I remember with fondness back in the '70s the $0.99 buffets which were probably loss leaders or at least not bottom line profit generators, but rather attractions to entice gamblers through the door. I compare the prices and quality today of many of the casino buffets to our local Golden Corral buffets and it becomes obvious that the casinos now require the buffet to be a contributor to the corporate bottom line. This is a switch which might not be in the best interest of the corporation. Excluding the premium buffets which are offered in many of the upscale places it would be interesting to see if a break even buffet made a substantial change in the traffic flow and drop for the casino. Perhaps the fact that many of these places–such as the Stardust, Riviera, Landmark, etc.-- are no longer around indicates that it was not a good philosophy but I am not too sure that the concept would not still be profitable for the corporation. If you simply converted the price of the $0.99 buffet purchased with the 1975 dollar compared to the cost purchased with the 1918 dollar based upon effects of the Consumer Price Index the $0.99 buffet would now cost about $4.54. It would be interesting to see the reaction to a decent $5.00 buffet offering in Vegas.
Just my 7.425 grains worth.
