BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Instant games are games wherein the outcome of the game play (win or lose) is immediately available to the player. One example of an instant game is a scratch-off lottery ticket. Another example is an instant game (pull tab game) described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,695,360 (Breslo), and commercialized as Lucky Tab®, by Diamond Game Enterprises, Chatsworth, Calif., the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

A progressive jackpot is a jackpot which increases each time the game is played but the jackpot is not won. The progressive jackpot is typically funded by allocating a small percentage of the purchase price of each game play to the jackpot. Progressive jackpots are common in the slot machine industry. However, the slot machine industry does not rely upon pre-printed tickets or their electronic equivalent, where the outcome of the game play is predetermined.

A “mystery progressive” or “mystery jackpot” is a specific methodology for managing a progressive jackpot. The principle advantage of a mystery progressive for a game operator is that it runs independently of the different math models and game themes provided from the various slot machine vendors. (A traditional, non-mystery progressive is controlled by the vendor and can operate only on that vendor's machines and typically only on one math model of that vendor.) A mystery progressive typically operates as follows (this example presumes that there is a network of slot machines that all participate in the same mystery progressive):

1. The jackpot starts at a defined minimum amount.

2. The game operator selects a range of coin-in values where the jackpot may be won (e.g., coin-in across the network of slot machines must be between $5,000,000 and $15,000,00, wherein coin-in is the accumulated monetary amount of funds played on the slot machines in the network).

3. A random number generator (RNG) selects a specific coin-in value within the range as being the jackpot win trigger.

4. As game play continues, the jackpot is incremented as described above (typically, by using a predetermined percentage of the coin-in).

5. When the coin-in value crosses the exact jackpot win trigger, the player whose slot machine crossed the exact jackpot win trigger is awarded the jackpot.

6. The jackpot is then reset and this process is repeated.

In an alternative embodiment that is described in the background section of U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,909 (Tracy), the game operator selects a range of jackpot values (not coin-in values) where the jackpot can be won, and then the RNG selects a specific jackpot value within the range as being the jackpot win trigger. When the jackpot value crosses the jackpot win trigger as a result of coin-in activity, the player whose slot machine's coin-in activity caused the jackpot win trigger to be crossed is awarded the jackpot.

The odds of winning the jackpot increase from zero to a non-zero value whenever the coin-in value or jackpot value is within the range. Furthermore, the odds of winning the jackpot increase even further as the coin-in value or jackpot value progresses through the range and no jackpot winner is selected. The exact coin-in or jackpot win trigger and the lower limit of the range are both kept in the highest level of secrecy. However, mystery jackpots advertise a “Win Before” value (i.e., the upper limit of the range) to encourage play as the accumulated amount reaches this value.

To enhance the value and excitement of game play, progressive jackpots have been selectively introduced into the instant game industry, which also includes networks of gaming machines (e.g., ticket dispensers) for purchasing and playing instant game tickets. However, the following challenges arise when attempting to implement a progressive jackpot in the instant game field:

1. How to operate a mystery progressive with a finite ticket game in which the ticket must determine the outcome of the game, including the progressive. In other words, coin-in cannot be used to determine the progressive winner, since the ticket must determine the winner.

2. How to operate a wide-area progressive across multiple finite ticket games with varying math models.

3. How to securely provide a large-value progressive jackpot, e.g. six+ figures, with a pre-printed ticket game. (With a single large pre-printed jackpot ticket, there is greater incentive among press personnel to act nefariously to identify the whereabouts of such a ticket and exploit that knowledge, thus compromising the integrity of the game.)

The present invention addresses these challenges by providing an inventive methodology for playing a mystery progressive with instant tickets.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A winning progressive jackpot ticket is selected from a deal of instant tickets that are dispensed from a network of gaming machines by randomly selecting, upon initiation of a progressive jackpot, a coin-in value that falls within a predetermined range of coin-in values, detecting in the server when the coin-in value is reached as a result of a purchase of an instant ticket at one of the gaming machines, randomly selecting the winning progressive jackpot ticket from all of the currently unplayed instant tickets, or from the next n number of currently unplayed instant tickets, when the coin-in value is detected as reaching the coin-in value that was randomly selected, and awarding the current progressive jackpot amount to the player who subsequently purchases the winning progressive jackpot ticket. A similar process randomly selects a progressive jackpot value that falls within a predetermined range of progressive jackpot values.

