Patent ID: 8016660

Claim:
In a gaming system having one or more gaming devices, each of said one or more gaming devices facilitating a play of a game of chance, and a central computer coupled to said one or more gaming devices, a sweepstakes method that awards promotional awards, said sweepstakes method comprising: configuring, at said central computer, a sweepstakes eligibility criterion defining a grouping of players eligible for a promotional award and a sweepstakes entry criterion defining play activity of said game of chance to achieve an entry in the form of a ticket; determining whether said sweepstakes entry criterion has been met by a player at one gaming device based on a monitored play activity related to play of said game of chance; determining whether said sweepstakes eligibility criterion has been met by said player of said one gaming device; issuing a virtual sweepstakes ticket with respect to said player of said one gaming device if said sweepstakes eligibility criterion has been met by said player at said one gaming device and said sweepstakes entry criterion has been met by said player at said one gaming device, said issuing adding a said virtual sweepstakes ticket to a pool of tickets; closing said pool of tickets to prevent adding of any additional virtual sweepstakes ticket to said pool; randomly selecting at least one virtual sweepstakes ticket from said pool of tickets, the selected ticket serving as a winning ticket; and awarding at least one of said promotion awards in response to said winning ticket.