Patent ID: 8002626

Claim:
A gaming system for playing a wagering game including a special re-spin mode to initiate a bonus game, the gaming system comprising: an input device; one or more display devices; and a controller including one or more processors, the controller being operative to enable the special re-spin mode in response to an input from the player via the input device, the controller being further operative to, display, via the one or more displays during a basic game, a randomly-generated outcome comprising a symbol combination from a plurality of symbol combinations on a plurality of moveable, symbol-bearing reels, wherein at least one symbol combination from the plurality of symbol combination is a designated bonus-triggering symbol combination, and in response to the special mode being enabled and displaying the randomly-generated outcome not comprising the bonus-triggering symbol combination, (i) hold any reels displaying a portion of the bonus-triggering symbol combination, (ii) re-spin any reels not displaying a portion of the bonus-triggering combination to display a new randomly-generated outcome, and (iii) initiate the bonus game if the new randomly-generated outcome completes the bonus-trigging symbol combination.