Patent ID: 8177633

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: (1) a plurality of gaming machines, each one of the gaming machines including: (a) at least one gaming machine processor; (b) at least one input device; (c) at least one display device; and (d) at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one gaming machine processor, cause the at least one gaming machine processor to enable a player to place a wager on a play of a game; and (2) at least one central controller configured to operate with each of the gaming machines to: (a) determine whether at least one designated winning event occurs in association with any plays of the games of the gaming machines, the at least one designated winning event being at least one of, but less than all of, a plurality of winning events; (b) if the determination is that the at least one designated winning event occurred in association with a play of the game of a first one of the gaming machines: (i) modify an event counter, the event counter being associated with: (A) each of the gaming machines, and (B) a non-occurrence of the at least one designated winning event, and (ii) cause a first award for the occurrence of the at least one designated winning event to be displayed to a player of the first one of the gaming machines; and (c) if the determination is that the at least one designated winning event did not occur in association with the play of the game of the first one of the gaming machines: (i) increment the event counter, (ii) determine if the incremented event counter reaches a designated quantity, and (iii) if the incremented event counter reaches the designated quantity, cause at least part of a second, different award for the non-occurrence of the at least one designated winning event to be displayed to a player of a second, separate one of the gaming machines regardless of whether the incremented event counter reaches the designated quantity based on any plays of the game of the second, separate one of the gaming machines.