Patent ID: 7568973

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: a controller; an accumulated value progressive award associated with a range of values and a progressive award hit value; a plurality of gaming machines configured to communicate with the controller, each gaming machine including a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player; and a plurality of sub-controllers, each configured to communicate with the controller, wherein each sub-controller is associated with a different plurality of said gaming machines and programmed to track the wagers placed at said plurality of said gaming machines, classify the tracked wagers placed into a coin-in chunk and communicate data representing the coin-in chunk to the controller; wherein for at least one of the communicated coin-in chunks, the controller is programmed to: (a) add the wagers of the communicated coin-in chunk to the accumulated value progressive award; (b) determine if the accumulated value progressive award reaches the progressive award hit value; and (c) if the accumulated value progressive award reaches the progressive award hit value: (i) for each gaming machine associated with the sub-controller which communicated the data representing the coin-in chunk: determine a probability of winning the accumulated value progressive award to associate with said gaming machine, wherein said determined probability is based on the wagers placed at said gaming machine; (ii) randomly select one of the gaming machines, wherein said selection is based on the determined probabilities; and (iii) instruct the selected gaming machine to provide the accumulated value progressive award.