Las Vegas Casino Buffets: A Beloved Dining Tradition Lives On

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One of the great things about Las Vegas is the “all you can eat buffets” that bring in the customers so they can enjoy a good meal and then go play and more. There is so much to offer in addition to gambling like world-class shows, fine dining, NFL football, NHL hockey and shopping. If you want to stay in the US and have a one-stop location for a vacation, then Las Vegas is the place which is hard to beat. Not only that, but if you are local, living in the area, going to a casino to an all you can eat buffet to feed the family is an economical way to go. But when and where did the “all you can eat buffets” in Las Vegas start? Well, when Las Vegas started to go through a population boom in the 1940’s, more homes and casinos were being built to meet the demand; and to feed all the workers who were building all the casinos and hotels. It was the El Rancho casino which was the first to be built and open for business. Once they opened their doors, the first thing they had in the casino for the hungry guests was the El Rancho’s Chuck Wagon Buffet. They would charge only $1 for guests who came in looking to eat, gamble and be entertained. It was mostly locals and the workers who were building the dam, service men at the Air Force base and the magnesium plant that was not to far away. Then more casinos began to be built and they saw how successful the El Rancho buffet was working, that they all started to offer it in hopes of them staying to play in the casino. Over the years as Vegas grew and so did the idea of casino buffets and soon everyone had them; or else the guests would look for a casino that had them. Now there are about 70 buffets inside popular Vegas casinos.

The most popular casino buffets you’ll find in Vegas

When you arrive in Vegas you will most likely be hungry, so here are the top-rated buffets on the strip. The first choice would be to go to the Market Place Buffet at the Rampart Casino. There you can get a prime rib dinner for only $31.99, and they also themed food nights like Aloha Night dinners as part of the buffet. Another one is the buffet at the Wynn Casino where they have 16 live action cooking stations that include such delicious meals as seafood, Latin food, and steak house cuts. Prices will start at $54.99, and you can add unlimited beer and wine for $32.99. If you like to play the games at Caesars Palace, then you can check out the Bacchanal Buffet with nine interactive kitchens and over 250 dishes to choose from. This is the largest buffet in Las Vegas and prices start at $79.99. Or you can check out the buffet at the Bellagio Casino where they have seating for 600 and you can sink your teeth into hundreds of different dishes like seafood, Asian food, fried chicken, waffles, St. Louis-style ribs and the price is competitive at $66.99. If you are looking for a buffet that is more economical, then you will want to try the MGM Grand Casino buffet. For only $37.99, you can get almost anything like pasta, seafood and barbeque ribs and lots more. Close to the same price range, there is the buffet at the Excalibur Casino where for $31.99 you can enjoy smoked brisket, crepes, iced shellfish, rotisserie chicken and more. Prices have come a long way from the first casino buffets for $1, but you will get lots more.

Not all Vegas casinos will have a buffet

One of the major reasons is that during the pandemic all the casino buffets were closed and most of them never reopened. After the pandemic more custom-themed restaurants opened. Also, buffets are expensive to run for casinos and the only way to make money is to make sure that the guests would go to the casino after and play, so they made their money back. Casinos like the Mandalay Bay and the Flamingo closed their buffets after the pandemic and never reopened them and there are no plans to bring them back. Other reasons were that after the pandemic, new health and safety regulations came into effect so that it got more expensive to maintain and monitor the buffets. And most casinos decided to put the extra operation dollars into places that made money for the companies.