Patent ID: 8795051

Claim:
A gaming system including a system controller, a credit establishment facility, a plurality of gaming machines, a communications system connecting each of the plurality of gaming machines to the system controller, and a player identification device for association with player credit, each of the gaming machines having (1) a credit recording facility, (2) a player input device, (3) a player identification input device responsive to a player identification device; and (4) a game controller to play a game when a player has established a credit in the credit recording facility of the respective gaming machine, wherein the credit establishment facility includes a terminal connected to the communications system for transfer of player credits via the communication system to a selected gaming machine selected for play of a game, said terminal located remotely from the selected gaming machine and arranged to establish a player credit and to associate that credit with a player identification device of the player establishing the credit, and wherein said player credit is transferred to the gaming machine selected for play and said player credit being held in said credit recording facility of the gaming machine selected for play, and wherein the gaming machine selected for play is locked so that the gaming machine no longer operates to play a game by any player solely when player credit held in the credit recording facility of the respective gaming machine selected for play is non-zero, and via player action unlocked so that the gaming machine selected for play operates to play a game when the gaming machine selected for play is supplied via the identification input device with the player identification device associated with the player credit held in the credit recording facility of the respective gaming machine.