We called Lucky's the day your email came in (Feb. 4) and you're correct -- they closed two days previously. No word as yet as to what will take the place of the 24-hour café, but we're guessing it won't be another coffee shop. In the meantime, Roxy's diner is now open 24 hours.
It was back in the 1940s that the Las Vegas institution of 24-hour dining was initiated, when the El Rancho introduced the first casino buffet. A simple "chuck wagon" serving an assortment of cold cuts, with a few hot dishes thrown in for good measure, it enabled the casio to keep gamblers fed and happy through the night without having to foot the expense of manning a proper restaurant. The $1 (!) "Buckaroo Buffet" was an instant hit and became a city-wide casino staple that also inspired the 24-hour coffee shop.
Coffee shops have become as integral to Las Vegas as buffets, and yet in these continuing harsh economic times, we're noticing a trend. Back in September of last year, the Casino Café at Circus Circus cut its hours from 24/7 to 6 a.m.-2 p.m. and then, just over a week ago, it quietly shut-up shop altogether. We spoke with a food and beverage manager, who told us that it's going to reopen in May as a Rockin' Rita's franchise and will be open from 6 a.m.-2 a.m. daily. In the meantime, the Garden Grill has taken over some of the former coffee shop's functions, serving breakfast from 6 a.m.-2 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m.-11 p.m. The only all-night eatery left at Circus Circus is the Westside Deli, where you can get sandwiches, pastries, and snacks 24/7.
And these two aren't alone. Not only did Bally's close its buffet, but it then went on to also cut the hours of its coffee shop last year. Like Casino Café in its latter days, the Sidewalk Café is now only open from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. When we checked with Bally's, they explained that the late-night hours are covered by the Tequila Bar & Grille, which serves a full menu of Mexican and American fare from 10 a.m.-6 a.m. daily.
Add to this last year's trend of chains like Denny's (Wildfire and Wild Wild West), T.G.I. Fridays (Gold Coast, Orleans, and Sam's Town), and Coco's (Palace, Boulder, Sunset, Santa Fe, and Texas Stations) moving in and taking over casino-owned coffee shops, and it seems that institutions days are numbered. (Yes, the Orleans still has the Courtyard Café, but we wonder for how much longer).
Not only is this trend unwelcome if you don't like chains; while we understand that you can still use club points for meals in these restaurants, you're charged full price, as opposed to being able to use the point-pay discounts that were allowed when they were casino-owned coffee shops. Still, on the positive side, some of the better ones, like Jerry's Nugget and Ellis Island, are still going strong (see LVA Feb., 2010), so all is not yet lost.
Image appears courtesy of UNLV's Center for Gaming Research.
