Prize redemption kiosk

Abstract

Some preferred implementations of the invention provide a kiosk that can read a cashless instrument, determine one or more corresponding items of merchandise for which the cashless instrument may be redeemed and provide the corresponding item(s) of merchandise. The cashless instrument may be, for example, an ordinary “cash out” ticket, a ticket formed according to the invention, a player loyalty instrument, etc. Some implementations of the invention provide EGMs configured to issue cashless instruments that may be exchanged for various types of merchandise. The cashless instruments may be, for example, encoded tickets. Some implementations provide EGMs configured for encoding a prize code that indicates a corresponding item of merchandise for which the cashless instrument may be redeemed. However, a cashless instrument may or may not indicate a prize code. If a cashless instrument includes a prize code, the prize code may or may not be indicated in human-readable form.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A kiosk, comprising:
 a cashless instrument reader configured to determine cashless instrument information from a cashless instrument issued by a wager gaming machine;   an indicator;   a mechanism configured to dispense a non-cash physical merchandise prize from a plurality of non-cash physical merchandise prizes; and   a logic system configured to:
 determine a cashless instrument value of a cashless instrument read by the cashless instrument reader; 
 determine whether the cashless instrument value is within a first value range having a first lower end, 
 determine that a first non-cash physical merchandise prize in the plurality of non-cash physical merchandise prizes is associated with the first value range, and 
 indicate, with the indicator, the first non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to determining the cashless instrument value. 
   
     
     
         22 . The kiosk of  claim 21 , wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 determine a plurality of value ranges, the plurality of value ranges including the first value range.   
     
     
         23 . The kiosk of  claim 22 , wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 select the first value range from the plurality of value ranges such that the cashless instrument value is within the first value range or, if the cashless instrument value is not within any of the value ranges in the plurality of value ranges, such that the difference between the cashless instrument value and the first lower end is minimized.   
     
     
         24 . The kiosk of  claim 23 , wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 receive instructions to not redeem the cashless instrument for a non-cash physical merchandise prize, and   provide an indicium of value corresponding to the cashless instrument value.   
     
     
         25 . The kiosk of  claim 24 , wherein the indicium of value is selected from the group consisting of currency, a credit to a player loyalty account, and another cashless instrument. 
     
     
         26 . The kiosk of  claim 23 , wherein the logic system is further configured to only allow redemption of the cashless instrument for non-cash physical merchandise prizes associated with the first value range when the cashless instrument value is determined to be within the first value range. 
     
     
         27 . The kiosk of  claim 21 , wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 determine that a second non-cash physical merchandise prize in the plurality non-cash physical merchandise prizes is also associated with the first value range, and   indicate, with the indicator, the second non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to determining the cashless instrument value.   
     
     
         28 . The kiosk of  claim 27 , wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 receive an instruction to redeem the cashless instrument,   redeem the cashless instrument, and   cause the mechanism to dispense both the first non-cash physical merchandise prize and the second non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to redemption of the cashless instrument.   
     
     
         29 . The kiosk of  claim 27 , wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 receive an instruction to redeem the cashless instrument,   redeem the cashless instrument,   receive an indication of a selected one of the first non-cash physical merchandise prize and the second non-cash physical merchandise prize, and   cause the mechanism to dispense the selected one of the first non-cash physical merchandise prize and the second non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to redemption of the cashless instrument.   
     
     
         30 . The kiosk of  claim 21 , further comprising a value input device, wherein the logic system is further configured to:
 calculate a value difference between the first lower end and the cashless instrument value when the cashless instrument value is less than an amount falling within the first value range, and   present an offer to redeem the cashless instrument for the first non-cash physical merchandise prize in exchange for additional value input via the value input device, the additional value equivalent to the value difference.   
     
     
         31 . A method comprising:
 determining a cashless instrument value of a cashless instrument read by a cashless instrument reader;   determining whether the cashless instrument value is within a first value range having a first lower end,   determining that a first non-cash physical merchandise prize in a plurality of non-cash physical merchandise prizes is associated with the first value range, and   indicating the first non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to determining the cashless instrument value.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 determining a plurality of value ranges, the plurality of value ranges including the first value range, and   selecting the first value range from the plurality of value ranges.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 32 , further comprising selecting the first value range from the plurality of value ranges such that the cashless instrument value is within the first value range or, if the cashless instrument value is not within any of the value ranges in the plurality of value ranges, such that the difference between the cashless instrument value and the first lower end is minimized. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving instructions to not redeem the cashless instrument for a non-cash physical merchandise prize, and   providing an indicium of value corresponding to the cashless instrument value.   
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the indicium of value is selected from the group consisting of currency, a credit to a player loyalty account, and another cashless instrument. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising allowing redemption of the cashless instrument for the first non-cash physical merchandise prize when it is determined that the cashless instrument value is within the first value range. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the method further comprises:
 determining that a second non-cash physical merchandise prize in the plurality non-cash physical merchandise prizes is also associated with the first value range, and   indicating, with the indicator, the second non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to determining the cashless instrument value.   
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 37 , the method further comprising:
 receiving an instruction to redeem the cashless instrument,   redeeming the cashless instrument, and   causing a mechanism to dispense both the first non-cash physical merchandise prize and the second non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to redemption of the cashless instrument.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 37 , the method further comprising:
 receiving an instruction to redeem the cashless instrument,   redeeming the cashless instrument,   receiving an indication of a selected one of the first non-cash physical merchandise prize and the second non-cash physical merchandise prize, and   causing the mechanism to dispense the selected one of the first non-cash physical merchandise prize and the second non-cash physical merchandise prize responsive to redemption of the cashless instrument.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 31 , further comprising:
 calculating a value difference between the first lower end and the cashless instrument value when the cashless instrument value is less than an amount falling within the first value range, and   presenting an offer to redeem the cashless instrument for the first non-cash physical merchandise prize in exchange for additional value input via the value input device, the additional value equivalent to the value difference.