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The End of an Era? Las Vegas Buffets Face a Changing Landscape
LAS VEGAS, NV – Once a cornerstone of the Las Vegas experience, offering budget-friendly, all-you-can-eat feasts, the iconic buffet scene is undergoing a dramatic transformation. What began 80 years ago with the $1 Buckaroo Buffet, serving simple cold cuts and cheese, has evolved into a luxury dining attraction, with some buffets now commanding a hefty $175 for lobster tails, prime rib, and bottomless drinks.
For decades, these culinary havens served a dual purpose: providing quick, affordable meals so visitors could maximize their time (and money) on the casino floor. However, the landscape has shifted considerably. The number of buffets on the Las Vegas Strip has dwindled to around a dozen, with many failing to reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic, citing rising operational costs.
Longtime Las Vegas food journalist and Neonfest creator, Al Mancini, points to the city’s emergence as a “foodie town” as a key driver behind the demand for higher-quality dining. This shift has led to many traditional buffets being replaced by trendy food halls and high-end, celebrity chef-driven restaurants.
Jim Higgins, a Las Vegas food tour guide, reminisces about the Carnival World Buffet at the Rio, which once boasted over 300 international dishes for around $30 before its 2020 closure. Similarly, ARIA’s buffet, known for its Indian dishes and fresh naan, shuttered its doors in 2020, making way for the Proper Eats Food Hall. Even the Luxor’s ancient Egypt-themed buffet, a $32 offering often enjoyed for free with casino comps, closed last March.
For many frequent visitors, the decline of the affordable buffet is akin to the disappearance of the 99-cent shrimp cocktail – another beloved, budget-friendly staple that helped solidify Las Vegas’s reputation as an accessible vacation destination. Ryan Bohac, an Arizona resident, expressed his sadness, stating, “You wander in, you eat, you stuff your face, and then you stumble on out to a slot machine. It’s just part of the culture, and it’s sad to see that change.”
The Las Vegas Icon: From Value to “Visceral Thrill”
Al Mancini suggests that while the old buffets focused on affordability, today’s luxury buffets offer a “visceral thrill” – allowing visitors to “live like a king” and indulge in mountains of crab legs and elaborate carving stations. Jeff Gordon, a frequent visitor from California, enjoys the “grand spectacle” of high-end buffets like those at Wynn and Caesars Palace.
However, he also laments the loss of the more affordable options, likening them to the value of a $1.50 hot dog at Costco – a small draw that often leads to larger spending. Gordon believes the increasing cost of Las Vegas, partly due to the disappearing affordable buffets, is deterring middle-class Americans and negatively impacting tourism.
Local observers, however, view the evolution of buffets as an adaptation to a constantly changing city. “It was a great option in its day,” Higgins noted, “I think the city has just moved on.”
A Luxury Experience: The Buffet as an Attraction
Marcus O’Brien, Executive Chef at Palms Casino Resort, encapsulates the modern buffet experience: “A Las Vegas buffet is an attraction at this point, and you’re going to pay for an attraction… You’re not going there to get deals.”
At the Palms’ A.Y.C.E Buffet, for example, guests can indulge in endless lobster, shrimp cocktail, sushi, and snow crab legs for $80, often accompanied by themed entertainment like hula dancers, mariachi bands, or even a lobster mascot. “It’s almost like a circus,” O’Brien remarked.
Despite the changes, Al Mancini remains optimistic about the future of the Las Vegas buffet. He believes they will continue to evolve alongside the city’s dynamic restaurant scene. “The Las Vegas buffet will never die,” he declared, suggesting that while their form may change, their place in the city’s identity will endure.