Patent ID: 8075389

Claim:
A gaming machine, comprising: indicia of a plurality of spinning reels in a first set of reels, wherein a determination is made as to whether an outcome of the indicia of spinning reels in the first set of reels is a winning outcome; indicia of a plurality of spinning reels in a second set of reels, wherein a determination is made as to whether an outcome of the indicia of spinning reels in the second set of reels is a winning outcome; and award-multiplier indicia of a first shared spinning base game award-multiplier reel positioned between the first and second set of reels, wherein the first set of reels, second set of reels, and the base game award-multiplier reel form a contiguous set of reels having a common axis of rotation, and wherein the base game award-multiplier indicia modifies the winning outcome on the first set of reels, the winning outcome on the second set of reels, or the winning outcome on both the first and second set of reels; and an input device that allows a player to adjust the location of the shared base game award-multiplier reel by selecting a location corresponding to one reel of the first or second set of reels.