A reel control system is disclosed for eliminating known problems with reel mechanisms used in gaming machines. First of all, phase setting of the reel position is greatly simplified. The control system also provides a relatively accurate method for determining if a reel position has moved from a standstill position, due to low power, no power or outright tampering. Any movement of the reel can be corrected. The reel control system is also configured with multiple serial bus interfaces connected to a single serial bus that, in turn, can be connected to multiple stepper motor drivers which provides for fast response time to commands. In accordance with other aspects of the invention, the reel control system can drive multiple stepper motor drivers configured with the same physical address to reduce manufacturing costs and is further configured to simultaneously drive multiple reels, different distances, different directions, with different numbers of symbols per reel as well as drive different types of reels.