Patent ID: 8574066

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: a plurality of gaming apparatuses, each gaming apparatus including: at least one display unit operable to display a primary game and a bonus game, and at least one input device; and at least one controller configured to operate with said gaming apparatuses to: (a) prior to an initiation of a play of the bonus game: (i) determine if a qualifying event occurs in association with one of said gaming apparatuses, (ii) if the qualifying event occurs in association with one of said gaming apparatuses, associate at least one of a plurality of bonus game entries with said gaming apparatus, wherein each bonus game entry is associated with a probability of winning the play of the bonus game, and (iii) thereafter, repeat (i) to (ii) at least once, wherein (i) to (ii) are repeated until the play of the bonus game is initiated, the initiation of the play of the bonus game occurring distinct from any occurrence of the qualifying event, and for each of said gaming apparatuses, each of said plurality of bonus game entries are associated with said gaming apparatus prior to the initiation of the play of the bonus game such that prior to the initiation of the play of the bonus game, each of the bonus game entries available to be associated with said gaming apparatuses for said play of the bonus game are associated with said gaming apparatuses and after the initiation of the play of the bonus game, no additional bonus game entries are associated with any of said gaming apparatuses for the initiated play of the bonus game; and (b) when the play of the bonus game is initiated: (i) cause at least one of said gaming apparatuses to enable a player at said gaming apparatus to elect to: (A) not participate in the initiated play of the bonus game, or (B) participate in the initiated play of the bonus game, (ii) if the player at said gaming apparatus makes an input to not participate in the initiated play of the bonus game, exclude any bonus game entries associated with said gaming apparatus from said initiated play of the bonus game, and (iii) if the player at said gaming apparatus makes an input to participate in the initiated play of the bonus game, determine and display an outcome for said initiated play of the bonus game, wherein said determined and displayed outcome is based on the probabilities of winning the play of the bonus game associated with the bonus game entries associated with said gaming apparatuses that are not excluded from said initiated play of the bonus game.