If locals were willing to pay $45, $50 for a buffet, then they'd bring them back, but they aren’t. 'Station's looking around and seeing that these are not making us money. He says casinos have been using COVID-19 as an excuse to eliminate freebies and he doesn't see budget buffets coming back any time soon.

They’re watching their margins more closely than ever,' said Roeben. That’s just going away and the casinos aren’t willing to take that hit anymore. It’s because the casino tends to subsidize the buffet like they do other things. 'The cost is lower, but there’s a reason for that. He says it's sad to hear Station buffets aren't coming back, but not surprising. It was also a great way of giving players freebies,' said Scott Roeben, founder of Vital Vegas. 'Traditionally, this was a way to keep players at the casinos so they didn’t have to go eat somewhere else. It's gonna take us years to get the full-time ,' said Cristina Lopez, a former buffet worker at Texas Station. 'I worry because we used to be full-time. The news is even worse for workers who were laid off during the pandemic and may not get their jobs back. It used to be one of our weekly things or biweekly things that we used to do.' 'We like the Station Casinos ones because of the price, it’s a good price,' he added. 'That really sucks, not good to hear,' said Justin, who lives in Las Vegas. The company's CFO, Stephen Cootey, went on to say, 'I’m going to say ex-buffet because obviously, it would be down year-over-year because of the buffet, which I think we can fairly say will never return.' RELATED: Buffets, Las Vegas Strip shows encouraged by loosening restrictions It’s going to be a focus on slot machines and table games, our primary business. But in a recent earnings call, Frank Fertitta, the CEO of Red Rock Resorts Inc., said, 'We’re going to put the dollars into the place where we make money. Station Casinos wouldn't directly admit to 13 Action News that they're not planning to bring back buffets. Station Casinos are where many locals love to go to gamble all day and fill up on bottomless food at an affordable price, but maybe not anymore. LAS VEGAS - Budget buffet dining may be on the way out.

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