Caesars Palace Adds Three New Celebrity Joints to Resurfaced Food Hall

^{This is a really good looking sandwich from "Cake Boss" Buddy V. Caesars is betting customers will pay for stylish quick eats from someone seen on TV. (Image: Simon Leung / Caesars)}

Caesars Palace recently added food stalls from three celebrity chefs and renamed its food hall. The new “Celebrity Food Hall” debuted quick-serve eateries from Rick Bayless, Buddy Valestro (Buddy V), and Esther Choi.

The trio joins Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay in the former food court located near the Caesars Forum Shops and entrance to the parking garage. 

And if persistent rumors are true, a nearby dark corner of the casino could become home to a new poker room … sooner rather than later.

New Celebrity Additions to Food Hall

Tortazo is a fast-casual Mexican outlet from restaurateur Rick Bayless. He’s a Michelin-star chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. This food stall features the Torta, which is a popular Mexican sandwich.

Buddy V’s Pizzeria is his first location in Caesars Palace. The baker from New Jersey has restaurants at The Venetian and Harrah’s. He also has cake vending machines in numerous Vegas Strip casinos. In addition to pizza and sandwiches this outlet also serves breakfast.

Mokbar by Esther Choi combines traditional and modern Korean cuisine. Menu highlights include K-pop Chicken, Bulgogi Buns, and Choi’s exclusive Gochujang Chicken.

The Celebrity Food Hall also features Chicken Guy by Guy Fieri, Bobby’s Burgers by Bobby Flay, and Starbucks by nobody famous.

Caesars Palace Poker Room to Reopen Soon?

The Caesars Palace poker room closed temporarily earlier this year. The room was used as a high-limit slot room while that space was being renovated.

During Caesars’ third-quarter earnings call last week, the company said renovations would be finished soon. Well, it appears as though slot machines are being moved back into the updated room.

When the temporary closure was announced I speculated that the poker tables could be relocated to the space between the food hall and Caesars Forum Shops. I’ve heard from a couple of sources from the poker world who say that this area could become the new home of the poker room.

One source tells me that dealers have been told that this could be announced as soon as this week. Neither source was aware of plans for the old poker room space.

There are only 18 Las Vegas poker rooms with the closure of the Caesars Palace room. Horseshoe is currently the only Caesars Las Vegas casino with a poker room.

Netflix Bites Coming to MGM Grand

Caesars Palace wasn’t the only Las Vegas casino to announce a new dining addition. MGM Grand announced it's partnering on a one-year culinary residency called Netflix Bites beginning next year.

While food halls are currently all the rage in Las Vegas, MGM Grand is taking its cheaper fare in a different direction. MGM is set to begin construction on Netflix Bites this month with an opening in early 2025.

This will be a full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. More detailed concepts will be announced next year.

The dining experience is being pitched as a “one-of-a-kind restaurant,” but this will be the second Netflix Bites location. Netflix Bites in Los Angeles didn’t live up to the hype with LA food critics.