Patent ID: 8251790

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one player station for displaying to a player a simulation of a game of chance; a primary gaming server located remotely from the at least one player station and communicable with the at least one player station via a communication network, wherein the primary gaming server is configured to provide outcomes for the game of chance upon request from the at least one player station; a secondary gaming server located remotely from the at least one player station and communicable with the at least one player station via the communication network, wherein the secondary gaming server is configured to provide outcomes for the game of chance upon request from the at least one player station; a watchdog facility configured (i) to transmit a data packet to the primary gaming server at regular intervals and (ii) whenever an expected response is not received from the primary gaming server within a predetermined time interval, to change a status of the primary gaming server from active to failed; and a controller in the at least one player station for routing a request to provide an outcome of a turn of the game of chance, wherein the controller routes the request to the primary gaming server when the status of the primary gaming server is active and routes the request to the secondary gaming server when the status of the primary gaming server is failed.