Bitcoin To Be Accepted For Food And Lodging In Two Las Vegas Hotels

Bitcoin has been making waves across the world, and now the cryptocurrency craze has reached the good city of Las Vegas. Starting Wednesday, two hotels in Las Vegas, including the The Golden Gate, the city's oldest casino, will start accepting Bitcoin payments but only for hotel expenses.

Four years have already passed since Bitcoin came into being, but this new kind of currency only truly exploded last year, sometimes to rather insane heights. While it still mainly remains an oddity and curiousity for many, it has started to be become quite literally a serious business for others, including some governments.

Derek Stevens, who co-owns The D and the Golden Gate, has been quite curious about the rising popularity of this currency. He claims that several patrons have already asked whether the establishment will start accepting bitcoins. Given that Vegas is the land of risk and gambling, it seems only appropriate that Bitcoin would find one if its first strongholds here.

That said, Stevens isn't going overboard with the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin will only be accepted as payment for hotel expenses such as lodging, food, drinks, and even at the D's gift shop and restaurants. Furthermore, given how much and how quickly Bitcoin fluctuates from day to day, those two hotels will be exchanging bitcoins for dollars almost immediately.

Using bitcoins for the casinos itself won't be happening anytime soon. State regulators, particularly the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are being more cautious about acknowledging and accepting the new type of currency. The gaming industry isn't particularly keen on pushing for it either. This is almost in contrast to the government of Singapore who just recently recognized Bitcoin as a valid, and therefore taxable, currency.

SOURCE: Yahoo News