10 things you don’t know about Las Vegas buffets

Dessert buffet
Caesars Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment

The days of those classic cheapo buffets are pretty much over in Las Vegas (RIP, the original dollar midnight buffet at El Rancho!), but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get a good deal... as long as you know stuff like where to go, when to go, and why you should stay away from the sushi. So scroll down for 10 things you should know before you hit the buffet:

Caesars Entertainment

1. All you can eat… all day
Caesars' “Buffet of Buffets” pass lets you make yourself the opposite of buff(et) at the FlamingoPlanet Hollywood, Paris, Harrah’s, and The Quad for 24hrs.

Aliante
Jeff Ragazzo

2. A whole pig only lasts 15 minutes
That’s why the Medley Buffet at the Aliante serves eight of the slow-roasted suckers on Tuesday’s Hawaiian Night.

bloody mary
Station Casinos

3. Station Casinos' buffets go through more than a million hard boiled eggs a year
A lot of 'em wind up in their various Bloody Mary concoctions at places like the Fiesta Henderson's Festival Buffet, which offers a Bloody Mary bar during its Champagne Brunch.

caviar
MGM Resorts International

4. There’s caviar… and it’s actually pretty good
On Friday and Saturday nights, the buffet at The Bellagio sets up a station providing unlimited access to the world’s finest caviars -- tobiko is liberally applied to Japanese eats, while prized ikura tops their housemade blinis and miniature buckwheat waffles that're more than just "otay". 

Tacos
Station Casinos

5. Skip the sushi
The rice in those bland California rolls will just fill you up, so avoid it at all costs... unless it comes with something like the marinated pork (from an 86yr-old recipe) at the new taco stand inside the Texas Station Feast Buffet.

mirage interior

6. There is bottomless booze to go with your endless food
The first buffet to pull this off was Cravings at The Mirage, and now everybody's getting in on it... if by everybody you mean the LVH (draft beer), the Aria (sangria), the M Resort (beer and wine) and Bally’s (Champagne).

Beef carving station
The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

7. Casinos are waging a buffet war
In a city known for… wait for it… raising the stakes, two resorts are squaring off in a battle for bragging rights to the best buffet on The Strip. It all started when The Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan began offering higher quality food (steaks and ribs from an in-house butcher shop, etc.) in smaller portions. Caesars Palace answered back with the Bacchanal Buffet where things like sea bass, roast duck, raw oysters, and creme brulee are as good as you'll find in the city.

Aria atrium
MGM Resorts International

8. You don’t have to wait in line for hours...
... If you hit under-the-radar spots like The Buffet at Aria (which has a Tandoori oven and a shton of actually good gluten-free options); Studio B at The M Resort in Henderson where they've got next-level seafood (try the crab legs!); or Downtown's best buffet, Paradise at The Fremont, for their famed oxtail soup.

Mandalay Beach
MGM Resorts International

9. Go for the food, stay for the scenery
The Bayside Buffet has a panoramic view of Mandalay Bay Beach; the Bacchanal Buffet overlooks the impressively pillared Garden of the Gods pool at Caesars Palace; and the Paradise Garden Buffet offers a glimpse of the exotic birds inside the wildlife habitat at the Flamingo.

The Wynn
Barbara Kraft

10. It matters when you sit down
You’re charged at the beginning of the meal. Not at the end. So if you time it just right… you could pay the lunch price moments before the dinner offerings roll out. Or, if that seems too hard/you don't have a watch, check out the Buffet at The Wynn where there's only a $4 price difference between lunch and dinner.