Patent ID: 6843720

Claim:
A system for awarding prizes, the system comprising: (A) at least one gaming device, the gaming device adapted to allow a player to place a wager, display a game, and produce at least a first predetermined prize qualifying event; (B) at least one prize housing, the prize housing comprising: (a) a plurality of walls defining a cavity, at least a portion of the cavity being viewable from outside the prize housing; (b) a plurality of prizes inside the cavity, at least a portion of the prizes being viewable from outside the prize housing; (c) a plurality of prize containers, each prize being held in a prize container; (d) a door coupled to the housing, the door limiting access to the cavity when in a closed position; and (e) a lock coupled to the door and configured to selectively secure the door in a closed position; (C) a prize dispensing mechanism coupled to the housing and configured to dispense prizes from the cavity to the player; (D) a processor in communication with the prize dispensing mechanism; (E) an inventory sensor in communication with the processor, the inventory sensor adapted to communicate information related to the number of prize containers in the cavity to the processor; (F) a player input device in communication with the processor, wherein when the first predetermined prize qualifying event occurs, the player may select a prize from the first plurality of prizes using the player input device, the prize dispenser then dispensing to the player a prize container containing the selected prize.