This week Bitcoin is seeing an increase in notice in countries across the world, but what really caught the attention of the community was Las Vegas: the source of thoughts of casinos and mobsters in the United States. Although it turned out it was the hotels and gift shops attached to casinos accepting BTC (and not for gaming establishments themselves) it seems it might be a foregone conclusion that bitcoins might get traded for chips eventually.

This week will also host a huge conference in Miami Beach, Florida drawing speakers from Bitcoin-related startups and the community around the world.

Finally, Marc Andreessen–as co-creator of Mosiac, someone who knows a thing-or-two about Internet innovation–wrote an amazing article about the ins-and-outs of the technology and cultural phenomena that Bitcoin represents and everyone should read it.

Las Vegas casino hotels will become the first to accept Bitcoin

The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino will become the first hotels in Las Vegas to accept Bitcoin for rooms and purchases today. In a press release put onto the wire on Tuesday, the two hotels announced their intention to start accepting bitcoins by Wednesday, January 22, 2014.

The D Las Vegas Casino Hotel and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino located in downtown Las Vegas will become the first casino properties to accept Bitcoin. The D and Golden Gate will begin accepting the popular digital currency beginning Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Between the two co-owned properties, Bitcoin will be accepted at five locations, including both hotels’ front desks and in the D’s Gift Shop. Guests at the D will also be able to purchase Detroit’s legendary Coney Dogs at American Coney Island and enjoy fine dining at Joe Vicari’s Andiamo Italian Steakhouse.

According to information released by the hotels, BitPay will be the bitcoin processor of choice, allowing the sites to process transactions via mobile and tablet. According to Derek Stevens, co-owner and CEO of the D and Golden Gate, BitPay was chosen due to the ease-of-use the processor presented.

#

The oldest hotel casino in Las Vegas (Golden Gate, built 1906) now accepts #bitcoin http://t.co/F7tGwqti39

— BitPay (@BitPay) January 21, 2014

#

Patrons will not yet be able to use bitcoins for gaming at the casino (just purchase in shops and hotel) due to regulatory concerns that have not yet been shaken out for the digital currency.

See further coverage via CoinDesk.

North American Bitcoin Conference coming to Miami this week

The North American Bitcoin Conference will be hosting over 500 Bitcoin community members in Miami Beach, Florida this weekend on the 25th and 26th of January, 2014. Registration is currently open, and it’s still possible to get there and rub shoulders with a number of luminaries in the community as well as listen to speakers on the topic

Visitors can expect to hear from such speakers as Charlie Shrem, co-founder and CEO of BitInstant and Vice Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation; Michael Terpin, co-Founder of BitAngels; Jason King, founder of Sean’s Outpost and a multitude of others from the Bitcoin community.

Tickets for the conference run between $200 and $250 (for single-day or full-conference tickets) and can be bought for bitcoins or with credit card or Paypal.

Visit the conference site to learn more about speakers, conference venue, purchase tickets, and see the agenda.

Great Moments in Bitcoin Press: Marc Andreessen “Why Bitcoin Matters”

Marc Andreessen recently wrote an editorial piece for the New York Times website that does a brilliant job of exulting and describing the technological and cultural power of Bitcoin. Newbies and veterans alike should read this entire piece and absorb his article entitled “Why Bitcoin Matters.”

Andreessen is no stranger to the Bitcoin community himself, he has invested just under $50 million in Bitcoin-related start-ups and heads up the capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He is also no stronger to technology and the process by which technology is adopted—in fact, the rise of the PC and the Internet are part of his article about Bitcoin’s current cultural position—and he is also the co-author of Mosaic (the first Internet browser.)

The practical consequence of solving this problem is that Bitcoin gives us, for the first time, a way for one Internet user to transfer a unique piece of digital property to another Internet user, such that the transfer is guaranteed to be safe and secure, everyone knows that the transfer has taken place, and nobody can challenge the legitimacy of the transfer. The consequences of this breakthrough are hard to overstate.

What kinds of digital property might be transferred in this way? Think about digital signatures, digital contracts, digital keys (to physical locks, or to online lockers), digital ownership of physical assets such as cars and houses, digital stocks and bonds … and digital money.

Andreessen’s article articulates the fundamental technology that is Bitcoin as a method of producing a trustworthy network (via the Blockchain) that prevents fraud, enables transactions with little personal risk, reduces costs for businesses, and even provides for a digital item to be a store of value. He speaks to many of the current misunderstandings about Bitcoin and criminality, misconceptions on Bitcoin’s pseudonymous nature (not anonymous), and responds to criticisms about “why would businesses want to exchange in BTC?”

In short, this article is a must-read.