Patent ID: 8226462

Claim:
A method of awarding a prize to a user of an electronic gaming machine in a first network of venues of electronic gaming machines, there being a second network of multiple electronic gaming machines at one or more of the venues, the method comprising: determining whether to award the prize; selecting a winning venue from the one or more venues for award of the prize, wherein selecting the winning venue includes: determining a venue hit number from within a range based on a venue accumulated change in a plurality of the win meters associated with a plurality of the electronic gaming machines over the polling cycle; and summing increases in one or more of win meters associated with one or more of the venues over the polling cycle until addition of the increases results in the venue hit number being equaled or exceeded by a summed total of the increases, wherein the venue that is associated with the increase in the win meter that causes the summed total to equal or exceed the venue hit number is identified as the winning venue; and selecting a winning electronic gaming machine at the winning venue to receive the prize; wherein a probability of one or more of the electronic gaming machines winning the prize is dependent upon a change in the win meter of the one or more electronic gaming machines over a polling cycle.