A wagering game system and its operations are described herein. In some embodiments, the operations can include detecting a winning event during a wager cycle a wagering game, which is played using a wagering game machine. In some embodiments, the operations can further include determining gaming activity that occurred before the wager cycle. The operations can further include presenting, based on the gaming activity, a congratulatory gaming effect via an output device of the wagering game machine. In some examples, the presenting of the congratulatory gaming effect occurs during the wager cycle and during one or more later wager cycles.