Patent ID: 7316613

Claim:
A method for operating a gaming device, said method comprising: (a) providing a primary game having a plurality of reels, said reels having a plurality of symbols including at least two bonus triggering symbols, wherein different quantities of bonus triggering symbols can be generated in different plays of said primary game to trigger a bonus game; (b) activating the plurality of reels in a play of said primary game; (c) displaying a plurality of the symbols after the activation of said reels in said play of said primary game; and (d) if at least a designated quantity of bonus triggering symbols are generated on said reels in said play of said primary game, said designated quantity being at least one: (i) determining a designated number of bonus symbols to generate from a plurality of different numbers of bonus symbols, said designated number of bonus symbols being at least two, said determination based on the quantity of bonus triggering symbols generated on the reels in the play of the primary game, wherein each said bonus triggering symbol causes at least one of said bonus symbols to be generated; (ii) randomly generating said designated number of bonus symbols from a set of bonus symbols; (iii) displaying the generated bonus symbols; (iv) determining if at least one award associated with a predefined combination of bonus symbols is formed by the generated bonus symbols; and (v) providing any determined award to a player.