Keno simulation of other game outcomes

Abstract

Some implementations of the invention provide a Keno game on a gaming machine wherein an outcome of a second game is also presented. The second game may be a Class III game such as a slot game, a video poker game, etc. Some such aspects of the invention involve providing a Keno game in which the Keno card is divided into N areas and a single number within each of the N areas is selected for the Keno game. Other aspects of the invention provide methods of populating a pay table of another game with outcomes of a Keno game.

The invention is claimed as follows: 
     
         1 . A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising;
 (a) causing at least one processor to execute a plurality of instructions stored in at least one memory device to operate with at least one display device to display a Keno card including a plurality of symbols for a play of a Keno game;   (b) for each of a plurality of groups of the symbols, each of the groups including a different plurality of the symbols, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with at least one input device to receive, from a player, a selection of only one of the symbols of said group for said play of the Keno game;   (c) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of nstructions to determine an outcome of said play of the Keno game; and   (d) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with the at least one display device to display a second different game outcome corresponding to the determined outcome of said play of the Keno game.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second different game outcome is a non-Keno game outcome. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second different game outcome is a slot game outcome. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second different game outcome is a video poker game outcome. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , which includes causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to operate with the at least one input device to, upon receipt of an automatic selection indication from the player, automatically select only one of the symbols of each of the groups of the symbols. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of groups of the symbols includes one of: ten groups, sixteen groups, and twenty groups. 
     
     
         7 . A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a plurality of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 (a) cause at least one display device to display a Keno card including a plurality of symbols for a play of a Keno game;   (b) for each of a plurality of groups of the symbols, each of the groups including a different plurality of the symbols, operate with at least one input device to receive, from a player, a selection of only one of the symbols of said group for said play of the Keno game;   (c) determine an outcome of said play of the Keno game; and   (d) cause the at least one display device to display a second different game outcome corresponding to the determined outcome of said play of the Keno game.   
     
     
         8 . A gaming system comprising:
 at least one display device;   at least one input device;   at least one processor; and   at least one memory device that stores a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device and the at least one input device to:   (a) display a Keno card including a plurality of symbols for a play of a Keno game;   (b) for each of a plurality of groups of the symbols, each of the groups including a different plurality of the symbols, receive, from a player, a selection of only one of the symbols of said group for said play of the Keno game;   (c) determine an outcome of said play of the Keno game; and   (d) display a second different game outcome corresponding to the determined outcome of said play of the Keno game.   
     
     
         9 . The gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to prompt the player to, for each of the groups of the symbols, select only one of the symbols of said group for said play of the Keno game. 
     
     
         10 . The gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to indicate the selected symbol of each of the groups of the symbols. 
     
     
         11 . gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the determined outcome of said play of the Keno game includes a plurality of gaming system selected symbols. 
     
     
         12 . The gaming system of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to indicate the gaming system selected symbols. 
     
     
         13 . The gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device to, upon receipt of an automatic selection indication from the player, automatically select only one of the symbols of each of the groups of the symbols. 
     
     
         14 . The gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the second different game outcome is one of: a slot game outcome and a poker game outcome. 
     
     
         15 . The gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one display device includes a first display device and a second display device, and wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one display device to display the Keno card on the first display device and the second different game outcome on the second display device. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a plurality of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:
 (a) determine a plurality of groups of a plurality of symbols of a Keno card employed for a Keno game, each of the groups of the symbols including a different plurality of the symbols;   (b) based at least in part on the plurality of groups of the symbols, for each of a plurality of unique Keno game outcomes of the Keno game, determine a probability of occurrence of said Keno game outcome;   (c) select a first one of a plurality of outcomes of a paytable of a second different game, the first outcome being associated with a first probability of occurrence In the second game and a first award:   (d) select a plurality of the Keno game outcomes such that a sum of the probabilities of occurrence of the selected plurality of the Keno game outcomes is approximately equal to the first probability of occurrence associated with the first outcome; and   (e) associate each of the selected plurality of the Keno game outcomes with the first award and the first outcome of the paytable of the second game such that, when one of the selected plurality of the Keno game outcomes occurs for a play of said Keno game, the first outcome is displayed and the first award is provided.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the paytable of the second game includes two or more outcomes, and the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to repeat (c) through (e) for each remaining outcome of the paytable of the second game. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to associate any of the Keno game outcomes that were not associated with any of the outcomes of the paytable of the second game with an award of zero and one of a plurality of different non-winning outcomes of the second game. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the second game is one of a slot game and a video poker game. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the selected plurality of the Keno game outcomes each have approximately the same probability of occurrence. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to determine a hit/miss probability for each of a plurality of hit/miss outcomes based at least in part on the plurality of groups of the symbols. 
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 21 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to associate each of the Keno game outcomes with one of the hit/miss outcomes. 
     
     
         23 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 22 , wherein the plurality of instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to select the plurality of the Keno game outcomes from the Keno game outcomes associated with a hit/miss outcome having a relative hit/miss probability with respect to the hit/miss probabilities of the other hit/miss outcomes that corresponds to a relative probability of occurrence of the first outcome of the paytable of the second game with respect to probabilities of occurrence of other outcomes of the paytable of the second game,