Gaming device and system for use with capped awards

A gaming device comprising:

• a display device;
• a memory configured to store a credit amount;
• a wager input device structured to receive physical items associated with a currency value;
• and
• a processor operable to:
• receive a first signal from the wager input device indicating receipt of a physical item associated with a currency value;
• increase the credit amount stored in the memory based upon the received signal from the wager input device;
• receive a second signal indicating a wager amount to initiate a game on the gaming device, the credit amount stored in the memory reduced based on the wager amount;
• determine a first game outcome;
• display the first game outcome on the display device;
• evaluate the first game outcome to determine a first award amount associated with the first game outcome;
• when the first award amount is over a predefined amount:
• present the first award amount as an amount of points,
• convert the presented amount of points into credits using a predefined algorithm,
• present the credits from the converted points to the player, and
• increase the credit amount stored in the memory based on the presented credits.

A gaming device comprising:

• a display device;
• a memory configured to store a credit amount;
• a wager input device structured to receive physical items associated with a currency value;
• and
• a processor operable to:
• receive a first signal from the wager input device indicating receipt of a physical item associated with a currency value;
• increase the credit amount stored in the memory based upon the received signal from the wager input device;
• receive a second signal indicating a wager amount to initiate a game on the gaming device, the credit amount stored in the memory reduced based on the wager amount;
• determine a first game outcome;
• display the first game outcome on the display device;
• evaluate the first game outcome to determine a first award amount associated with the first game outcome;
• determine if the first award amount is greater than a predefined maximum award amount;
• and
• when the first award amount is greater than the predefined maximum award amount:
• provide a second award amount substantially equal to the predefined maximum award amount, the credit amount stored in the memory increased based on the second award amount,
• determine a first remainder amount equal to the difference between the first award amount and the predefined maximum award amount, and
• provide a game multiplier for a second game based on the first remainder amount.