Las Vegas Challenge: 7 Buffets in 24 Hours

this buffet pass is definitely appealing to me more and more, especially after Nareed's great review.

And with the nosedivethe exchange rate has taken, might be a way for me to save a litlle money.

Quote: Croupier

this buffet pass is definitely appealing to me more and more, especially after Nareed's great review.

And with the nosedivethe exchange rate has taken, might be a way for me to save a litlle money.

Make sure you get a total rewards card if you don't have one already. It saves you $5 off the buffet pass price and it's a more convenient way for getting in. Also get a brochure, it explains the important rules.

Quote: Nareed

I mostly gambled at non Harrah's properties, except Bill's if that's part of Harrah's (it wasn't part of the 7 buffets program). I dind't visit Mandalay this trip, but I spent a lot of time Downtown.

I'll go deeper into this trip's gambling elsewhere. Meantime I'll say I avoided Harrah's for two reasons: 1) Lousy DW pay tables and 2) two bonus bets at three card poker. But the buffet pass did keep me closer to the Strip.

So you stayed at Rio, ate at all the other properties, and gambled downtown. That's very mobile of you. Most people are not that ambitious. Did you use a car, or did you take the ACE bus rapid transit.

Quote: pacomartin

So you stayed at Rio, ate at all the other properties, and gambled downtown. That's very mobile of you. Most people are not that ambitious. Did you use a car, or did you take the ACE bus rapid transit.

The ACE and the Deuce. I got south to Town Square and the outlet mall, too.

I'd take the Rio shuttle every morning, then move about the Strip either on foot or on either bus. I also went to the Atomic Testing museum on Flamingo Rd. The ACE gets downtown fairly quickly, though one evening I was stuck on it for 25 minutes going from Fashion Show to Bellagio.

For the record I ate at five properties: Rio, Flamingo, Harrah's, Paris and PH. I skipped both IP and Caesars.

I'd better write my trip report :)

I just did it 2 days ago. 7am at Ceasers. I was disappointed. I had never been there before and was expecting something great. That kept me until 4 pm at RIO. The best regular buffet ever, not their Seafood buffut just the regular one. The only problem was a 20 minute wait to get in. Then breakfast at Paris. Well worth the $30. Next time do lunch at noon then you will get dinner late dinner, breakfast, and then another lunch.

The wait time is going to make this unattractive. I really think Harrah's should supplement with small food stands at extreme points in the properties where they want to attract people. Coffee and donuts in the morning at Bally's (which has no buffet) and hot dogs in the afternoon. Ice cream at Miracle Mile Shops. Muffins and coffee or soda at Ceasars. Something at Bill's.

Eventually people will be too full to eat, but they would rather graze and avoid the lines. Even if you eat two buffets it will be about the same cost as buying them individually. It will keep people moving through the properties. I also think they should give some consideration to people who gamble in all the casinos as well.

I think they will drop the 24 hour day and go to midnight to midnight before long.

Media Alert
The Las Vegas review journal liked my idea about Harrah's poaching people from the other casinos. They are going to put it into the newspaper tomorrow.

LVRJ article
Independent gaming analyst Frank Martin said the four older properties on the more isolated north end of the Strip -- Riviera, Stratosphere, Circus Circus and the Sahara -- are probably losing many of their customers to south Strip properties that are offering more special promotions.

Harrah's Entertainment, for example, recently introduced a $34.99 all-day buffet pass that can be used at seven of the company's Las Vegas properties.

"All the north Strip casinos are vulnerable to this kind of poaching. There is very little they can do about it," Martin said. "Circus Circus can argue that its $25 all-day buffet is cheaper by $10, but it doesn't come with the citywide access.

"If (north-end properties) lose $20 million a quarter to a citywide buffet, not just in food revenue, but in gaming and ancillary activities that guests are now spending at Harrah's casinos, the impact will be severe."

Martin said the north Strip casinos are particularly vulnerable to this type of competition now because the area is not very pedestrian-friendly because of empty lots and half-finished buildings, such as the Fontainebleau, which stands on the corner of Las Vegas and Riviera boulevards.
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The Harrah's buffet of buffets is not limited to people staying in a Harrah's hotel.


By my calculation there are 10 properties that are within 500 yards of a Harrah's property that either are non-gaming or have very limited gaming (slots only, or a small pit). These contain 4500 rooms. They would be the first area that Harrah's would poach from.

The second level would be the larger casinos that are run down, or don't offer buffets anymore. Also the motels that are more than a mile away, but can reach a Harrah's property in less than 20 minutes via inexpensive public transport. This is another 15,000 rooms. Some percentage of the guests in these rooms will opt to purchase the Harrah's buffet even if they offer an all day buffet at their own casino. The attraction is the ability to walk from hotel to hotel and never be far from their next meal.