Patent ID: 8192272

Claim:
A gaming system comprising: at least one input device for receiving inputs from a player during a wagering game, the inputs including a wager amount; at least one display device for displaying a symbol combination of symbols from a plurality of symbols on a plurality of reels; one or more processors connected to the at least one input device and the at least one display device, and being operable to: display the symbol combination comprising a randomly selected outcome selected from a plurality of outcomes, the plurality of outcomes including at least one cascade-triggering outcome and a plurality of winning outcomes, each of the plurality of winning outcomes having an associated initial game payout; in response to the displayed symbol combination comprising the at least one cascade-triggering outcome, remove at least one symbol from the symbol combination, and move an adjacent symbol in the symbol combination to replace the at least one removed symbol to display a cascade outcome; and, in response to the cascade outcome being one of the plurality of winning outcomes, award a cascade payout with a higher value than the initial game payout associated with that one of the plurality of winning outcomes such that the winning outcome, displayed as the cascade outcome, pays a higher value than the same winning outcome would if achieved from an initial random generation.