A $275 Donut? Gimmicky High-Priced Menu Items at Casinos Haven’t Been Winning Bets

Posted on: May 20, 2026, 08:27h. 

Last updated on: May 20, 2026, 08:27h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • The menu at a doughnut shop at Graton Resort & Casino includes a $275 donut
  • Such gimmicks at casinos haven’t always proven successful

Graton Resort & Casino has officially opened the second phase of its $1 billion expansion.

donut Graton gimmicky menu item
A donut shop at Graton Resort & Casino is selling a $275 doughnut. Such gimmicky menu items at casinos haven’t always been a winning strategy for restaurateurs. (Image: Graton Resort & Casino)

The upgrade introduces a premier, smoke-free gaming area boasting 2,000 slot machines, an exclusive high-limit lounge, a state-of-the-art poker room, and an immersive sports bar with wall-to-wall screens.

The crown jewel of the expansion is AYA, a $40 million rooftop restaurant by award-winning chef Roy Ellamar. Guests enter AYA through a dramatic “barrel-vaulted wine tunnel” to a farm-to-table menu sourced from the tribe’s 40-acre farm.

But while the gaming and luxury dining are expected to be major draws, an unexpected fried-dough spectacle has so far been stealing the spotlight.

Millionaire’s Donut

Graton Resort & Casino’s newest fast-casual eatery is SoCo Dough Co.

The doughnut shop offers “warm, fluffy goodness of delicious hand-crafted donuts, sweet treats, and specialty drinks.” SoCo also offers perhaps the most expensive donut in the country.

The Millionaire’s Doughnut features chocolate hazelnut filling, hazelnut crémeux, gold leaf, chocolate crisp, chocolate ganache, and a one-ounce pour of Louis XIII cognac. The price? $275.

Prices for a standard donut at SoCo run between $4 for The Classic (vanilla buttermilk glaze) to $6.50 for Dubai of My Life (Sicilian pistachio glaze, dark and milk chocolate drizzle, shredded filo). The Millionaire’s Doughnut is roughly 45 times the price of a standard donut.

Is it worth it? Despite their name, gold flakes are inexpensive, as are the doughnut’s other ingredients. The cost largely stems from the one-ounce pour of Remy Martin’s Louis XIII cognac.

National alcohol retailer Total Wine & More advertises a 700 ml bottle of Louis XIII for $3,799.99. After sales tax, the price comes to $4,141.99. That equates to $180 per ounce.

With the extravagant donut, the Millionaire’s Doughnut might not be as marked up as some might have thought.

Gimmicky Menu Items Haven’t Proven Successful

SoCo isn’t alone in using a high-priced menu item to rally up publicity. But after the fanfare subsides, some eateries have met unfortunate fates.

  • At Paris Las Vegas’ Le Burger Brasserie, the restaurant served a $777 burger featuring Kobe beef topped with pancetta, goat cheese, and seared foie gras. It was paired with a lobster tail and Dom Pérignon Champagne. Le Burger Brasserie closed in 2022.
  • At Mandalay Bay, Fleur offered a $5,000 burger topped with foie gras and truffles and paired with a bottle of 1990 Château Pétrus wine. Fleur shuttered in 2023.
  • Caesars Palace was home to a Serendipity from April 2009 but closed by the end of 2016. The iconic New York City dessert shop, made famous in the 2001 romcom of the same name starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, offered a $1,000 sundae.

The Golden Opulence Sundae featured Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream swathed in 23-karat edible gold leaf, Italian chocolate, gold-covered almonds, and marzipan cherries, and a solid 18-karat gold spoon.