Patent ID: 8057294

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of conducting a community-event game on a gaming system, the method comprising: displaying outcomes of wagering games, via display devices associated with a plurality of gaming machines, each gaming machine of the plurality comprising one or more processors operably connected to at least one of the associated display devices, the one or more processors being adapted to randomly generate at least one wagering game outcome for display on at least one of the display devices, the gaming machines being configured to participate in the community-event game; accumulating an individual community-event playing time on each of at least two gaming machines of the plurality, the individual playing times being awarded independently to each gaming machine of the plurality upon satisfying at least one predetermined condition as the wagering games are played on each gaming machine of the plurality; initiating the community-event game; polling the plurality of gaming machines to determine eligibility of each gaming machine of the plurality to participate in the community-event game, the at least two gaming machines being eligible and included in the community-event game; and each of the at least two gaming machines participating in the community-event game for at least the respective, accumulated individual playing time.