Patent ID: 8777712

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: a plurality of input devices; at least one display device; and at least one processor, said at least one processor programmed to operate with said plurality of input devices and said at least one display device to: (a) begin a competition upon an occurrence of a competition triggering event, said competition including a plurality of ranked components, each of the plurality of ranked components having a different rank and prior to the beginning of the competition, one of the ranked components being a designated ranked component having a most favorable rank; (b) display the competition which includes displaying each of a plurality of players randomly achieving a different one of the plurality of ranked components; and (c) for each of the players, cause one of a plurality of different award levels to be employed for determining an award in a subsequent game played by said player, wherein: (i) when one of the players achieves the designated ranked component having the most favorable rank: (A) the award level employed for the player that achieved the designated ranked component having the most favorable rank has an average expected award value which is greater than average expected award values of each of the other of the award levels which are employed for determining awards in other subsequent games played by the players that did not achieve the designated ranked component having the most favorable rank; and (B) the award level employed for at least one of the players that did not achieve the designated ranked component having the most favorable rank in the subsequent game played by said at least one of the players remains the same as an award level employed for said at least one of the players for determining an award in a play of a game prior to the competition; and (ii) when no players achieved the designated ranked component having the most favorable rank, the award level employed for each of said players in the subsequent games played by said players remains the same as an award level employed for said players for determining an award in the play of the game prior to the competition.