Patent ID: 8028994

Claim:
A method for use in a gaming apparatus for selecting a random set of balls used to determine at least a part of an outcome of a game, comprising: (a) providing top and bottom plates that are vertically spaced apart along a common central axis, with at least one of said plates being rotatable relative to the other, (b) providing in said top plate a plurality of vertical holes that extend through said plate and are transversely spaced apart from each other in a predetermined pattern, with each hole having the same diameter H about its central axis, and where said bottom plate has the same pattern of holes of diameter H extending vertically through the bottom plate, each of said holes in said top plate having a symbol associated with a designation, (c) providing a plurality of large balls of diameter D which is smaller than hole diameter H, and a plurality of small balls of diameter d which is less than diameter D, (d) rotating one of said plates relative to the other about their common central axis to an offset position, such that the central axis of each of said holes in said top plate is partially offset from the central axis of the corresponding hole in the bottom plate, whereby a vertical passage of diameter p is defined through each pair of vertically adjacent holes in said top and bottom plates, where diameter p is greater than small ball diameter d and less than large ball diameter D, (e) directing a plurality of said large balls and a plurality of said small balls to a region atop said top plate, where at least some of said large and small balls can roll at the same time on said top surface, and where said small balls atop said top plate will fall into said holes in said top plate and fall through said passages of diameter p which is greater than small ball diameter d, and said large balls atop said top plate will fall partially into said holes in said top plate and will be blocked from falling further through said passage p of diameter less than large ball diameter D, and (f) determining the outcome of at least part of the game based the set of designations associated with each hole in said top plate in which a large ball is restrained from falling through a passage.