Integrating social communities and wagering games

One or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a set of one or more electronic processing units of a gaming system cause the set of one or more electronic processing units to perform operations comprising:

• connecting, via a network communication interface of the gaming system, social network user accounts to a communal wagering game hosted by the gaming system, wherein the social network user accounts are hosted by one or more servers separate from the gaming system;
• determining, via the network communication interface, an electronic request transmitted via a communications network by at least one of the one or more servers associated with a first of the social network user accounts to transact an electronic exchange of one or more non-cash items associated with the communal wagering game with a second of the social network user accounts, wherein the one or more non-cash items are usable to improve performance in the communal wagering game;
• accessing, via one or more electronic processing units of the gaming system, a first memory storage unit of the gaming system associated with the first of the social network user accounts, wherein the first memory storage unit specifies the one or more non-cash items;
• after accessing the first memory storage unit, transacting, via the network communication interface, the electronic exchange of the one or more non-cash items between the first of the social network user accounts and the second of the social network user accounts;
• after transacting the electronic exchange, using the one or more non-cash items in the communal wagering game;
• and
• awarding, via a value output device of the gaming system, an award of monetary value in response to use of the one or more non-cash items in the communal wagering game.

A gaming system comprising:

• one or more electronic processing units;
• a value output device;
• a network communication interface for connection to a communications network;
• and
• one or more memory storage devices configured to store instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more electronic processing units, cause the gaming system to perform operations to
• connect, via the network communication interface, social network user accounts to a communal wagering game hosted by the gaming system, wherein the social network user accounts are hosted by one or more servers separate from the gaming system,
• determine, via the network communication interface, an electronic request transmitted via the communications network by at least one of the one or more servers associated with a first of the social network user accounts to transact an electronic exchange of one or more non-cash items associated with the communal wagering game with a second of the social network user accounts, wherein the one or more non-cash items are usable to improve performance in the communal wagering game,
• access a first memory storage unit associated with the first of the social network user accounts, wherein the first memory storage unit specifies the one or more non-cash items,
• transact, via the network communication interface, the electronic exchange of the one or more non-cash items between the first of the social network user accounts and the second of the social network user accounts,
• use the one or more non-cash items in the communal wagering game, and
• award, via the value output device, an award of monetary value in response to use of the one or more non-cash items in the communal wagering game.