If you happen to have a pocketful of virtual currency burning a hole in your (virtual?) pocket, head to downtown Las Vegas.
Customers and visitors to the Golden Gate and D Casino Hotel Las Vegas can now use Bitcoin at the properties, this according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Bitcoins cannot yet be used for gaming
The two properties, both of which have the same majority owner in Derek Stevens, will be ringing up transactions starting on Wednesday of this week using the much talked about virtual currency.
For those unaware of what Bitcoin is, the currency's web site reads, "Bitcoin is a consensus network that enables a new payment system and a completely digital money. It is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users with no central authority or middlemen. From a user perspective, Bitcoin is pretty much like cash for the Internet."
A full FAQ about Bitcoin can be found here.
As for what exactly can be purchased with Bitcoin at the D Las Vegas and the Golden Gate, for now transactions will be limited to the front desks of the hotels, gift shops, and a small selection of restaurants including Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse and American Coney Island. Bitcoin cannot be used for gambling.
For his part, majority owner Steven said that the rollout of Bitcoin acceptance is a result of customer demand.
"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.The timing is right for us to launch this initiative, and I’m happy to be able to offer this to our customers," he said in a statement.
Downtown Las Vegas undergoing massive revitalization
Downtown Las Vegas, once more known for being the old part of the famed Nevada gambling capitol rather than a tech-savvy, cutting edge destination in the world famous resort town, is in the midst of a startling transformation, thanks in large part to Tony Hsieh of the Internet retail giant Zappos.com.
Hsieh has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into the downtown district, buying up real estate left and right and relocating his company to the newly-renovated building that used to be Las Vegas City Hall.
Now, downtown Las Vegas is seen as a hip hangout for locals and visitors alike, and one that retains a character much more reminiscent of the charms of old Vegas than the glittering, constantly-evolving Strip.
Downtown project echoed in Detroit
What Hsieh is doing in downtown Las Vegas bears resemblance to what another Internet mogul, Dan Gilbert of Michigan, the founder of Quicken Loans, is trying to do in downtown Detroit.
Like Hsieh, Gilbert, who is also the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, the arena football team the Cleveland Gladiators, the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League, and a whole bunch of other things, has bought up a great deal of property in the Motor City's urban core. Gilbert has moved in thousands of his employees in the hopes of contributing to the turnaround of the area.
Gilbert is also a part owner of downtown Detroit's Greektown Casino. Yesterday, we noted that the three casinos in Detroit are a major source of income - and currently a major source of headache - for the bankrupt former car town, U.S.A.
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