Patent ID: 7674179

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one central controller; and a plurality of gaming machines, each one of the gaming machines including: at least one gaming machine processor configured to communicate with the at least one central controller; at least one in put device; at least one display device configured to display a play of a primary game operable upon a wager placed by a player; and at least one memory device which stores a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one gaming machine processor, cause the at least one gaming machine processor, after an occurrence of a triggering event for a play of a secondary game, to: (i) cause the at least one display device to display a plurality of progressive awards, a plurality of first progressive awards being available for selection by the player of one of said gaming machines, at least one second progressive award being initially unavailable for selection by the player regardless of any amount of the wager placed, (ii) enable the player to select one of the plurality of first progressive awards to play for during the play of the secondary game, (iii) determine whether to provide the selected first progressive award to the player, (iv) if the determination is not to provide the selected first progressive award to the player, (a) maintain the second progressive award as unavailable for selection by the player in a subsequent selection during the same play of the secondary game, and (b) enable the player to subsequently select one of the plurality of first progressive awards to play for during the same play of the secondary game, and (v) if the determination is to provide the selected first progressive award to the player, (a) designate the previously unavailable second progressive award as available for selection by the player, and (b) enable the player to subsequently select the second progressive award to play for during the same play of the secondary game.