Patent ID: 9384634
Filing Date: 2016-07-05
CPC Classification: G07F

Claim Text:
1. A method of operating a gaming system, the gaming system including a random element generator, one or more controllers, and a gaming machine, the gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing at least one casino wagering game, the gaming machine including a gaming cabinet, an electronic display device, and an electronic input device, the gaming cabinet constructed to house components associated with the casino wagering game, the electronic display device and the electronic input device being coupled to the gaming cabinet, the method comprising: generating one or more random elements with the random element generator; receiving, via a physical input to the electronic input device, a wager input to initiate a base play of the casino wagering game; determining, via at least one of the one or more controllers, whether a triggering event has occurred; in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred during the base play and without requiring additional wager input, activating, by the one or more controllers, a threshold-based enhancement functionality during which a plurality of successive bonus plays of the casino wagering game are conducted; displaying respective outcomes of the successive bonus plays on the electronic display device, the outcomes being based, at least in part, on the one or more random elements, the respective outcomes being displayed in the form of a plurality of symbols along one or more paylines in a display area; for each of initial ones of the successive bonus plays, determining, via at least one of the one or more controllers, one or more award amounts based on the outcomes of the initial ones of successive bonus plays; aggregating, via at least one of the one or more controllers, each of the one or more award amounts determined over the initial ones of the successive bonus plays to calculate an aggregate award amount; determining, via at least one of the one or more controllers, whether the aggregate award amount is greater than a threshold amount; providing an enhancement to remaining ones of the successive bonus plays in response to the aggregate award amount being greater than the threshold amount; determining, by at least one of the one or more controllers, whether a terminating event has occurred, the plurality of successive bonus plays being conducted until it is determined that the terminating event has occurred; and enhancing, by at least one of the one or more controllers, the aggregate amount based on the enhancement in response to determining that the terminating event has occurred and the aggregate amount is greater than the threshold amount.