Patent ID: 9047740
Filing Date: 2015-06-02
Classification: G07F

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a wagering game, the method including: receiving a player input through a user interface at a gaming machine; responsive to the player input, illuminating a set of reels at the gaming machine with a base lighting effect at a base color and base light intensity from one or more light source clusters located behind and in front of a displayed portion of the reels to place the set of reels in a base lighting state and spinning the reels while in the base lighting state, the set of reels comprising three or more mechanical reels or video-generated reels; stopping a first reel of the set of reels to display a first reel outcome; if the first reel outcome includes a first predefined symbol, —illuminating a portion of at least the first reel with an anticipation lighting color different from the base color and at a first light intensity to place the set of reels in a first anticipation lighting state different from the base lighting state, the first light intensity greater than the base light intensity; after stopping the first reel, stopping a second reel of the set of reels to display a second reel outcome; if the displayed first and second reel outcomes respectively include the first predefined symbol, illuminating a portion of at least the second reel while a third reel is spinning to place the set of reels in a second anticipation lighting state different from the base lighting state and the first anticipation lighting state; if the displayed second reel outcome does not include the first predefined symbol, then fading the set of reels from the first anticipation lighting state to the base lighting state; and after each of the reels of the set of reels have been stopped to display a game outcome for the player input, awarding a payment associated with any winning result defined in the game outcome and if the first predefined symbol is not part of a winning combination then fading the set of reels from the second anticipation lighting state to the base lighting state.