Patent ID: 6855053

Claim:
A gaming apparatus comprising: a wager receipt mechanism a player interface including a display device; a payout device; and a processor coupled to the wager receipt mechanism and to the player interface and to the payout device and operating under stored program control, the stored program control operable for displaying an array of first indicia respectively masking second indicia on the display, the first indicia being player-selectable for revealing the associated second indicia in an attempt to reveal at least one matching group of second indicia, said second indicia being characters or the like that are not pay values, the stored program control operable to select first and second pay values, from a plurality of possible pay values, and to randomly associate the selected first pay value with at least one of the second indicia from a first matching group of second indicia and to randomly associate the selected second pay value with at least one of the second indicia from a second matching group of second indicia, the stored program control operable for displaying the pay value on the display in an area separate from the first and second indicia.