YC said no last year. Here's my pitch now. (StrikeSapphire Bitcoin Casino).
I began coding StrikeSapphire in 2008. It's since launched and grown to 24 games. The goal was generally to bootstrap a completely self-sufficient casino with our own software; and specifically to target a niche market of intelligent gamblers by incorporating a distinct mixture of skill and luck in multiplayer games that aren't available elsewhere. We're the only casino with games that are designed to operate at normal payback levels for average players, but which approach even-money paybacks for players who exhibit skill and determination. Some of our games encourage collusion and only pay out at a 100% average when players work together. As a result, we've thus far had a 49% redeposit rate, unheard-of in the industry.

With our limited funds, two lawyers and three managers working for equity, we weren't in any position to tackle the banking and legal hurdles necessary to start processing credit cards as a 7995/gambling enterprise. We applied for YCombinator last year and were turned down. Luckily, Bitcoin came along at just the right time and was easy to integrate with our software. It's been six months since we launched. We haven't made a profit, but we haven't lost anything substantial, either. Our overhead is under $1k per month. We're the first google result for "bitcoin casino" in most parts of the world. We've acquired a fair number of users, and put our figures out in the open. What we've done is proven that our software works, ironed out over 350 bugs and issues, and refined the management of it to a science.

Everything I have has gone into the casino. Our launch was laughingly referred to by other gaming company reps as the cheapest launch in the history of online gambling. What can I say; I don't spend money unless I have to, and even then I think twice. I'm not going to ICE this year because I can't afford to divert funds to making new contacts -- or to anything else extraneous to the development of new games and the functioning of the casino. But I'd like to go next year. I think our product will pay for itself well before then; but it would be nice to speed that process up by having the funds to fuel our growth beyond the small Bitcoin market we're currently in.

We're seeking no more than $250,000, and offering up to 12.5% of software ownership, sublicensing, and casino revenues in return, to help us expand our software platform, customer service, licensing, payment processing and marketing in an even, concerted way that won't lead to shortfalls in one or the other. With this amount we'll be able to grow at a slow, responsible rate. We aren't promising instant returns, viral growth or millions of users. Frankly, this is the only online business where those things are really not relevant, because the numbers are always in your favor. We're not going to take over the world; but with your help we will carve a small and loyal niche in the $125B online gambling industry, because we have a unique and well-considered product, loyal followers, excellent customer service and attention to detail.

StrikeSapphire.com is not accessible from the United States, but if you're considering investing from the US, it is not illegal to do so, and we can set you up with a demo account. Contact help (at) strikesapphire.com with the subject line "Investment".