Patent ID: 7959507

Claim:
A method for determining a game-winning award amount for a player of a multi-player wagering game in a gaming network having a plurality of gaming units operatively coupled to a network computer, wherein each player has at least one game array having a unique combination of game indicia from a range of game indicia for an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game, wherein individual game indicia are randomly selected from the range of game indicia during the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game, and wherein at least one of the players wins the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game by matching a first predetermined game-winning pattern of game indicia on the player's game array with the randomly selected game indicia, the method comprising: enrolling a plurality of players for an occurrence of the multi-player wagering game; randomly selecting game indicia from the range of game indicia; comparing the randomly selected game indicia to the game indicia of the at least one game array for each player in the order that the randomly selected game indicia are selected; determining that the first predetermined game-winning pattern formed by game indicia on the at least one game array matches randomly selected game indicia for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game; determining a game-winning award amount for the player for the occurrence of the multi-player wagering game, wherein the game-winning award amount is determined based on the number of randomly selected game indicia required to match the first predetermined game-winning pattern on the player's game array; and reducing an effect of a number of game arrays of the multi-player wagering game on a probability of winning the multi-player wagering game by one of the players by controlling a number of shared spots between the first predetermined game-winning pattern and a second predetermined game-winning pattern of the at least one game array used in the multi-player wagering game.