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Ask the Slot Expert: Another helping of Vegas buffets

30 June 2021

Question: I am always looking forward to your weekly articles. I find most to be thought provoking, always interesting, so when you 'touch a nerve', so to speak, I like to offer my unqualified, albeit honest opinion.

To put things in perspective, (I have contributed letters recently) I live in the Chicago area which offers me the chance to gaming opportunities to about a dozen casinos within a 2 hour drive (my self imposed limit). It should be noted that the casinos furthest away, (Pottawatomi, Horseshoe, Blue Chip, Four Winds) are usually the most enjoyable. They are substantially larger than nearby IL casinos, offer more gaming options, and until Covid, offered decent buffets. All buffets have been closed and interestingly, I have visited these casinos much less (that also includes going less to all Chicago area casinos, too).

This brings us to Las Vegas. My most recent trip was this past March. Casino buffets were still closed. To be fair, in my past 4-5 years, I have limited my LV buffet consumption to max, 2 per trip. Usually one or two in a casino, and one at a local restaurant (Makino's is a favorite). Prior to those 5 years, I would enjoy a Bellagio, Wynn, Mirage, or another mid-high end range buffet. More recently, I preferred a Red Rock, Orleans, Mainstreet buffet that would satisfy the hunger pangs, as long as I don't gorge myself, I can eat with moderation; not having to think I needed to justify the high cost of a Wynn buffet by eating as much as I could (as you said; no time limit, so we would spend 1 1/2-2 hours at Wynn or Bellagio). One of our chums used to say it was a good 'money management' tactic. I don't see the value now of these buffets or Caesars, which I noticed has INCREASED the buffet cost, so No Thanks!

To your point on waste, I personally do not waste food. If I take it, I will definitely try to eat it, otherwise I won't take it. (an exception is poorly prepared food, or the carving station server gives you a full 1 inch slab of Prime Rib, when all I wanted was a 1/4 inch slice for a taste). I also recall seeing a documentary on PBS or the History Channel on how leftover buffet food is recycled to feed livestock or other valid non-wasteful purpose.

In other discussions with my fellow comrades, we surmised that Casinos benefit with buffets with a very good service-people to patron ratio versus having to feed all those hungry gamblers in restaurants or food courts. The buffets keep the paying gamers within their walls, so they don't leave to go to McD's or Denny's, because if they did, they aren't coming back that day. And what better 'Customer Service' gesture to offer a guy who just lost $500 at the BJ table with 2 buffet comps for him and his companion, so they can eat free AND come back to try and recoup (LOL!). That is an edge the Casino has better than any slot or table game can offer.

I hope all those extremely smart Casino management teams are reading this; I'm only trying to help you pack your businesses again! I know I usually plan for a 2-4 hour session before our planned eating time, then another 2-4 hour session to 'settle the tummy'! I will be back in LV the first week of November, possibly another trip sooner, I may be contacted with Buffet Comps thru my email.

Thanks and may all your wins be as large as your Buffet appetite!

Answer: Thanks for the kind words.

I'm so glad you mentioned those buffets. I've never been to Wynn's buffet, and it's been many years since I've been to the buffet at the Mirage or Bellagio. In fact, the one and only time I ate at the Bellagio buffet was on opening day. I had just hit a progressive royal on a video poker machine. I had so many hundreds that I couldn't fold my wallet. It was mid-afternoon. If I hurried I could get into the buffet for the lunch price at get the dinner offerings.

That's a Buffet Advantage Play technique I learned from Las Vegas Advisor or Jean Scott or both. If you go towards the end of the time range for one price, you can frequently get the food for the next meal. Lunch for the breakfast price. Dinner for the lunch price. I guess the buffet bean counters caught on to this ploy. Many buffets close (well, closed) for an hour or more between price points to thwart this play.

Red Rock's buffet had always been a cut above the rest of the buffets in locals casinos. There was a relationship between the buffets at Red Rock and at Palms. I'm probably going to get some of the details wrong, but I think some of the people at Red Rock created the AYCE buffet at Palms. And then Red Rock Resorts (RRR) was going to bring the AYCE model (small plates instead of large catering trays) to Red Rock's buffet -- and then along came Covid.

Speaking of AYCE, a few years ago (2019?), I guess RRR was freaking out about how much it spent on renovating the Palms and how the property wasn't working. To get more people through the doors, Palms was giving away buffet comps hand over fist. "You get a buffet comp. And you get a buffet comp. And you and you and you...."

The comps were unusable for lunch or dinner unless you were willing to wait in line for as long as it would take you to eat. A few times I drove to Palms and left after I saw the line. I realized that even going for an early dinner was not feasible. The few times I used my comps, I went for breakfast.

Orleans upped its buffet game a couple years ago. I can't speak for Mainstreet, but the other buffets you mentioned fall decidedly above a C grade on the bell curve of buffet quality.

I don't waste food either. I usually follow the tapas or dim sum method of buffet servology. I take a little bit of a lot of different things to find out what's good. The idea is to go back and get more of the good stuff, but I've usually had enough after I've sampled everything that looked good. I've rarely gotten something that was inedible. Maybe the dish wasn't great, but it wasn't inedible.

Well, I can think of two that I just could not eat. A Chinese dish at the Westgate. It was just too spicy for me. And ribs in one of the early days of the AYCE at Palms. It may be controversial, but I like my ribs with the meat falling off the bone. Others like their ribs with more chew. These ribs were so undercooked, I couldn't even get the meat off the bones.

Do you think there's a relationship between the price of the buffet and the amount of uneaten food? In my unscientific survey, mainly from memory, I think I've seen less waste at the higher-priced buffets. Higher price should mean better quality food and less selection regret.

It's great that buffets are doing something with the uneaten food. It would be even better if they didn't have to overprovision in the first place.

Maybe this is an American thing. Before networking was built into Windows and everyone had a LAN in their homes, I developed software for Banyan Vines. My company would attend the Vines conferences, which alternated between the U.S. and Canada.

Vendors were allowed to partake of the conference catering after the attendees had gotten their shot at it. We quickly learned that we were going to be hungry in Canada.

Let's talk desert. The Canadians figured that each person would take, say, 3-4 of the petit fours. Many marines went to these conferences. They would pile 8-10 of the little deserts on their plates. By the time the organizers let us at the serving tables, the only things left were empty trays and smushed eclairs.

I don't know about the cost-benefit ratio of the buffet. The guys with the calculators at RRR say they lose money on their buffets. I don't know for sure, but I doubt the casino or a restaurant operator loses money on a meal served in a casino restaurant or food court. Maybe the buffets would breakeven -- or even be profitable -- if less food ended up in the busperson's cart.

Keeping the player on the property is always given as a justification for the buffet. I wonder whether the calculus is different for tourist versus local casinos. Locals are going to be back in a few days any way. "Do we really need to subsidize their meals, especially if they don't play enough after eating to pay for the subsidy? Let them leave. They'll be back in a couple days anyway."

It's completely different on the strip. Those casinos don't want the tourist to leave the casino. Tourists who go to another casino to eat may do their after-meal playing at that casino and go right to their rooms after they get back to their home casinos.

I have a feeling that it is not on your short list of Vegas buffets to go back to on your next visit, but the buffet at Excalibur is scheduled to reopon on July 1. (I've stayed at Excalibur. I'm sure I've eaten at the buffet, but I have no memory of it.)

The buffet will be open Thursday through Monday, from 8am to 3pm. I saw the logic in the limited days, but not in the limited times until I found out that they're using a brunch menu. Strange they wouldn't serve dinner, but at least the times makes sense.

Prices are $25 for adults and $15 for kids weekdays, and $30 adults and $16 kids weekends.

This good news for you just in: The buffet at Bellagio is scheduled to reopen on July 16, seven days a week from 7a to 3p. The timing, of course, means it's another brunch buffet. Adult prices are $40 Monday through Thursday and $46 Friday through Sunday.

The buffet price leader is Ceasars Palace at $65, the same as before the pandemic. It's a dinner buffet, Thursday through Monday, 4p to 10p.

You can brunch at Bellagio and then go across the street and have dinner at Caesars for only $111 per person.


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John Robison

John Robison is an expert on slot machines and how to play them. John is a slot and video poker columnist and has written for many of gaming’s leading publications. He holds a master's degree in computer science from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology.

You may hear John give his slot and video poker tips live on The Good Times Show, hosted by Rudi Schiffer and Mike Schiffer, which is broadcast from Memphis on KXIQ 1180AM Friday afternoon from from 2PM to 5PM Central Time. John is on the show from 4:30 to 5. You can listen to archives of the show on the web anytime.

Books by John Robison:

The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots
John Robison
John Robison is an expert on slot machines and how to play them. John is a slot and video poker columnist and has written for many of gaming’s leading publications. He holds a master's degree in computer science from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology.

You may hear John give his slot and video poker tips live on The Good Times Show, hosted by Rudi Schiffer and Mike Schiffer, which is broadcast from Memphis on KXIQ 1180AM Friday afternoon from from 2PM to 5PM Central Time. John is on the show from 4:30 to 5. You can listen to archives of the show on the web anytime.

Books by John Robison:

The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots