Abstract:
A computer gaming system and method of operation thereof are provided that both drastically reduce the cost of gaming stations and allow contemporaneous access to multiple game programs from a single gaming station. The computer gaming system of the present invention allows for transparent modifications and upgrades to the gaming programs by executing gaming programs on a server/host computer connected to a plurality of client/terminal computers via communication pathways. Each client/terminal computer comprises a client/terminal program that allows input and output streams of the gaming program executed on the server/host computer to be separated and redirected to the client/terminal computers. Since the gaming programs are executed entirely on the server/host computer, with only wagering input and display output operations being executed on the client/terminal computers, the cost of the hardware and software required for each client/terminal computer is greatly reduced. A patron of a client/terminal computer can access any of the gaming programs executed on the server/host computer. Modifications and upgrades of the gaming programs only need to be performed on the server/host computer. By using a stereo head-mounted display together with a joystick input device and wireless communication pathways, the present invention allows a patron to participate in a mobile gaming environment.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/080,816, filed Feb. 21, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,189,161, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/199,529, filed Nov. 24, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,602, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/187,135, filed Nov. 6, 1998 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to computers and, more particularly, to computer-implemented gaming systems. 
     2. Related Art 
     Computer gaming systems are typically comprised of computer stations including a display device, a wager or bet-acceptor, and controls such as buttons, keyboards, levers or the like. Typically, computer gaming stations are dedicated to only one type of game (e.g., video poker, black jack, slot machine) and their physical appearance, as well as the location of the controls, are customized for the game provided. Gaming stations may be modified to provide a different type of game, but this typically requires hardware modifications to be performed (e.g., changing an electronic card on which the game program is stored). The terms “game” and “gaming,” as used herein, include all types of electronic, electromechanical or mechanical gambling and casino game facsimiles (as defined in 15 U.S.C. 11719(a) (2) or (3), such as faro, monte, roulette, keno, bingo, fan-tan, twenty-one, black jack, seven-and-a-half, big injun, klondike, craps, poker, chuck-a-luck Chinese chuck-a-luck (dai shu), wheel of fortune, chemin de fir, baccarat, pai gow, beat the banker, panguingui, slot machines, video poker machines, etc.; lottery, sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering as well as games of skill and or strategy such as chess, checkers, backgammon, “board” games such as Monopoly and Scrabble, card games such as Pinochle, Hearts Spades, video based games such as Doom, Pong, Packman, Myst; video games based on sports such as golf, baseball, football, basketball, soccer, rugby; arcade type games; non-house stake games between two or more players; games defined by IGRA (Indian Gaming Regulatory Act) as class II games. 
     Physical embodiments of various games from the past have been reimplemented into microcomputer-based video gaming stations during the last 20 years. This reimplementation has been motivated by reliability, manufacturability, and ultimately, total cost of maintaining the computer (video) gaming station during its useful life. 
     In addition, computer systems have been devised where a cluster of gaming stations are controlled by a central computer. The central computer can “download” and thereby change the game program executed by a gaming station or even allow players at different gaming stations to play against one another, with the house (or casino) levying a periodic fee for the privilege of using the gaming station. 
     Finally, casino gaming websites allow casino games to be played on a website connected to the Internet. In such systems, a user connects to the website via the Internet using a web browser. A web page (HTML code) is then downloaded from a server/host computer associated with the website to the user&#39;s computer. Typically, the web page comprises formatted text, graphics and links to other web pages. In addition, the web page may contain one or more applets. When a web page containing an applet is downloaded onto the user computer, JAVA™ bytecodes associated with the applet are also downloaded to and executed on the user&#39;s computer. Web pages can also contain Java Script™ and/or Visual Basic (VB) script and use Common Gateway Interface (CGI) based scripting to provide dynamic web pages. 
     However, in all of these non-website-based systems the gaming program is executed in whole or in part on the individual gaming station. As a result, each gaming station becomes expensive to manufacture. Because the physical structure of the gaming stations is designed to accommodate a particular game, multiple game stations require additional hardware and, therefore, further increase the cost of a cluster of these stations. 
     In addition, since the games are executed on individual gaming stations, modifications and upgrades to the gaming programs require access to the individual gaming stations, which renders the gaming stations inaccessible to the patron during the modification and/or upgrade process. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a computer gaming system and method of operation thereof that both drastically reduces the cost and substantially increases the tamper resistance of individual gaming stations. The computer gaming system of the present invention allows concurrent access to multiple computer gaming programs from individual gaming stations by a patron. Moreover, the computer gaming system of the present invention allows for transparent modifications and upgrades to the computer gaming programs and the associated pay tables. Furthermore, the computer gaming system of the present invention enables concurrent, non-intrusive status monitoring of clustered gaming stations for engineering maintenance and regulatory purposes. This functionality is implemented by executing various gaming and related game management programs exclusively on a server/host computer connected to a plurality of remote client/terminal computers via communication pathways. Each client/terminal computer comprises a client/terminal program that allows the computer gaming program executed on the server/host computer to accept input from the patrons, and control the gaming content of an output information stream directed to the client/terminal computers. 
     Since the gaming programs and the associated gaming display generation programs are executed entirely on the server/host computer, with only input wagering and output screen display related operations being executed on the client/terminal computers, the cost of the hardware and software required for each client/terminal computer is greatly reduced. Moreover, the “fairness or regulatory compliance” of the various computer gaming programs being executed on the server/host computer can be continually monitored by the duly authorized regulators in whose jurisdiction the server/host computer and client/terminal computers reside. Furthermore, the periodic maintenance leading to reliability and availability improvements can also be performed largely on the server/host computer. Additionally, a patron using any one of the cluster of client/terminal computers can access any of the computer gaming programs being concurrently executed on the server/host computer. Modifications and upgrades of the computer gaming programs only need to be performed on the server/host computer, thereby minimizing the unavailability of the gaming stations. 
     Finally, by using a touch screen display device, the computer gaming system of the present invention allows customization of game controls for each computer gaming program without requiring additional hardware controls to be provided on each gaming station. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a block diagram of a computer gaming system, in accordance to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is a block diagram of the software/hardware structure of the server/host computer of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 1C  is a block diagram of the software/hardware stricture of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 1D  is a diagram of an embodiment of the computer gaming system of  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of the operation of computer gaming system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of the operation of computer gaming system of  FIG. 1 , where the communication pathways are a global network. 
         FIG. 4A  is an image displayed on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1  in attract mode. 
         FIG. 4B  is an image displayed on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , showing a virtual casino floor. 
         FIG. 5A  is an image displayed on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , showing a front view of a slot machine. 
         FIG. 5B  is an image of the slot machine of  FIG. 5A , after spinning the reel. 
         FIG. 6A  is an image displayed on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , showing a top view of a black jack table. 
         FIG. 6B  is an image of the slot machine of  FIG. 6A , after playing a hand of black jack. 
         FIG. 7A  is an image displays on the screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , showing a video poker area of the virtual casino floor of  FIG. 4B . 
         FIG. 7B  is an image of a video poker board shown on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 8A  is an image displayed on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , showing a slot machine area of the virtual casino floor of  FIG. 4B . 
         FIG. 8B  is an image of a slot machine board shown on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9A  is an image displayed on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , showing a keno area of the virtual casino floor or  FIG. 4B . 
         FIG. 9B  is an image of a keno board shown on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 9C  is an image of a keno board shown on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , after the user has picked a plurality of numbers from the keno board. 
         FIG. 9D  is an image of a keno board shown on a screen of a client/terminal computer of  FIG. 1 , after keno numbers have been electronically drawn and shown on the keno board. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     A computer gaming system  100 , in accordance to one embodiment of the invention, is shown in  FIG. 1A . Computer gaming system  100  includes a server/host computer  110  connected to a plurality of remote client/terminal computers  120  via network interface  115  and communication pathways  130 . Each of client/terminal computers  120  is connected to a display device  140 . Communication pathways  130  are implemented with electrical cables, optical fibers, RF links, IR links and protocol interfaces such as LAN, WAN, or any combination thereof. 
     In some embodiments, display devices  140  are touch screen display devices that allow a patron to enter input commands by simply touching the screen of display device  140 . The use of touch screen display devices eliminates the need for separate input controls to be provided on client/terminal computers  120  such as a keyboard. As a result, the hardware cost for each client/terminal computer  120  is reduced. Moreover, since the context and meaning of input controls on a touch screen display device can be dynamically modified without requiring hardware modifications, input controls can be customized for different gaming programs executed on computer gaming system  100 . However, those skilled in the art realize that display devices other than touch screen display devices can be used in accordance to the principles of the invention. For example, conventional CRT, LCD display or (stereo) head mounted displays with separate input controls such as a six degrees of freedom joystick/mouse can be used in place of touch screen display devices. Moreover, in some embodiments, display devices  140  may also include a mechanical reel system, in lieu of or in combination with a monitor, to display game results using “virtual reel” technology as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,419 to Telnaes, entitled “Electronic Gaming Device Utilizing a Random Number Generator for Selecting the Reel Stop Positions.” Accordingly, the invention is not limited to any particular type of display or input device. 
     Furthermore, in some embodiments of the invention, each client/terminal computer  120  includes a wagering or bet-acceptor device  150  such as a coin collector, a bill collector, a smart-card reader, a credit-card reader, etc. 
       FIG. 1B  is a block diagram illustrating the hardware/software control structure of server/host computer  110 . One or more game programs  112  executed on server/host computer  110  runs on top of the server/host interface program  114 , also executed on server/host computer  110 . Server/host interface program  114 , in turn, is executed on top of a computer operating system  116 . Finally, the computer operating system  116  controls the hardware layer  118  of server/host computer  110 . 
       FIG. 1C  is a block diagram illustrating the hardware/software control structure of client/terminal computer  120 . A non-gaming-related client/terminal program  122  executed on the client/terminal computer  120  runs on top of the operating system  124 , which in turn runs on top of the actual hardware  126  of client/terminal computer  120 . 
     The server/host computer  110  can be any type of general purpose computer such as an Intel® x86 or Pentium® based computer, or Mac® PowerPC computer, or a Sun® SRAC™ computer, etc. To ensure optimal performance of the entire computer gaming system  100 , server/host computer  110  should have sufficient storage, memory and processing power, to support the plurality (e.g., at least eight) of client/terminal computers  120  to which it is connected via network interface  115  and communication pathways  130  in order to provide acceptable response time to random inputs from all the patrons. For instance, in some embodiments, the server/host computer  110  has the following hardware configuration: Pentium® II motherboard, 400 Mhz Pentium® II processors, 512 MB of 100 Mhz SDRAM, dual channel U2W SCSI controller, dual 2.0 GB U2W SSD mirrored drives, AGP video card, 1000 Base-T PCI NIC card, 1.44 inch floppy disk drive and 32×IDE CD-ROM drive. 
     In some embodiments a separate accounting server/host computer, also connected to communication pathways  130 , is used to keep track of the accounts of various patrons and other gaming management functions. The hardware configuration of the accounting server/host computer is as follows: Pentium® II motherboard, 400 Mhz Pentium® II processors, 512 MB of 100 Mhz SDRAM, 96 GB hardware-based RAID array, 96 GB tape backup, AGP video card, 1000 Base-T PCI NIC card, 1.44 inch floppy disk drive and 32×IDE CD-ROM drive. When the accounting server is used, the casino gaming system  100  may also perform some of casino management tasks such as player tracking and compensation, player gaming license tracking, gaming station maintenance and regulatory management, linkage to local, wide and global area progressive jackpots, etc. 
     Client/terminal computers  120  can also be any type of cost effective special purpose or general purpose computer such as an Intel® x86 or Pentium® based computer, or a Mac® PowerPC computer, a Sun® SPARC®, etc. However, unlike, the server/host computer  110 , the client/terminal computers  120  only need to have minimal storage, memory and processing power to ensure optimum functional operation of the overall multi-computer system  100 , since the overwhelming majority of the gaming related and regulated processing is performed on the server/host computer  110 . As a result, the cost of the hardware required for each client/terminal computer  120  is greatly reduced with respect to prior art computer video gaming systems. 
     In some embodiments, the client/terminal computers  120  are WinTerm™ 3315SE terminals available from Wyse Technology, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. 
     The communication pathways  130  is any type of local area, wide area or global communication pathways, including the Internet and the World Wide Web. In some embodiments network interface  115  has the following hardware configuration: 8-port 1000 base-T Switch, two sets of fiber-optic 1000 base-T rated cables, two 12-port 100 base-T backbones switches with 1000 base-T uplink port, twenty-four 12-port 10 MB switches with 100 MB uplink port. Communication pathways  130  are any communication pathways suitable for connecting server/host computer  110  to client/terminal computers  120  via network interface  115 . In some embodiments, communication pathways  130  has the following hardware configuration: CAT-5 twisted pair cabling. Game program  112  is any type of gaming program that runs on an operating system  116  executed on server/host computer  110 . The operation of specific examples of casino games supported by game program  112  are further discussed below with respect to  FIGS. 4A ,  4 B,  5 A,  5 B,  6 A,  6 B,  7 A,  7 B,  8 A,  8 B,  9 A,  9 B,  9 C and  9 D. Server/host interface program  114  is any program that allows a program executed on a server/host computer to separate the input and output at the application layer of the protocol stack as defined by OSI and redirect the I/O over a communication pathways to be performed on client/terminal computer  120  via client/terminal program  122  executed on the client/terminal computers  120 . What is meant by “the game program controlling input and output operations performed on the client/terminal computer” is that the game program determines which images are to be displayed on a screen of the client/terminal computer and that input commands such as mouse movements, mouse clicks or keystrokes or lever activation detected by the client/terminal computer are sent directly to the server/host based game program for context interpretive processing. 
     Moreover, in some embodiments, multiple display devices  140  are connected directly to display adapters of server/host computer  110 . In these embodiments, operating system  116  allows multiple gaming threads of game program  112  to be executed at one time, with each instance of game program  112  driving a separate display device  140 . A thread, as used herein, is intended as an atomic unit of processing supported by operating system program  116 . Accordingly, a thread may be either a process or a sub-component of a process, depending on the implementation of operating system program  116 . In a multithreading operating system, multiple threads can be executed at the same time by the operating system, with the operating system controlling the amount of processing time allocated to each thread. This process is sometimes referred to as preemptive multitasking. When a thread is a sub-component of a process, multiple threads within a process share the same memory address space. 
     In some embodiments, the server/host interface program  114  is WinFrame® or MetaFrame™, available from Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Alternatively, the server/host interface program  114  may be Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition™, available from Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., or Tarantella™, available from The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. of Santa Cruz, Calif., or Go-Global™, available from Graphon Corp. of Campbell, Calif., or Liftoff® server available from New Moon Software, Inc., of Santa Clara Calif. or Applica U2 or Applica Workgroup available from Concurrent Controls, Inc., of South San Francisco, Calif., or Netwinder WS, available from Corel Computer Corp. of Ottawa, Canada, or any Citrix Independent Company Architecture (ICA®) compatible server/host interface program. 
     The setter/host operating system  116  is any operating system that can be executed on hardware  118  of server/lost computer  110 . In some embodiments, the server/host operating system  116  is Windows NT® 4.0, Windows95R, Windows98®, or the forthcoming Windows2000R, available from Microsoft, Corp. of Redmond, Wash. Alternatively, the operating system  118  can be Mac OS™ 8.5, available from Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. or Solaris™ available from Sun MicroSystems of Mountain View, Calif., or Red Hat Linux 5.1, available from Red Hat Software of Research Triangle Park, N.C., or any other suitable operating system known in the art. 
     Client/terminal program  122  is any computer program residing on the client/terminal that allows game management program  112  to control input and output operations performed on client/terminal computers  120  via server/host interface program  114 . In some embodiments, the client/terminal program  122  is a WinFrame® 1.7 DOS client. Alternatively, client/terminal program  112   n  can be a MetaFrame™ client, any Citrix ICA® compatible client program, Go-Between™, available from Graphon Corp. of Campbell Calif., or Liftoff® Client available from New Moon Software, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. 
     Client operating system  124  is any operating system that can be executed on hardware  126  of client/terminal computer  120 . In some embodiments, operating system  124  is MS-DOS®, Windows98™ or Windows NT® 4.0, or Windows CE® available from Microsoft, Corp. of Redmond, Wash. Alternatively, operating system  124  can be any Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP™) compatible operating system, available from Microsoft, Corp. of Redmond, Wash., Mac OS™ 8.5, available from Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. or pSOS+ available from Integrated Systems, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. or QNX available from QNX Software Systems Ltd. of Kanata, Canada or VRTX Real-time Operating System, available from Mentor graphics of Wilsonville, Oreg., Applica U2 or Applica Workgroup, available from Concurrent Controls, Inc., of South San Francisco, Calif., or an version of the X11 terminal client from OSI developed by MIT, or any other cost effective and functionally suitable operating system known in the art. 
       FIG. 2  is a flow diagram of operation  200  of computer gaming system  100  of  FIG. 1A . Initially, game program  112  is executed on server/host computer  110  in stage  210 . State  220  then determined whether an image is to be displayed on the screen of client/terminal computer  120  in which case operation  200  proceeds to stage  230 . Otherwise, operation  200  proceeds to stage  250 . In stage  230 , an image is sent from server/host computer  110  to client/terminal computer  120 . The image may include any type of graphical information including a bitmap, a JPEG file, a TIFF file or even an encoded audio/video stream such as a compressed video MPEG stream. The image is generated by game computer program  112  and passed to server/host interface program  114 . In turn, the image is transferred over communication pathways  130  to client/terminal computer  120  via the network services provided by server operating system  116 . The image is received by client/terminal program  122  executing on client/terminal computer  120  via the network services provided by client operating system  124 . Client/terminal program  122  then causes the image to be displayed on a screen of client/terminal computer  120  in stage  240 . Stage  250  then determines whether an input command has been entered by the patron using client/terminal computer  120 , in which case operation  200  proceeds to stage  260 . Otherwise, operation  200  reverts to stage  210 . The input command may be a keystroke, movement or clicking of the mouse, a voice activated command or even the clicking of a “virtual button” on a touch screen. In stage  260 , client/terminal program  122  causes the input command detected in stage  250  to be transmitted back to server/host computer  110  via communication pathways  130 , again using network services provided by client operating system  124  on one end and server operating system  116  on the other. The command is thus received by server/host interface program  114 , that, in turn, passes the command back to game program  112 . In stage  270 , game program  112  processes the input command and updates the state of the game accordingly. Once the command has been processed, operation  200  proceeds back to stage  210  for further execution of the game program  112 . 
     Those skilled in the art will realize that the flow diagram of  FIG. 2  is exemplary in nature, since the stages shown in  FIG. 2  may in fact overlap in time if performed by concurrent processes executed on server/host computer  110  and client/terminal computers  120 . Accordingly, the invention is not limited to any particular sequence of stage  210 - 270  other than required by the logical dependencies described in the flow diagram. For example, stage  210  can either precede, follow or occur contemporaneously with stages  220 - 240  or stages  250 - 270 . However, stages  220 ,  230  and  240  preferably take place in order, just as stages  250 ,  260  and  270 . 
     Since only a very limited amount of information needs to be transferred over communications pathways  130  between server/host computer  110  and client/terminal computers  120 , the communication network bandwidth required for efficient operation of computer gaming system  100  is in the order of 10 MB/s. This bandwidth requirement can be further reduced using data compression techniques to about 100 KB/sec. 
     In some embodiments, images transmitted between server/host computer  110  and client/terminal computers  120  are cached on client/terminal computers  120  to reduce the amount of network bandwidth required for the operation of computer gaming system  100 . In some embodiments, to further reduce the amount of network bandwidth required for the operation of computer gaming system  100 , image updates modified rather than full screen refreshes. Moreover, in some embodiments, images for use by computer gaming system  100  are preloaded into a memory of client/terminal computers  120  to further reduce the amount of communication network bandwidth required. When an image is either cached or preloaded in a memory of client/terminal computer  120 , stage  230  of operation  200  is significantly reduced. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of operation  300  of computer gaming system  100 , where communication pathways  130  are a global computer network such as the Internet. In operation  300 , a user of client/terminal computer  120  connected to a global network such as the Internet first accesses a website using a web browser such as Internet Explorer 4.0, available from Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., or Netscape Navigator® 4.0, available from Netscape Communications Corp. of Mountain View, Calif., in stage  310 . The patron then downloads a copy of client/terminal program  122  from the website in stage  320 . The patron then installs client/terminal program  122  on client/terminal computer  120  in stage  330 . Once installed on client/terminal computer  120 , client/terminal program  122  connects to server/host computer interface program  114  executed on server/host computer  110  over the global network in stage  340 . Finally, in stage  350 , computer gaming system  100  is executed in a manner analogous to the one described for operation  200  of  FIG. 2 . 
     In some embodiments, client/terminal program  122  may be preloaded on client/terminal computer  120 , in which case stages  310 ,  320  and  330  may be eliminated. 
       FIGS. 4A ,  4 B,  5 A,  5 B,  6 A,  6 B,  7 A,  7 B,  8 A,  8 B,  9 A,  9 B,  9 C and  9 D illustrate the images displayed on screen  140  of client/terminal computer  120  during operation  200  of computer gaming system  100 . 
       FIG. 4A  shows an “attract mode” image  400  displayed on screen  140  while computer gaming system  100  is in an attract mode. Once a user activates computer gaming system  100  by touching the surface of screen  140 , a casino floor image  410  is displayed on screen  140 . As explained with respect to  FIGS. 1A and 2 , game program  112  drives the display of images  400  and  410  via server/host interface program  114  and client/terminal program  122 . Casino floor image  410  illustrates various casino games supported by computer gaming system  100 . Each of the available games is represented by a “virtual” button: Bertha button  420 , black jack button  430 , video poker button  440 , slots button  450  and keno button  460 . The patron can select any of these games by touching a corresponding area of screen  140 . When the patron presses a virtual button, an input command is detected by client/terminal program  122  and transmitted to server/host computer  110  over communication pathways  130 . Server/host interface program  114 , in turn, receives the input command and passes the input command along to game program  112 . Game program  112 , then responds to input command  112  by updating the state of the game and possibly modifying the image displayed on screen  140 . Games may be provided either by multiple game programs  112  or by a single game program  112 . 
       FIG. 5A  illustrates Bertha image  500 , that is displayed in response to the patron pressing Bertha virtual button  420  ( FIG. 4B ). Bertha image  500  shows a front view of a slot machine, also known as “Big Bertha.” The patron may “virtually” insert, coins into the slot machine by pressing coin buttons  510  and  520 . Once coins have been inserted into the slot machine, the patron can “pull a lever” to activate the slot machine by pressing lever button  530 . 
       FIG. 5B  illustrates Bertha image  500  after the lever has been pulled. The patron can repeat the operation by inserting new coins and pulling the lever again. The patron may then leave the slots by pressing the casino button  540 , causing casino floor image  410  to be again displayed on screen  140 . 
       FIG. 6A  illustrates black jack table image  600 , that is displayed in response to the patron pressing black jack virtual button  430  ( FIG. 4B ). Black jack table image  600  shows a top view of a black jack table. Black jack table image  600  also includes a control pad  610 . Control pad  610  contains a status board  620  and several virtual buttons: increase wager bet button  625 , decrease wager bet button  630 , deal button  640 , bit button  650 , stay button  660 , split button  665 , double-down button  670 , help button  680  and return to casino button  690 . Status board  620  provides information about game status, such as the patron&#39;s bankroll, wager but amount, etc. Increase wager bet button  625  and decrease wager bet button  630  are used to alter the amount of the wager bet shown on status board  625 . Deal button  640 , hit button  650 , stay button  660 , split button  665  and doubled down button  670  allow a patron to provide input commands to game program  112 . The functions performed by game program  112  when these buttons are pressed are in accordance with the rules of the game of black jack. 
     If the patron is unfamiliar with the rules of the game of black jack, or needs other assistance, the patron can access a help facility by pressing help button  680 . Finally, the patron may leave the black jack table by pressing return to casino button  690 , causing casino floor image  410  to be again displayed on screen  140 . 
     To play a hand of black jack, the patron first places a wager bet by pressing increase wager bet button  625  and/or decrease wager bet button  630  until the correct amounts is shown on status board  620  and then pressing deal button  640 . Two cards are then dealt face up to the patron, as shown in  FIG. 6A . The casino dealer is dealt one card up and one card down. The patron can then elect to hit, stay, split or double down by pressing a corresponding virtual button. When the patron presses stay button  660 , or the value of the cards in the user&#39;s hand exceeds twenty-one, the casino dealer uncovers the down card and draws additional cards until the casino dealer reaches a score of seventeen or higher (eighteen or higher, depending on the house rules). The patron wins if the cards in the patron&#39;s hand have a higher value than the cards in the casino dealer&#39;s hand without exceeding twenty-one or if the cards in the patron&#39;s hand do not exceed twenty-one and the cards in the casino dealer&#39;s hand exceed twenty-one, If the cards in the patron&#39;s hand and the cards in the casino dealer&#39;s hand have the same value, the hand results in a tie and the patron retains the bet. If the patron wins the hand, the casino bank pays the patron an amount equal to the bet, unless the patron&#39;s hand is twenty-one, in which case the casino bank pays one and a half times the patron&#39;s bet. If the patron loses the hand, the casino bank collects the patron&#39;s bet. 
       FIG. 6B  illustrates black jack table image  600  after the patron has elected to double down by pressing double down button  670 . As shown in  FIG. 6B , the patron&#39;s score is twenty-one (black jack) and the casino dealer&#39;s score is nineteen. Since the patron&#39;s initial bet is $1,000 ( FIG. 6A ), the amount paid by the casino bank to the patron if first doubled (double down) and then paid at a time and a half (black jack). As a result, the patron&#39;s bankroll shown on status board  625  after the hand is played is increased by $3,000. 
       FIG. 7A  shows video poker image  700  that is displayed in response to the user pressing video poker button  440 . ( FIG. 4B ). Video poker image  700  is a front view of a video poker area of the casino floor that includes joker poker button  705 , jacks or better button  710 , deuces wild button  715 , double down button  720 , no bonus poker button  725  and bonus poker button  730 . Each of virtual buttons  705 ,  710 ,  715 ,  720 ,  725  and  730  allows the user to access a particular video poker game by pressing the corresponding virtual button. 
       FIG. 7B  shows joker poker image  740  displayed in response to the user pressing joker poker button  705 . Joker poker image  740  includes a pay table  745 , a status board  750 , a card area  755 , card buttons  760   n  (where n=A, B, C, D, E), insert coin button  765 , insert five coins button  770 , deal/draw button  775 , hold button  780  and quit button  785 . Pay table  745  shows the amount paid by the casino bank for a given score depending on the number of coins bet. For example, in  FIG. 7B , the right-most column of pay table  745  is highlighted to indicate the payout for a five coin bet. Status board  750  shows game status information such as the patron&#39;s bankroll, the amount of the current bet, etc. Card area  755  shows the cards in the patron&#39;s hand. Card buttons  760   n  are used to select cards to be held. Insert coins button  765  and insert five coins button  770  are used to enter a bet. Deal/draw button  775  and hold button  780  are used to provide input commands to game program  112 . The functions performed by game program  112  when these buttons are pressed are in accordance with the rules of the game of joker poker. Finally, the patron may elect to return to the video poker area of the casino floor by pressing quit button  780 , causing video poker image  700  to be again displayed on screen  140 . 
     To play a hand of joker poker, the patron first places a bet by pressing insert coin button  765  or insert five coins button  770 . When the descried bet amount is shown on status board  750 , the patron may enter the bet by pressing deal/draw button  775 . Five cards are then shown face up in cards area  755 . The patron can then select which cards to hold by pressing a corresponding button  760   n . The patron can hold all cards in the hand by pressing hold button  780 . Otherwise, the patron can draw additional cards to replace discarded cards by pressing deal/draw button  775 . The patron wins if the cards in the patron&#39;s hand, after pressing hold button  780  or deal/draw button  775 , constitute a point listed on pay table  745 , in which case the corresponding amount listed on the highlighted portion of pay table  745  is paid by the casino bank to the patron. Otherwise, the casino bank collects the patron&#39;s bet. 
       FIG. 8A  shows slots image  800  displayed in response to the user pressing slots button  450  ( FIG. 4B ). Slots image  800  includes slots buttons  810   n  (where n=A, B, C, D) and return to casino button  820 . The patron can select a “virtual” slot machine by pressing one of slot button  810   n . The patron can also return to the casino floor by pressing return to casino button  820 , causing casino floor image  410  to be again displayed on screen  140 . 
       FIG. 8B  shows slot machine image  830  displayed in response to the user pressing one of slots button  810   n . Slot machine image  830  shows a front view of a slot machine including pay table  840 , reels  850 , status board  850 , one coin button  865 , two coins button  870 , pull button  875 , return to casino button  880  and prize window  890 . 
     Pay table  840  shows the amount paid by the casino bank for a given score depending on the number of coins bet. Reels  850  simulate turning of mechanically implemented slot machine from a prior era. Status board  860  shows game status information such as the patron&#39;s bankroll, the amount of the current bet, etc. 
     To pay the virtual slot machine, the patron first places a bet by pressing either one coin button  865  or two coin button  870 . The patron then presses pull button  875 , causing reels  850  to “spin.” When the virtual reels stop spinning, if the reels stop in a position corresponding to one of the points shown on pay table  840 , the casino bank pays the patron the corresponding number of coins listed in pay table  840  for the patron&#39;s bet. Otherwise the casino bank collects the patron&#39;s bet. 
     Prize window  890  is a sub-window of slots image  830  that displays an animated and dynamically variable image of a prize that also appears on reels  850  and pay table  840 . If reels  850  stop on a position corresponding to the prize shown in prize window  890 , the patron wins the prize shown in prize window  890 . In some embodiments, in which multiple client/terminal computers  120  are connected to server/host computer  110 , prize window  890  can be used to temporarily move a prize around games played on different client/terminal computers  120 . In other embodiments, patrons may either accept or reject the opportunity of playing for the prize shown in prize window  890  by either pressing or not pressing a virtual button on prize window  890 . Moreover, in some embodiments, prize window  890  is used to display marketing information to the patrons. 
       FIG. 9A  shows keno area image  900  displayed in response to the user pressing keno button  460  ( FIG. 4B ). Keno area image  900  includes keno button  910  and return to casino button  920 . The patron can enter the keno game by pressing keno button  910 . The patron can also return to the casino floor by pressing return to casino button  820 , causing casino floor image  410  to be again displayed on screen  140 . 
       FIG. 9B  shows keno board image  930  displayed in response to the user pressing keno button  910 . Keno board image  930  includes a pay table  940 , a keno board  950 , a status board  960 , a go button  965 , an again button  970  and a return to casino button  980 . 
     To pay a round of keno, the patron first places a bet by picking up to fifteen numbers on keno board  950  and then pressing go button  965  ( FIG. 9C ). Twenty-five numbers are then electronically drawn and the corresponding locations on keno board  950  are highlighted ( FIG. 9D ). Pay table  940  shows the amount paid by the casino bank depending on the number of correct picks by the patron. If the patron&#39;s pick include a number of matches shown on pay table  940 , the casino bank pays a corresponding amount to the patron, otherwise the casino bank collects the bet from the patron. 
     Sun is a registered trademark and JAVA, SPARC and Solaris are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. of Mountain View Calif. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif. Window NT, MS-DOS, Window95, Windows98 and Windows2000 are registered trademarks and Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition and RDP are trademarks of Microsoft, Corp. of Redmond, Wash. Mac is a registered trademark and Max OS is a trademark of from Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. WinTerm is a trademark of Wyse Technology, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Citrix, ICA and WinFrame are registered trademarks and MetaFrame is a trademark of Citrix Systems, Inc. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Tarantella is a trademark of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. of Santa Cruz, Calif. Go-Global and Go-Between are trademarks of Graphon Corp. of Campbell, Calif. Netscape Navigator is a registered trademark of Netscape Communications Corp. of Mountain View, Calif. Liftoff is a trademark of New Moon Software, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. pSOS is a trademark of Integrated Systems, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif. QNX is a trademark of QNX Software Systems Ltd. of Kanata, Canada. 
     Embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention. In particular, the invention is not limited to any particular game. In fact, an casino game or other non-casino games where players play against each other for money with the house taking a percentage of the stake for providing the game. Games such as chess, backgammon, hearts or poker can be used in place of the games described herein. In addition, the invention is not limited to any particular software or hardware package used to implement the server/host operating system or interface or the client/terminal interface or program. In fact, other software and hardware packages could be used in place of the ones described herein, in accordance to the principles of the invention. Other embodiments and varieties are within the scope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.