Patent ID: 8784194

Claim:
A gaming system for playing a progressive wagering game, comprising: a wager input device for receiving a wager from a player, at least a portion of the wager contributing to a progressive award of a progressive wagering game; a display for displaying the progressive wagering game in response to receiving the wager from the player, the progressive wagering game being played over the course of a game time period: and a controller coupled to the display and programmed to determine a default value of the progressive award based on the portion of the wager received from the player and based on other portions of wagers received from other players, display the default value of the progressive award on the display, in response to a wager size and a speed of play associated with the player, enable a bonus eligibility time period within the progressive wagering game during which an award modifier is available to the player, the bonus eligibility time period being less than the game time period, determine a value for the award modifier based on the wager size and the speed of play, change the default value of the progressive award to a modified value in accordance with the award modifier, in response to the award modifier being available to the player, display the modified value of the progressive award during the bonus eligibility time period, in response to the award modifier becoming unavailable due to the bonus eligibility time period becoming not enabled, continue to display the default value of the progressive award during a remainder of the game time period, and award the progressive award in response to achieving a winning outcome.