MIND-BLOWING Secrets Behind the Vegas Buffet Heist
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ต.ค. 2024
- Vegas buffets have vanished. Who is to blame?
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It's PATHETIC what they've done to food/buffets prices in Vegas. Because Vegas did what Vegas did, I diodn't mind losing $100 in a few minutes playing slots or tables. I knew I could get A steak and baked potato for 99¢. Then that disappeared, as did the $5.99 buffet's with a coupon. Now with AT LEAST HUNDRED DOLLAR rooms PLUS 'fees', and $100 buffet's and BS...Vegas isn't any fun anymore. I've got 5 casinos within 30 minutes here in Albuquerque. Maybe it's because I'm old now. Even though I knew Vegas was always going to get my money in the long run...I don't like them getting ALL my money BEFORE I even get there!
Nothing is the same anymore. The last time I visited Vegas was in 2019. Who knew that was really going to be my last time. 😔😔😔 The way Vegas is now I could never afford to visit again. Honestly, I don't really know how anyone could afford to visit just working normal jobs. I wish I knew there secret's on how they get to go these days.
This was really well done Steven.
Thank you.
I agree! Great Job!
You really are amazingly good!
I agree miss the old Vegas buffet we lost it after 2019 and covid
After 2020 when everything shut down in March 2020 and came back in June 2020 the buffets basically went away for the most part.
When I was in the USAF back in 1987 and 1988, my unit would go to Nellis AFB for Red/ Green Flag. I remember going to the buffet at Circus Circus for dinner. It was under $5. My favorite buffets were at Caesars Palace and the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace buffet had all you could eat sushi as well as regular buffet options. I live an hour North of Atlantic City. Most of the casinos have shut down their buffets. Borgata Casino has the best buffet in AC. My wife and I also like the food court at Borgata.
Thank you Steven for this excellent and informative videos!
I miss Flavors Buffet at Harrahs. The food was average but the price was like 12.95. Covid killed the buffets
Great video Sir like all your videos. Favorite Buffet was Rio Carnival World and as a Diamond player they took good care of you. It was A "Special Place and Time" back in 2005
21 years ago we drove a six hour round trip just to eat at the Rio seafood buffet at a cost of $60 dollars per person. We had an awesome experience and went back home happy that same day. I’m glad to see the buffets making a comeback at a lot more casinos that aren’t charging parking 👎.
I am from Ontario i used to go to Vegas at least 5 times a year when i turned 50 i was in Vegas i found service and nice workers not a thing anymore i haven't been back that was 12 years ago
First time I went to Vegas was 1979, and the Circus Circus breakfast buffet with everything you could imagine including fresh sqeezed orange juice was something like 1.99.
This must be your best video yet Stephen
The one buffet we enjoyed the most was at Paris, the food, atmosphere, cleanliness, service was awesome.
I was truly sad when we found out it was a thing of the past.
Food is stupid expensive in Vegas and the value of a Vegas vacation is long gone forever.
There are plenty of better vacation destinations out there and well it was fun, Vegas is not on our map anymore...
My favorite buffet is the South Point Garden Buffet.
it's not the best but it's definitely good value.
@@tommyfu9271 Before Covid their were better local buffets including the Rio and Silverton. Today South Point Garden Buffet is the quintessential local buffet that has solid food, hours of operation, and service.
My favorite was the buffet at Rio. I think it had 17 stations! It was a-may-zing!
Thanks Steve!🎉
Gimme some of that blue and don’t skimp out on that yella
Back in the 80s the breakfast buffet at Circus Circus in Reno was 99 cents.
Like you I enjoyed many of those bygone buffets. Now I avoid them and high end restaurants completely with one exception. It is all part of the new mindset of the city. For now they have the "golden goose", but remember "no good deed goes unpunished.
in my 50's I started taking my vacation for a week 2x a year in LV. I Loved it. But after 10yrs and turning 60 i quit. I didn't want to go through the all day air travel ordeal from back east here anymore. The flight is 5hrs add getting to the airport, long term parking, TSA and checking in 1hr before the flight. Then on arrival going to baggage claim, getting to the rental car place driving to the casino and another line at check in before finally getting in your room. You kill almost a whole day getting there. Then at the end you do the whole thing again in reverse plus losing 3hrs with the time zones. I can drive to Atlantic City door to door in 3hrs flat in my own comfort, AC ain't LV but it'll do.
traveling takes time. holy wow, what a revelation!
It's not worth going to Vegas, all the inconveniences, just to lose money!
The first buffet I ever ate in Las Vegas was Circus Circus for dinner $3.99. Remember when people freaked at the Rio being $18.99. Later Caesars sold a pass to all their buffets for 24 hours, I think it was $49.99…
I have not returned to Las Vegas since they chose to go upscale. Yes Las Vegas is always reinventing itself and this upscale is the pattern for today. However they better be right because I do not feel any urge to return to Las Vegas. They must remember if the reason you came to Las Vegas was to gamble and enjoy seeing a show and enjoying one of those old buffets and now it’s not there. There are regional and Native American casinos in most states. Since the odds are the same or in some cases better than Las Vegas and now the option of gambeling at home on your computer, tablet or phone you may not come. While it’s hard to find food at reasonable prices on the strip or even in the Las Vegas area if you stay local you have the option to eat off the casino properties if their prices are too high. Most regional or Native American casinos are not far from other commercial shopping strips where you can find a restaurant or casual dinning place with reasonable prices. I also don’t need to drive far or fly to Las Vegas and may not even have to stay at a hotel. So I actually have more money to gamble with.
I'm for the hybrid model where you pay one price and order from wait staff plate after plate till you are full. It allows more flexibility in the kitchen to minimize food waste and better quality food to the customer. They did that for a while during covid. But then it stopped for buffets that remained open.
Another reason we are done with Vegas, it’s just too expensive
The M is now the most expensive buffet. It was among the best deal. I won't drop a nickel into a slot at that place.
it's crazy how much the wynn and caesars has gone up since 2019. not only is the wynn way up in price the rollover to dinner pricing used to be at 3 pm now it's 1pm
now to be fair lines are packed so they'll keep raising prices while people are willing to pay.
Quality Las Vegas Channel On TH-cam Is “Not Leaving Las Vegas”
I used to go to Vegas 5 to 6 times a year. Now I cruise. The cost is similar, and the food is similar.
Everyone needs to stop going to the strip already. Go off strip until this madness stops
The pandemic was the perfect excuse to ditch the buffet. Those horrible food halls are the new thing. Eventually it will crash.
The 7 dollar buffets the 25 cent Heinekens at slots a fun
I miss my era of Vegas
and the 99 cent 1/2 pound hot dog. I can still taste that monster.
Hell Yeah! I just turned 21 in 1991, and my parents took me on my first trip to Vegas. I spent the evenings trolling up and down the strip eating and drinking like there was no tomorrow; each marquee I passed beckoning with an even BETTER deal than the last! My eyes were bugging outta my head! I could not believe what I was seeing! It was the happiest place on earth as far as I was concerned. I made Vegas a staple for my vacations visiting at least 3 times a year, every year. It was rare to schedule anything outside of the strip. Now? Meh... it's just a bunch of overpriced fluff with no real charm, or character anymore. I knew we had it good, but I just didn't think it would all go the way of the dodo. "Luxury" has now replaced FUN. Remember when Vegas was FUN?
My favorite buffet was La Village Buffet in the Paris casino. You could sample your way through French regional specialties and finish with a decadent plate of patisserie. It was amazing. And unfortunately, it was also one of the early ones to vanish. I suspect that French food and the chow-down ethos just weren't a good match.
It's a myth that buffets cost the casinos money. At the casino I worked at (I was a casino manager, not Food & Beverage, but was close friends with many of the managers there and we had monthly department meetings), the buffet made the most money out of all of the casino restaurants. More than our cafe, burger stand, Chinese food restaurant, etc. It was however, the biggest money pot for front of house F&B employees in obtaining tips. Our revenue analysts surmised that instead of employees gaining those tips, that money should go to casino instead of our employees' pockets. During the pandemic our buffet was closed and has never come back. It is now a food court and much of the space was leased off to 3rd party corporate and local vendors. RE: waste, much of the leftover food was given to us employees in our team member dining room. As a graveyard shift employee for many years, the highlight of my nights were when the desserts from our steakhouse were given to us. The double layer German chocolate cake was magnificent!
@@IconicBattles made the most revenue, but unlikely to make the most profit if your place had a steakhouse etc…
in the old days they absolutely cost casinos money.
Restaunts in vegas were loss leaders until the early 90s.
@@jfleming4805 No, I was a casino manager for 2 decades and could read reports. Our steakhouse was barely staying afloat and people never ate there. Every property is unique and a nearby property had a profitable steakhouse.
Great documentary Steven!
You do these documentaries so well , please do more rather than walking the strip.
Well done 👌
We went to Vegas this summer, August 2024, and I was shocked at the high price of everything. The only thing we could afford to do is walk around, but it was 105 degrees outside so we couldn't even do that. Safe to say that will be our last visit to Las Vegas. We can drive to Reno, which we like better, or Tahoe if we need a gambling fix. And no, we will NEVER go to an Indian casino. Just as expensive with nothing else to do but gamble.
Very nice history lesson, the buffets were great back in the day, today not so much.
Buffets are an efficient way to serve a lot of people, and Las Vegas needs to serve a lot of visitors. No need to take orders, other than drink orders, or wait for meals to be cooked to order. Feed the guests and return them quickly to the casino floor, feeling satisfied and believing that, whatever else happens, they had already beaten the house. But alas, Vegas is no longer for the masses. Anyone seeking value best look elsewhere. As for food waste, I heard that it was trucked to a pig farm north of town.
Even drink orders became a non issue with self serve soda stations.
Our favorite was the Spice Market buffet. Always had a great spread, and it was a cut above for the price point.
When I go to Vegas, I stay at Treasure Island. Inexpensive rooms, free parking and the option of not paying resort fees. In addition we purchase meals in local neighborhoods. Much, much cheaper and more enjoyable. Not overly crowded. You can also purchase food items from Walmart Super Center and put them in the room mini fridge and eat whenever you choose.
Great job on this video‼️
Great content
Studio B @ the M Resort was the best !!
Really liked Cravings Buffet at the Mirage. Tried pretty much all of them back in the day- miss having them.
A chef-inspired menu really means the restaurant just puts arugula on everything.
Excellent episode!
I wasn't lucky enough to even see a buffet when I was there either time.
The Orleans has 1800 hotel rooms. When they closed their buffet, they wound up with not enough capacity to feed their guests. All those guests trying to have a bacon & egg breakfast cannot be served in their sit down restaurant. It really diminished the guest experience.
I went to LV regularly on biz trips from the 80s to the early 2000s. Then I retired and didn't visit until a family trip in 2018. What a difference in the intervening years: no free parking, resort fees, expensive car rentals, and few inexpensive buffets. Now I go twice a year using credit card points and status to get cheap rooms. I'll eat at the Caesars Palace buffet using my yearly $100 reward, and once in a while at Wicked Spoon. Other than that I'll mostly go off-strip.
wicked spoon is actually really good value. not sure if they still do it but with platinum it was half off if which was amazing value.
Ours was palms
Excellent, prepared video.
Some companies would save on some of the waste by feeding the uneaten food from the buffets to the employees in the employee dining rooms. This was used to keep staff from leaving the properties on their meal breaks. Needless to say, some of that repurposed food wasn't pretty.
My favorite buffet was the international one at the Paris casino. I really miss it. Don't go to Vegas any longer. I now stay locally where I live and have 4 casinos in the area and they still have buffets.
Did some research. The only good buffet for the money seems to be Market Street Cafe in the California Casino. It's on North Main and W. Ogden Ave. It's under $20 per person and I was stunned to see that it got a 4 star rating on Trip Advisor.
My favorites were paris and Sam's Town. It's really a shame. Thanks Steven. It's to traumatizing for me.
I miss the novelty and wow factor of buffets but honestly I no longer want to stuff myself silly. I'm more attracted to fine dining or dining/supperclub experiences.
Great info
I really liked going to Furr’s buffet located off of Valley View by the mall. It just cost too much money now for locals. Strictly catering to tourists & forgetting those who live here.
I enjoyed the buffet at the Mirage.
I’m glad to hear that the increasing prices aren’t due to inflation.
Awesome video!
excellent vidio, on a trip to vegas in the 90's, went to a restaurant called william b's and my server was an older gentleman named george. he related stories of when the mob ran vegas. he said no one went hungry. at night after the buffets closed any leftover food was handed out the back door of the kitchen to waiting families. shame they throw the food away now adays.
The Mirage was the beginning of the end. Corporations now were in charge and the bean counters wanted every $$ possible with no loss leaders like buffets and midnight specials.
no it wasn't. Mirage didn't nickel and dime people before mgm owned it.
@@tommyfu9271 Mr Wynn financed the Mirage with junk bonds and Wall Street followed his example. He remembered what Benny Binion said to him “ They can stay at your place (GN) but they will be eating and playing at my place”. Mirage had the best upscale buffet until it was sold to MGM. It was a sad day when Hard Rock bought the hotel.
It not not just Las Vegas that has lost its buffet but also Orlando
Believe it or not, it was the pools in Las Vegas and in February that were the draw. You must understand the Canadian mentality in that regard, lol. Yes, the odd restaurant chow down was part of the experience. But I was under the impression that wasted food went to the pigs. And I've not been to one buffet - another believe it or not. OH - there was that one time that the draw was Jackson Browne at the Palms - well actually two times. The first time I was there with cataracts and went to listen. The second time I got to listen and see! I much enjoyed this documentary Steven!
Vegas has been Corp owned since the early 2000's. All the $1.99 to $9.99 buffets are gone. All those $19 rooms during the summer months are gone. Once Big Corp came in , nothing has ever been the same. All the local clubs are gone , only a handful left. Even pre C19 prices were overpriced. Its what Big Corps do !! They see the potential , and ruin it.
I first went there in 1995 glad I saw the old vegas but I would not go back now
Mandalay Bay was my favorite buffet back in the day but now that it's gone Southpoint and Rampart are my favorites. Like most things in LV the corporations have ruined what once was a fun affordable vacation spot. I still go to LV because a good friend still lives there otherwise I have gambling options as close as 10 minutes from my house and would never go back. In the 80's and 90's we stayed, ate and gambled on the strip but it's been many years since we spent a nickle anywhere on the strip. We only gamble and sometimes eat at the local casinos away from the strip which are more affordable, less crowded and just as nice.
It is not really a scam when they include all you can eat lobster and all you can eat crab legs. Some of these steakhouses on the strip are charging $80 for one lobster tail or $50 for a pound of crab legs.
Yes $100 is high especially when I lived in Las Vegas in the 90s and there were all you can eat prime rib buffet for 6.99. But steak and seafood restaurants today on the strip are so expensive that the buffets are actually a good deal.
My fave was the buffet at planet Hollywood. Spice market buffet. Back in the day it was amazing. Then I think there was a fire and they cut it in half. Never as good. Now gone. Shrimp tempura and lamb kebabs left an indelible mark on me. Also coupons were easy to come by for discounts.
It is too bad that the buffets are mostly gone. But that they lost money is not in dispute and had an MGM Vice President tell me back in 2000 (as you noted here as well) that at least 50% of the food is thrown away. People either take too much on their plates or then just the turnover from breakfast to lunch to dinner results in a lot of wasted food. Predicting food demand can be problematic as well. Sad too that the local-Las Vegas Stations' Casinos got rid of all their buffets as well. When CV-19 shutdown everything in March 2020 then casinos came back in June 2020 without the buffets, casino management realized they didn't have to have buffets to get crowds in the door. Notably the Venetian that opened in 1999 and Aria at MGM City Center that opened in 2009 never even had buffets. Another trend is lots of convention space as Aria in 2016 closed their theatre to add more convention center space.
In Germany, any uneaten food from restaurants was routinely separated from real waste and every night it was collected and fed to pigs who will eat anything. It cost the pig farmers nothing but the cost of transporting the free leftovers to their pigs. I never heard of one pig farmer in Germany ever paying for pig food. Meanwhile, Las Vegas has zero pig farms and never has had any. Instead they would import pork from hundreds of miles away to put on their buffets and throw it into a landfill. BTW, Clark County [Las Vegas's] landfill is one of the most toxic in the USA due to its methane creation, which is so bad it had to be burnt off. I think now, they purge and expel it, making toxic water that has to be purified. Either way, the way that Las Vegas has and still makes waste would make Dubai blush.
Players cards killed the buffets. Gamblers don't pay for food, tourist get to pay a premium for food. A cheap buffet is no longer needed by the casino to lure people in when they comp all the meals the gamblers enjoy.
GREAT point!!!!!!!!❤
Buffets were no longer loss-leaders; they needed to at least break even financially. Add to that people began expecting food that was at least decent if not actually good. That brought prices ever higher as you can’t get good cheap. Then Covid changed the paradigm. The expense of a buffet and all the staff needed to keep it functioning and clean versus the possibility of a lawsuit from somebody getting food poisoning or catching a contagious disease. Much easier, and more profitable, to go to a food court layout where things are cooked to order or smaller quantities can be more easily kept at temperatures that kill germs.
name one lawsuit from someone catching covid or getting food poisoning in vegas ever.
been going since 1988 and my fav buffet was the Platinum buffet at Caesars........not the biggest but everything was quality.......expensive in those days at 7.99 for the champagne brunch
i remember 3.95 buffet at frontier.
It's not hard to understand what happened to buffets.....same thing that happened to free parking, cheap rooms, and $1 drinks. People kept coming BY THE MILLIONS without all those freebies. The real culprit? Greedy and corrupt politicians who allowed Las Vegas to be divided into two mega casino companies. When true competition was eliminated, so was the need to try harder and provide customers anything of value. That is why I stopped coming....and wont be back.
sigh...i miss those wasteful days of past
Best buffet was Sundays at Red Rock🔥🔥🔥The best value💥💥💥
There’s nothing mind blowing behind closing and overpricing loss leaders in the casinos.
I know right, but believe it or not I change the title and immediately views shot up and people are still liking the video so I guess that goes to show that even though I hate clickbait as much as everybody we have to use it
Hi Steven!
On the other thumbnail you misspelled investigative.
Excuse me, there was no waist, as everything was eventually fed to pigs. I saw this on a documentary, about Vegas super buffets.
Didn't 60 Minutes to a segment on what happens to all the buffet food waste? If I remember correctly, there was some deal with the casinos and the local farmers to feed their livestock? I've probably got it wrong but maybe someone else would recall that?
Caesars did that. I am not sure the pig farms exist any longer where they were or even if it was entirely true.
Some buffets were afraid of serving old food due to people suing after getting free food.
1975 El Cortez downtown, two 10 oz. lobster tails complete dinner $11.95. Or Big Joes Oyster Bar in the Thunderbird....
Food halls suck.
Bring them back! Food hall s are everywhere and not special. Vegas buffets are.
The Fiesta, the M and Green Valley Ranch
The enormous food waste of buffets is a concern. I like what the Cache Creek casino, located near Sacramento, did with their buffet. They turned it into a sit-down restaurant where for one low price, you select the entree of your choice. Your beverage, salad bar and dessert are included in that low price. You get a reasonable amount of food for a reasonable price. I think this is a good compromise and would love to see Las Vegas casinos offer this type of restaurant.
Our food is being exported to the Chinese and Ukraine. What did everybody expect ?
Shareholders want unlimited profit growth and it comes at our expense
Are there JR. Las Vegas Analyst?
Dunno. I’m senior.
There is no draw for vegas. You can see Brittany Spears on residency if you want
if you didn't live here in the 90's you aren't a local.
I remember spice market buffet at alladin, and remember My brothers ans friends staying there while I went over to the Orleans to rent the bowling alley for a tournament, came back ti the alladin and they where still eating ( from 7 to 12!), boybdid they get their money's worth, It was a great buffet. That, and the buffet at the Orleans where our go to buffets, Río's too. The Orleans buffet was what the buffet at the south point Is now, and no wonder, Michael Gaugahn, the owner of south point owned the Orleans ( and all coast casinos) great video Steven, very well documented, It shows your dedication!
Vegas us Dead. There are casinos everywhere now. No need to go to vegas.
❤❤❤
Forget about the buffet’s what happened to the strip joints.🤔
They are expensive here. If you have them in your city then you are most likely better off going to those.
Sup Steven