Patent ID: 8721433

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one display device; at least one input 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 display device and the at least one input device to: (a) maintain a balance of an account associated with a player, (b) for each of a plurality of plays of a game: (i) enable the player to place an individual game outcome wager on said play of the game, (ii) randomly generate one of a plurality of game outcomes, (iii) display the randomly generated game outcome to the player, (iv) determine if said displayed game outcome is associated with one of a plurality of award values, and (v) provide any award value associated with the displayed game outcome, (c) upon each occurrence of an account contribution event, add an amount to the balance of the account, said added amount being independent of any individual game outcome wagers placed on any of the plays of any of the games, and (d) upon a satisfaction of a non-winning condition, provide at least part of the amount of the balance of the account to the player.