Casino News Roundup: MGM Grand Buffet Closes & FanDuel Enters Prediction Markets
Welcome to the Casino Daily News Roundup - your briefing on the latest news from the global casino industry. We bring you the biggest stories from across the sector, covering everything from major business deals and revenue figures to new openings and regulatory developments.
MGM Grand Closes Its Buffet, Leaving Just Seven Remaining On The Las Vegas Strip
It is the end of an era on the Las Vegas Strip.
MGM Grand has announced its buffet will permanently close after service on May 31 - another casualty in the long decline of one of Vegas's most iconic dining traditions.
The buffet has been a fixture at the property since the resort opened in 1993, serving generations of visitors looking for an affordable, no-fuss meal between sessions at the tables.
Once the doors shut for the last time, only around seven traditional buffets will remain on the Strip - a far cry from the estimated 35 to 70 that flourished during their heyday. MGM said there are no immediate plans for the vacated space.
The buffet's decline has been building for years.
Many properties chose not to reopen their all-you-can-eat dining rooms after the pandemic, citing health concerns over self-serve lines and shifting consumer preferences.
Casino executives have long acknowledged that buffets often operate as loss leaders - cheap to market but costly to run.
Younger visitors in particular have migrated toward food halls, celebrity-chef restaurants, and quick-service concepts that deliver more experience per dollar.
Prices at mid-tier buffets had crept up toward $43 per person, leading many visitors on social media to brand them "tourist traps" while others mourned the loss of affordable Strip dining.
The closure is the latest in a run of MGM buffet shutdowns.
The Luxor buffet closed in March 2025, leaving MGM-operated casinos home to half the remaining Strip buffets.
Now, with MGM Grand following suit, the arithmetic only gets starker.
The all-inclusive deals recently launched by MGM and Caesars to win back cost-conscious visitors suggest operators are aware of the affordability problem - but the buffet, it seems, is no longer the answer.
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Polymarket In Talks To Raise $400 Million At $15 Billion Valuation
The prediction markets sector is attracting investment at a remarkable pace.
Polymarket - the world's largest prediction market platform - is reportedly in talks to raise $400million in new funding at a valuation of around $15billion, according to The Information.
That figure is nearly double the $9bn valuation the platform carried in October 2025.
The round follows a $600m investment from Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the New York Stock Exchange, announced last month - bringing ICE's total commitment to around $1.6bn.
The full round could reach $1bn if additional strategic investors join alongside ICE.
The numbers underpinning the valuation are striking. Polymarket recorded $10.57bn in monthly trading volume in March 2026 - its first time crossing the $10bn mark - representing a 33% increase on February and more than doubling its previous peak during the 2024 US election cycle.
Total Q1 2026 volume reached around $26.2bn, up more than 90% on the prior quarter.
Bernstein analysts project global prediction market volumes will hit $240 billion across 2026 and $1trillion by 2030.
Rival Kalshi raised more than $1bn last month at a $22bn valuation, underlining just how much capital is now chasing the sector.
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FanDuel Pushes Into Prediction Markets With Its Own Platform
America's largest online sportsbook is making a serious move into the prediction market space.
FanDuel's prediction market app, FanDuel Predicts - a joint venture with CME Group - is now live in 16 states, with a broader rollout continuing.
The platform covers sports, economics, financial markets, crypto and entertainment.
FanDuel CEO Peter Jackson said the app enables the company to tap a significant expansion of the US addressable market "ahead of further state regulation" - a frank acknowledgement that prediction markets reach states where conventional sports betting remains illegal.
The company has also filed for a new futures commission merchant entity to gain greater independence from CME Group, which currently holds a 51% controlling stake in the joint venture.
FanDuel has drawn a clear line around the kinds of markets it will offer, ruling out anything to do with death, war, or regime change - positioning itself as a more mainstream, consumer-friendly alternative to Kalshi and Polymarket.
DraftKings has also launched its own prediction market offering, meaning all three of America's biggest sports betting operators are now active in the space.
The scramble underlines how rapidly prediction markets have shifted from niche curiosity to mainstream product in the space of just 18 months.
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Caesars Q1 Earnings Due April 29 As Fertitta Takeover Silence Deepens
All eyes in the US casino industry are on April 29.
That is the date Caesars Entertainment is due to report its Q1 2026 earnings - and, with the 45-day exclusive negotiating window between Caesars and Tilman Fertitta's Fertitta Entertainment now expired without a formal deal announced, the earnings call could prove pivotal.
Fertitta's bid was reported at $32 per share, implying an equity value of $6.5 billion and an enterprise value of $31.5bn including Caesars' substantial debt.
Carl Icahn's rival offer of $33 per share remains on the table as a fallback, subject to due diligence.
Analysts at Jefferies have previously flagged the sheer complexity of unwinding Caesars' more than $25bn in total debt and lease obligations as a key obstacle to any swift agreement.
Any transaction, if eventually concluded, is not expected to close until 2027, given the regulatory approvals required across multiple state gaming jurisdictions.
The Q1 results will give investors a clearer picture of the company's operating health - and may yet flush out where the takeover process actually stands.
