Patent ID: 6866581

Claim:
A computerized wagering gaming system comprising: a universal game control system operable to control a plurality of different computerized wagering games including a plurality of different video based games without moving mechanical parts and different games with moving mechanical parts such as wheels or reels; the control system comprising a controller interface and a universal controller for processing game and operating system instructions for said plurality of different games; a plurality of game system devices; and a game translator system for translating game events between the system devices and the universal game control system, the game translator system comprising a plurality of device drivers and receivers linked to the system devices by a first bus; a second bus linking the translator system to the controller interface and a third bus linking the controller interface to the universal controller; wherein the same translator system being configured for either a plurality of different video based games or a plurality of different games with moving mechanical parts; and wherein to convert the gaming system from one video based game to another video based game or from one game with a moving part to another game with a moving part, only the system devices need be changed and to convert the gaming system from one video based game to a game with a moving part or vice versa, the game translator system would need to be changed or modified along with the system devices.