1. An electronic gaming machine, comprising: a logic system comprising at least one processor; a computer readable memory configured for communication with the logic system, the memory including instructions executable by the logic system for running on the gaming machine a persistence game having one or more persistence states leading to a redeemable persistence award, each persistence state having a persistence value representing a portion of the persistence award; a verification interface configured for communication with the logic system, the verification interface configured to receive information for determining whether to initiate play of the persistence game at a previously achieved persistence state; a coin-in meter operated by the logic system for storing in the memory a value for accumulated wagers made on the electronic gaming machine; a coin-out meter operated by the logic system for storing in the memory a value for accumulated coin-out disbursed by the machine; and a theoretical coin-out meter operated by the logic system for storing in the memory unawarded persistence values accumulated by the machine from advancing the persistence game during game play among the one or more persistence states, the theoretical coin-out meter calculating a value for theoretical coin-out as a sum of (i) the accumulated coin-out value and (ii) a difference between the persistence value of a current persistence state and the persistence value of a previous persistence state.