Appeal No. 2005-0983
Application 09/923,675
It is clear from the method steps of claim 1 that the
matching of dealt cards to the predetermined cards is ongoing,
during each new hand dealt to the player. We find no suggestion
of such a method step in any of the applied references. Since
Falciglia is employed only for a teaching of basing an award on
the number of tries it took for all of a predetermined
arrangement of criteria to be matched, and Holmes clearly allows
a player only a single opportunity to obtain a match, the
examiner must be relying on Schneider for this suggestion of
matching dealt cards to a predetermined arrangement of cards on a
continuous basis during play. Yet, Schneider does not suggest
this at all, teaching, instead, that after qualifying with a
certain outcome of a primary game, the player gets to play a
bonus game, and continues to play that bonus game until such time
as two images are matched, winning the associated award for that
match. The matching in Schneider is not performed on an ongoing
basis during the poker game, as new cards are dealt. Rather,
Schndeider’s primary game is completed, and only if it has been
completed in a qualifying manner does the player get to advance
to the bonus round where the player is assured of winning an
award. The bonus round continues until the player achieves a
match of two images. Nothing in this teaching would have
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