Affinity Gaming recently announced it would close Primm Valley Resorts, the last of its casinos in Primm, Nevada on July 4. The news has attracted a great deal of attention. From London to L.A., New York to Las Vegas, the announcement was considered newsworthy. The story varies from outlet to outlet and reporter to reporter. To some, it was simply the end of the casinos in a remote location in a desert. Others focused on the customers who loved to stop there during trips between southern California and Las Vegas. Those articles quote the customers saying they will miss their favorite stop and its friendly employees.
Still other reporters focused on the employees who lived in a “company town” and will be losing their housing as well as their jobs. The people who work in Primm live in Primm. If the casinos close down and employees leave town, Primm could become a ghost town, empty except for tumbleweeds, lizards, and the sound of the cars whizzing by on the highway.
In its heyday, Primm attracted thousands of visitors and because of its remote location, it appealed to a special kind of worker. Many wanted to be away from the world. Primm provided that, an end-of-the-world place that has a special attraction for people who find life in modern society difficult. The rules and a sense of comradeship are rare in other places. If the casinos close, those people are set adrift. A group of employees from Primm Valley Resort are trying to finance a group move to Laughlin, Nevada, another end of the worlder. Deadwood and Cripple Creek would probably qualify too.
Yet for those in Primm, there may be some hope, Howard Stutz writes in a Nevada Independent article that help could be on the way — if not a full bailout, at least a small rescue mission. “LV Petroleum, which operates 76 TA travel centers nationwide, including three in Nevada, submitted a letter of interest regarding the truck stop earlier this month to Primm operator Affinity Gaming, which is owned by Z Capital Partners, a New York-based hedge fund.” If the new company is successful in making the purchase, it will be the sixth to try and make a living sitting just east of California in the Nevada desert.
That would be ironic and fitting. Although Ernie Primm built a motel and coffee shop on the property in the 1950s, the site’s DNA is a gas station. In the 1920s before Las Vegas was a casino town, a man name Pete MacIntyre had a gas station at State Line, as it was called back then. Apparently, he also brewed whiskey to make ends meet and, of course, to keep him warm at night. His status in the world of whiskey led to one of the later casinos being called Whiskey Pete’s. Poor Pete was a bit too early on the scene. The traffic in 1920s did not really support a business and Prohibition was fleeting. But by the 1950s, there were enough cars moving back and forth between Las Vegas and Los Angeles to support Ernie Primm’s venture.
In fact, there was enough traffic to support a community of businesses. By the end of the 20th century, there were three casinos and nearly 2,000 hotel rooms, a truck stop, kiddy rides, the world’s tallest roller coaster, a mall, apartment buildings, and on the California side of the line a lottery retail outlet. But by the opening of the 21st century, Primm was already experiencing a slowdown. Indian gaming in California contributed, but COVID was the figurative nail in the coffin. Whiskey Pete’s closed in 2024, Buffalo Bill’s in 2025, and now Primm Valley Resorts. If the sale does not go through, the Flying J truck stop will also close.
The story of Primm — its beginning, boom, and bust — is a typical Nevada story. It is the story of Tonopah, Virginia City, Gold Hill, Silver City, Dayton, and Genoa. Nevada is a desert; people gather only when there is something specific to harvest. When the harvest is over, they pack their bags and head for the next harvest. Of course, cities and towns in Nevada have existed for a long time. Carson City was founded in 1858, Reno and Winnemucca in 1868, Yerington in 1871, and Las Vegas in 1905. But nothing is for certain. If gambling were outlawed and a world-class depression came along, the desert would reclaim much of its own.
Las Vegas is under no imminent threat, nor are the other small towns and cities in Nevada. But Primm is a reminder that nothing lasts forever, at least not in the desert. When the waterhole dries up, only tumbleweeds, rattlesnakes, and lizards survive.
