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Vegas used to be a place where you’d spend money on gambling and not much else. You especially wouldn’t pay much for food. The signs outside each hotel on the Vegas Strip would advertise buffet meals at under $10 a pop. You could walk up and down the street finding the best deal on crab legs or seafood buffets. But that’s not the case anymore. Stop in for dinner for two at the Buffet at TI and you’ll be shelling out nearly $60 for the meal.

The rising prices on buffets are only the beginning of how pricey it can be to eat three square meals per day in Vegas. These days instead of advertising the best deals, Strip hotels are advertising the latest celebrity chefs and extravagant menus. And with those upgraded restaurants come upgraded prices. If you don’t want to spend a fortune on food (since you’re hoping to use that money to win a fortune at the tables) you don’t have to. But you have to be smart about your meals to save money in Vegas these days.

Here are some tips for reducing the cost of eating in Vegas:

• Check what deals your hotel is running. You can often get discount tickets for the restaurants at your hotel just by asking at check-in.

• Eat fast food. There are fast food places in various hotels and at the Strip malls and the price is a whole lot cheaper than at a sit-down restaurant.

• Eat off the strip. Do some searching around you and find some inexpensive restaurants. This only works if you’re not paying for taxi transportation though.

• Eat two meals instead of three. Pick up some snacks to carry with you while you wander around.

Vegas is getting more and more expensive but that doesn’t mean that you have to throw your money away on food. Throw it away on something more fun instead!

(Photo via flickr cc)

Tags: Food & Dining | Las Vegas | travel