LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The iconic Las Vegas buffet is disappearing from the Strip, with MGM Grand announcing its buffet will close at the end of May.
The closure leaves only a handful of buffets remaining on the Strip, marking the end of an era for a dining option that once defined the Las Vegas experience for families and tourists.
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“I think this conversation has happened in passing, I think, a little bit in the newsroom, especially for people that have been in this market and city for a long time, or who grew up here,” said FOX5 reporter Evan Leake, who investigated the trend.
Revenue shift drove buffet closures
The decline stems from a fundamental change in how Strip casinos make money. In the 1970s and 1980s, roughly 75% of casino revenue came from gambling, with the remaining 25% from other sources.
That ratio flipped in the 2000s, with 75% of revenue now coming from entertainment and other options, while gaming took a back seat.
“Back in the 70s and 80s, when gambling was such the big driver, their whole purpose is to try to keep you there,” Leake said. “Come here, eat cheap, and stay here and gamble your money. That’s really what the catalyst of it was.”
As the revenue model changed, casinos could no longer justify giving away inexpensive food. The buffets that remain on the Strip now charge premium prices, with some approaching $100 per person.
COVID accelerated the trend
The pandemic expedited buffet closures across the Strip. Many buffets that closed during COVID-19 never reopened.
“You saw a lot of things close that did not reopen,” Leake said. “And that’s kind of gotten to where we are now.”
The pandemic also changed consumer attitudes about buffets, where multiple people touch the same serving utensils.
Rising costs squeeze casino operators
Casino properties face mounting financial pressures. About 10 to 15 years ago, many Strip properties sold their land and now rent the real estate, with some paying upwards of $100 million annually in rent.
“It’s understandable on their end as well here, right? Of where they have to do things that are financially prudent for them, so they can make rent,” Leake said.
Buffets occupy valuable real estate that could be converted to more profitable uses, such as food halls with third-party restaurants.
Tourists feel priced out
Visitors from the Midwest expressed disappointment at losing an affordable dining option.
One couple visiting Las Vegas for the first time noted the disconnect between cheap hotel rooms and expensive food. A family from Louisville, Kentucky, said they missed the buffet at the Aria and felt middle-class families were being priced out of the Vegas experience.
“The buffet, from what I’ve been understanding, that used to be the thing that was the constant back in the day of where, okay, everything else here, a little bit more high-end, but this is something that’s a reliable place that we can go eat and it’s not going to break our bank,” Leake said.
Unexpected impact on local agriculture
The buffet decline had an unforeseen consequence for Las Vegas Livestock, a seventh-generation pig farm in the middle of Las Vegas that feeds 5,000 pigs solely on food scraps.
Before COVID-19, the farm’s main source of food scraps came from casinos, with buffets playing a major role. The farm processed about 30 tons of food scraps daily.
When buffets closed during the pandemic, the farm had to pivot to grocery stores and food warehouses for scraps. The change forced the farm to upgrade equipment to handle more finely packaged food waste.
The adaptation ultimately helped the business. The farm now processes around 55 tons of food scraps daily and has diversified its supply sources.
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