other business establishment defines the print regions for the promotional coupon template, the promotional coupon template is stored in a document. The document contains multiple lines. Each line contains a command and the associated parameters required to use that promotional coupon template. The document is stored on a host system and may be incorporated into a new or existing promotion. The data may also be transmitted to, stored in, and used by a printer either alone or with other promotional coupon templates to generate a promotional coupon or a plurality of promotional coupons. The data may also be transmitted to and stored in a routing device coupled to a printer, the routing device transmitting the stored data to the printer to generate a promotional coupon or plurality of such.  
         [0021]     Furthermore, one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows the overall layout and print regions of a promotional coupon template to be edited or deleted. The parameters for a print region which can be edited include region ID, region data, region size, object ID, object rotation, object width, object justification, object attributes, print attributes, and print color among others.  
         [0022]     In another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a gaming or other business establishment defines one or a plurality of triggers by which a promotional coupon or promotional coupons may be generated by a printer. These triggers include amount wagered, amount lost, rate of play, length of play, issuance per trigger, birthday, frequency selector, and issue period. Other parameters used to define a promotion include promotion start and end dates, a promotion ending period based on number of issued coupons, promotion start and end times, issuing a name for the promotion, assigning one or a plurality of triggers to the promotion, and selecting one or a plurality of promotional coupon templates for use with the promotion.  
         [0023]     The data for a promotion is stored on the host system and may be used in one or a plurality of promotional campaigns. Data created for a promotion or a plurality of promotions may be transmitted to, stored in, and used by a printer to generate one or a plurality of promotional coupons. The data may also be transmitted to and stored in a routing device coupled to a printer, the routing device transmitting the stored data to the printer to generate a promotional coupon or plurality of such.  
         [0024]     Furthermore, another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows promotions to be edited or deleted. The parameters for a promotion which can be edited include all those previously described.  
         [0025]     When a gaming or other business establishment desires to define a promotional campaign, promotions and promotional campaigns are defined as displays. A gaming or other business establishment defines a promotional campaign by associating one or a plurality of predefined promotions to the promotional campaign, assigning a name to the promotional campaign, and selecting a promotional coupon and triggers.  
         [0026]     The data for a promotional campaign is stored on the host system. Data created for a promotional campaign may be transmitted to, stored in, and used by a printer to generate one or a plurality of promotional coupons. The data may also be transmitted to and stored in a routing device coupled to a printer, the routing device transmitting the stored data to the printer to generate a promotional coupon or plurality of such.  
         [0027]     Furthermore, another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows promotional campaigns to be edited or deleted. The parameters for a promotional campaign which can be edited include the promotional campaign name, promotion associations, and type of promotional campaign, among others.  
         [0028]     In addition, one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows the export of promotional coupon templates and data for promotional coupons, promotions, and promotional campaigns for incorporation and use by external software applications such as a casino management system or player tracking system.  
         [0029]     Furthermore, another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides various methods of establishing communications with a printer for data transmission. In one aspect of such a system, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to set up the communication port to which data is transmitted to a printer, the communication port settings displays. A gaming or other business establishment selects the communication port and the communication protocol baud rate, identifies the polling option and command, and initializes the communication port. In addition, a gaming or other business establishment can locate additional communication ports to which to establish communications.  
         [0030]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to set up the respective communication ports to which gaming or vending vouchers and promotional coupon data is transmitted to a printer, the communication ports settings displays. A gaming or other business establishment selects a gaming or vending voucher file, selects the communication port and the communication protocol baud rate, and initializes the communication port for the gaming or vending voucher. A gaming or other business establishment repeats this process for a promotional coupon.  
         [0031]     A gaming or other business establishment can also set the delay between print option which sets the delay print time between printing a gaming or vending voucher and printing a promotional coupon. A gaming or other business establishment can also disconnect the communication port for the gaming or vending voucher, the promotional coupon, or both.  
         [0032]     When a gaming or other business establishment desires to view the parameters of a print job prior to sending a data to a printer, the print job controls are displayed. A gaming or other business establishment can select options such as manually sending the print job, sending all print jobs without delay, sending all print jobs with delay, canceling a print job, and clearing the output log that is created when a print job is sent to a printer.  
         [0033]     A gaming or other business establishment can also view the status of a printer. When desiring to do so, the printer status displays. A gaming or other business establishment can view any communication errors, such as Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) errors, view the printer library, and reset the printer if necessary.  
         [0034]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data for a promotional campaign which may be transmitted to a printer from a host system, stored in, and used by a printer to generate a promotional coupon or a plurality of promotional coupons, may be combined with data for a promotional coupon or plurality of promotional coupons. In this system, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to create or edit a promotional campaign, promotions and promotional campaigns are defined as displays. After a gaming or other business establishment creates or edits a promotional campaign, the system inserts a header in the promotional campaign data file which identifies the promotional campaign. The system also calculates a signature, such as a CRC, based on the contents of the promotional campaign data and sends the signature to the printer.  
         [0035]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a boundary check on the combined promotional coupon template or plurality of promotional coupon templates, print regions, graphics and other data which may be included with the promotional campaign data may be performed to ensure conformance with the resources and load requirements of the printer. In this system, after a gaming or other business establishment transmits data to a printer, the promotional couponing system performs the boundary check by determining the number of promotional coupon templates, print regions, graphics and other data which may be included with promotional campaign data. The promotional couponing system then verifies the signature. After successful verification of the signature, the promotional couponing system loads the data for each promotional coupon template and sends the signature to the printer.  
         [0036]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns are stored in the memory of the printer. In this system, the promotional couponing system transmits the data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns to a printer or plurality of such. When all parameters of a promotion or a promotional campaign are met, the printer uses the data stored in memory to generate a promotional coupon or a plurality of promotional coupons.  
         [0037]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns are stored in a routing device coupled to a gaming printer. In this system, the promotional couponing system transmits the data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns to the routing device. When all the parameters for a promotion or promotional campaign are met, the routing device transmits the stored data to the gaming printer to generate a promotional coupon or a plurality of promotional coupons. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0038]     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, accompanying drawings and appendix where:  
         [0039]      FIG. 1  is a process flow diagram of the promotional couponing system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0040]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of the attributes of the print regions of a promotional coupon template in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0041]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a promotional coupon including logical fields in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0042]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of the attributes of the communication settings with a printer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0043]      FIG. 5  is an illustration of the attributes of the printer settings in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0044]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart of a load, check, and verify CRC process for a promotional campaign in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0045]      FIG. 7  is an illustration of the data stored in the memory of a printer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0046]      FIG. 8  is a process flow diagram for vouchers and promotional data in a gaming environment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0047]      FIG. 9  is a block diagram of a printer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0048]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a host for creation of a promotion in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
       [0049]     APPENDIX A is a list of definitions of terms as used herein.  
         [0050]     Identically labeled elements appearing in different ones of the figures refer to the same elements but may not be referenced in the description for all figures.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0051]      FIG. 1  is a process flow diagram of the promotional couponing system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated the process begins ( 101 ) when a user uses a user input device (not shown) to design ( 102 ) a promotional coupon template  103  which is used to create promotional coupons  104 . Print regions can be added, edited, or deleted ( 105 ) from promotional coupon template  103 . The print regions which may be included on promotional coupon template  103  are text or plurality of text, a barcode or plurality of barcodes, a line or plurality of lines, a graphic or plurality of graphics, and a box or plurality of boxes, as shown in element  106 . As promotional coupon template  103  is designed, the appearance of promotional coupons  104  is displayed to the user on a user output device (not shown) such as a screen or other display.  
         [0052]     Each promotional coupon template is given ( 107 ) a name. The data for promotional coupon template  103  is stored on a host system and may be used in a promotion or a plurality of promotions. The data for each promotional coupon template  103  may also be transmitted to, stored in, and used by a printer  108  or plurality of printers to generate promotional coupon  104  or a plurality of promotional coupons.  
         [0053]     The data for each promotional coupon template  103  may also be transmitted to and stored in a routing device  109  or a plurality of routing devices, each which is coupled to a printer, such as printer  108 . Routing device  109  transmits the stored data to printer  108  to generate promotional coupon  104  or a plurality of promotional coupons.  
         [0054]     If promotional coupon template  103  or plurality of promotional coupon templates is used in a promotion or plurality of promotions, the process continues with the design ( 110 ) of a promotion  111  or plurality of promotions. Each promotion  111  is given ( 112 ) a name, the promotion duration is set ( 113 ), triggers are identified ( 114 ), and promotional coupon templates are associated ( 115 ). The promotion duration parameters include start and end date, start and end time, and number of issued coupons, among others, as shown in element  116 . The triggers include amount wagered, amount loss, time played, birthday, frequency selector, and issue period among others, as shown in element  117 . The promotional coupon trigger is given a name and described. The data for each promotion  111  is stored on a host system and may be used in any promotional campaign or plurality of promotional campaigns. The data for each promotion may also be transmitted to printer  108  or plurality of printers to generate promotional coupon  104  or a plurality of promotional coupons.  
         [0055]     The data for each promotion may also be transmitted to and stored in routing device  109  or a plurality of routing devices, each which is coupled to a printer, such as printer  108 . Routing device  109  transmits the stored data to printer  108  to generate promotional coupon  104  or a plurality of promotional coupons.  
         [0056]     If promotion  111  or plurality of promotions is to be used in a promotional campaign  118  or plurality of promotional campaigns, the process continues with the design ( 119 ) of a promotional campaign or plurality of promotional campaigns. Each promotional campaign is given ( 120 ) a name and a promotion or plurality of promotions is associated ( 121 ) with each promotional campaign  118 . The data for each promotional campaign  118  is stored on a host system and may be transmitted to printer  108  or a plurality of printers to generate promotional coupon  104  or a plurality of promotional coupons.  
         [0057]     The data for each promotional campaign  118  may also be transmitted to and stored in routing device  109  or a plurality of routing devices, each which is coupled to a printer, such as printer  108 . Routing device  109  transmits the stored data to printer  108  to generate promotional coupon  104  or a plurality of promotional coupons. In addition, as printer  108  is also coupled to a gaming or vending machine  124 , printer  108  may print vouchers  122  along with coupon  104 .  
         [0058]     In one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns are stored in routing device  109  coupled to printer  108 . In this system, the promotional couponing system transmits the data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns to routing device  109 . When all the parameters for a promotion or promotional campaign are met, the routing device transmits the stored data to printer  108  to generate promotional coupon(s)  104 .  
         [0059]     In another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a user can create promotional coupons  104 , promotions, and promotional campaigns in real time, thereby allowing up-to-the-minute or last-minute implementations. Using such a system, the gaming establishment creates the promotional coupon template and the promotion. The data for the promotional coupon and promotion is saved on the host system and sent to printer  108  in one or more cashless enabled gaming machines. If the criteria set for the promotion is met, the printer then issues the promotional coupon to a consumer.  
         [0060]     In one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, coupon templates  101  written in a template definition language, promotions  111 , and promotional campaigns  118  are designed using a host system and a graphical front-end to a template definition language.  
         [0061]     When a gaming or other business establishment desires to define a promotional coupon, the promotional coupon template where the layout and print regions of text, graphics, barcodes, lines, and boxes are defined as displays. A gaming or other business establishment defines the layout of promotional coupon templates  103  by placing print regions on the promotional coupon template. For example, the user desires to place a barcode as a print region on promotional coupon templates  103 . The user selects the barcode option to define the parameters for that barcode. The parameters include, for example, region ID, region data, region size, object ID, object rotation, object width, object justification, object attributes, print attributes, and print color among others. These parameters are also used to modify a print region.  
         [0062]     The user can move any region to another area on promotional coupon templates  103 , place a region in front of other regions, or place a region behind other regions.  
         [0063]     Another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows multiple promotional coupon templates  103  to be created based on existing promotional coupon templates. In this system, a gaming or other business establishment selects an existing promotional coupon template on which additional promotional coupon templates  103  are based. Each additional promotional coupon template inherits the characteristics of the selected existing promotional coupon template but can be separately modified. Using the promotional coupon template editor which displays, a gaming or other business establishment can create a new promotional coupon template, delete a selected promotional coupon template, and display or hide print regions on a promotional coupon template.  
         [0064]     Another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows the user to adjust the workspace for structuring the promotional coupon templates  103 . Thus, if desired, the user can zoom in on the overall layout and print regions of promotional coupon templates  103  to closely view and modify the overall layout and print regions. This feature also permits users to zoom out to view the overall layout and print regions of promotional coupon templates  103 .  
         [0065]     In another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, after the gaming or other business establishment defines the print regions for the promotional coupon template, a promotional coupon template is stored in a document. The document contains multiple lines. Each line contains a command and the associated parameters required to use that promotional coupon template. The document is stored on a host system and may be incorporated into a new or existing promotion  111 . The data may also be transmitted to, stored in, and used by printer  108  either alone or with other promotional coupon templates  103  to generate promotional coupons  104 . The data may also be transmitted to and stored in a routing device  109  coupled to printer  108 , with routing device  109  transmitting the stored data to printer  108  to generate promotional coupons  104 .  
         [0066]     One system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows the overall layout and print regions of promotional coupon templates  103  to be edited or deleted. The parameters for a print region which can be edited include region ID, region data, region size, object ID, object rotation, object width, object justification, object attributes, print attributes, and print color among others.  
         [0067]     In addition, one system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention allows the export of promotional coupon templates  103  and data for promotional coupons  104 , promotions  111 , and promotional campaigns  118  for incorporation and use by external software applications such as a casino management system or player tracking system.  
         [0068]     Furthermore, another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides various methods of establishing communications with printer  108  for data transmission. In one aspect of such a system, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to set up the communication port to which data is transmitted to printer  108 , the communication port settings are displayed. A gaming or other business establishment selects the communication port and the communication protocol baud rate, identifies the polling option and command, and initializes the communication port. In addition, a gaming or other business establishment can locate additional communication ports to which to establish communications with printer  108  or routing device  109 .  
         [0069]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to set up the respective communication ports to which gaming or vending vouchers and promotional coupon data is transmitted to printer  108 , the communication ports settings are displayed. A gaming or other business establishment selects a gaming or vending voucher file, selects the communication port and the communication protocol baud rate, and initializes the communication port for the gaming or vending voucher. A gaming or other business establishment repeats this process for a promotional coupon.  
         [0070]     A gaming or other business establishment can also set the delay between print option which sets the delay print time between printing a gaming or vending voucher  122  and printing promotional coupons  104 . A gaming or other business establishment can also disconnect the communication port for the gaming or vending voucher, the promotional coupon, or both.  
         [0071]     When a gaming or other business establishment desires to view the parameters of a print job prior to sending a data to a printer, print job controls are displayed. A gaming or other business establishment can select options such as manually sending the print job, sending all print jobs without delay, sending all print jobs with delay, canceling a print job, and clearing the output log that is created when a print job is sent to printer  108 .  
         [0072]     A gaming or other business establishment can also view the status of printer  108 . When desiring to do so, the printer status displays. A gaming or other business establishment can view any communication errors, such as Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) errors, view the printer library, and reset printer  108  if necessary.  
         [0073]     In another system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data for promotional campaigns  118  which may be transmitted to printer  108  from a host system, stored in, and used by printer  108  to generate a promotional coupon or a plurality of promotional coupons, may be combined with data for promotional coupons  104 . In this system, when a gaming or other business establishment desires to create or edit promotional campaigns  118 , promotions  111  and promotional campaigns  118  are defined as displays. After a gaming or other business establishment creates or edits promotional campaigns  118 , the system inserts a header in a promotional campaign data file  118  which identifies a promotional campaign. The system also calculates a signature, such as a CRC, based on the contents of the promotional campaign data and sends the signature to printer  108 .  
         [0074]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a boundary check on the combined promotional coupon templates  103 , print regions, graphics and other data which may be included with the promotional campaign  118  data may be performed to ensure conformance with the resources and load requirements of printer  108 . In this system, after a gaming or other business establishment transmits data to printer  108 , the promotional couponing system performs the boundary check by determining the number of promotional coupon templates  103 , print regions, graphics and other data which may be included with promotional campaign  118  data. The promotional couponing system then verifies the signature. After successful verification of the signature, the promotional couponing system loads the data for each promotional coupon template and sends the signature to printer  108 .  
         [0075]     In another aspect of a system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns are stored in the memory of printer  108 . In this system, the promotional couponing system transmits the data for promotional coupon templates, promotions, and promotional campaigns to printer  108 . When all parameters of promotions  111  or promotional campaigns  118  are met, the printer uses the data stored in memory to generate promotional coupons  104 .  
         [0076]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of the attributes of the print regions of promotional coupon template  103  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0077]     As illustrated, a promotional coupon template may include text print regions  201 , barcode print regions  202 , line print regions  203 , box print regions  204 , and graphic print regions  205 .  
         [0078]     The attributes for text print region  201  are defined in Table I as follows:  
                   TABLE I                       Attribute   Description                   Print Region Data   Permanently stored data. Can modify if&lt;pr_att&gt; =       (&lt;pr_data&gt;)   dynamic, incrementing, or decrementing       Region ID (&lt;r_id&gt;)   Print Region identifier. Unique alphanumeric           character       Font Size Width   The width of the size of the font.       (&lt;mul_1&gt;)       Font Size Height   The height of the size of the font.       (&lt;mul_2&gt;)       Font Size   An object identifier which describes the size of the       (&lt;obj_id&gt;)   font.       Print Region   Special handling instructions for the print region.       Attributes   Options for text include: Dynamic, Stored,       (&lt;pr_att&gt;)   Incrementing, or Decrementing.       Rotation (&lt;rot&gt;)   Rotation of strings or data with the print region.           Options include: 0, 90, 180, or 270 Degrees.       Justification   Justification of data within the print region.       (&lt;just&gt;)   Options include: Left, Right, or Center.       Text Printing   Special handling instructions for the print object.       Attribute   Options for text include: Normal or Inverse.       (&lt;obj_att&gt;)       Print Color   Color of the print region.       Size Text Region   Sizing for the print region. Shrink/Enlarge Width           and Height.                  
 
         [0079]     The attributes for barcode print region  202  are defined in Table II as follows:  
                   TABLE II                       Attribute   Description                   Print Region Data   Permanently stored data. Can modify if&lt;pr_att&gt; =       (&lt;pr_data&gt;)   dynamic, increment, or decrement       Region ID (&lt;r_id&gt;)   Print Region identifier. Unique alphanumeric           character.       Barcode Type   An object identifier which describes the type of       (&lt;obj_id&gt;)   barcode used.       Print Region   Special handling instructions for the print region.       Attributes   Options for barcodes include: Dynamic, Stored,       (&lt;pr_att&gt;)   Increment, or Decrement.       Barcode Width   The first width of the barcode.       (&lt;mul_1&gt;)       Barcode Width2   The second width of the barcode.       (&lt;mul_2&gt;)       Rotation   Rotation of strings or data with print region.       (&lt;rot&gt;)   Options include: 0, 90, 180, or 270 Degrees.       Justification   Justification of data within print region. Options       (&lt;just&gt;)   include: Left, Right, or Center.       Barcode Height   The height of the barcode.       (&lt;obj_att&gt;)       Print Color   Color of the print region.       Size Barcode   Sizing for the print region. Shrink/Enlarge Width       Region   and Height.                  
 
         [0080]     The attributes for line print region  203  are defined in Table III as follows:  
                   TABLE III                       Attribute   Description                   Region ID   Print Region identifier. Unique Alphanumeric       (&lt;r_id&gt;)   Character.       Line (&lt;obj_id&gt;)   An object identifier which describes a line.       Line Thickness   The thickness of the line.       (&lt;mul_1&gt;)       Rotation (&lt;rot&gt;)   Rotation of strings or data with print region. Options           include: 0, 90, 180, or 270 Degrees.       Size Line Region   Sizing for the print region. Shrink/Enlarge Width and           Height                  
 
         [0081]     The attributes for box print region  204  are defined in Table IV as follows:  
                   TABLE IV                       Attribute   Description                   Region ID   Print Region identifier. Unique Alphanumeric       (&lt;r_id&gt;)   Character.       Box (&lt;obj_id&gt;)   An object identifier which describes a box.       Line Thickness   The thickness of the line.       (&lt;mul_1)       Size Box Region   Sizing for the print region. Shrink/Enlarge           Width and Height                  
 
         [0082]     The attributes for graphic print region  205  are defined in Table V as follows:  
                   TABLE V                       Attribute   Description                   Region ID   Print Region identifier. Unique Alphanumeric Character.       (&lt;r_id&gt;)       Graphic   An object identifier which describes a graphic.       (&lt;obj_id&gt;)       File Name   Name of the graphic file.                  
 
         [0083]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of an exemplary promotional coupon  104  including logical fields in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this example, promotional coupon  104  may include five types of print regions: text, barcode, graphic, line, and box as described in  FIG. 3 . The print regions of a promotional coupon template used to create this example are defined in the promotional couponing system and may be stored in a printer, such as printer  108 . The template may include a plurality of print regions in combination, resulting in a paste-up style printed coupon.  
         [0084]     The actual value of data for each print region may or may not be included in the promotional coupon template. For example, a promotional coupon template may include a barcode field  202  for printing a barcode  301 . However the actual value of the barcode is transmitted to printer  108  at the time promotional coupon  104  is generated using promotional coupon template  103 . In this way, promotional coupon  104  may have print regions that include static data, such as a graphic  302  in graphic print region  205 , or dynamic data such as the name  303  of a particular patron in a text print region  201 . In this way, customized promotional coupons may be printed by printer  108  without transferring large amounts of data through a communications network coupling printer  108  to a master promotional controller.  
         [0085]     In addition, data that is used to track usage of promotional coupons may be included in promotional coupon  104 . For example, a barcode field  202  or a text field  201  may be used to print a barcode value  301  or text string  304  uniquely identifying promotional coupon  104 . In this way, printer  108  creates an image of a barcode or barcodes, characters or marks that may be read by a gaming or vending machine bill acceptor on the same or another gaming or vending machine, allowing automatic acceptance of promotional coupons.  
         [0086]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of the attributes of the communication settings with printer  108  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The following describes each attribute. Voucher COMM Port is used to identify the communication port used for voucher printing. Coupon COMM Port is used to identify the communication port used for promotional coupon printing. Baud Rate is used to set the data transmission rate for the Voucher COMM port and the Coupon COMM port. Polling Options are used on the Voucher COMM Port and the Coupon COMM port to poll the printer status. During polling, the status of the printer is sent to the promotional couponing system.  
         [0087]     Initialize Ports is used to set up each port for data transmission. Locate Additional Ports is used to find other ports which may be available on a printer. Delay Time is used to set the time to delay printing of a voucher and a promotional coupon. Voucher COMM Port Disconnect is used to disconnect communication with the Voucher COMM Port. Coupon COMM Port Disconnect is used to disconnect communication with the Coupon COMM Port.  
         [0088]      FIG. 5  is an illustration of the attributes of the printer settings in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The following describes each attribute. Printer Status is used to determine the status of the printer. Printer Reset is used to reset the printer should an error occur. Send Manual is used to manually send each print job to the printer. Send All No Delay is used to send all print jobs to the printer without delaying any of the print jobs. Send All Delay is used to send all print jobs to the printer using the Delay Time attribute of  FIG. 4 . Cancel Job(s) is used to cancel all print jobs currently queued to the printer. Clear Print Log is used to clear the file which logs each print job.  
         [0089]      FIG. 6  is a flow chart of the load, check, and verify CRC process for a promotional campaign in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0090]     As illustrated, the process begins ( 601 ) with loading ( 602 ) promotional campaign data. A boundary check is performed ( 603 ). If the promotional campaign data passes the boundary check, the process continues with determining ( 604 ) the number of promotional coupon template files. If the promotional campaign data does not pass the boundary check, the system advises ( 605 ) the user and returns to the promotional couponing system.  
         [0091]     After determining the number of promotional coupon template files, a verify file CRC is performed ( 606 ) on the promotional campaign data. If the promotional campaign data passes the CRC verification, the process continues with the loading ( 607 ) of each promotional coupon template. If the promotional campaign data does not pass the CRC verification, the system advises ( 608 ) the user and returns to the promotional couponing system.  
         [0092]     After loading each promotional coupon template, a verify file CRC is performed ( 609 ) on each promotional coupon template in the promotional campaign data. If the promotional campaign data does not pass the CRC verification, the system advises ( 610 ) the user and returns to the promotional couponing system. If the promotional campaign data passes the CRC verification, the process determines ( 611 ) whether there are additional promotional coupon templates to load. If there are additional promotional coupon templates to load, the process returns to  607 . If there are no additional promotional coupons to load, the process advances to  612 .  
         [0093]     At  612 , after loading all promotional coupon templates is complete, the process completes with the CRC being sent ( 612 ) to the printer.  
         [0094]      FIG. 7  is an illustration of the data stored in the memory of printer  108  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0095]     As illustrated, a printer memory  701  comprises a promotional table  702 , template and region definitions  703 , and graphics. The promotional table comprises one or a plurality of addresses. Each address is mapped to a template and region definition. A map table  704  comprises 6 bytes of graphic data as follows: 1 byte for the object identification (ID), 1 byte for the object rotation (Rot); and 4 bytes for the object address (Addr). In this example, the map table may contain a total of 112 entries. Each entry is mapped to graphic data  705  in memory.  
         [0096]      FIG. 8  is a process flow diagram for gaming and vending vouchers and promotional data in a gaming environment in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0097]     As illustrated, the process for vouchers begins with a Main Communication Handler  801 . A determination is made ( 802 ) whether data exists on the main port. If data, such as a voucher  808 , exists on the main port, the system gets ( 803 ) the data from the main port and sets the printer to busy. If data does not exist on the main port, the process returns to Main Communication Handler  801 .  
         [0098]     The process for promotional coupons begins with a Promo Communication Handler  804 . A determination is made ( 805 ) whether data exists on the promo port. If data, such as a promotional coupon  104 , exists on the promo port, the system gets ( 806 ) the data  809  from the promo port and sets the printer to busy. If data does not exist on the promo port, the process returns to Promo Communication Handler  804 .  
         [0099]     If the printer is busy using any port, the data from the other port is queued ( 807 ).  
         [0100]     The process continues with the system identifying ( 810 ) which data was received first. Because the process begins with Main Communication Handler  801  determining whether voucher data exists on the main port, if voucher data exists on the main port the voucher data will be identified at  810  as being received first. After identifying the data received first, the system processes ( 811 ) the first data to generate a voucher or promotional coupon, then returns to process the second data to generate ( 812 ) a voucher or promotional coupon.  
         [0101]     In one embodiment, identifying which data was received first is based on a priority. For example, priority can be given to voucher data in the event that voucher data exists on the main port and promotional coupon data exists on the promo port. In another embodiment, priority can be given to voucher data such that even when promotional coupon data is received first, the system waits to receive and print corresponding voucher data prior to printing the promotional coupon data.  
         [0102]      FIG. 9  is a block diagram of an external device such as a printer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. A printer  108  includes a processor  902 , operatively coupled via a bus  906  to a memory  904 . The processor is further operatively coupled via the bus to a storage device  910 . Program instructions  916  and data  914  implementing previously described voucher and coupon printing processes are stored in the storage device until the processor retrieves the program instructions and stores them in the memory. The processor then executes the program instructions stored in the memory and uses the data to implement the features of the printer as previously described.  
         [0103]     The processor is further coupled via the bus to one or more communication devices or ports  918 . The printer uses the communication devices to transmit and receive control signals from a promotion generation system, gaming system or gaming machine as previously described.  
         [0104]     The processor is further coupled via the system bus to a print device  920 . The printer uses the print device to generate vouchers coupons as previously described.  
         [0105]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a host system for hosting a process for creation of a promotion in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. A host  1000  includes a processor  1002 , operatively coupled via a bus  1006  to a memory  1004 . The processor is further operatively coupled via the bus to a storage device  1010 . Program instructions  1016  and data  1014  for implementing the previously described promotional program generation processes are stored in the storage device until the processor retrieves the program instructions and stores them in the memory. The processor then executes the program instructions stored in the memory and uses the data to implement the features of the promotional program generation processes as previously described.  
         [0106]     The processor is further coupled via the bus to one or more communications devices or ports  1022 . The host uses the communications devices to transmit and receive control signals to and from external devices as previously described.  
         [0107]     The processor is further coupled via the bus to one or more user input devices  1018  and one or more user output devices  1020  for communicating with a user as previously described in order to create a promotional program.  
         [0108]     Although the present invention has been described in certain specific embodiments, many additional modifications and variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. Thus, the present embodiments of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention to be determined by any claims supportable by this application and the claims&#39; equivalents rather than the foregoing description.  
       APPENDIX A—LIST OF TERMS  
       [0000]     “Gaming Establishment”—a gaming entity, such as a casino.  
         [0000]     “Business Establishment”—a business entity, which may use a kiosk for consumer purchases such as movie tickets, parking tickets, venue tickets, etc., or a retail business entity.  
         [0000]     “Host System”—includes a server, a personal computer connected to a network, and a stand alone personal computer which is used for application and data storage, data processing, and file transfers.  
         [0000]     “CRC”—a mathematical formula used as a signature for the binary image of the firmware or data included in the sectional memory of a printer. Acronym for Cyclic Redundancy Check.  
         [0000]     “Printer”—a printing device, which may be located within a cashless enabled game, a vending machine or kiosk, or coupled to a point-of-sale system.  
         [0109]     “Print Region”—a print object, such as text, barcode, line, box, or graphic, which may be used on a template which describes where to put the print object on a coupon or voucher, how to print the print object, the orientation of print (0, 90, etc.), and other special control factors.  
         [0000]     “Template”—includes a collection of Print Regions referenced by a single identification byte that is used to format the positioning of Print Regions on a coupon or voucher.