DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Naicker (US 2011/0092262).
Regarding claims 1, 10, and 16: Naicker discloses a gaming system comprising: a housing; an average expected return adjustment device supported by the housing and activatable by an operator of the gaming system to either increase an average expected return for plays of a draw poker game provided by the gaming system or to decrease the average expected return of the plays of the draw poker game provided by the gaming system (see paragraphs [0004]-[0006], [0042], showing the methods and devices disclosed herein provide enhancements to card games by giving players an opportunity to exchange their cards at various stages of a card game. These exchanges may result in the player's hand being improved. As a result, players may benefit from finding the card game more enjoyable and therefore may engage in additional gameplay. Some of these exchanges may be associated with a cost to the player. Therefore, the house may also benefit from increased popularity, increased gameplay, more players, and/or a higher profit margin. The cost of the second card replacement cycle for card selection 212 may then be calculated as the difference in the player's expected returns between (a) the player's current hand, and (b) the average of all potential outcomes); a processor; and a memory device that stores a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: randomly select one of a plurality of different groups of initial hands for the draw poker game (see paragraph [0065], showing All cards dealt to a player or drawn by the player in such a card game are presumed to be determined randomly from a card supply such as a standard 52-card deck), wherein the selection is weighted based on an operator activation of the average expected return adjustment device to increase or to decrease the average expected return of the plays of the draw poker game provided by the gaming system; randomly select an initial hand from the selected group of initial hands (see paragraph [0065], showing All cards dealt to a player or drawn by the player in such a card game are presumed to be determined randomly from a card supply such as a standard 52-card deck); cause a display, by a display device, of initial cards of the selected initial hand; for each of the initial cards in the initial hand: responsive to that initial card being held for the initial hand, continue to cause a display, by the display device, of that held initial card, and responsive to that initial card not being held, determine a replacement card for that non-held initial card, and cause a display, by the display device, of that replacement card in the initial hand; and cause a display, by the display device, of any determined amount for the initial hand with any of the replacement cards (see paragraphs [0004]-[0006], [0042], showing the methods and devices disclosed herein provide enhancements to card games by giving players an opportunity to exchange their cards at various stages of a card game. These exchanges may result in the player's hand being improved. As a result, players may benefit from finding the card game more enjoyable and therefore may engage in additional gameplay. Some of these exchanges may be associated with a cost to the player. Therefore, the house may also benefit from increased popularity, increased gameplay, more players, and/or a higher profit margin. For example, The probability of the player receiving a five or a ten to replace the seven of hearts and complete the straight is 7/44. In particular, assuming a 52-card deck, five cards were dealt initially, three of which were replaced in the first card replacement cycle. Thus, there are 44 cards remaining in the card supply. There are a total of eight combined fives and tens in the deck, but one of these was discarded during the first card replacement cycle, leaving a total of seven cards that will complete the straight out of the 44 cards remaining. Of course, replacing the seven of hearts could also result in other types of winning or losing hands. The cost of the second card replacement cycle for card selection 212 may then be calculated as the difference in the player's expected returns between (a) the player's current hand, and (b) the average of all potential outcomes of replacing the seven of hearts.).
Regarding claims 2 and 4: Naicker discloses wherein the average expected return adjustment device comprises a display device and an associated touch screen supported by the housing, and wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to cause a display, by the display device, of an average expected return adjustment slider comprising an indicator movable, via the touch screen, by the operator (see paragraphs [0058], [0064], showing the input/output function 408 may comprise multiple types of input devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, and so on).
Regarding claims 3, 5, 7, and 9: Naicker discloses wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to cause a display, by the display device, of an average expected return adjustment indicator that displays indications of amounts of adjustments made by the operator using the average expected return adjustment slider (see paragraph [0058], showing output functions of client devices 312 may comprise a graphical user interface (GUI) rendered on display 314. Such a GUI may represent networked game information in some combination of graphics and text. For example, a GUI on display 314 may represent the state of a card game associated with the client device 312, and include options to perform the acts of playing the card game, and, during the course of the card game, accepting or rejecting offers to redeal, replace, or discard cards. The client process executing on the client device 312 may display different trademarks, color schemes, or "look and feel" depending on the card game being played).
Regarding claims 6 and 8: Naicker discloses wherein the average expected return adjustment device comprises a mechanical average expected return adjustment slider supported by the housing and comprising an indicator movable by the operator (see paragraph [0060], showing computing device 400 preferably includes a processor 402, data storage 404, a network interface 406, and an input/output function 408, all of which may be coupled by a system bus 410 or a similar mechanism).
Regarding claims 11-15 and 17-20: Naicker discloses wherein the plurality of different groups comprise: a first group of initial hands for the multi-hand draw poker game that each have an average expected return that is less than the average expected return for the plays of multi-hand draw poker game, and a second group of initial hands for the multi-hand draw poker game that each have an average expected return that is greater than the average expected return for the plays of multi-hand draw poker game (see paragraph [0021], showing these card games allow a player to place a wager at the beginning of each game. Then, the player may engage in the card game in an attempt to achieve a winning hand. The card game may have one or more possible winning hands, and each winning hand is preferably a specific combination of cards that is associated with a return. Preferably, the more difficult it is for the player to achieve the winning hand, the greater the return. Each return may be calculated based at least in part on the player's wager. For instance, the return for a given winning hand may be a particular multiple of the player's wager. If the player does not achieve a winning hand by the end of the card game, the player may lose his or her wager).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADETOKUNBO OLUSEGUN TORIMIRO whose telephone number is (571)270-1345. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri (8am - 4pm).
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Peter Vasat can be reached at (571)270-7625. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/ADETOKUNBO O TORIMIRO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3715
Prosecution Insights