Patent ID: 7901287

Claim:
A gaming device comprising: at least one input device; at least one display device; at least one processor; and at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device, for each of a plurality of plays of a game, to: (a) maintain plurality of different award pools, each of the plurality of different award pools including a predetermined initial award which is greater than zero and a plurality of separate predetermined alternate awards which are each greater than zero, wherein: (i) a first of the award pools includes at least one award which is different than any of the awards of a second of the award pools, (ii) the predetermined initial award of one of the award pools is different from each of the separate predetermined alternate awards of that award pool, and (iii) for each of the plurality of different award pools: (A) said award pool includes a same predetermined initial award for each of the plurality of plays of the game, and (B) said award pool includes a same plurality of predetermined alternate awards for each of the plurality of plays of the game; (b) randomly select one of the award pools, (c) after selecting one of the award pools, simultaneously display each of said predetermined alternate awards from the selected award pool and the predetermined initial award from the selected award pool, said display including an indication of which of the plurality of displayed awards is the predetermined initial award of the selected award pool, (d) enable a player to accept said indicated predetermined initial award from the selected award pool, (e) if the player accepts the indicated predetermined initial award from the selected award pool, provide the accepted predetermined initial award to the player, and (f) if the player does not accept the indicated predetermined initial award from the selected award pool: (i) randomly select one of the predetermined alternate awards from the selected award pool, and (ii) provide to the player the randomly selected predetermined alternate award from the selected award pool.