Patent ID: 8342945

Claim:
A gaming machine for conducting a wagering game, comprising: a wager input device for receiving a primary wager to play the wagering game; and at least one display configured to display a randomly selected outcome of a basic game of the wagering game, the randomly selected outcome being determined by a controller and being indicated on the at least one display by a plurality of symbols, at least one of the symbols is a bonus symbol that triggers a bonus game in response to a certain condition being met; wherein in response to the randomly selected outcome including at least one bonus symbol without the certain condition being met, the at least one bonus symbol is stored in a non-transitory storage medium and does not form a part of subsequent wagering games until such time as the at least one bonus symbol is utilizable to complete the certain condition in a subsequent basic game to thereby trigger a bonus game, wherein the certain condition includes displaying a predetermined number of the bonus symbols, the predetermined number comprising a plurality of the bonus symbols, wherein the number of bonus symbols from the randomly selected outcome is less than the predetermined number of bonus symbols required to initiate the bonus game, and wherein in response to a cashout input, the player achieves an award in response to the display of a number of bonus symbols less than the required predetermined number of bonus symbols.