The old Las Vegas buffets weren’t profitable, but they allowed people to eat cheaply and quickly, giving them more time to spend their money on the casino floor.

But the number of buffets has dwindled to about a dozen on the Las Vegas Strip. Many closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and chose not to reopen due to rising prices.

Before the Carnival The World Buffet in Rio is closed in 2020 and replaced by the Canteen Food Hall, it claims itself as the largest buffet in Las Vegas with more than 300 international dishes to choose from. It has almost all you can eat for around $30, said Jim Higgins, a Las Vegas food tour guide.

ARIA’s buffet, which primarily offers Indian dishes and freshly baked naan, is also closed for good in 2020 and reopened as the Proper Eats Food Hall. The food hall offers many options, including ramen, sushi and burgers. Last March, Luxor’s pyramid-shaped ancient Egypt-themed buffet closed. It costs about $32, but many people eat for free with a casino comp.

Many of the city’s old-school buffets have been replaced by trendy food halls and expensive celebrity chef-driven restaurants – and the so-called luxury buffet, which has now become an attraction in itself. The rise of Las Vegas as a foodie town is driving demands for higher-quality dining, said Al Mancini, a longtime Las Vegas food reporter and the creator of a food guide called Neonfest.

Longtime visitors to Las Vegas liken the decline of buffets to the disappearance of the 99-cent shrimp cocktail, another iconic offering that contributed to the city’s reputation as an affordable vacation spot.

“You walk around, you eat, you stuff your face, and then you stumble upon a slot machine. It’s just part of the culture, and it’s sad to see that change,” said Arizona resident and frequent Las Vegas visitor Ryan Bohac.

History professor and Las Vegas native Michael Green remembers the days of the $1.99 buffet, where he piled his plate with fried chicken, corn and desserts. An advertisement for the Old West-themed casino Silver Slipper’s buffet paints that picture of abundance with the line “Tomorrow’s the food, today’s the good buffet.”

The icon of Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a city where visitors like to pretend they have more money than they do, and buffets allow people to live like a king, giving them a “visceral thrill” when loading up on a plate with crab legs, Mancini said.

Jeff Gordon, a frequent visitor to Las Vegas from California, loves the “grand spectacle” of high-end buffets like Wynn’s buffet or the Bacchanal at Caesars Palace, featuring mountains of crab legs and elaborate carving stations with prime rib and smoked brisket.

Still, Gordon misses the cheap buffets that once abounded.

“It seems to be there Costco and buy a $1.50 hotdog,” Gordon said. “You might not only buy that $1.50 hotdog, but you might spend $150 at Costco and other things that you might need, you might not need.”

He believes the decline in cheap buffets has contributed to the city’s growing reputation for being overpriced. Gordon thinks it will hurt tourism in general, and discourage middle-class Americans from visiting.

Locals say the buffets are adapted to meet the needs of an ever-changing city.

“It’s a great option in its season,” said Jim Higgins, a Las Vegas food tour guide. “I think the town just moved.”

A luxurious experience

“The buffet in Las Vegas is an attraction at this point, and you pay for an attraction,” he said. “You don’t go there to get deals.”

At the Palms’ AYCE Buffet, guests can pay $80 for unlimited lobster, shrimp cocktail, sushi, snow crab legs and fresh pastas like lobster mac ‘n’ cheese. They offer special themed nights where hula dancers or mariachis perform. Sometimes the lobster mascot walks around.

It’s almost like a circus, said Marcus O’Brien, the executive chef at Palms Casino Resort.

Mancini said that buffets will always be part of the experience for some visitors to Las Vegas, and they will evolve with the restaurant scene around them to succeed.

“The Las Vegas buffet will never die,” he said.