The last buffet i ate at in Vegas was at Main Street Station.
I took my younger daughter for her 21st birthday. She was planning to bring her boyfriend, but they broke up about a week before. He at least had the integrity to pay me back his air fare I'd already paid for a month or more in advance. I gave him the ticket info, which he could still use within 12 months. So, hopefully he used it.
Since we were there for New Year's Eve, the Cal invited us to the NYE party they were hosting for their invited guests.
The entire event was sponsored by Boyd Gaming, including the full buffet, cocktails and door prizes. Most of the prizes were large denomination casino chips, with the grand prize being a trip to Hawaii! They promised if a Hawaii resident won that, they would work out a better arrangement.
Since then, i've been curious about the food situation in LV as my experiences have been that things were changing dramatically. At one point, Mandalay Bay was reported to have the best buffet in LV. Later, it was Bellagio, who held the title for years. Others who were contenders seemed to be closing their buffets down. I had the MGM Seafood buffet once, and i thought it was over priced unless you got medieval on the Alaskan King Crab legs. The problem was, that's what everyone was there for, and you had to wait in line until they eventually brought out more. I know they knew the legs are why everyone was there, but they were stingy in how much they brought out at a time hoping everyone would get tired of waiting and eat something else or leave.
Fremont's buffet was okay. Not overly delicious, but if you used your Vacations Hawaii food coupons, it was very affordable. Not free, but i think about half price IIRC.
As for feeling full, I normally started my day with breakfast at the Cal's Market Street Cafe. Breakfast always seems to be the best value for the money/coupon. Way more than i could eat, plus all the coffee or tea refills I could want.
Then I'd be good until Dinner ... or even later. If I got a little hungry, Fremont's cafe had a couple of good items in their snack bar. I'd go for the $2 shrimp cocktail or the teriyaki beef and rice bowl. That beef was yum-mEE! That held me until sometimes a late dinner.
The amount of food was so plentiful, i actually stopped paying for the coupon book. i'd ask for a discount on my Vacation's package without the food, and I'd just use comps when i got hungry. That also freed me from wanting to eat all my meals in a couple of places just because i had coupons left!
If you had some luck on the games and want to celebrate with a good steak, I recommend Smith & Wollensky on the strip. It's one of those places where they do one thing, and they do it extremely well. The menu is on the wall, written on chalk boards -- usually 3 - 4 main courses. You add the sides you like, and order wine from their world class cellar. If you've never been, it's worth it at least once so you know if you've been missing out.
Top of the Strat is also a great experience, but you have to be okay with tables packed into a small area. The restaurant is on the rotating observation deck. While you enjoy your meal, wine and dessert, you get a fabulous 360 degree view of .... everything around you! Again, you pay for the experience, but the food selection is great and the quality has been just as great when I ate there. Best time is to go just before sunset, so you can watch it while spinning from a great height.
YouToobers from LV always highlight the best places for tacos, burritos, margaritas, happy hours, or places to just get hammered for cheap. Most are well known secret locations, like the taco places that are just off the strip, look like ancient hole in the wall joints, but can have a mile long line of customers waiting to order.
If you want to get the party started, there's an observation wheel called the High Roller at the LINQ. It's 550 ft up, you get your own enclosed "pod" with music and a tended bar, and if you buy the "Happy Half Hour" ticket, you get all you want to drink for the 30 minutes it takes to go a full revolution. Prices for the happy half hour start at $60, but I don't know what's included with it versus higher priced tickets.
High elevations, spinning rides, all you can drink booze -- what could go wrong?
