Patent ID: 7316609

Claim:
A method for operating a gaming device, the method comprising: (a) receiving a wager for a primary game; (b) determining a reserve outcome during the primary game; (c) designating at least one reserved input as a result of an occurrence of the reserve outcome, wherein the designated reserved input is usable in a bonus round; (d) determining a bonus triggering event during the primary game; (e) beginning the bonus round after the bonus triggering event is determined; (f) enabling a previewing of a plurality of possible -bonus outcomes available in the bonus round; (g) masking the previewed possible bonus outcomes behind a group of selections, wherein at east one of the selections is associated with an end-bonus condition; (h) rearranging at least some of the selections together with the bonus outcomes masked by said selections, the rearrangement occurring after said bonus outcomes are masked; (i) enabling a picking of at least one of the selections from the group of selections; (j) unmasking the bonus outcome masked by the picked selection; (k) repeating at least steps (i) and (j) for a subsequent pick of one or more of the selections during the bonus round, (l) repeating at least step (k) until the end-bonus condition is satisfied by a picking of the at least one selection associated with the end-bonus condition; (m) if any designated reserved input is received, overriding the end-bonus bonus condition by repeating at least step (k); (n) if no reserved input is designated, ending the bonus round after the selection associated with the end-bonus condition is picked; and (o) providing an award based on the one or more unmasked bonus outcomes which are associated with the selections picked.