Patent ID: 7316611

Claim:
A gaming apparatus for allowing a plurality of entrants to participate in a primary game and a secondary game, wherein each entrant makes an entry and places a primary wager in connection with the primary game, and wherein a subset of the entrants each places a secondary wager in connection with the secondary game associated with the primary game, the gaming apparatus comprising: at least one display device capable of displaying images associated with the primary game and the secondary game; and a central processing unit operatively coupled to the display device, the central processing unit being programmed to determine a primary game outcome for the primary game; the central processing unit being programmed to cause the display device to display images corresponding to the primary game outcome for the primary game; the central processing unit being programmed to compare the primary game outcome for the primary game to the entry of each entrant for the primary game, and to determine whether each entrant has a winning entry for the primary game based on the comparison of the primary game outcome to the entry of each entrant; the central processing unit being programmed to determine a primary game award amount for each entrant determined by the central processing unit to have a winning entry for the primary game; the central processing unit being programmed to determine a secondary game outcome for the secondary game associated with the primary game; and, the central processing unit being programmed to determine a secondary game award amount for each entrant that placed a secondary wager on the secondary game associated with the primary game and that is determined by the central processing unit to have a winning entry for the primary game, the secondary game award amount being equal to the product of an individual game award amount multiplied by a multiplier value, said individual game award amount being a fraction of a total jackpot paid and defined as an amount awarded to an individual entrant having a winning entry when the multiplier value is equal to 1.