Copyright © 2020 by Nicely Done Defense / casino gaming expert witness, Mark C. Nicely. All rights reserved.
updated 25-Feb-2020
Mark C. Nicely’s Curriculum Vitae
mark@NicelyDoneGaming.com / 650.678.7980
I have been involved in casino game development and analysis since 1997, following
over a decade of work in computer engineering & engineering management (hardware,
software, analysis, and algorithms) whilst doing gambling analysis recreationally.
I founded and led the gaming math department for Silicon Gaming (SGIC), a highly
innovative slot machine manufacturer. I met with numerous casino operators, played,
analyzed and documented hundreds of games, learned insider rules-of-thumb.
In 2001, I pursued gaming consulting, with my first two clients being WagerWorks, an
offshoot company of SGIC focusing on legal Internet gaming, and Fleetwood Gaming,
a slot machine manufacturer. I have continued to work on a myriad of casino gaming
projects including gaming analysis, game design, software simulators and emulators,
random number generator software development and testing, progressive jackpot
systems design and operations, general casino operations support, player complaint
investigations, Class II deal generation, regulatory submissions, patent development and
prosecution, innovation process development, gaming education and gaming math.
In 2005, I became an employee of IGT, the world’s largest slot machine provider, after
IGT acquired WagerWorks. This opened entire worlds of new knowledge and design
opportunities including multi-player gaming, cross-platform gaming, advanced game
performance analysis, land-based game design standards, IP portfolio review, games
roadmap planning, licensing evaluation/planning, and alternate development processes.
It also allowed me to become lead or co-inventor on over 200 granted patents.
In 2006, I was engaged to provide expert witness analysis and testimony on behalf of
Frank Gagliardi’s gambling tax case. Since then, I have been engaged over a dozen
more times to provide profit/loss analysis for IRS taxation and other disputes. This is in
addition to 20+ profit/loss likelihood reports for WagerWorks/IGT users/regulators.
In 2014, my position at IGT was eliminated which has allowed me to take on new game
design clients for cash gaming (land-based and online) and social gaming. It has also
allowed me to apply my considerable experience with gaming patent analysis and
prosecution to expand my expert witness consultancy to include gaming IP, casino
operations and gaming contracts, of which there have been over a dozen engagements.
POSITIONS HELD
•
Expert Witness: Gambling Taxation, IP, Contracts, Ops
--- Nicely Done Defense
•
Mathematician, Programmer, Game Designer, Analyst
--- Nicely Done Gaming
•
Founder, Game Inventor, Game Developer
--- Secret Sauce Gaming
•
Gaming Designer, Manager, Distinguished Inventor
--- IGT / WagerWorks
•
Director Engineering, Product Manager
--- E.piphany / eClass Direct
•
Gaming Math Director, Product Dev. Co-Director
--- Silicon Gaming
•
Video Game Developer
--- Nicely Done Software
•
Co-Founder, VP Eng.
--- American Signal Processing
•
VP New Business; Program Manager; SW Lead
--- Imatron / Siemens
•
Project Lead, Hardware Engineer
--- Saxpy Computer
•
Hardware Engineer
--- ESL / TRW
Page 2 of 8
GAMBLING TITLES
S
KILL
-B
ASED
Original Design
Danger Arena
Nothing but Net
Secret Temple
Bubble Heroes (2 titles)
Payback Pursuit
T
ABLE
G
AMES
Original Design
3 Wheel Roulette/Colour-Up
Double/Triple Bonus Roulette
Hot Streak BJ / Roulette
Texas Hold’em Shootout
Clean Sweep Baccarat
Custom/Modified Math
Vegas BJ (20+ Bonus)
MultiAA-Line Baccarat
Extra Action Baccarat
Dragon Ties / Panda Pairs
Deck of Dice (3 titles)
1P Table Pokers (5 titles)
Win-Win Blackjack
First-to-Market
21+3 Blackjack
Double Attack Blackjack
Power Blackjack
Three Card Mulligan
Ported
o Blackjack (5 generations)
o Roulette (3 generations)
o Traditional table suite:
Baccarat; 3 Card Poker;
Craps; Hold’em Bonus, …
S
TEPPER
S
LOTS
Original Design
3-Reel Hold-up
Hot Reels
Riddle of the Sphinx
Silver Bell
Ported
o Double/Triple Diamond
o Five/Ten Super Times Pay
o Wipeout/Monopoly Multiplier
C
LASS
II S
LOTS
Original Design
Bank Vault
Roman Riches
CLASS II (cont'd)
Custom Math
Bayou Bucks
Irish Gold
Tiki Treasure
Big Bad Wolf
V
IDEO
S
LOTS
Original Design
Bananarama / “ ” Deluxe
Baywatch
D & D Fortress of Fortune
Eureka
MONOPOLY Pass Go
MONOPOLY Here & Now
The Price is Right
Vacation USA
Wheel of Fortune Hollywood
Highly Modified Math
50K/100K Pyramid
ELVIS the King
Pixies of the Forest
Super Hoot Loot
WOF Triple Action Frenzy
Ported
o Cleopatra / Cleopatra II
o Coyote Moon
o Garden Party
o Triple Fortune Dragon
o Wolf Run / Wild Wolf
V
IDEO
P
OKER
Original Design
Press It Up Poker
Lucky Draw Poker
Lucky Spot Video Poker
Match Times Pay Poker
Turn & Burn Poker
Poker Dice
Custom Math
Bump It Stud
Dead Man’s Poker
Flippin’ Poker
Phantom Belle Bonus
Streak It Rich Poker
Ported
o Game King Suite
o Phantom Belle Suite
o Triple/5/10 Play Suite
o Ultimate X Poker Suite
B
INGO
/ K
ENO
Original Bingo Design
Everyone’s a Winner
Millionaires Jackpot
Custom Math
Bingo Blitz / Bingo Keno
Hit or Miss / WTA Keno
Krazy Keno Superball
Montana Suite (8 titles)
L
EISURE
G
AMES
Original Design
5-of-6 Hi-Lo (2 titles)
MONOPOLY on a roll
The Price is Right Fruity
Three-2-Win (3 titles)
Multiplier Odds
J
ACKPOT
G
AMES
Original Design
Big Win
MJP MONOPOLY
MJP Cluedo
WOF Red Hot Jackpots
US Mint (stepper)
Highly Modified Math
Banarama Jackpot
MJP Cleopatra
MJP Cluedo
J
ACKPOT
S
YSTEMS
Original Architecture
Silicon Gaming NV WAP
WagerWorks online WAPs
IGT online MegaJackpots
IGT online Laddering MLP
S
OCIAL
S
LOTS
Original Design
PopSlots / MyVegas:
Bet the Farm, Lucky Birds, MGM
Stars, Emerald 7s, Rainbow 7s,
Tavern of Fortune, Pirate Gems, Fire
vs. Lightning, Wall of Khan, Diamond
King, Cleo’s Palace, Emeralds vs.
Rubies, Enchanted Wall, Casino
Heist, Fu Stacks, King Kong
GSN:
Heart of Phoenix,
Multi-7s,
4x of July, Dazzling 7s, Fiery 7s,
Enchanted Emeralds, Ritzy Rubies,
Gold & Black 10x, Lightning Wheel,
Sapphires, Spicy 7s, Wild Stars & 7
All titles are trademarked owned by their respective company, including Action Gaming, Bally Gaming, Barcrest, Customized Casino Games, Deck of
Dice, Diamond Game Enterprises, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Fleetwood Gaming, Freemantle Media, Games Marketing, GSN, Hasbro, High-5 Games,
IGT, Olympian Gaming, PLAYSTUDIOS, Pop Slots, Nu Games, Red Emerald Gaming, Scientific Games, Secret Sauce Gaming, Seven Deuces,
Silicon Gaming, ShuffleMaster, Sony, WagerWorks, Walker Digital Table Systems, Universal City Studios, and Wizards of the Coast.
Page 3 of 8
GAMBLING PATENTS
Jackpot Systems
Table Games: Blackjack
Dynamic Jackpot Banks 2011/0111843
Blackjack Hot Streak 8485880, 8235780
Dynamic Meter Injection 8449388, 8096874
Turn the Tables Blackjack 8197319, 8262448
Extra Chances Jackpot 8496520, 8162746
Winning Streak Blackjack 2014/0087801
Laddering MLP 2014/0094293
True Pay Multicurrency Jackpots 8512132
Table Games: Roulette
Concentric Multi-Wheel Roulette 8517381 + 3 other
Jackpot Game Features
Double Bonus Spin 8152171, 7674172
Personal Progressives 8408993, 7666093
Dual Streak Roulette 8562419
Wager-Based Symbol Eligibility 7507156
Hot Streak Roulette 8342941 + 3 other
Multiple Bonus Wheels Game 2013/0059647
Multiplayer Bonusing Frameworks
Cross-Title Community Bonusing 8545313 + 2 other
Table Games: Casino Hold'em
Garden of Gaming Delight 8662980, 8475265
Back-A-Winner Hold 'Em 8137174
Piece of The Action 2011/0230251
Casino Hold'em One-On-One 8353751
Treasure Map / Keno Race 8070587
Casino Hold'em Shootout 7748714
Mid-Proposition Hold'em Bonus 8449363
Multiplayer Features
Bees & Honey Community Bonus 8118666
Table Games: Pai Gow
Fish Frenzy Race Bonus 2011/0111827
Pai Gow Draw Poker 8696424
Halo-Style Shooting Bonus 8393968
Pai Gow Poker Hand Setting 8216039
Interactive Bonus Set Selection 2014/0087809
Three Card Double Happiness 8177616
Soldiers and Assassins 2013/0084941
Ticket-To-Ride Bonus Selector 2012/0108319
Table Games: Other
Three Card Draw Poker 8695984, 8534671
Slot Game Formats
Hot Streak Baccarat 2010/0117299
Chuzzle-Style Sliding Symbol 2014/0066162
Dual-Sided Cascading Symbols 2014/0087825
Electronic Tables
Hexagonal Slots 6676511, 6241607
Deal Customization 8678921
Pin Board Driven Slot Game 8366533, 8366532
Electronic Dice Shaker 8622391 + 2 other
Player-Controlled Sliding Window 2014/0087832
Tournament Roulette 8641515
Where's Waldo / Glyphtronic 3000 8602869, 8545307
Mobile Devices
Slot Game Features
Mobile-EGM Interactivity 2013/0084963
Hot Tail Win Trail 8678908
Player Linked EGM Audio 2013/0053144
Per Payline Multipliers 8419525, 8277305
Remote Hand-Held Wagering 8529345
Regenerative Power-Ups 8672741, 8672740
System Features
Bonus Features
Award Frequency Analyzer 2011/0014969
3d Award Contoured Bonus 8079903
CDS-Based Bonus Persistence 2011/0003627
Betside: Wheel Bonus Side Bet 8628412, 8517824
Crash or Carry 2013/0203482
Corral the Wild Horse 8517827, 8287364
Level-Up Plus 2014/0087855
Variable Depth Treasure Chest 8210935
Remote Client Selective Stacking 8668574, 8591314
Alternate Outcome Displays 2013/0079097
Video Poker Games
8-Way Poker 7862417, 7614946
Numbers/Leisure Games
Dual-Sided Video Poker 2014/0087798
3-2-Win / Match 3 8641509 + 2 other
Match Times Pay 2013/0260869
Full Ride Poker Dice 7624986
Phantom Belle Bonus 6196547
King Arthur / 5-Of-6 Hi-Lo 7338371
X-Ray Poker / Turn & Burn Poker 8210533 + 2 other
Monopoly On A Roll 7828294, 7533885
Patent summary does not include all 180+ gaming patents, nor patents in supercomputing or CT scanner
optimization. Does not include pre-published patents, nor patents filed or granted internationally.
Page 4 of 8
GAMBLING SPECIALTIES
Master Level
○ Progressive jackpot systems and game design
• Co-Winner of EGaming Review North America Best New Game 2017 Award
• Winner of IGT 2013 Patent of the Year for online MegaJackpots system
• Designed, implemented and launched land-based and online WAPS
○ CDS (central determination system) game design
○ Table game analysis and design
• Invented, designed & built industry-leading titles: Double Bonus Spin Roulette,
Triple Bonus Spin Roulette, Hot Streak Blackjack, Hold’em Shootout
○ Gaming analytics
• A/B testing & analysis for revenue optimization
• Play history analysis for gambling loss estimation
Expert Level
Stepper slot design
Video slot design
Game & bonus features
Keno & bingo games
Leisure / numbers games
Gaming IP
SPECIFIC SKILLS
Management Areas
○ Software Engineering
• scientific
• interactive
• analytic
○ Game Development
• math & design
• graphics & audio
• game, platform & RNG s/w
• math validation testing
○ Product Dev / Manufacturing
• S/W, H/W, firmware
• user & regulatory docs
• math, physics, materials
• supply & manufacturing
Gaming Development
○ Online gaming & casino ops
○ Class III: slots & video poker
○ Class II: CDS & bingo-based
○ Proprietary table games
○ Wide Area Progressives
Gaming & Financial Analysis
○ Casino operations
○ Game performance
○ Player disputes
○ Tax court expert witness
○ ROI, NPV, Break Even
○ Business plan financials
Product Management
○ Product specifications
○ Customer / Investor presentations
○ Market research / CI
○ Field research – customers
○ Focus testing – users
○ Marcom creation
○ PR & Ad agency direction
○ Marketing effectiveness testing
Technical Skills
○ Software
• C, C#, C++, Java, R, APL
• Excel w/ VBA, Sigma Plot
• assembly / firmware
○ Math
• inferential statistics
• probability, combinatorics
• non-linear optimization
• cryptography
• software-based enumeration
○ Business
• business plans
• licensing contracts
• M&A due diligence
○ Legal
• patent search & analysis
• patent specification drafting
• expert witness reports
• court & deposition testimony
Page 5 of 8
EDUCATION
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
B.S. Computer and System Engineering; four-year academic full scholarship
Electrical, Computer & Systems Engineering Honors Program graduate – 1983
Continuing Education
Math
Probability & Statistics UCB
Stochastic Processes Stanford
Applied Statistics UCB
Fourier Transforms Stanford
Game Theory Stanford
Legal
Intellectual Property Law UCB
UCB Paralegal Program UCB
Uses of Discretion in Law Oxford
Expert Witness Training Prof
Other
Java; R; Design Patterns UCB
C#; C++; .NET; HTML Prof
Telecommunications Eng. UCB
Client/Server Systems UCB
SW Project Management Prof
Financial Analysis I & II UCB
Corporate Finance Prof
Advanced Excel Prof
Information Design Tufte
Slot Performance Analysis UNLV
Legend
UCB UC Berkeley Extension
UNLV Univ. Nevada, Las Vegas professional course
Stanford Standard University graduate courses
Tufte Edward Tufte training course
Oxford Merton College, Oxford summer course
Prof Professional training such as Seek, FEWA, PMI, …
DETAILED EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Page 6 of 8
Secret Sauce Gaming, San Francisco Bay Area, CA – 2014 to present
(Gaming IP development for licensing and sale)
Founder, Game Inventor / Developer
Develop and patent novel gaming concepts for sale or lease to the industry
Clean Sweep Baccarat® patent sold to Walker Digital Table Systems Apr 2017
Payback Boost
TM
and Lucky Spot Video Poker
TM
patents granted, prototypes in
development
Nicely Done Defense, San Francisco Bay Area, CA – 2006 to present
(Sole Proprietorship Consulting – expert witness analysis, reports & testimony)
Expert Witness: Gambling Profit/Taxation, IP, Contracts, Casino Operations
Report, joint report, and testimony for Aristocrat v. Commissioner of Patents (AUS)
Testimony & report: High-5 adv. Konami patent infringement (MFSJ granted)
Deposition & report for Bally Gaming adv. Top Gun Gaming (settled)
Testimony & report in Gagliardi trial (new taxpayer-friendly case law established)
Consultation & report in Sang Park trial (new taxpayer-friendly case law established)
Analysis & reports for a dozen other clients with gambling earnings disputes
Nicely Done Gaming, San Francisco Bay Area, CA – 2001 to present
(Sole Proprietorship Consulting – gaming design & analysis)
Mathematician, Programmer, Game Designer, Analyst
Cash Gaming
GameCo: Nov 2015 to present: skill-based cash gaming, math, system design, regulatory
Deck of Dice: Feb 2015 to present: Poker Dice games, lucky-spot video poker
Seven Deuces: Jan 2015 to Jun 2015: math for suite of single-player poker games
Secret Sauce Gaming: May 2014 to present: skill-based slots; proprietary Baccarat
Gamiker: May 2014 to present: match-3 based game suite and corresponding IP
Walker Digital Table Systems: Apr 2014 to present: video and table Baccarat for Asia
Social Casino Game Development
Deck of Dice: Jul 2015 to present: Poker Dice apps and economy design
Seven Deuces: Feb 2015 to Dec 2015: social poker app economy design & analysis
GSN: May 2014 to Dec 2015: 3-reel stepper games, video slot games, jackpot design
PLAYSTUDIOS: Apr 2014 to present: slot games, blackjack, jackpot & community games
IGT – Interactive Division / WagerWorks, San Francisco, CA
Oct 2002 to Mar 2014 (part-time employee);
Oct 2001 to Oct 2002 (contractor)
Legal online casino software for the European market & land-based EGMs
Math model development for online casino games (reels, table, cards, keno)
Math analysis tool development, process creation & regulatory documentation
Player complaint research and response, gaming performance analysis
Manage all patent and trademark issues for the interactive division
Diamond Game Enterprise, Chatsworth, CA – 2003 to 2008
Class II Slot Machine Manufacturer primarily for Oklahoma
Math model development for slot and card games
Game design and development
RNG development and testing
Class II slot outcome generation software
Fleetwood Gaming, Billings, MT – 2002 to 2008
Class III Slot Machine Manufacturer for Montana
Developed a proprietary video poker analyzer
Proprietary keno and video poker math model design
Miscellaneous gaming clients
Game design, math model development, card game simulators
Patent claims development, gaming patent evaluation
RNG testing, bankroll ruin analysis, financial modeling, etc.
Jurisdictional regulatory review and report
Page 7 of 8
E.piphany, San Mateo, California (acquired eClass Direct) – 1999 to 2001
Director, Development / Product Manager
eClass Direct -- 25-person e-mail service business start-up
recruited, organized and ran the software engineering team
established development methodologies, design & code review processes, etc.
created and managed next-generation product & services roadmap
executive staff duties: strategic planning, corporate policies, M&A
corporate responsibilities: Web site, competitive intelligence, recruiting, IT
Silicon Gaming, Palo Alto, CA – 1997 to 1999
(Manufacturer of Las Vegas-style multimedia slot machines, which grew to 80 employees
and $20 million in sales prior to acquisition by IGT)
Director, Product Development
co-directed game development group (24 people)
helped design & implement new management structures & development processes
developed a complete R&D program including new game development, industry
watch, table game review, open house reviews, and outside game idea evaluation
lead technical licensing discussions with outside gaming companies
Director, Gaming Mathematics
gambling proposition design for assorted reel & card casino games
card and reel game simulation, emulation and chi-square analysis
created the department - staffed, trained and supervised team of 3
responsible for all game-related IP, lead or contributory inventor on 15 patents
Nicely Done Software, San Francisco, CA – 1993 to 1997
Freelance Video Game Developer
video game development: assembler for GameBoy, C for Sony Play Station
game list: 5 sports, 1 platform, 2 fighting, 1 robot ball game
lead development of 3D games for Play Station and Sega Saturn
assorted graphics processing and software development tools in C
American Signal Processing, San Jose, CA – 1992 to 1996
(Start-up pursuing DOD avionics contracts / product development)
Co-Founder / Vice President, Engineering
pursued contracts for simultaneous microwave signal detection for IFM receivers
co-developed various DSP and analog algorithms
developed hardware architectures and examined ASIC implementation issues
Imatron, Inc., South San Francisco, CA – 1989 to 1992
(Manufactured CT scanners and other medical imaging equipment.
Public company with 140 employees.)
Vice President, New Business Development
coordinate definition, evaluation, projections, negotiation and finance of new
business opportunities working directly with the President/CEO
helped launch our fast heart scan service business subsidiary
Program Manager
(the C-150 for Siemens replaces the previous product line with improved RAS,
significant size reduction, higher resolution, and new scan modes.)
managed all aspects of C-150 CT scanner product development program
all program deadlines completed on time, to spec, under budget
program involved over 50 people in software, mechanical and electrical engineering,
physics, marketing, clinical sciences, purchasing, field service, regulatory affairs,
QC/QA, production & manufacturing integration
Page 8 of 8
Software Project Lead
led 3-person project to develop electron beam control software which, performed a
multi-variable, non-linear optimization during auto scanner operation to provide
superior image quality – touted to customers as the most sophisticated functionality
ever created by Imatron
defined functional requirements, wrote software specifications and conventions,
developed the overall design, established & tracked schedules
30k lines of C with embedded assembler for VME-based 68020 under UNIX
expanded functionality of several PSOS real-time operating system processes
Saxpy Computer Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA – 1984 to 1988
(Venture capital start-up which grew to 80 employees.
Designed, manufactured and installed several Matrix 1 supercomputers.)
Project Lead / Hardware Engineer
key contributor to the design & development of the Matrix 1 supercomputer from
inception to manufacturing release, customer installation, and maintenance
lead architect & inventor of the MPU subsystem (1000 megaflop, systolic array),
wrote all specs, coordinated technical details & lead the integration team
analyzed and developed hardware for the ECL & TTL-based MPU compute and I/O
controller board set (4 boards, 1000+ IC's, PAL intensive)
developed 1000 lines of multi-staged (108 bit) microcode
defined the system floating point arithmetic and exception handling
ESL/ TRW, Sunnyvale, CA – 1983 to 1984
(Advanced Technology Division of large defense equipment corporation.
Worked on a sonar-based, anti-submarine systolic array beamformer project.)
Hardware Engineer
developed the floating point, vector processor-based, median frequency filter board
generated all the microcode (80 bits) for the vector processor controller
defined and implemented the instruction set (Unix-based system)
developed the systolic array boundary-cell square root unit
completed a detailed numerical analysis and simulation of the inverse square root
algorithm in order to optimize hardware and performance
