| CPC G07F 17/3267 (2013.01) [G07F 17/3209 (2013.01); G07F 17/3213 (2013.01); G07F 17/323 (2013.01); G07F 17/3251 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |

|
1. A method of operating a gaming machine, the method comprising the operations of:
accepting, via at least one electronic input device an input indicative of a wager to initiate a wagering game;
displaying, on an electronic display device, an array of symbol positions comprising rows and columns, and displaying a bonus display field comprising a plurality of symbol patterns, each symbol pattern corresponding to a set of positions in the array of symbol positions and associated with a respective award, wherein the respective award associated with at least one symbol pattern is one of a plurality of jackpot awards including at least a major jackpot award and a minor jackpot award;
animating a spin of symbol-bearing reels wherein the symbol-bearing reels are spun and stopped to land a plurality of bonus symbols borne by the reels in the array according to one or more outputs of a continuously cycling random number generator, the plurality of bonus symbols each bearing a respective one of a plurality of values; and in response to a matching event comprising a set of positions in the array being completely filled by the landed bonus symbols in a pattern matching at least one of the plurality of symbol patterns displayed in the bonus display field, awarding, by game logic circuitry, an award associated with the at least one matched symbol pattern, wherein the awarded award corresponds to the respective jackpot award associated with the at least one matched symbol pattern displayed in the bonus display field.
|