Patent ID: 8353756

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one input device; at least one display device; at least one processor; and at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions which when executed by the at least one processor for each play of a game, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to, prior to any random determinations associated with the play of the game: (a) determine a game parameter, the determined game parameter serving to control at least one element of the game such that it affects a manner in which a play of the game will be conducted, (b) determine a range of values associated with the determined game parameter, (c) display at least one of a plurality of symbols on a reel, each symbol representing a potential value within the range of values associated with the determined game parameter, (d) randomly select at least one of the symbols, (e) set an actual value of the determined game parameter based on the randomly selected symbol, and (f) control the at least one element of the game using the actual value such that the manner in which the play of the game is conducted subsequent to the setting of the actual value is affected by the actual value.