The Las Vegas Aviators, Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics in the Pacific Coast League, will celebrate almost 80 years of Las Vegas buffet heritage when they play one game as the Belly Busters. The first Las Vegas buffet opened in 1946 at the El Rancho Vegas hotel and casino. Since then, they have been a staple of the Las Vegas experience, a microcosm of the excesses of the town.
“While buffets exist elsewhere, the ‘destroy yourself’ mentality and sheer volume and variety offered in Las Vegas casinos are legendary,” the team said in a statement. “We went in, ready to conquer, perhaps even ‘beat the house’ by out-eating the price of admission.”
In the spirit of the truism, “It’s not all you care to eat, it’s all you can eat,” the Aviators crammed about as much food as you can into a single cap logo. The mark includes steak, crab legs, lobster tail, a fried egg, asparagus, and cherry pie. (It’s a good buffet strategy, focusing on protein and avoiding starch, but to this author, the plate feels empty without sushi and peel-and-eat shrimp.)
The Belly Busters will take the field May 16.
