Patent ID: 8430746

Claim:
A mystery jackpot controller comprising: a communication device configured to receive wager information from one or more gaming machines, the wager information indicating an amount of a wager placed at one of the one or more gaming machines; one or more memory devices configured to store a mystery jackpot amount comprising at least a first jackpot amount and a second jackpot amount, and a maximum value for the first jackpot amount; an output device configured to transmit the first jackpot amount and the second jackpot amount; and a processor configured to: compare the amount of the wager to a predefined threshold; increase the first jackpot amount if the wager is above the predefined threshold; increase the second jackpot amount if the wager is below the predefined threshold; and before the first jackpot amount reaches the maximum value, award at least a portion of the mystery jackpot amount to a player if the wager is above the predefined threshold.