Patent ID: 7399226

Claim:
A gaming apparatus having the ability to provide multiple winning events in a single play of a multiple symbol display game, the apparatus comprising: a housing with a microprocessor; a first gaming display that displays at least three reels that displays at least three symbols selected from a first set of symbols, wherein at least one predetermined combination of the at least three symbols provides a first award; a second gaming display that coincidently displays at least one separate symbol selected from at least a portion of the first set of symbols; the second gaming display being activated at the same time the first gaming display is active and the at least three reels of the first gaming display stopping one at a time and the second gaming display stopping and displaying said at least one separate symbol after all reels of the first gaming display have stopped and are each displaying at least one symbol; and the gaming apparatus awarding a second award separate from the first award when said at least one separate symbol matches at least one symbol from among the at least three symbols displayed by the reels of the first gaming display, whether said at least one separate symbol matches at least one symbol from among the at least three symbols displayed by the reels of the first gaming display not being determined at a player's option, and a frequency rate of the at least one separate symbol selected according to the second award.