Virtual ticket-in and ticket-out on a gaming machine

An electronic gaming machine comprising:

• a cabinet;
• a display device mounted to the cabinet;
• a wireless interface configured to communicate with a portable electronic device;
• a network interface secured within the cabinet and configured to communicate with a validation server;
• a bill validator configured to accept bills of currency and printed ticket vouchers;
• and
• a game controller coupled to the bill validator, said game controller including a processor and a memory secured within the cabinet and configured to:
• (a) if a printed ticket voucher is received via the bill validator:
• (i) modify an electronic gaming machine credit balance at least partially based on a credit amount associated with the received printed ticket voucher;
• and
• (ii) if a wager amount is placed on a first play of a game:
• (A) reduce the electronic gaming machine credit balance by the placed wager amount, and
• (B) for the first play of the game:
• (I) determine a game outcome,
• (II) display the determined game outcome,
• (III) determine any award associated with the determined game outcome, and
• (IV) display any determined award associated with the determined game outcome, wherein said electronic gaming machine credit balance is increasable based on any determined award;
• and
• (b) if an indication is wirelessly received from the portable electronic device to redeem a virtual ticket voucher displayed by a display device of the portable electronic device:
• (i) validate, using a virtual ticket voucher validation number of the virtual ticket voucher, the virtual ticket voucher with the validation server via the network interface;
• (ii) modify the electronic gaming machine credit balance at least partially based on a credit amount associated with the virtual ticket voucher;
• (iii) notify the validation server that the virtual ticket voucher is redeemed;
• and
• (iv) if a wager amount is placed on a second play of a game:
• (A) reduce the electronic gaming machine credit balance by the placed wager amount, and
• (B) for the second play of the game:
• (I) determine a game outcome,
• (II) display the determined game outcome,
• (III) determine any award associated with the determined game outcome, and
• (IV) display any determined award associated with the determined game outcome, wherein said electronic gaming machine credit balance is increasable based on any determined award.