Last resorts in Primm, the former State Line at California-Nevada border, to close permanently

By Todd Dewey | Las Vegas Review-Journal

LAS VEGAS — Primm will soon become even quieter, with several resorts and businesses preparing to shut down permanently on July 4.

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A representative for the Primadonna Co. confirmed Wednesday morning that the following properties will permanently close, marking the end of the area’s last remaining resorts: Primm Valley Resorts, Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino, Whiskey Pete’s Hotel & Casino, Primm Center and Flying J.

The Lotto Store at Primm will also permanently close on July 4, much to the chagrin of the countless Nevada residents who have long crossed the border to buy Powerball tickets.

Located roughly 40 miles south of Las Vegas off Interstate 15 in Primm, at the California-Nevada border, Primm Valley Resorts was the last full-time casino among the three. Whiskey Pete’s closed in December 2024 and Buffalo Bill’s ceased 24/7 operations in July, only opening when there were events in its Star of the Desert Arena.

The Primadonna Co. sent letters Tuesday informing all employees at Primm Valley Resorts, Buffalo Bill’s, Whiskey Pete’s, Primm Center and Flying J that the permanent closures of the properties will result in the permanent termination of their employment. The closure will result in the termination of 344 employees, according to an official notice filed to state workforce officials.

Employees who live at the Desert Oasis Apartments, a company-provided housing complex in Primm, also received an eviction notice Tuesday notifying them of the termination of their lease agreement and request to vacate housing by July 6.

“As a member of the Primm family that takes great pride in our decades of serving Nevada residents and visitors, we’re saddened to hear about this announcement from Affinity Gaming and its principal owner Z Capital, the New York-based private equity firm that has been leasing and operating these properties for nearly 15 years on the land owned by our family,” Cory Clemetson, grandson of Primm founder Ernie Primm and president of the Primm entities that own the real estate in the area, said in a statement. “We hoped that these operators could have done more to make these properties successful and to continue operating the hotel-casino and related properties that they now intend to close.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t given much notice, but faced with the prospect of hundreds of hard-working Nevadans losing their jobs and many Primm residents being displaced from their homes, members of the Primm family are working tirelessly to find potential solutions for these properties at risk of closing.”

Last year, executives of Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming, which owns Primm Valley Resorts, told state gaming regulators that they intend to reposition the Primm resorts from destination properties to travel resources for motorists driving between Las Vegas and Southern California.

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“In recent years, and particularly post-pandemic, the traffic at the state line has proved to be heavily weighted towards weekend activity and insufficient to support three full-time casino properties,” Affinity Senior Vice President and General Counsel Erin Barnett said in a letter to Clark County officials. “The positive news is that expected development of an airport and ancillary businesses has created the prospect of a resurgence for the area in the coming years.

“However, in the interim, it is not feasible to keep all three casino properties staffed, supported and open to the public on a full-time basis.”

Barnett was referring to the future development of the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport in the Ivanpah Valley between Jean and Primm, which isn’t due to open until 2037 at the earliest.

Known as State Line in the 1950s, Primm began as a small motel and coffee shop with slot machines started by Ernie Primm. Whiskey Pete’s, the first full casino-hotel at the location, was built in 1977. Primm Valley Resort (originally The Primadonna Resort) opened in 1990 and Buffalo Bill’s was built in 1994. Buffalo Bill’s had 1,242 rooms, Whiskey Pete’s had 777 rooms and Primm Valley had 624.

The Prizm Outlets in Primm, formerly the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas, which opened in 1998, were down to a lone retailer in June of last year in the nearly 380,000-square-foot outlet mall in Sanithrift, a 30,000-square-foot thrift store. Calls to the store Wednesday went unanswered.

The Tom Fazio-designed Primm Valley Golf Club, which featured two 18-hole courses, permanently closed in July 2024.

For Nevadans looking for lottery tickets, the next closest convenience store by the state border is the Terrible’s Chevron station on Yates Well Road, about 7 miles south of The Lotto Store.

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