[54] CONDUCTING GAMES OF CHANCE USING PREDICTED SUM OF SCORES
[75] Inventor: Gianni Kail, Turin, Italy
[73] Assignee: Supra Engineering Limited, Tortola, Virgin Islands (Br.)
[21] Appl. No.: 09/020,128 [22] Filed: Feb. 6, 1998
Related U.S. Application Data
[63] Continuation-in-part of application No. 08/950,243, Oct. 14, 1997.
[51] Int. C I. G06F 15/00
[52] U.S. CI 463/16; 463/17; 273/138.1;
273/139; 273/269
[58] Field of Search 463/10, 16, 25,
463/41, 42, 17, 18, 22, 29; 283/48.1, 49; 273/138.1, 139, 259, 274, 269, 144 A, 144 B, 144 R
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
4,033,588 7/1977 Watts 273/138 A
4,108,361 8/1978 Krause 273/139
4,429,877 2/1984 Coppock 273/139
4,540,174 9/1985 Coppock 273/138 R
4,764,666 8/1988 Bergeron 273/139
5.043.889 8/1991 Lucey 364/412
5,110,129 5/1992 Alvarez 273/138 A
5,332,218 7/1994 Lucey 273/138 A
5,497,990 3/1996 Nanni 273/138 A
5,518,239 5/1996 Johnston 273/139
5,564,977 10/1996 Algie 463/25
5,683,090 11/1997 Zeile et al 273/269
5,687,968 11/1997 Tarantino 273/139
5.722.890 3/1998 Libby et al 463/17
5,782,470 7/1998 Langan 273/139
5,791,990 8/1998 Schroder et al 463/17
5,842,921 12/1998 Mindes et al 463/16
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
0677311 10/1995 European Pat. Off. .
2660207 10/1991 France .
9019535A 1/1997 Japan .
2028554 3/1980 United Kingdom .
2042980 10/1980 United Kingdom .
2262635 6/1993 United Kingdom .
2300956 11/1996 United Kingdom .
Primary Examiner—Michael O'Neill
Assistant Examiner—-John M. Hotaling, II
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Abelman, Frayne & Schwab
[57] ABSTRACT
A weekly or other regularly scheduled game ol chance is conducted in conjunction with a series ol seasonal sporting events, such as baseball, football, hockey, U.S. and international basketball and volleyball games, in which a number ol specific games are identified on a printed or electronic game card, and the participant marks the game card with the predicted total ol points scored by both teams lor each ol the identified sporting events, which can include one or more alternate events. Data related to predicted scores and the lee paid are entered into a programmed central computer system for eventual processing and matching with data entered for the actual scores when the identified games are completed to identily the winners. The participant receives a receipt and unique transaction code. Participant data entry and payment means can include third-party ATMs and cash machines, and third-party vendors and participants' PCs connected to the central computer via the Internet, with payment made through the participants' credit or debit accounts. In an alternative embodiment, predictions can include the actual number ol points scored during subsets ol the contests.
24 Claims, 36 Drawing Sheets
