Wireless gaming environment

A game service transaction network in a game playing area, the game service transaction network comprising;

• one or more gaming machines;
• one or more portable hand-held devices providing game service transactions in the game playing area using a wire-less communication interface wherein the portable hand-held devices are adapted for validating a voucher storing an indicia of credit amount and wherein the validation of the voucher is for allowing the indicia of credit amount stored on the voucher to be exchanged for cash when a game player presents the voucher to a non-game player utilizing the portable hand-held device in the game playing area;
• one or more transaction servers;
• and
• one or more transaction server transceivers allowing the transaction servers to receive communications from the wire-less communication interfaces on the one or more portable hand-held devices and send communications to the wire-less communication interfaces on the one or more portable hand-held devices
• wherein at least the gaming machines are capable of generating the voucher storing the indicia of credit amount.

A method of exchanging an indicia of credit for cash using a portable hand-held device capable of providing one or more types of game service transactions, the method comprising:

• in the portable hand-held device, receiving a request for validating a voucher storing an indicia of credit amount wherein the validation of the voucher is for allowing the indicia of credit amount stored on the voucher to be exchanged for cash when a game player presents the voucher to a non-game player utilizing the portable hand-held device in a game playing area and wherein the validation of the voucher is one of the one or more types of game service transactions provided on the portable hand-held device;
• sending a game service transaction validation request for validation of the voucher from the portable hand-held device to a transaction server via wireless communications wherein the game service transaction validation request comprises one or more data packets;
• and
• receiving a game service transaction validation reply from the transaction server in the portable hand-held device via wireless communications wherein the game service transaction validation reply approves or rejects the validation of the voucher.