1. A multiplayer card gaming system comprising:
- a) plurality of spatially separate player stations, each said player station including:
- at least one input device for allowing a player to enter game play selections into said system;
- at least one output device for communicating game play outcome to the player; and
- means for monitoring a plurality of events at said player station;
- b) a game processor interfaced to said plurality of player stations;
- c) a single display monitor connected to said game processor for displaying game play of each player station together; and
- d) a remote computer interfaced to said game processor for monitoring events of multiple individual gaming machines;
- wherein, said game processor is programmed first to execute a multiplayer video card gaming program in response to inputs received from said player station input devices and currency acceptors, determine an outcome of said gaming program for each player station, display said outcome on said display monitor and communicate said outcome to said player station output devices; and second, to receive player station event information from said event monitoring means in each said player station and, in response thereto, to send messages to said remote computer, each said message identifying a one of said player stations as a corresponding one of a plurality of gaming machines and an event at said one of said player stations; and, in response to receipt of a command from said remote computer to shut down one of said player stations, sending a shut down command to said one of said player stations; and,
- said remote computer is programmed to identify each of said player stations as a corresponding one of a plurality of separate gaming machines and in response to receipt of a message from said game processor indicating improper operation of one of said gaming machines, sending a command to said game processor to shut down said one of said gaming machines, said command including information identifying which of said gaming machines is to be shut down.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said remote computer is programmed, to operate a progressive jackpot feature in which all communicating player stations may participate.
3. The system of claim 2, further including metering means for metering game play activity data as a whole for said multiplayer game and wherein said game processor further is programmed to send said game play activity data to said remote computer.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein said game processor executes an operating system.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein each player station further includes a player station processor for generating personal computer compatible codes in response to actuation of input devices, and inputting said codes into said game processor.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said player input devices include buttons.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein said player input devices include magnetic and integrated circuit card readers.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein said player output device includes ticket dispensers.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein said player output device includes magnetic and circuit card writers.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein each said player station includes a ticket dispensing means.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein said multiplayer video card gaming program is configured at certain times to ignore data from one or more input devices.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein said multiplayer video card gaming program is a blackjack game.
