Three months after Wynn Las Vegas was forced to close its iconic buffet due to the coronavirus lockdown, its all-you-can-eat service is back open for business – with some interesting new safety adjustments.
The hotel became the first along the Las Vegas strip to reopen its buffet last Thursday amid fears the pandemic would have forced it to shut down for good.
But the resort instead tried its luck by opening its doors again with a re-imagined all-you-can-eat ‘buffet’ served to customers’ tables and new safety features designed to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Diners were given a new type of dining experience at the Wynn Las Vegas buffet reopening last week with its re-imagined all-you-can-eat ‘buffet’
Despite the changes, the hotel’s buffet menu continues to provide delicious options at $60 a person on weekdays or $49 for weekend brunch
During its reopening last week, the restaurant was emptier than usual due to capacity limits to allow for social distancing
While the new system takes away from the experience of selecting and serving your own food, diners still have the option to order as much as they want within a two-hour time period.
During its opening night last week, customers eager to indulge in the hotel’s $60 buffet dinner again were required to book a reservation online and were told to pay at the end of their meal instead.
The new system reduces wait times and prevents crowds from gathering outside the restaurant.
Inside, customers were sat at spaced out tables to comply with social distancing and were given the option of using a QR-code downloadable menu or a single-use paper one.
For the weekday dinner service, the buffet offer 50 different savory items including chili-marinated lamb T-bone, seafood paella, king crab legs, mussels, sushi, as well as 20 different dessert options.
As for the weekend brunch menu, at $49 per person, the buffet offers traditional breakfast specialties with an upscale twist such as lobster eggs benedict, lemon ricotta cheese blintzes, s’mores pancakes, in addition to ‘continental classics.’
The new system takes away from the experience of selecting and serving your own food, diners still have the option to order as much as they want within a two-hour time period
For the weekday dinner service, the buffet offer 50 different savory items
One group of diners who documented the experience on YouTube were asked to sanitize their hands before they were escorted to their table
The menu offers 20 different dessert options, not including the countless ice cream flavors
Among the first to try the new style of dining was blogger, Beth Loves Vegas, who documented her brunch experience on YouTube.
The restaurant was at a much smaller capacity than normal to allow distance between diners and staff, but maintained its upscale, ritzy atmosphere nonetheless.
The vlogger, who was accompanied by two guests, was escorted to her table after the group was asked to ‘sanitize for their protection’ with disinfectant installed at the entrance.
At the dining table, servers even provided place mats for customers to set their masks down while they eat, and took orders through a mobile phone app, allowing for speedy service.
Diners are recommended to order three to four items at a time, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The hotel described the new buffet style in a statement as a ‘re-imagined all-you-can-eat concept that combines the abundance of the traditional buffet with the benefits of a full-service restaurant’.
Wynn Las Vegas was among the first hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas strip to reopen from June 4 as restrictions were lifted across the state of Nevada.
Casino resorts that had been famously always open were shuttered in mid-March after Gov. Steve Sisolak’s emergency order closed nonessential businesses to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Guests to the Wynn Las Vegas hotel can enjoy its all-you-can-eat buffet from June 18 but servers will bring dishes to tables to help maintain social distancing safe practices
The Wynn Hotel Las Vegas is reopening its buffet from Thursday. While remaining ‘all-you-can-eat’ servers will now bring dishes to guests’ tables and reservations must be made as the resort looks to implement social distancing guidelines to combat the spread of coronavirus
Property owners, state regulators and Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat who has been criticized for the closure, are balancing health concerns against the loss of billions of dollars a month in gambling revenue and unemployment that topped 28 percent during an idle April.
They’re betting that safety measures – disinfected dice; hand sanitizer and face masks; limited numbers of players at tables; temperature checks at entrances to some resorts; touchless cellphone check-ins – will lure tourists back.
Before reopening, resorts were required to submit health and safety standards to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Each resort has an individual plan but the most common safety measures taken include all staff wearing masks, glass barriers put in place on gambling tables and slot machines, and temperature checks of visitors when they reach the resort.
Around the hotels and casinos, signs remind guests to maintain social distancing and some have installed hand washing or sanitizing stations on the casino floor.
Among the casino resorts now reopened are Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, Harrah’s, the Linq Promenade and High Roller Observation Wheel – which all fall under the Caesar’s Entertainment brand – as well as Circus Circus, Treasure Island, MGM, and the Bellagio.
Some of the larger resort groups held off on reopening all their properties as they waited to see if visitors would return despite the ongoing pandemic.
MGM Resorts initially only opened the Bellagio, MGM Grand and New York-New York but last week announced that Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Aria will return in the next few weeks after a ‘strong opening weekend’.
