Disclosed is a gaming system for awarding a bonus to a player of a wager-based game of chance. The gaming system includes one or more gaming devices configured to play games of chance and one or more host devices in communication with the gaming devices over a network. The host device(s) are configured to: i) receive an indication of a bonus award to be provided to a player of the gaming device, ii) receive or retrieve a selection parameter, and iii) select one of a plurality of weighted pay tables stored in a storage medium using the selection parameter. Each weighted pay table includes a plurality of awards and a plurality of probabilities, where each award has an associated one of the probabilities. The host device(s) are further configured to: iv) randomly determine one of the plurality of awards in the selected weighted pay table in accordance with the plurality of probabilities, and v) provide the randomly determined award as the bonus award for the player. Generally, each weighted pay table has an expected value (EV), which can be determined and adjusted by an operator of the gaming establishment.