Two Vegas Casinos start accepting bitcoins

Two Las Vegas casino hotels will become the first known U.S. commercial gambling houses to allow the use of the unregulated digital payment system, bitcoin..


The D casino and the city's oldest casino, the Golden Gate, will accept bitcoins at hotel front desks beginning Wednesday. The cybercurrency will also be accepted at the D's gift shop and two restaurants. US dollars will remain the only currency accepted on the gambling floor.

"Downtown has really become a technology hub for all of Las Vegas," Derek Stevens, co-owner and chief operating officer for both casinos, told Reuters. "I think it is fitting that the Golden Gate and The D are the first hotels to offer (bitcoin)."


"I think that this is a technology where early adopters have an advantage," he said.


Earlier this month, the Salt Lake City-based retailer Overstock.com became the first major retailer to accept the digital currency as payment for goods.

Advocates describe Bitcoin as the foundation of a Utopian economy: no borders, no change fees, no closing hours, and no one to tell you what you can and can't do with your money.