Patent ID: 8517813

Claim:
A gaming apparatus comprising: a plurality of gaming reels each having a plurality of symbols that are randomly arranged in response to gaming events; a controller coupled to the gaming reels and configured to: randomize, in response to a user input, the plurality of gaming reels so that the gaming reels are in a first configuration; determine, based on the first configuration of the gaming reels, whether an arrangement of the symbols on the gaming reels has formed a winning condition that is already entitled to a payout; if the arrangement of the symbols on the gaming reels formed a winning condition that is already entitled to a payout, identify a first subset of the gaming reels as reels having the symbols used in the formation of the winning condition, identify a second subset of the gaming reels as the remaining reels not in the first subset of gaming reels, and randomize the second subset of gaming reels so that the plurality of gaming reels are in a second configuration, wherein the second subset of gaming reels is randomized independently of any user inputs occurring after the determination of the winning condition, and wherein the first set of gaming reels is held while the second subset of gaming reels is randomized; and if the arrangement of the symbols on the gaming reels did not form a winning condition that is already entitled to a payout, foregoing any further randomization of the gaming reels; and a payout device that determines a final payout based at least on the second configuration of the plurality of gaming reels in response to the randomization of the second subset of gaming reels.