Patent ID: 7137888

Claim:
A gaming device operated under the control of a processor, said gaming device comprising: a game controlled by the processor; a display device controlled by the processor and operable to display said game; a plurality of symbols in said game; at least one payline in said game; a first wild indicator in said game, said first wild indicator having a predefined association with one of the symbols, wherein for each play of the game, a plurality of said symbols are generated in association with said at least one payline, and upon a generation of the symbol associated with the first wild indicator, the processor randomly determines if said first wild indicator is activated, wherein said determination is independent of a position of the symbol associated with the first wild indicator, and if said first wild indicator is activated, transforms said symbol associated with the first wild indicator into a wild symbol; and an award adapted to be provided to a player in the game based on the generated symbols associated with the payline including any wild symbols.