Las Vegas No Longer Has A Big Appetite For Buffets

Buffets were once synonymous with Las Vegas. But it seems their appetite for "all you can shovel on your plate" buffets are shrinking.

The new operators of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas have announced that the property’s iconic buffet WILL NOT be coming back.!

Buffets have been a big draw for tourists for decades, but after COVID many properties opted not to bring the “all you can eat” option back.

Dreamscape acquired the Rio from Caesars Entertainment, and operations will fully transfer it by October. When they described the hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, officials still had one question: Will the buffet come back?

“Everybody keeps asking about the buffet,” said Eric Birnbaum of Dreamscape.  “

I would wait in line for hours at the buffet,” said one official with the Board.  But “almost industry-wide, peoples’ behaviors post-COVID have just changed."  He says it's time to adjust to the times.” Birnbaum cited consumer preferences to avoid shared utensils and food sitting under heat lamps.

Fox 5 Las Vegas shared Dreamscape's statement: “Our goal is to elevate the overall dining experience at the Rio Las Vegas and give new and past guests an additional reason to visit the resort. Our renovation plans do not include a buffet, but we will be opening a world-class food hall that we think will deliver an exceptional alternative to the former Carnival World Buffet.”

But tourists disagree. Many still say that is what Las Vegas is famous for. There is still a demand for the “value” buffets, but with the number of staff needed, rising wages, food costs, and inflation, the days of cheap Las Vegas buffets are most likely over.

Buffets used to reign supreme - but so did free parking.  Now? Nope!

It's expensive to run a buffet. Some of the larger buffets in Las Vegas are between $60 to $80 for dinner.  And now you often have to make reservations.

Rio will instead have a food hall. The Aria launched one as well, after closing down their buffet for good. Resorts World has their Street Eats food concept that is similar to Asian markets, and the Fontainebleau will offer 36 different culinary concepts under one roof.

Many food halls don’t even have servers. Most of them have kiosks, keeping the cost to operate very reasonable, and they can serve more people at once.

Goodbye all-you-can-eat seafood! It's a sad day for Las Vegas.