Does Las Vegas Really Go Through 30 Tons Of Shrimp Per Day?

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — including exactly how much shrimp is consumed across the glitzy, tourist-attracting city each day. The assumed number is so wild, it's often repeated whenever discussions of Las Vegas lore arise: Sin City apparently goes through 30 tons, or 60,000 pounds, of shrimp per day. To put that in perspective, the United States population collectively was reported in 2014 to consume 1 billion pounds, or 500,000 tons, as found by an Oceana study. Divided by 365 days in a year, that's about 1,370 tons daily. So, if this Las Vegas legend is accurate, the city is likely accounting for an outsized portion of U.S. shrimp-eating. 

Like many legends, though, it's not quite clear just how factual this claim is. It stems from a few different sources: A Vegas chef named Rick Moonen gave the figure while speaking on a sustainability panel in 2008, "PBS NewsHour" reported on it during one episode, and an essay in "The New Yorker" referenced that episode and gave the shrimp statistic a bigger stage. Attempts by reporters to get concrete evidence behind this crustacean calculus have proved futile, but plenty of Vegas restaurateurs believe the figure is absolutely plausible. Case in point: Vegas Inc. reports Vegas supplier Supreme Lobster delivers about 20,000 pounds, or 10 tons, to Caesars hotels and casinos in a day. When you realize just one company provides 10 tons to just one property-owning corporation, the math becomes a little more believable. 

Also making a case for the 30-ton claim is just how much opportunity there is to eat shrimp in Vegas, how many tourists are there on any given day, and the fact that shrimp is the kind of food many vacationers are likely to indulge in. Las Vegas buffet culture accounts for a lot of shrimp consumption there, considering diners can load their plates with mountains of this seafood if they wish. Who even knows if all of that shrimp is actually eaten, considering over-loading your plate is one of the most common buffet mistakes? All that matters is Vegas is the city of buffets — buffets originated in America when Herb McDonald, inspired by Swedish smörgåsbords, brought them to the casino town in the 1940s — and now shrimp abounds at the best luxury buffets in Vegas as well as the city's best overall buffet spots, too.

Vegas is also associated with classic shrimp cocktail, too. It's easy to conjure up images of martinis and shrimp cocktails while catching Rat Pack-esque musical acts in lounges. In fact, shrimp cocktail originated, just like the American buffet, in Las Vegas. Italo Ghelfi, owner of the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino, introduced it in 1959 for just 50 cents, and it became both an ongoing craze and a signature Vegas dish. Factoring in buffets and cocktails, it's safe to put your money on the 30-ton-a-day figure.