Patent ID: 7686685

Claim:
A method for conducting a wagering game on a gaming terminal, the method comprising: receiving, via a wager input device, a wager for a wagering game at a gaming terminal; displaying, on a display of the gaming terminal, a plurality of player-selectable game elements for the wagering game, the plurality of player-selectable game elements including an end-game outcome and one or more non-end-game outcomes, the end-game outcome being associated with an end-game award and an expected value, and the one or more non-end-game outcomes being associated with non-end-game awards; receiving, from a player of the wagering game, selections of the plurality of player-selectable game elements until the end-game outcome is selected, the selections including at least one of the non-end-game outcomes; decreasing a quantity of the end-game award according to a number of the selected non-end-game outcomes, the decreased quantity providing less than the expected value associated with the end-game outcome; awarding the non-end-game awards associated with the selected non-end-game outcomes; and awarding, upon selection of the end-game outcome, the end-game award, the awarded non-end-game awards being combined with the end-game award to provide the expected value associated with the end-game outcome.