For a trader, Bitcoin is a market that requires a gambler’s mentality. Highly volatile where one strategy could be found in buying on the drawdown and selling at the top. The likely correlation between a successful Bitcoin trader and a gambler might not be all too different. It is for this reason the brisk traffic in bitcoin transactions at the D Las Vegas Casino Hotel might be interesting.
Hotel with mob past integrates Bitcoin, a payment processing system with a past of its own
The recently renovated downtown Las Vegas hotel introduced a new “Robocoin machine” on Thursday, following a January 2014 introduction. The new kiosk allows hotel patrons to deposit cash directly into Bitcoin wallets and exchange between dollars and Bitcoin currency. The Bitcoin currency was initially utilized extensively by those laundering illicit profits and drug money, a reputation that preceded its more mainstream acceptance. A unique feature of the digital currency is that because it is computer-based, the technology exists for individual user tracking of the currency.
Derek Stevens, D hotel co-owner, wouldn’t say exactly how much Bitcoin business the kiosks were generating, but indicated the number of hotel users was much higher than he had initially anticipated.
The D hotel is on the original property of the Sundance Hotel, which opened in 1980 on property owned by “Chicago outfit” mob figure Moe Dalitz. The hotel went through a series of owners and faced “difficulties” from gaming regulators and law enforcement. In 1983 the hotel owners faced suspension of their gaming licenses due to charges of skimming. The casino was later sold and went through a series of events, including a bankruptcy in 2001. The hotel was sold to Dereck and Greg Stevens in 2011.
Growing acceptance of bitcoin, just not on the gambling floor
While the hotel accepts bit coin at the front desk, restaurants and the gift shop, it does not accept direct bit coin transactions on the casino floor.
Bitcoin acceptance has been surging recently, as early adopters race to become the first among their peer group to accept what is sometimes called a digital currency and at other times called a digital payment method. Although some political leaders have called for a ban on bitcoin, this is more the exception rather than the rule. As previously reported in ValueWalk, PayPal, a digital payments processing company, recently announced it was reversing course and integrating Bitcoin into its payment processing system. ValueWalk had also reported on the Winklevoss Twins who recently said they “discovered” bitcoin and are said to have ownership of 1% of all Bitcoin in existence. The twins, who famously garnered $65 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in a court dispute over who created the social media application, are looking to fund various Bitcoin enterprises.
