The last hurrah of the cheap Vegas buffet?

Vegas prides itself on excessive indulgences, especially when it comes to miles of all-you-can-eat buffets. Prime rib! Crab legs! Waffles! All on the same plate for cheap.

The Strip once boasted 35+ buffets, but that's dwindled to just seven following the closure of the MGM Grand Buffet.

While most casinos abandoned buffet bacchanalia for trendy foodie destinations, old-school stalwarts keep the AYCE train rolling — even if they lose money, per The Wall Street Journal.

Line up for the loss leader

El Rancho Vegas, the first resort built on The Strip in 1941, is often credited with opening Sin City's first buffet in 1946 (or at least popularizing the concept).

The Chuck Wagon — fabulously renamed the Buckaroo Buffet — operated from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m., providing late-night gamblers with cold cuts and leafless salads for a mere $1 (~$16 today).

More than a generous smorgasbord, the buffet was a clever marketing ploy. Patrons could eat quickly and gamble longer without leaving the casino confines.

As other casinos saw the benefit of the promotional tool, buffets proliferated and grew in size, becoming a Vegas institution.

End of the (buffet) line?

The beginning of the end may have been when Wolfgang Puck opened Spago at Caesars Palace in 1992, ushering in an era of celebrity-chef restaurants (~50 operate today).

While the following decades witnessed a rise in buffets with extravagant gourmet spreads, that all came to a screeching halt with the pandemic.

Many casinos shuttered buffets permanently, determining they weren't worth the high cost of labor and food, instead pivoting to food halls and chef-driven destinations. Others point to the rise of weight-loss medications like GLP-1s and health consciousness as contributing to the dwindling appeal.

Viva Las Vegas

Today, some buffets survive as high-end spectacles like Caesars’ Bacchanal:

• $87+/person
• 250 unique dishes/day
• 20k guests/week
• 2k pounds of crab/day

Others attract ever-growing crowds with a cheap buffet like South Point Hotel and Casino:

• Breakfast starts at $16.95
• Seafood night with prime rib and two drinks starts at $52.95
• 3k guests/day

Despite losing $1.5-$2m/month, the owner is happy to use food as a loss leader for the casino, attracting local customers and thrift tourists with flat-rate pricing bias.

The buffet still seems a smart bet for some.