The utterance recognition device 5 comprises camera devices 511 and 512 taking dynamic images including the corners of mouth of respective personage for a plurality of personages, a microphone device 513 acquiring a voice of an utterance of the respective personages, a main unit 101 determining a personage who performs an utterance from the plurality of personages according to a motion of the corners of mouth of respective personage taken by the camera devices 511 and 512 when the microphone device 513 acquires a voice.

A wheel game apparatus comprising an inner ring mounted for rotational motion about a central shaft having a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots, a central cone mounted for rotational motion about the shaft in an axial adjacent position to the upper side of the inner ring and including a plurality of markers thereon, and aligning and engagement features whereby the cone can be rotated relative to the inner ring such that each of the markers will align with a slot and the cone will remain engaged while the inner ring is rotated.

A roulette wheel apparatus comprising a rotatable roulette wheel located in a wheel bowl and a ball launcher adapted to launch a roulette ball into the wheel bowl with a predetermined variable launch speed, the ball launcher comprising at least one rotatable element adapted to accelerate a roulette ball in contact with the rotatable element and/or at least one element adapted to spin a roulette ball in contact with the element.

Disclosed are an apparatus, a system, and method for automatically launching roulette balls into a ball track of a roulette wheel.

A dealer substitute device 1 includes: a right arm 12 and a left arm 13 configured to move a first handling portion 14, with which a gaming tool 2 used in a game is handled, so as to position the first handling portion 14 at a predetermined position in a three-dimensional space; and a trunk 11 which supports the right arm 12 and the left arm 13 and is configured to perform effect operation to a player.

A roulette machine having a launch device including an automatic ball-change device is described. The ball-change device includes a rotatable main wheel comprising a plurality of pockets, and a rotatable switch wheel switching between an open position and a closed position. The main wheel receives and stores a plurality of roulette balls for future use and facilitates changing of a current game ball and, with the switch wheel, delivering the roulette ball to a launch start position or other desired output. The main wheel and the switch wheel may be independently rotatable, and coordinate with one or more sensors to determine a timing and delivery of a specifically-selected game ball to start a game cycle.

A roulette wheel reading apparatus is provided for triangulating a roulette ball position in a pocket of a roulette wheel. The apparatus comprises: a triangulation sensor, a roulette wheel position sensor, and a processor; wherein the triangulation sensor comprises: a first signal emitter arranged to emit a first signal toward a location within a pocket of a roulette wheel comprising a plurality of roulette wheel pockets; and a second signal emitter arranged to emit a second signal toward the location; wherein the triangulation sensor further comprises: a signal receiver positioned to receive a first reflection of the first signal at a first receipt time and arranged to output the first receipt time, the signal receiver being further positioned to receive a second reflection of the second signal at a second receipt time and arranged to output the second receipt time; wherein the first reflection and the second reflection originate from said roulette ball; the roulette wheel position sensor being arranged to detect and output a position of one or more of the plurality of roulette wheel pockets relative to the location; the processor being arranged to: receive the first receipt time, the second receipt time and the position; calculate a time difference between the first receipt time and the second receipt time; identify that the time difference is within a predetermined time difference threshold; identify, using the position, the pocket of the roulette wheel; and output the pocket of the roulette wheel as a roulette result. The apparatus of the present invention aims to accurately and reliably identify cessation of a roulette ball in a roulette wheel pocket for the purpose of informing the reporting of a winning roulette result.

Systems and methods are disclosed for gaming operations, interfaces, and variations for multi-ball roulette games. In various embodiments, systems and methods may include a roulette wheel, a ball launcher, a pocket sensor, and a controller to manage a round of play. The controller may generate an animation on an interactive graphical user interface of a player station and receive bet information during a betting window. A first roulette ball and a second roulette ball may be launched on the roulette wheel. The pocket sensor may provide information related to a position of the first roulette ball, which triggers a game modification based on a first symbol associated with the position. The pocket sensor may then provide information related to the second roulette ball. Animations related to the gameplay and wager resolution may be provided on the interactive graphical user interface.

Multi-Ball roulette gaming systems and apparatuses are disclosed. A gaming apparatus may include an automated roulette wheel, a ball launcher configured to launch a plurality of roulette balls onto the automated roulette wheel at a specified time during a roulette gaming event, a standalone cabinet, a plurality of player stations positioned around the standalone cabinet, and a controller operating the roulette wheel, the ball launcher, and a roulette gaming event, based on communications with the plurality of player stations. The standalone cabinet may include a top surface supporting the automated roulette wheel and a hollow interior portion housing the ball launcher. The play stations may each include a display providing an interactive graphical user interface.