Patent ID: 8267772

Claim:
A method for independently controlling the movement of each of a plurality of mechanical reels in a gaming machine, the method comprising: activating a game on a gaming machine, the game machine having the plurality of mechanical reels including at least a first reel, a second reel, and a third reel, wherein each of the reels includes an outer edge having indicia displayed thereon; generating a game outcome by a game controller of the gaming machine, wherein the game outcome dictates a particular final position for the first reel, second reel and third reel; receiving player input for selecting an overall spin duration of the plurality of mechanical reels; determining a spin profile for each of the plurality of mechanical reels based upon the game outcome and overall spin duration, wherein the spin profiles cause each of the plurality of reels to stop such that a first time interval interposed between a first stopping reel of the plurality of mechanical reels and a second stopping reel of the plurality of mechanical reels is shorter than a second time interval interposed between the second stopping reel and a third stopping reel of the plurality of mechanical reels when the game outcome is a winning outcome; initiating spinning of the first reel, second reel, and third reel substantially at a same time, wherein the first reel, second reel, and the third reel are spun according to the corresponding spin profile; and stopping each of the first reel, second reel, and third reel at the corresponding final position according to the corresponding spin profile.