50 state roulette

Abstract

A 50 state roulette game provides unique U.S. State related wagering opportunities while also enticing players with increased payouts. The 50 state roulette game may present the 50 U.S. States to players to allow related wagers to be placed. A corresponding roulette wheel may having roulette ball landing areas identifying U.S. States may also be provided. Winning and losing wagers may be determined based on an association between the U.S. State(s) on which a wager was placed and the U.S. State or other identifier on the landing area within which the roulette ball comes to rest.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A 50 state roulette game table comprising:
 a playing surface comprising inside wagering areas arranged in a grid, each inside wagering area having a first border and a surrounding second border, the first border in the shape of a U.S. State;   a roulette wheel having a rotatable portion, the rotatable portion comprising landing areas arranged in a circular pattern, each landing area configured to receive a roulette ball and identifying a U.S. State on the playing surface; and   one or more outside wagering areas on the playing surface, each outside wagering area identifying a plurality of U.S. States;   wherein the playing surface is configured to support one or more wagers thereon and the first border of each inside wagering area has an enlarged size greater than any single one of the one or more wagers.   
     
     
         2 . The 50 state roulette game table of  claim 1 , wherein each first border is a unique U.S. State. 
     
     
         3 . The 50 state roulette game table of  claim 2 , wherein the playing surface has 50 inside wagering areas. 
     
     
         4 . The 50 state roulette game table of  claim 1 , wherein each inside wagering area further comprises a U.S. State name or abbreviation. 
     
     
         5 . The 50 state roulette game table of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the outside wagering areas is a dynamic wagering area that identifies a characteristic of a player related to one of the U.S. States. 
     
     
         6 . The 50 state roulette game table of  claim 1  further comprising one or more sensors configured to determine if the one or more wagers are within the first border of the one or more inside wagering areas. 
     
     
         7 . A 50 state roulette table felt comprising:
 50 inside wagering areas comprising a border of each of the 50 U.S. States, the 50 inside wagering areas arranged in a grid consisting of 5 columns and 10 rows;   a first and a second coloring, each of the inside wagering areas having either the first or the second coloring;   one or more outside wagering areas located at the periphery of the grid, the one or more outside wagering areas identifying a plurality of U.S. States;   50 unique identifiers configured to identify each of the 50 U.S. States, each of the 50 unique identifiers within one of the 50 inside wagering areas;   wherein the table felt is configured to support one or more wagers thereon and each inside wagering area has an enlarged size greater than a peripheral size of any single one of the one or more wagers.   
     
     
         8 . A 50 state roulette table surface of  claim 8 , wherein the inside wagering areas alternate between the first and second coloring from left to right across the grid. 
     
     
         9 . A 50 state roulette table surface of  claim 8 , wherein the 50 inside wagering areas each comprise a second border surrounding the border of the U.S. State therein. 
     
     
         10 . A 50 state roulette table surface of  claim 8 , wherein the 50 unique identifiers are each a U.S. State name or abbreviation. 
     
     
         11 . A 50 state roulette table surface of  claim 11 , wherein the 50 unique identifiers each further comprise a unique number between 1-50. 
     
     
         12 . A 50 state roulette table surface of  claim 8  further comprising an outside wagering area that does not identify a U.S. State. 
     
     
         13 . A 50 state roulette table surface of  claim 8  further comprising an outside wagering area that identifies a characteristic of a player related to one of the U.S. States. 
     
     
         14 . A method of providing a winning award at a 50 state roulette game comprising:
 providing a casino table layout having each of the 50 U.S. States represented thereon;   providing a roulette wheel having landing areas identifying each of the 50 U.S. States;   receiving a wager on the casino table layout at a border of one or more of the 50 U.S. States;   spinning the roulette wheel to determine a landing area at which a roulette ball has come to rest;   determining if the landing area identifies the one or more of the 50 U.S. States at which the wager was received;   paying a first award if the wager was received within the border of the one or more of the 50 U.S. States; and   paying a second award if the wager was received outside the border of the one or more of the 50 U.S. States, the second award distinct from the first award.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising receiving a wager at an outside wagering area on the casino table layout, the outside wagering area identifying a plurality of the 50 U.S. States. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising receiving a wager at an outside wagering area on the casino table layout, the outside wagering area identifying a player characteristic related to one of the 50 U.S. States selected from the group consisting of the player's home state and the player's state of residency. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the provided roulette wheel further comprises a landing area that does not identify any of the 50 U.S. States, wherein the second award is paid if the roulette ball comes to rest at this landing area. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the provided roulette wheel further comprises a landing area that identifies all of the 50 U.S. States, wherein the second award is paid if the roulette ball comes to rest at this landing area. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising detecting the border at which the wager has been placed with one or more sensors mounted adjacent the casino table layout. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising detecting the landing area at which the roulette ball has come to rest with one or more roulette wheel sensors.