Patent ID: 7749081

Claim:
A gaming machine simultaneously displaying player tracking information and a game image to a player on the same display when the gaming machine is in communication with a host computer over a network, and the host computer maintains a player tracking account with player tracking information associated with a player, the gaming machine comprising: a player tracking input device receiving player identification information; a communications interface providing the received player identification information to the host computer; a display; game electronics providing a game image, the game image including display fields, the display fields including a game display field including game output information; a video overlay device apart from the game electronics, the video overlay device coupled between the game electronics and the display to receive the game image and receive, responsive to the host computer identifying the player based on the player identification information, the player tracking information from the player account at the host computer via the communications interface, generate a player tracking information image including the player tracking information, determine one or more regions of the game image that are not occupied by a display field, including the game display field, wherein the one or more regions are portions of the game image that if overlaid would not overlay a display field, overlay the player tracking information image on the determined one or more regions of the game image, thereby creating a combined image, and wherein the player tracking information image appears to be embedded within the game image, provide the combined image to the display, and provide, when the player is not identified, only the game image to the display.