Method and apparatus for facilitating monetary and reward transactions and accounting in a gaming environment

A method of facilitating financial and reward transactions in a gaming system including a plurality of gaming devices associated with a server comprising the steps of:

• generating a first financial account corresponding to a player, said account represented by at least one data file, said at least one data file containing information regarding available finances for playing one or more of said gaming devices and said at least one data file containing game play information regarding one or more gaming devices played by said player;
• issuing to said player a player card having identification information thereon;
• reading said identification information at a gaming device elected to be played by a player;
• accessing said at least one data file containing information regarding available finances and said at last one data file containing game play information with said identification information;
• modifying said available finance data at said at least one data file based upon amounts bet and amounts won by said player while playing said gaming device;
• and
• storing game play information at said at least one data file containing game play information.

A method of facilitating financial and reward transactions from a remote station to a gaming system including a server and at least one gaming machine coupled to the server, the server including at least one data file containing player information comprising the steps of:

• accepting input from a player transmitted from said remote station to said server, said input including identification information;
• obtaining player information from said at least one data file associated with said identification information;
• transmitting player information from said server to said remote station;
• and
• modifying credit information stored at said at least one data file based upon input by said player.

A gaming system for a casino comprising:

• a game server adapted to generate game play information;
• a financial transaction host, said financial transaction host in communication with said game server, said financial transaction host including memory for storing data files corresponding to players and identifiable with said player identification, said data files including information regarding finances available for use by said player in playing a game using information generated by said game server;
• and
• at least one communications gateway, said financial transaction host and game server in communication with said gateway, said gateway permitting game information generated by said game server to be transmitted to a remote location for presenting a game to a player and for receiving said player's player identification for use by said financial transaction host in verifying financial entitlement of said player to play said game.