Patent ID: 7635303

Claim:
A multi-priced lottery ticket dispensing machine comprising: a controller configured to operate a multi-priced lottery game in which (i) a first price category of a first known potential distribution of a prize is established prior to sale of a plurality of lottery tickets in the multi-priced lottery game and independently of a future quantity of the plurality of lottery tickets sold from the first price category and (ii) a second known price category of a second known potential distribution of the prize is established prior to sale of a plurality of lottery tickets in the multi-priced lottery game and independently of a future quantity of the plurality of lottery tickets sold from the second price category, wherein the second known potential distribution of the prize is established so that a first association being subtracted from a second association results in a fixed non-zero value, wherein the first association is the first known potential distribution of the prize divided by the first price category, wherein the fixed non-zero value is determined for the lottery prior to sale of the plurality of lottery tickets in the multi-priced lottery game, wherein the second association is the second known potential distribution of the prize divided by the second price category, the second known potential distribution of the prize being greater than the first known potential distribution of the prize, wherein the second price category is greater than the first price category, wherein a lottery number of a player is selected in the multi-priced lottery game, wherein a winning lottery number is randomly generated, wherein the lottery number is compared to the winning lottery number to determine if the player has won the multi-priced lottery game, wherein a sum of the first known potential distribution of the prize and the second known potential distribution of the prize is greater than the prize; a price category reception module, wherein the price category reception module receives the first price category and the second known price category, wherein the price category reception module provides the first price category and the second price category to the controller; a user input module, wherein the user input module receives an input from a user indicating one of a plurality of price categories in which a lottery ticket is to be purchased, wherein one of the plurality of price categories is the first price category, wherein another one of the plurality of price categories is the second price category, wherein the user input module provides the input to the controller so that the controller provides an instruction to a lottery ticket printer to print the lottery ticket according to the input.