Primm Valley Casino Resorts, the last full-time casino among a group of three along Interstate 15 in Primm on the California-Nevada border, will close permanently on July 4, a publicist for owner Affinity Gaming confirmed Wednesday.
Las Vegas Insider Post Las Vegas Locally broke the news Tuesday night, posting a layoff notice sent that day by Affinity-owned Primadonna Co. LLC to employees working at Primm Valley, informing them they would be laid off.
Affinity Gaming declined to make an official statement.
Primm Valley is the last of three casino resorts operating in Primm, formerly known as State Line. The castle-shaped Whiskey Pete's opened in 1977, followed by Primm Valley in 1990 and Buffalo Bill's in 1994.
In a letter to the Clark County Board of CommissionersErin Barnett, vice president and general counsel at Affinity, wrote in October 2024 that “state border traffic has proven to be heavily skewed toward weekend activity and is insufficient to support three full-time casino properties.”
Along with Primm Valley Resorts, Primadonna Co. is closing the Primm Center gas station and the Flying J truck stop located at Whiskey Pete's; that casino closed in December 2024.
The termination notice comes nearly a year after Affinity Gaming ended its 24/7 operations in Buffalo Bill's Resort on July 6. The casino opened its doors on days when its concert venue, the Star of the Desert Arena, hosted special events.
Lights shine on the sign at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino on July 6, 2025, in Primm, Nevada.
(Bridget Bennett / for The Times)
It is not clear what happens with music and magic acts booked until July 25.
It is unknown how long other Affinity-owned properties in the area, such as the popular Lotto store on the California side of the border, will continue to operate. Nevadans have been known to drive several miles and wait in long lines to purchase Powerball tickets, particularly when jackpots reach 10 figures.
The notice informed employees that “this action is expected to result in permanent termination of employment for all employees at these locations.”
In September, Primm Valley Resorts sent emails to members of the media touting renovated rooms and exclusive experiences at its latest resort.
Primm once shined as one of Nevada's most popular gaming centers. The three-casino complex served as a less expensive, less flashy, and slightly cheesier alternative to Las Vegas, which benefited from being a good 45 minutes closer to Los Angeles than Sin City.
John Honell was once a frequent visitor to Primm. The 85-year-old West Covina resident said he watched Whiskey Pete's expand “from a rusty shack” in the early 1970s to a “respectable resort.”
What he could not understand, however, was the expansion from one complex to three and, in particular, the development of retail outlets and shops.
“It just seemed strange,” Honell said. “You had this whole complex in the middle of the desert, and I thought how really strange that was.”
Several factors have contributed to Primm's slow decline, including the COVID pandemic and increased competition from casinos popping up on California tribal lands.
David G. Schwartz, a gaming historian and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the rise of tribal gaming in Southern California helped convince local gambling fans to make a much shorter trip to a tribal casino.
“If travel is now in minutes instead of hours, drivers, particularly those in the Inland Empire, will simply stay home,” Schwartz said.
Those newer casinos are easier to get to than Primm from Southern California's key population centers, which reduces the value proposition.
