Gaming system and method with dynamic jackpot sorting

A gaming system comprising:

• a gaming machine including:
• a gaming cabinet;
• a value input device configured to detect a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a monetary balance;
• one or more electronic input devices configured to receive a wager input indicative of a wager drawn from the monetary balance and to receive a cashout input that initiates a payout from the monetary balance;
• and
• a presentation assembly configured to present a plurality of reels, an array, and a ladder, the plurality of reels bearing a plurality of symbols, the ladder including a plurality of levels, the plurality of levels including a top level and a bottom level, the plurality of levels bearing respective jackpots of a plurality of jackpots, the plurality of jackpots including a first set of scalable jackpots and a second set of at least one progressive jackpot, the plurality of jackpots being sorted in descending order with a highest jackpot at the top level of the ladder and a lowest jackpot at the bottom level of the ladder;
• and
• game-logic circuitry securely housed within a locked box inside the gaming cabinet, the game-logic circuitry including a central processing unit connected to a main memory, the main memory storing programming for a random number generator (RNG), game-outcome logic, and a trusted authentication code, the game-logic circuitry being configured to perform the operations of:
• generating a live authentication code;
• comparing the live authentication code to the trusted authentication code stored in the main memory;
• permitting execution of the RNG programming and the game-outcome logic based on the comparing;
• scaling the scalable jackpots, but not the progressive jackpot, according to an amount of the wager;
• if the plurality of jackpots would not be in descending order after the scaling, animating, on the presentation assembly, a sorting of the jackpots into descending order by shifting the progressive jackpot from its current level to a different level in the ladder and entering a scaled jackpot at the current level vacated by the progressive jackpot;
• and
• animating, on the presentation assembly, one or more spins of the plurality of the reels to land symbols from the plurality of symbols in the array.

A regulatorily-approved gaming machine primarily dedicated to playing a wagering game, the machine comprising:

• a gaming cabinet;
• a value input device configured to detect a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a monetary balance;
• one or more electronic input devices configured to receive a wager input indicative of a wager drawn from the monetary balance and to receive a cashout input that initiates a payout from the monetary balance;
• a presentation assembly configured to present a plurality of reels, an array, and a ladder, the plurality of reels bearing a plurality of symbols, the ladder including a plurality of levels, the plurality of levels including a top level and a bottom level, the plurality of levels bearing respective jackpots of a plurality of jackpots, the plurality of jackpots including a first set of scalable jackpots and a second set of at least one progressive jackpot, the plurality of jackpots being sorted in descending order with a highest jackpot at the top level of the ladder and a lowest jackpot at the bottom level of the ladder;
• and
• game-logic circuitry securely housed within a locked box inside the gaming cabinet, the game-logic circuitry including a central processing unit connected to a main memory, the main memory storing programming for a random number generator (RNG), game-outcome logic, and a trusted authentication code, the game-logic circuitry being configured to perform the operations of:
• generating a live authentication code;
• comparing the live authentication code to the trusted authentication code stored in the main memory;
• permitting execution of the RNG programming and the game-outcome logic based on the comparing;
• scaling the scalable jackpots, but not the progressive jackpot, according to an amount of the wager;
• if the plurality of jackpots would not be in descending order after the scaling, animating, on the presentation assembly, a sorting of the jackpots into descending order by shifting the progressive jackpot from its current level to a different level in the ladder and entering a scaled jackpot at the current level vacated by the progressive jackpot;
• and
• animating, on the presentation assembly, one or more spins of the plurality of the reels to land symbols from the plurality of symbols in the array.