Patent ID: 8545329

Claim:
A gaming machine comprising: a plurality of gaming terminals each having an input device capable of receiving an external input, and a terminal controller programmed to carry out steps (a 1 ) to (a 3 ) below in order to individually run a base game and to run a common game executed at the plurality of gaming terminals; and a center controller which is connected in communication with the gaming terminals, and is programmed to carryout steps (b 1 ) to (b 5 ) below in order to execute the common game communally run at the gaming terminals, wherein the terminal controllers each carry out the steps of: (a 1 ) accepting a bet amount made by a bet input through the input device; (a 2 ) running a base game after a bet input has been completed through the input device, and outputting bet amount information based on the bet amount to the center controller for each unit base game; and (a 3 ) running a common game in response to a game start command from the center controller, and wherein the center controller carries out the steps of: (b 1 ) setting separate and distinct set values for at least two of the plurality of gaming terminals, wherein the separate and distinct set values are randomly determined for each gaming terminal, the set values set at one of a predetermined timing or within a predetermined range, the set values determining whether to start the common game by comparing the set values with accumulated values accumulated for each of the respective gaming terminals; (b 2 ) accumulatively storing the bet amount information transmitted for each unit base game, in association with each of the gaming terminals as an accumulated value; (b 3 ) determining, as a common game start condition, whether at least one of the accumulated values of the gaming terminals reaches its respective set value in (b 1 ); (b 4 ) when the common game start condition is met, outputting the game start command to the gaming terminals whose accumulated value has reached a minimum value for participation in the common game; and, (b 5 ) resetting the accumulated values of the gaming terminals to which the game start command has been output and maintaining the accumulated values at the gaming terminals to which the game start command has not been output.