Patent ID: 8388432

Claim:
A gaming machine comprising: a cabinet; at least one electromagnet mounted within the cabinet; a player input device capable of receiving a wager for play of the game of chance; a master gaming controller configured to provide one or more outcomes of the game of chance; an output device configured to provide an award for a selected one of the outcomes; a plurality of reels mounted in the cabinet, at least one of the reels including: an internal supporting member having a curved surface defining an outer circumferential portion, the internal supporting member rotatable about an axis to display one of the symbols as a part of the one or more outcomes; at least one magnetic pickup coil; a reel strip mounted on the outer circumferential portion of the internal supporting member, the reel strip having a plurality of independently configurable regions of bi-stable material defining the configurable surface, the configurable regions capable of being configured to display designated symbols for the game of chance, at least one of the configurable regions of bi-stable material coupled to a processor configured to output, via the bi-stable material, symbol information designating a symbol to be displayed on the configurable region during a power on state, the bi-stable material configured to retain the designated symbol during a power-off state; wherein, a power supply is mounted on the internal supporting member and delivers electrical power to the configurable region during the power on state, said electrical power resulting from relative motion between the at least one electromagnet and the at least one magnetic pickup coil.