Systems and methods providing a spinning reel indicator symbol trigger mechanism associated with a display position

A method of a gaming system, the method comprising:

• accessing a credit input mechanism within the gaming system, wherein the credit input mechanism is configured to receive a credit input representing a monetary value for establishing a credit balance, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, the gaming system further including a hardware meter configured to monitor credits input via the credit input mechanism and a reading device configured to interface with a player tracking device that includes portable storage media storing data capable of being read wirelessly via the reading device, the data including information associated with a player, to determine a current credit balance based on the credits identified by the hardware meter and based on the wagering activity associated with the player;
• determining that an additional credit source is to be accessed, the additional credit source comprising the player tracking device;
• instructing the reading device to access one or more credits stored on the player tracking device, such that the one or more credits are transferred from the player tracking device to the gaming system;
• upon receiving the one or more credits from the player tracking device, randomly selecting, with a game controller of the gaming system, a quantity of first display positions from display positions on more than three reels by a display device of the gaming system as a quantity of first trigger positions based on an outcome of a random number generator of the game controller according to indicator symbol data stored in memory and weighted to place the indicator symbol on one of the last three reels to stop spinning;
• displaying, with a display controller of the display device, an indicator symbol at the quantity of first display positions of the display device to visually identify the quantity of first display positions as the quantity of first trigger positions;
• randomly selecting symbols of a game outcome based on a random number generator of the gaming system;
• spinning and stopping virtual reels to present the selected symbols of the game outcome at the display positions of the display device including the quantity of first display positions identified by the indicator symbol as the quantity of first trigger positions;
• and
• in response to the virtual reels presenting one or more first instances of a predetermined symbol in the quantity of first trigger positions identified by the indicator symbol:
• holding the one or more first instances of the predetermined symbol at the quantity of first trigger positions;
• randomly selecting, based on the random number generator, a quantity of second display positions from the display positions of the display device as a quantity of second trigger positions;
• moving the indicator symbol to the quantity the second display positions to visually identify the quantity of second display positions as the quantity of second trigger positions, and, via the display controller of the game controller, display the indicator symbol at the one or more second display positions as configured to surround at least a portion of a single display position while allowing a symbol presented at the display position to be viewable through the indicator symbol;
• and
• upon determining that the virtual reels have presented a progressive prize symbol at one of the one or more first trigger positions, triggering an award of a progressive prize to the player having an amount that is based on the determined current credit balance, wherein the award is at least partially distributed to the player tracking device.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a gaming system, cause the gaming system to:

• access a credit input mechanism within the gaming system, wherein the credit input mechanism is configured to receive a credit input representing a monetary value for establishing a credit balance, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, the gaming system further including a hardware meter configured to monitor credits input via the credit input mechanism and a reading device configured to interface with a player tracking device that includes portable storage media storing data capable of being read wirelessly via the reading device, the data including information associated with a player, to determine a current credit balance based on the credits identified by the hardware meter and based on the wagering activity associated with the player;
• determine that an additional credit source is to be accessed before a game controller begins to execute the instructions, the additional credit source comprising the player tracking device;
• instruct the reading device to access one or more credits stored on the player tracking device, such that the one or more credits are transferred from the player tracking device to the gaming system;
• upon receiving the one or more credits from the player tracking device, randomly select a first display position from display positions on more than three reels displayed by a display device of the gaming system as a first trigger position based on an outcome of a random number generator of the game controller according to indicator symbol data stored in memory and weighted to place the indicator symbol on one of the last three reels to stop spinning;
• display, via a display controller of the game controller, an indicator symbol that visually identifies the first display position of the display device as the first trigger position;
• randomly select symbols of a game outcome based on the random number generator;
• spin virtual reels on the display device to present symbols passing through display positions of the display device;
• stop the virtual reels to present the selected symbols of the game outcome at the display positions of the display device including the first trigger position;
• and
• in response to the virtual reels presenting a first instance of a predetermined symbol at the first trigger position:
• hold the first instance of the predetermined symbol at the first trigger position;
• randomly select a plurality of second display positions from the display positions of the display device as a plurality of second trigger positions;
• move and increase a size of the indicator symbol such that the indicator visually identifies the plurality of second display positions as the plurality of second trigger positions, and, via the display controller of the game controller, display the indicator symbol at the one or more second display positions as configured to surround at least a portion of a single display position while allowing a symbol presented at the display position to be viewable through the indicator symbol;
• and
• upon determining that the virtual reels have presented a progressive prize symbol at one of the one or more first trigger positions, triggering an award of a progressive prize to the player having an amount that is based on the determined current credit balance, wherein the award is at least partially distributed to the player tracking device.