BitVegas: Gambling, Minecraft, pigs and zombies

What happens when Bitcoin meets Minecraft? BitVegas, an online casino for lovers of digital currency who are also fanatical about the blocky, virtual-world-creating game populated by pigs, sheep, zombies, creepers and a guy named Steve.

Reddit user emperorofinsanity posted some preview photos of the site on Tuesday, noting that the newly revamped virtual casino now includes a slot machine as well as Minecraft-style games of blackjack, poker, roulette, MineField and pig racing ("Bacon Racing," as it's called).

Furthermore, he added, "We added a lot of esthetic stuff like bars and gardens and chairs and whatnot, to make it feel more like an actual casino."

Every player that joins the Minecraft casino server receives five "play Bitcoins" -- even more virtual versions of the virtual currency -- to begin gambling with. While these can't be exchanged for the Satoshi Nakamoto type of Bitcoin, players do have a chance every 15 minutes to be "gifted" 0.5 mBTC (mBTC is a millibitcoin -- "Millie" -- or 1/1000 of a bitcoin ... around 12 cents US as of May 22, 2013, so 0.5 mBTC is about 60 cents).

"These coins are real and can be used to gamble for actual bitcoins," the Bitcoin Wiki's BitVegas entry reads. "The server has options to withdraw/deposit bitcoins. Transactions go through almost instantly and no fees are taken from the player's winnings."

The entry adds, "All games are provably fair." Check-marked boxes next to each game link players to information about both the current and previous game round to demonstrate fair play, according to the Wiki.

Players can also increase their gifts of real mBTC by referring other games to the virtual casino.