Patent ID: 7988553

Claim:
An apparatus for selecting an account for a player comprising: a card reader configured to electronically read a bit sequence of encoded information off a preexisting card issued by an entity other than a casino without decoding the bit sequence of encoded information in order to associate the bit sequence of encoded information with an account for identification purposes; a database of casino player tracking accounts, each account identified by a respective bit sequence of encoded information; a network; and a microprocessor programmed to: use only the bit sequence of encoded information read off a preexisting card without decoding the information to identify and access an account from the database, over the network, identified by the bit sequence of encoded information; present to the player a display of any account identified by the bit sequence of encoded information such that the player may select and access an account from a displayed list of possible accounts; receive an input from the player indicating a selection of a single account from the displayed list of possible accounts; and provide the player with access to the selected single account.