A system and method for facilitating a shell game activity as a primary or secondary/bonus gaming activity in a mechanistic, electronic, or combined mechanistic/electronic manner. Embodiments of methods for presenting gaming payouts involve providing an automated shell-game device and presenting, to a player, a plurality of award elements having a positional relationship to one another, using the automated shell-game device. The plurality of award elements are obscured from the player's view, and subjected to an apparent shuffling in terms of relative position as perceived by the player. A selected award element is revealed to the player subsequent to the apparent shuffling, and a payout result is determined, based on the selected award element.