Despite price increases, Golden Gate sticks with 99-cent shrimp cocktail

Kevin Rademacher

Monday, Oct. 20, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

Turbulence in the shrimp market will have no effect on a Las Vegas landmark's famous offering.

No matter what happens to wholesale prices, the Golden Gate hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas will continue to sell its trademark shrimp cocktail for 99 cents, owner Mark Brandenburg said.

Brandenburg, whose hotel goes through an estimated two tons of shrimp a week, said prices have slipped lately. Historically, however, lows have been followed by price spikes. And even though prices may come down, the Golden Gate will never break even selling the 99-cent treat, he said.

"The variable is just how much we will lose," he said, declining to say how much the Golden Gate spends on shrimp or to reveal the margin of loss.

The costs associated with being the home of the 99-cent shrimp cocktail, Brandenburg said, are chalked up to advertising. About 2,000 shrimp cocktails are sold at the hotel each day, he said.

Buying in volume, he added, has stabilized the price to some degree.

"We buy in very large volumes," Brandenburg said. "That does give us some pretty favorable pricing. ... There has been a little bit of downward pressure lately."

The hotel does pay more, he said, to get the best quality from among the cold-weather shrimp harvested from the waters off the Oregon coast.

Brandenburg said that while the two tons of shrimp the Golden Gate goes through each week pales in comparison to the volume used at such Strip giants as the 5,034-room MGM Grand, he points out that the Golden Gate has a mere 106 rooms.

"That's a lot of shrimp for a tiny property," he said. "We're all about the shrimp cocktail."