Hotel Buffets   Hotel Restaurants

A Spread Fit For A King

Nowhere can travelers dine as well for so little as in Las Vegas.
The food is fine enough to nourish a royal family -- even one on a pauper's budget.
From the world-famous Strip to the majestic neon that signifies Downtown, most hotels offer hungry visitors the utmost in inexpensive dining. The ultimate eating experience for the smallest price is the Las Vegas buffet.

For people who love both to eat and to gamble, one of the highlights of Las Vegas is that it allows you to combine the two. Doing well at the tables can earn you a free meal and some restaurants offer you the chance to gamble while you eat.

This food fantasy is as much a part of Las Vegas' distinctive aura as the opulent casinos.
The Las Vegas buffet began in the early 1940s at the original El Rancho Vegas Hotel on the Strip.

Owner Beldon Katleman, who bought the El Rancho Vegas from builder Tommy Hull, trying to find a way to keep customers in his hotel after the second show, dreamed up the "Midnight Chuck Wagon Buffet -- All you can eat for a dollar." His idea of treating guests to an elaborate array of food for a small price was copied by other hotels and the Las Vegas buffet was born. Then someone reasoned that if the midnight chuck wagon buffet was such a great customer-holder, why not offer breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets? The rest is history.

Many hotels feature weekend champagne brunches. They cost more but include all the bubbly a person can drink. For those who prefer variety, some hotels offer theme buffets highlighting different cuisine's such as seafood, Italian or Greek food.

Shrimp cocktails are another enticement for which Las Vegas is famous. The shrimp are huge and the price is low -- generally no more than $1.99.

Just as a restaurant will offer a menu of different foods to satisfy your palate, many Las Vegas hotels offer a menu of different restaurants.

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