Game business method and device

Abstract

A sales-inducement business method which preferably uses a roulette wheel provided by merchants for their customers to play for having charges paid by the customers for goods and services refunded by the merchant if the customers win the game. Described as preferred games are miniature roulette games having horizontal roulette wheels 13 rotatable in horizontal roulette tables 14 and optionally vertical roulette wheels 21 rotatable in vertical roulette tables 22.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A game business method comprised of the following steps: 
 a merchant selling goods or services to a customer;    the customer paying the merchant a bill for the goods or services;    the merchant communicating to the customer an offer to refund the bill if the customer plays and wins a game provided by the merchant;    the customer deciding whether to accept or to decline the offer;    the customer accepting the offer; and    the customer playing the game either winning or losing the refund of the bill.    
     
     
         2 . The game business method of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the customer wins the game; and  
 the merchant refunds the bill to the customer.  
 
     
     
         3 . The game business method of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the customer loses the game; and  
 the merchant does not refund the bill to the customer.  
 
     
     
         4 . The game business method of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the customer declines to accept the offer;  
 the customer does not play the game; and  
 the merchant does not refund the bill to the customer.  
 
     
     
         5 . The game business method of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the game is roulette.  
 
     
     
         6 . The game business method of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the game is a miniature-roulette game having 37 or more ball depressions numbered zero-to- 36  or more and articulated to receive a roulette ball proximate an outside perimeter of a horizontal roulette wheel that is rotational proximate a center of a horizontal roulette table having a ball rail that is circumferential concentrically inward from the perimeter of the roulette table at a predetermined distance radially from the outside perimeter of the roulette wheel; and  
 the horizontal roulette table is tapered predeterminedly downward centrally towards the roulette wheel and the ball depressions in the roulette wheel.  
 
     
     
         7 . The game business method of  claim 6  wherein the miniature-roulette game is played by: 
 choosing a number of the numbered ball depressions into which the roulette ball will come to rest after the horizontal roulette wheel stops rotating;  
 rotating the roulette ball within the ball rail circumferentially and rotating the horizontal roulette wheel on the horizontal roulette table simultaneously;  
 waiting for the horizontal roulette wheel to stop rotating and for the roulette ball to come to rest in one of the ball depressions;  
 winning the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball comes to rest in the ball depression that is chosen by the player and  
 losing the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball does not come to rest in the ball depression that is chosen by the player.  
 
     
     
         8 . The game business method of  claim 7  wherein: 
 the horizontal roulette wheel and the roulette ball are rotated simultaneously by placing the roulette ball in one of the ball depressions and rotating the horizontal roulette wheel sufficiently fast to hurl the roulette ball outward radially and circumferentially while speed of rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel slows gradually.  
 
     
     
         9 . The game business method of  claim 7  wherein: 
 the roulette ball is rotated with a ball ejector separately from rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel.  
 
     
     
         10 . The game business method of  claim 1  wherein: 
 the game is a miniature-roulette game having 37 or more sleeve ball depressions numbered zero-to- 36  or more in a horizontal sleeve in which the sleeve ball depressions are articulated to receive the roulette ball proximate a perimeter of a vertical roulette wheel that is rotational proximate a center of a vertical roulette table;  
 the horizontal sleeve being circumferential concentrically proximate the perimeter of the roulette wheel; and  
 the sleeve ball depressions are articulated to allow the roulette ball to come to rest in a bottommost sleeve ball depression when the vertical roulette wheel stops rotating.  
 
     
     
         11 . The game business method of  claim 10  wherein: 
 the roulette ball is a ball made of wood, plastic or metal; and  
 the roulette ball and the vertical roulette wheel are rotated simultaneously by rotating the vertical roulette wheel with the roulette ball initially in any of the sleeve ball depressions and tumbling circumferentially until the vertical roulette wheel stops rotating and the roulette ball comes to rest in the bottommost sleeve ball depression.  
 
     
     
         12 . The game business method of  claim 10  wherein the miniature-roulette game is played by: 
 choosing a number of the numbered ball depressions into which the roulette ball will come to rest after the vertical roulette wheel stops rotating;  
 rotating the roulette ball within the horizontal sleeve circumferentially and rotating the vertical roulette wheel on the vertical roulette table simultaneously;  
 waiting for the vertical roulette wheel to stop rotating and for the roulette ball to come to rest in one of the sleeve ball depressions;  
 winning the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball comes to rest in the sleeve ball depression that is chosen by the player; and  
 losing the miniature-roulette game if the roulette ball does not come to rest in the sleeve ball depression that is chosen by the player.  
 
     
     
         13 . A miniature roulette game comprising: 
 a horizontal roulette wheel that is rotatable centrally on a horizontal roulette table;    the horizontal roulette wheel having 37 or more ball depressions placed circumferentially proximate an outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel;    the ball depressions being articulated to contain a bottom portion of a roulette ball sufficiently to allow the roulette ball contained in a ball depression to be hurled radially from the ball depression by rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel at a predetermined speed of rotation;    the horizontal roulette table having a ball rail with a circumferential inside periphery having a height to prevent radial escape of the roulette ball that is hurled from the ball depression of the horizontal roulette wheel by rotation of the horizontal roulette wheel;    the horizontal roulette table being tapered predeterminedly downward and inward to proximate the outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel;    the horizontal roulette wheel being tapered predeterminedly downward and outward from a central position on the horizontal roulette wheel to proximate the ball depressions;    the horizontal roulette wheel being tapered predeterminedly downward and inward from the outside perimeter of the horizontal roulette wheel to the ball depressions;    the horizontal roulette wheel being arched circumferentially intermediate the ball depressions; and    a wheel rotator with which the horizontal roulette wheel is rotatable.    
     
     
         14 . The miniature roulette game of  claim 13  wherein: 
 the wheel rotator is a rotator handle on a central shaft extended upward vertically from a center of the horizontal roulette wheel.  
 
     
     
         15 . The miniature roulette game of  claim 13  wherein: 
 the horizontal roulette table has a diameter that is approximately twelve-to-forty times a diameter of the roulette ball.  
 
     
     
         16 . The miniature roulette game of  claim 13  wherein: 
 the horizontal roulette wheel has a diameter that is approximately fifteen to twenty times a diameter of the roulette ball.  
 
     
     
         17 . The miniature roulette game of  claim 13  and further comprising: 
 a slot-machine ball ejector having an ejector axis tangential to an inside periphery of the ball rail.  
 
     
     
         18 . A miniature roulette game comprising: 
 a vertical roulette wheel that is rotational on a horizontal axis proximate a center of a vertical roulette table;    the vertical roulette wheel having eleven or more sleeve ball depressions in an inside periphery of a horizontal sleeve that is extended horizontally forward from the vertical roulette wheel;    the sleeve ball depressions being articulated to allow the roulette ball to come to rest in a bottommost sleeve ball depression when the vertical wheel is not rotating;    a transparent window on a front end of the horizontal sleeve; and    a wheel rotator with which the vertical roulette wheel is rotatable.    
     
     
         19 . The miniature roulette game of  claim 18  and further comprising: 
 a roulette ball positioned intermediate the vertical roulette wheel and the transparent window for being allowed to tumble circumferentially in the horizontal sleeve when the vertical roulette wheel is rotated and to rest in the bottommost sleeve ball depression when the vertical wheel stops after being rotated.  
 
     
     
         20 . The miniature roulette game of  claim 18  wherein: 
 the roulette ball of wood, plastic or metal..  
 
     
     
         21 . A game played by a person with no chance of loss of money and the chance of winning money including games played with darts and with dice.  
     
     
         22 . A game according to  claim 1  which uses the handle of a slot machine to spin a ball and the machine is programed to permit the player before pulling the handle to put into the machine his wining number or symbols and if the ball comes to rest on the winning number or chosen symbols, the machine will spit out a token which the house will convert into cash or a voucher for the player's next visit.