MGM Grand Buffet Closing After More Than 30 Years on the Las Vegas Strip | Ryan Rose

by Ryan Rose

The MGM Grand Buffet is closing for good on May 31, 2026. After 33 years of serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch to millions of visitors, one of the Strip's most recognizable dining spots will go dark. The closure marks another chapter in the slow disappearance of casino buffets from the Las Vegas landscape.

For locals and tourists alike, the MGM Grand Buffet was a reliable stop. It opened its doors when the resort itself launched in 1993, originally called the Oz Buffet to match the property's Wizard of Oz theme. Over the decades, it became a place where families would gather for weekend brunch, where tourists would fill up before a long day of walking the Strip, and where the idea of "all you can eat" in Las Vegas felt alive and well. Now it's joining a growing list of Strip buffets that simply don't exist anymore.

The MGM Grand sits at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, one of the busiest intersections in the entire city. Millions of people walk past its entrance every year. For many of them, the buffet was their first meal in Las Vegas. It was the kind of place that didn't need to be flashy or trendy. It just needed to be there, full of food, ready when you were. And soon, it won't be.

This matters to Las Vegas in a big way. Buffets have been part of the city's identity for over 60 years. They helped build the brand of Las Vegas as a place where everyone, regardless of budget, could have a great time. As more of them disappear, the Strip shifts further toward high-end dining and premium experiences. That change affects not just visitors, but the residents and workers who called these buffets part of their routine.

MGM Grand hotel and casino building lit up at night on the Las Vegas Strip

What Happened

MGM Resorts International announced on April 18, 2026 that the MGM Grand Buffet would permanently close. The last day of service will be May 31, 2026. The announcement was quiet and straightforward. There was no big farewell event planned. No special last-day menu. Just a statement confirming what many had already suspected was coming.

The buffet had been operating on a reduced schedule for some time before the announcement. It was open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. daily, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Pricing was $32.99 on weekdays, $38.99 on Fridays, and $43.99 for the Saturday and Sunday mimosa brunch. Those prices were moderate by Strip standards, but they were a far cry from the $4.99 and $7.99 buffets that older visitors remember from the 1980s and 1990s.

The buffet itself covered roughly 15,000 square feet of the MGM Grand's massive footprint. It served a rotating menu that included seafood, prime rib, pasta, pizza, beef tips, cheesecake, and a variety of other dishes. In its prime, it was a draw for both value-minded tourists and locals looking for a solid meal at a fair price. When the resort first opened in 1993, the buffet (then called the Oz Buffet) had seating for around 1,000 guests, making it one of the largest dining operations on the Strip.

According to MGM Resorts, there are currently no plans for the 15,000-square-foot space. That's an important detail. Other casino companies have converted former buffet space into food halls, additional gaming floor, or premium restaurant concepts. MGM hasn't committed to any of those directions yet, which means the space could sit empty for some time while the company figures out its next move. The lack of a replacement plan suggests this was more of a financial decision than a strategic pivot to a new dining concept.

Buffet food display with various dishes arranged in warming trays at a hotel restaurant

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

This isn't just about losing a place to eat. It's about losing a piece of what made Las Vegas special. Buffets were invented in Las Vegas. The El Rancho Vegas on the old Highway 91 pioneered the concept as a way to keep gamblers on property. The idea was simple: give people an affordable, unlimited meal so they don't leave the casino to eat somewhere else. For decades, it worked. Buffets became synonymous with the Las Vegas experience.

For residents of the Las Vegas Valley, Strip buffets have always served a different purpose than they do for tourists. Locals used them for birthday dinners, holiday gatherings, and Sunday brunch with family. Many longtime Las Vegas residents have strong memories tied to these buffets. Anniversary dinners at the Bellagio buffet. Mother's Day brunch at the Wynn. And yes, casual Saturday mornings at the MGM Grand. When these places close, those connections to the community close with them.

The economic impact matters too. The MGM Grand Buffet employed kitchen staff, servers, bussers, hosts, and dishwashers. Those are jobs that supported Las Vegas families. While MGM Resorts has said employees will be offered positions elsewhere within the company, not every role translates neatly to a different department. A buffet line cook's skills are different from those needed at a fine dining restaurant. The transition is real, and it's not always smooth.

There's also the broader signal this sends about where Las Vegas dining is heading. Once the MGM Grand Buffet closes, only seven all-you-can-eat buffets will remain on the Strip. That's down from roughly 35 in the year 2000. To put it another way, the Strip has lost 80% of its buffets in just 26 years. The remaining seven are at Bellagio, Caesars Palace (Bacchanal Buffet), Cosmopolitan (Wicked Spoon), Circus Circus, Excalibur, Resorts World (Signature Seafood Buffet), and the Wynn. Several of those are premium-priced at $60 to $80 per person, making them a very different experience from the affordable spreads of the past.

Background and History

The story of buffets in Las Vegas goes back to the late 1940s and early 1950s. The El Rancho Vegas is widely credited with starting the tradition. Casino owners realized that if they offered cheap, abundant food, gamblers would stay longer and spend more at the tables. The buffet became what the industry calls a "loss leader," a product sold at a loss to attract customers who will spend money on more profitable things. For decades, buffets were intentionally unprofitable. Casinos ate the cost (literally) because the gambling revenue more than made up for it.

That math started to change around the year 2000. By then, casino revenue models had flipped. In the 1980s, about 75% of a typical Strip casino's revenue came from gaming, with food, entertainment, and retail making up the other 25%. By 2000, those numbers had reversed. Entertainment, dining, and hospitality generated 75% of revenue, and gaming contributed just 25%. When food and dining became the profit center instead of the loss leader, the economics of running a low-margin, high-waste buffet stopped making sense.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated the trend dramatically. When casinos shut down and then reopened, many buffets never came back. The health concerns around communal food service gave casino operators a convenient reason to close buffets they were already losing money on. Caesars Entertainment has publicly stated that its casino buffets were losing roughly $3 million per year before the pandemic. When the doors closed for COVID, the company saw no reason to reopen them.

The iconic golden MGM Grand lion statue at the entrance of the MGM Grand Las Vegas resort

The MGM Grand Buffet itself went through its own evolution. When it opened in 1993 as the Oz Buffet, it matched the resort's elaborate Wizard of Oz theming. The entire MGM Grand was built around that concept, with Emerald City decor, Dorothy references, and fantasy elements throughout. As the resort later moved away from the Oz theme and toward a more modern luxury brand, the buffet was rebranded simply as the MGM Grand Buffet. It got updates over the years, but the basic concept remained the same: a large-format, all-you-can-eat dining experience at a mid-range price point.

What Happens Next

The immediate timeline is clear. The MGM Grand Buffet will serve its final meals on May 31, 2026. After that date, the space goes dark. MGM Resorts has not announced any plans for the 15,000-square-foot area, so the short-term future is uncertain. In similar situations at other properties, former buffet spaces have sat unused for months or even years before being converted to something new.

The trend of buffet closures on the Strip is unlikely to reverse. Industry experts and Las Vegas journalists have been saying for years that the traditional casino buffet model is broken. Corey Levitan, a well-known Las Vegas journalist who covers the gaming industry, summed it up directly. He said Las Vegas is no longer a buffet capital and that the economics simply don't support the format anymore. When every square foot of a Strip casino needs to generate maximum revenue to meet rent obligations that can reach $100 million per year, a low-margin buffet occupying 15,000 square feet is hard to justify.

The remaining seven Strip buffets are likely safe for now, but not all of them are guaranteed to last. The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace and the Wynn Buffet have repositioned themselves as premium dining experiences with prices to match, and they seem to be doing well. The Circus Circus and Excalibur buffets serve a budget-conscious segment and are part of properties that cater to families and value travelers. The Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan has carved out a niche as a more modern, small-plate style buffet. Each has found a way to justify its existence, at least for now. But if another economic downturn hits, or if labor costs continue to rise, more closures are possible.

Ryan's Take

As a Las Vegas real estate agent who works with buyers and sellers across the valley, I pay close attention to what's happening on the Strip because it directly affects our neighborhoods. The Strip is the economic engine of Southern Nevada. When dining concepts change, when entertainment evolves, when properties get renovated or reimagined, those shifts ripple outward into the communities where casino workers live, where tourists explore, and where families put down roots.

Las Vegas Strip city lights at night showing the bright neon skyline of casino resorts

The MGM Grand Buffet closing is part of a larger transformation of the Strip. Las Vegas has been steadily moving upmarket for the past two decades. More celebrity chef restaurants. More premium nightlife. More high-end retail. That shift has been good for property values in many ways, because it signals that Las Vegas is a world-class destination that keeps reinventing itself. But it also changes the character of the city. The Las Vegas that many of us fell in love with, the one where you could get a great meal for ten bucks and feel like a king, is slowly fading. That's worth acknowledging, even as we embrace what comes next.

For homeowners near the Strip corridor, especially in neighborhoods like the southwest valley, Spring Valley, and areas close to the MGM Grand, the ongoing transformation of Strip properties can influence home values. Major renovations and new dining concepts tend to bring construction jobs, permanent hospitality positions, and increased foot traffic. All of those things are positive for the local housing market. So while losing the buffet is bittersweet, whatever replaces that 15,000 square feet of space could be a net positive for the neighborhood.

What You Can Do

If you want to visit the MGM Grand Buffet one last time before it closes, you have until May 31, 2026. The buffet is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Weekday pricing is $32.99, Friday pricing is $38.99, and the Saturday and Sunday mimosa brunch is $43.99. Expect it to be busier than usual in these final weeks, as word of the closure spreads and people come in for one last meal.

If you love Las Vegas buffets and want to keep supporting the format, the seven remaining Strip buffets are still open and serving. The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace is often ranked as the best on the Strip, with over 250 items at its stations. The Wynn Buffet is a premium experience with high-quality ingredients. The Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan offers a more modern take on the concept. And if you're looking for value, the Circus Circus and Excalibur buffets are among the most affordable options left.

For Las Vegas residents who are concerned about how the changing Strip economy affects their property values, their neighborhoods, or their career in hospitality, now is a good time to have a conversation about what's ahead. The Strip is always evolving, and understanding those changes can help you make smarter decisions about where to live, where to invest, and how to plan for the future.