Caesars Casino: A Vegas Strip staple expands to Facebook

Instead of tripping to Vegas to hit the casinos, you can now visit those same smokey temples of vice... on Facebook. Caesars is the latest to bring its popular games of chance to Facebook in a new game called, simply, Caesars Casino.

The game, still early in development, launched on January 10 and includes three mini-games so far: Video Slots, Blackjack and Roulette. Classic Slots and Video Poker are both marked as "Coming Soon." Each mini-game has unlockable levels as well, including different types of slots games, as well as Blackjack and Roulette games with higher minimum bets. After a cursory play of each mini-game, it's evident these are some well-honed, albeit no-frills, versions of these classic casino games.

The social elements in Caesar's Casino aren't particularly compelling at the moment. You can link up with other Facebook friends who are also playing the game and send each other gifts, such as free coins, free spins and a free hand of cards for Blackjack. And that's about it. There's currently no visiting neighbors to earn extra coins, hang out in their customized virtual casino or anything of that ilk. Since the game is in beta, that may or may not change in the future.

The in-game currency is virtual coins -- again, nothing too creative here -- which can be earned by winning games, getting more from friends or 'collecting' them, by hitting the 'Collect' button on the game's main screen (you'll rack up 10 coins every five minutes). There's, of course, the option to buy extra coins or earn them by watching ads, taking surveys or signing up for various services.

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Basically, if you're looking to play some decent free online slots, poker or Blackjack games -- give Caesar's Casino a spin. If you're looking for something more; you won't find that here. For now, anyway.

It's also worth mentioning that despite recent chatter about online gambling, Caesar's Casino is also "for amusement purposes only." We'll see if it will stay that way or if Facebook will soon steal Vegas' reputation as America's number one gambling (for real) destination.

> Play Caesar's Casino on Facebook