Patent ID: 8135644

Claim:
A system, comprising: a player identification input device; a plurality of gaming terminals, each gaming terminal comprising: one or more input mechanisms for receiving cash or an indicia of credit for a wager to play a wager based game; one or more output mechanisms for outputting cash or an indicia of credit; a financial server configured for communication with the plurality of gaming terminals via a communication network, the financial server having associated memory for storing data files corresponding to players' personal accounts and identifiable with player identification data from said player identification input device, the data files including information regarding finances available for use by players for wagering games, the financial server further configured for communication with a bank or other financial institution; and a player tracking server configured for communication with the gaming terminals and the financial server, the player tracking server including a memory for storing data files corresponding to players and identifiable with the player identification data from said player identification input device, the data files including player reward information, the player tracking server configured for associating points with a player's data file based upon the player's play of wagering games at one or more of the gaming terminals; wherein: the system is configured to permit a player, via at least one of the gaming terminals, to access at least one data file associated with the player and stored on at least one of the financial server and the player tracking server using the player's identification data to combine accounts, open a new account, or close-out an existing account.