Importance

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Abstract

A 'pull-tab' gaming machine for dispensing game tickets with imprinted symbols or indicia that cannot be viewed without removing a cover strip and cannot be mechanically scanned to reveal the indicia. A ticket supply, such as a continuous roll of tickets, is installed in the machine together with an electronic memory module that contains a ticket record for each ticket in the supply. The memory module is read sequentially to obtain a ticket identifier and ticket indicia data. The ticket identifier from the memory module is compared with a machine-readable identifier encoded onto each physical ticket and, if a match is found, the ticket is dispensed and its indicia data, as obtained from the memory module, are displayed on a screen. Winning combinations of indicia are detected electronically and used to actuate a winner light on the machine. Because the ticket indicia are neither printed nor encoded onto the exterior of the ticket, the locations of winning tickets cannot be determined in advance of ticket purchase.

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First Claim