The Rio’s buffet closed during the pandemic and never reopened. With the latest announcement about the new food hall, the Rio is finally getting some much-needed TLC. The new landlords announced earlier this year that they planned to renovate the Rio’s rooms, pool decks, and casino space. In December 2019, Caesars sold the Rio to Dreamscape Companies for $516.3 million. The Rio, however, did not benefit from that reinvestment money. In 2019, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Caesars Entertainment had spent well over $600 million since 2014 to upgrade nearly 90 percent of its 25,000 Las Vegas rooms in properties like Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood Resort, and the Flamingo. It’s a bold move for the Rio, an off-Strip casino that opened more than 30 years ago.

The Rio Hotel & Casino is replacing its Carnival World Buffet with the Canteen Food Hall, a hub that will bring in five new dining destinations - many with ties to restaurants currently found on the Las Vegas Strip. The food hall trend in Las Vegas is going absolutely nowhere, with yet another casino swapping out its buffet for a new food court-style dining venue.

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