System for the tracking and management of transactions in a pit area of a gaming establishment

Claim 1

An automatic tracking and managing system for use in a gaming establishment, comprising: a casino database that stores betting summary records for each of a plurality of players, each betting summary record associated with a player identification code, the betting summary record of a player including the player's betting rating; a gaming table having a plurality of player positions and a plurality of code readers, each code reader initiating a betting session in response to reading a player identification cards encoded with a player identification code; a communications network; and an automatic tracking and managing unit (ATMU) including a display unit, and coupled to the casino database via the communications network, and coupled to the code readers at the gaming table to receive from a code reader a player identification code for a player at a position at the gaming table at the initiation of a betting session, and to retrieve from the casino database in response thereto the betting summary record associated with the player identification code, and to display the betting summary record of the player to pit personnel at the gaming table on the display unit, the ATMU collecting real time data of the player's betting transactions at the gaming table, the real time data including the player's identification code read from the player identification card, and an average bet by the player during the betting session, and updating the betting summary record with the collected real time data for the player, and providing the updated betting summary record to the casino database via the communications network.

Claim 3

A system for automatic tracking and management of information generated in a gambling establishment including a plurality of gaming tables each with a plurality of betting positions, the system comprising: a transmission unit that receives information transmitted from each of the betting positions and transmits the information to a first computer, the information including: a player rating indicating a past betting frequency and a past betting level; and information regarding current betting transactions at a gaming table, including a current betting level and a current betting frequency; a database coupled to the first computer that stores and processes information received by the first computer; a second computer coupled to the database and to a camera for receiving an image of a player; a data entry device that receives commands and data; and a display device that displays information requested through the data entry device, including the information transmitted to the first computer and information processed by the database.

Claim 4

A system for automatic tracking and management of information generated in a gambling establishment including a plurality of gaming tables each with a plurality of betting positions, the system comprising: a transmission unit that receives information transmitted from each of the betting positions and transmits the information to a first computer, the information including: a player rating indicating a past betting frequency and a past betting level; and information regarding current betting transactions at a gaming table, including a current betting level and a current betting frequency; a database coupled to the first computer that stores and processes information received by the first computer; a second computer coupled to the database and to a camera for receiving an image of a player; a data entry device that receives commands and data; and a display device that displays information requested through the data entry device, including the information transmitted to the first computer and information processed by the database.

Claim 13

A method for tracking and managing information relating to multiple, simultaneous gambling transactions, comprising the steps of: storing data relating to a plurality of players in a database associated with a gambling establishment, the data comprising for each player a player identification code of the player and the player's betting rating; reading a player identification card encoded with the player identification code of the player in a code reader at a gaming table; transmitting the read player identification code to the database to access the stored data of the player having the read player identification code; initiating a betting session for the player at the gaming table in response to reading the player identification code; displaying the stored data on a display device in an area of the gaming table; collecting real-time data of the player's betting transactions through an automatic tracking and management system (ATMU) during the betting session, the data comprising: the player identification code; the player's current gambling transaction; the player's number of transactions per unit time; and the player's betting level per betting transaction; transmitting the real-time data to a local storage device associated with a locality in a gambling establishment; transmitting the real-time data to the database; and processing the real-time data, including updating the stored data of the player based on the real-time data.

Claim 14

A method for tracking and managing information relating to multiple, simultaneous gambling transactions, comprising the steps of: storing data relating to a plurality of players in a database associated with a gambling establishment, the data comprising for each player a player identification code of the player and the player's betting rating; reading a player identification card encoded with the player identification code of the player in a code reader at a gaming table; transmitting the read player identification code to the database to access the stored data of the player having the read player identification code; initiating a betting session for the player at the gaming table in response to reading the player identification code; displaying the stored data on a display device in an area of the gaming table; collecting real-time data of the player's betting transactions through an automatic tracking and management system (ATMU) during the betting session, the data comprising: the player identification code; the player's current gambling transaction; the player's number of transactions per unit time; and the player's betting level per betting transaction; transmitting the real-time data to a local storage device associated with a locality in a gambling establishment; transmitting the real-time data to the database; and processing the real-time data, including updating the stored data of the player based on the real-time data.