Las Vegas: Two casinos become first in Sin City to accept bitcoin
Two downtown Las Vegas casinos -- the D Las Vegas Casino Hotel and the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino -- will begin accepting bitcoin on Wednesday. The co-owned properties will welcome the digital currency at their hotel and gift shops but not for gambling, an announcement Tuesday said.
The recently upgraded Golden Gate, Vegas’ oldest hotel which opened in 1906, and the newish D represent part of the rise of the city’s downtown area. Derek Stevens, chief executive of both casinos, acted after being approached by several customers who floated the idea of paying with bitcoin, he said in a statement.
“We’re located in the growing high-tech sector of downtown Las Vegas, and like all things downtown, we’re quickly adaptive to new technology,” he said.
Visitors can make bitcoin transactions at both hotels’ front desks and in the D’s gift shop, as well as at American Coney Island and Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse. Sites will have tablets set up to allow purchases by the electronic service BitPay. So far, there are no plans to allow bitcoin payments for gambling.
How popular is bitcoin becoming?
Earlier this month, the Sacramento Kings basketball team became the first sports team to accept bitcoin payments in its team shop. It will begin taking the currency to pay for online tickets and merchandise on March 1. Retailer Overstock.com, game site Zynga and online travel site CheapAir.com also accept bitcoin.
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