How Long Can You Feast At Caesars And Wynn’s Buffets Before Getting Kicked Out? One Woman Put It To The Test

A woman set out to test the patience of the top all-you-can-eat buffets in Las Vegas, diving into two of the city’s priciest dining options: the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace and the buffet at the Wynn. Her mission was to see how long she could feast before being shown the door.

Starting at the Bacchanal Buffet she embraced a “get her money’s worth” approach. Her combinations of M&M-topped meatballs and strawberry icing on salmon may not appeal to traditional palates, but they showcased her goal of maximizing variety. Although Las Vegas buffets generally impose time limits between 90 minutes to two hours to keep tables turning, she did not leave.

A server, noticing her continuous trips to the buffet, initially remarked, “I don’t know where it all goes, but you’re doing good.” Clocking two hours of eating, the server cleared her table but left room for leniency, saying, “You can stay a little bit longer if you want,” and even offered her another water as she finished a final serving of ice cream. Eventually she hit three hours.

@ugh_madison

I wanted to see how long I can stay at the Las Vegas buffet! Did I get my $80 worth?

♬ original sound – ugh madison

@ugh_madison

They said i cant eat any more at the $75 buffet! That was the best food ive ever had i wish i could spend 100,000 hours at the buffet

♬ original sound – ugh madison

Second stop was the Wynn. Dubbed by our hero as “the best food I’ve had in my life,” her second attempt once again pushed the time boundaries. After two hours, a server politely informed her, “You cannot eat anymore, that’s it,” allowing her to linger as long as she refrained from any more eating (!). She left.

It seems to me that she’s missing the key strategy here, though: showing up at the end of one meal, to hold over to the beginning of the next. That way she gets two different meals and far more variety at the same price point. This isn’t possible at every buffet, but merely maximizing time fails to take this to the next level.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. “It seems to me that she’s missing the key strategy here, though: showing up at the end of one meal, to hold over to the beginning of the next.”

    I’ve done this, about 30 years ago at a Chuck O Rama buffet in Salt Lake City. Paid for lunch and stayed long enough to get the dinner menu, which cost more and included a carvery of roast beef. At the time, it felt awesome to beat the system!

  2. I was once part of a dinner party that had two guests at a buffet. I have never seen someone eat so much in my life. After a while, they brought them the check. They kept eating. After that, they told them to stop. I don’t remember what happened after that and they eventually stopped because they were full, but there wasn’t a time limit. And advertising all you can eat and then kicking guests out is a shit move. If they did it to me I’d be disputing with my credit card. All you can eat is all you can eat. Suck it up and take the loss. You’ll make it up with other guests.

  3. Proper buffet maximization isn’t so much about time spent, it’s more about scarfing high quantities of low-margin items to maximize ROI. Do this right and you won’t need to eat the rest of the day.

    Meatballs and pizza is not how you achieve this. She needs to be hitting and focusing on prime rib, tuna sashimi, etc.

    From the looks of her, I doubt she has the capacity to really do much “damage” at a buffet no matter how long she stays, unless she’s engaging in the classless act of taking a bunch of items only to have a significant amount of it end up in the trash.

  4. And then everyone will be surprised when either the prices go up or the all you can eat buffet closes.

    Reminds me of the dude who stacked up plate after plate of lobsters *without eating them* a few weeks ago. Many ended up in the trash.

    I won’t link him or give his name because he doesn’t deserve the clicks

  5. Just like Homer Simpson when he got thrown out of the Fryin’ Dutchman: she needs to call Lionel Hutz to sue the Wynn!

  6. As a teenager, I went to a swim meet in Las Vegas each summer. The most popular hotel was the Circus Circus, whose 99 cent buffet fed dozens of teams each night. We would spend 2+ hours eating because the kitchen could not keep up with demand for popular items like pizza and it was part of the social scene for those who had little money. The staff enjoyed watching us make locust-like runs down buffet line and little food went to waste/waiste.

  7. @Michael – first of all gluttony is a sin. Secondly, while they are “all you can eat” they also clearly state how long you can stay there so cut the moral outrage.

    Have been to Caesars buffet a number of times. The food options and quality is great but if you need more than 30-45 minutes to eat what any normal person would then there are serious problems. Go through twice and that is enough.

  8. I understand and accept the policy of a “one price meal” buffet; cruise ship specialty! However, actively encouraging hoggish over-eating is just plain wrong in so many ways.

  9. Didn’t Dante Alighieri have something to say on this topic ? Somewhere around the third circle, if I’m not mistaken…Overeating just to be able to post about it is a pretty sad life.

  10. My wife and I recently went to the buffet at Caesars and we were kicked out after 90 minutes, but that’s not the whole story. We purchased one of those big large seafood towers, the biggest most expensive one they had, and we told them we were celebrating our 45th anniversary. They sat us in the very middle where everybody could see our tower, and everybody walked by going ooh and ahh. They brought a candle over and lit it for us. A few minutes later, they came over and told us we better blow that candle out because it is a fire hazard and that we needed to leave. 90 minutes, that was it. Not 91. We thought after the anniversary special, and spending all that extra money, they would back off a little, but they did not. We repeatedly spend as much time as we want at the Wynn buffet, and we’ve never been told anything.

  11. Idk what’s worse ???? Scarfing down as much low quality food as humanly possible. Or an all you can eat buffet. That’s not all you can eat.

  12. Everyone knows you load up on the expensive items like oysters, crab, shrimp, prime rib, sushi. Waiting in line to spend $60 to stuff yourself with meatballs, pizza and ice cream is stupid.

  13. Whatcha bet that this is the same person that takes up her airline seat and part of yours? The dispatchers have to account for her in a separate weight and balance calculation!

  14. Gee I remember Layovers at the Landmark and the $1.99 Buffet!! Back when Slot machines had Big Handles!! lol

  15. The real fun thing to do is focus on just one item. Keep eating. Fierce the kitchen to try and keep up.

    In my college days four friends and I tried to see how much fried chicken we could eat at one of the Vegas buffets. I tapped out at 32 pieces. Kind of had a Cartman later that night at the room, if you know the KFC episode.

  16. Joey chestnuts daughter of Nathan’s hot dog fame?
    I hear the hotels were evacuated after her meals due to poisonous passing of gas
    Another reason she was asked to leave asap

  17. “Just like Homer Simpson when he got thrown out of the Fryin’ Dutchman: she needs to call Lionel Hutz to sue the Wynn!”

    Marge, what did you do after being kicked out of the Fryin’ Dutchman?
    We drove around all night looking for another all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant
    Ladies & Gentleman of the jury, did this sound Homer truly had “all you can eat”?

    Seriously, some people have no shame. Look at me Daddy. Why promote this or give tips?

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