End of an Era: MGM Grand to Permanently Close Its Buffet, Leaving Just 7 on the Strip

• The MGM Grand Buffet, a staple since the resort’s 1993 opening, will permanently close on May 31, 2026
• The closure leaves only seven traditional buffets remaining on the Las Vegas Strip, a sharp decline from the approximately 35 that once were in operation in the 80’s
• Casinos are increasingly replacing low-margin buffets with high-end food halls and additional gaming space to maximize square-footage revenues

The MGM Grand Buffet, which opened in 1993 along with the Las Vegas casino resort, will close after service on May 31, MGM Resorts International announced on Friday.

Buffets are being replaced in Las Vegas because casinos have been losing millions on them, for decades, on purpose.

Up until the 1980s, when gaming still represented 75% of the average Vegas casino’s revenue and everything else accounted for only 25%, approximately 35 Strip casinos had their own buffets.

Food and alcohol were loss leaders — items priced way below cost to support a main revenue stream. It made sense to spend money keeping guests gambling onsite instead of venturing to nearby casinos to dine (and probably gambling there afterward).

But by 2000, the Vegas revenue model had flipped. Casinos made 75% of their revenue from high-end dining and entertainment, and only 25% from gambling — a ratio that persists today.

This was due in no small part to Steve Wynn’s Mirage, which began the transformation of the Strip into a fine dining and entertainment capital.

At the same time, the cost of maintaining a buffet — not only the food but the labor required to deliver, prep and serve it — increased dramatically.

According to Vital Vegas, Caesars Entertainment was losing $3 million a year on its casino buffets before the pandemic, which served as a convenient excuse to end a practice that no longer made economic sense.

By then, casino companies stood to earn millions per year, instead of losing it, by either converting buffet spaces into food halls — high-end food courts that restaurant groups were willing to pay premium rents to occupy — or more slot-machine space.

Once the MGM Grand Buffet goes, that will leave seven on the Strip, down from roughly 35 in 2000:

1. The Buffet at Bellagio
2. Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace
3. Circus Buffet at Circus Circus
4. The Wicked Spoon at Cosmopolitan
5. The Buffet at Excalibur
6. Signature Seafood Buffet, Resorts World
7. Wynn Buffet

According to MGM Resorts, there are currently no plans for the space.