Patent ID: 7857696

Claim:
A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising: (a) enabling a player to place a wager on a play of a first game at a first gaming machine at a first location; (b) if a second game triggering event occurs in association with the play of the first game at the first gaming machine, enabling the player to play a second game at the first gaming machine, the play of the second game being associated with a plurality of subsequent plays of the first game; (c) enabling the player to end the play of the second game prior to a final award being provided to the player for the play of the second game; (d) at a first point in the play of the second game and prior to said final award being provided to the player, enabling the player to make a game state input at said first gaming machine, said first point corresponding to any point in the play of the second game ranging from any point subsequent to an initiation of the play of the second game to any point prior to said final award being provided to the player for the play of the second game; (e) in response to the player making the game state input: (i) generating game state information corresponding to said first point in the play of the second game at said first gaming machine; and (ii) storing said generated game state information on a machine-readable medium; and (f) thereafter, at a second, separate gaming machine: (i) reading said game state information from said machine-readable medium; (ii) utilizing said game state information to enable the player to resume the play of the second game from said first point in the play of the second game, wherein the play of the second game is resumed from said first point in the play of the second game regardless of any occurrence of any event associated with the play of the second game and regardless of any non-occurrence of any event associated with the play of the second game; (iii) providing the player said final award for play of the second game; and (iv) if an amount of said final award provided to the player for the play of the second game is at least a designated threshold amount, enabling the player to play a third game.