Patent ID: 8419525

Claim:
A method of operating a gaming system, said method comprising: (a) causing at least one processor to execute a plurality of instructions stored in at least one memory device to operate with at least one display device to display a game associated with a plurality of reels, said reels including a plurality of symbols, a plurality of paylines associated with said reels; (b) for each payline, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to associate a modifier having a modifier value with said payline for a play of said game, wherein upon initiation of said play of the game, the modifier value of each of said modifiers is an initial modifier value; and (c) providing a plurality of free spins of the reels to a player for said play of the game, and for each of said free spins: (i) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to cause an activation of the reels; (ii) causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to determine whether any of one or more designated symbol combinations are indicated on any of the paylines; (iii) for each of the designated symbol combinations indicated on each of the paylines in said free spin, providing any award associated with said indicated designated symbol combination to the player, wherein said award is modified by the modifier associated with said payline; and (iv) if there is at least one free spin remaining from said provided number of free spins, for each payline on which one of the designated symbol combinations was indicated, causing the at least one processor to execute the plurality of instructions to: (1) increment the modifier value of the modifier associated with said payline distinct from any incrementing of any of the modifier values of the modifiers associated with the other paylines, and (2) utilize said incremented modifier in a next free spin.