Patent ID: 7004466

Claim:
A method to determine the value of a jackpot award comprising: a. operating a main game to obtain one of a plurality of outcomes, at least one of the outcomes enabling the play of a secondary game and awarding a variable initial award amount; b. determining and displaying a jackpot amount prior to playing a secondary game, the jackpot amount being a maximum award attainable in the secondary game; c. disylaying a plurality of discrete steps leading to the jackpot amount, each step leading to the jackpot amount displaying a value that is an increasing percentage of the jackpot amount, wherein the initial award amount won in the main game is associated with one of the steps prior to playing the secondary game, said one of the steps being determined by the amount of the initial award amount, a number of successive wins in the secondary game needed to win the jackpot amount being dependent on which step the initial award amount is associated; d. allowing a player to wager all or a portion of the initial award amount for playing a secondary game; e. identifying a winning or losing outcome in the secondary game, the winning outcome resulting in an increase of the initial award amount by an incremental amount to obtain an intermediate amount; f. allowing the player to wager all or a portion of the intermediate amount; and g. identifying a winning or losing outcome in the secondary game, the winning outcome resulting in an increase of the intermediate amount by an incremental amount, with a maximum award being the jackpot amount.