Only About a Dozen Buffets Remain on the Strip, Ranging From $80 to $175, AP Reports

What would you pay for an all-you-can-eat buffet in Las Vegas?

The Associated Press says the first Las Vegas buffet opened about 80 years ago at $1.

But now, only about a dozen buffets remain on the Strip, ranging from $80 to $175.

Here’s why, and here are some of the options that remain.

Counts From Three Outlets

Las Vegas Strip buffets have dwindled to around a dozen, the Associated Press (AP) reported in early 2026.

AP says many buffets shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic and elected not to reopen with rising prices.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in April 2026 that the MGM Grand Buffet would close after service on May 31.

Once it closed, the paper wrote, only a half-dozen or so would remain on the Strip.

By late June, the public radio program Marketplace put the buffets directly on the Strip at seven, down from 35.

If you compare these counts, you’ll see each comes from a different outlet in a different month.

The Review-Journal also wrote that, by some estimates, about 70 buffets were on the Strip in their heyday.

Palms’ A.Y.C.E Buffet

AP says visitors can pay $80 for endless lobster, shrimp cocktail, sushi and snow crab legs at the Palms’ A.Y.C.E Buffet.

As of early October, the Palms’ website lists its Wednesday and Thursday lobster dinner at $79.99.

That’s close to AP’s $80.

If you’re going for lobster night, the website recommends reservations and says seating isn’t guaranteed.

Across the page, the lobster dinner is the highest adult price you’ll see, and brunch is the lowest at $44.99.

The website also lists monthly themed nights at $52.99 for adults, with live entertainment, and says the schedule is subject to change.

AP says hula dancers or mariachi perform at the Palms’ specialty themed nights, and a lobster mascot occasionally walks around.

AP’s $175 and Other Prices

Luxury buffets, AP says, are where visitors can drop $175 on lobster tail, prime rib and limitless drinks.

AP names no buffet for that price, so its report doesn’t tell you where to find it.

If you’re pricing a named buffet instead, Marketplace reported in June 2026 that the Wynn buffet can cost up to $80 a person.

The same report put the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace at more than $90.

Before it closed, Marketplace says, all the options at the MGM Grand Buffet cost under $45.

In October 2023, the Review-Journal listed Bacchanal at $84 a person on weekends.

Earlier Prices

AP says the first Las Vegas buffet, the western-themed Buckaroo Buffet, opened about 80 years ago at $1 for cold cuts and cheese.

The Review-Journal's 2023 buffet history put the $1 Chuck Wagon buffet at El Rancho Vegas at about $11 in 2023 dollars.

That's still far below what you'd pay at the Palms on lobster night.

A history professor remembers $1.99 buffets with fried chicken, corn and desserts, AP reports.

In AP's report, an advertisement for the Old West-themed Silver Slipper casino's buffet used the line "Tomorrow the diet, today the great buffet."

Before the Carnival World Buffet at the Rio closed in 2020, AP says, it touted over 300 international dishes.

A Las Vegas food tour guide says in AP's report that the Rio buffet had nearly everything you could eat for around $30.

The buffet at the pyramid-shaped Luxor cost around $32, according to AP, though many people ate free with a casino comp.

The Review-Journal reported that the Luxor buffet's last day was March 30, 2025, at $31.99 for adults.

Loss Leaders and Attractions

The old Las Vegas buffets didn't make much money, AP says, but they let you eat cheaply and quickly.

That gave you more time to spend your money on the casino floor, AP adds.

Gaming historian David Schwartz of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), says casinos viewed buffets as a loss leader, the Review-Journal reported in 2023.

Schwartz said the casino would lose money on everybody who went, hoping to make it back when people gambled.

UNLV hospitality associate professor Amanda Belarmino told Marketplace that buffets take up a lot of casino space and cost a lot to run.

Seafood, often crab legs, tends to be among the highest-demand items at a buffet, Belarmino said, and Las Vegas isn't very close to the ocean.

Buffets are usually not very profitable, she said, with a few exceptions.

She said buffets that cost more than a typical buffet are more profitable to the casinos.

In her telling, many people felt a $50 buffet wasn't worth $50, while a $100 buffet gave a lot of people $100 worth of food.

Food journalist Al Mancini says in AP's report that the rise of Las Vegas as a foodie town drove demands for higher quality dining.

A Las Vegas food tour guide in AP's report says a buffet is an attraction now, and you pay for an attraction instead of hunting for deals.

Rio and ARIA Food Halls

The Rio and ARIA each replaced a buffet with a food hall, according to AP.

The Canteen Food Hall took the place of the Rio's Carnival World Buffet after it closed in 2020.

If you remember ARIA's buffet for its Indian dishes and fresh-baked naan, AP says it closed for good in 2020 and reopened as the Proper Eats Food Hall.