Once upon a time, Primm, Nevada had three bustling casinos, shiny gas stations, a roller coaster, and Bonnie and Clyde's “death car.”
It was a little surreal, said former visitor John Honell of West Covina: “You had this whole complex in the middle of the desert.”
Southern Californians traveling the arid stretches of I-15 would see Primm appear. While driving to Sin City to attend bowling tournaments, Honell would stop and “drop some coins” into the slot machines. It was a gambling oasis, a little less flashy and a little more affordable than Las Vegas and 45 minutes closer.
“I guess it worked for a while,” Honell, 85, said.
But not anymore. The last of the three casinos will close on July 4, owner Affinity Gaming confirmed to The Times this week.
Honell, a regular in the 1970s, saw a bet grow in the desert: the expansion of the Primm property, in the dusty town once known as State Line, from Whiskey Pete's gas station, bar and slot machines to three busy resorts.
However, Nevada's gaming hub south of Las Vegas along Highway 15 appears finished. Southern Californians, who appreciated a shorter drive than Las Vegas, can now find gambling even closer, at tribal casinos.
Las Vegas Insider Post Las Vegas Locally published a dismissal letter from Affinity Gaming subsidiary Primadonna Co. to employees working at Primm Valley.
With the casino closing on July 4, all jobs will end that day as well.
Affinity Gaming declined to make an official comment.
The castle-shaped Whiskey Pete's opened in 1977, followed by Primm Valley in 1990 and Buffalo Bill's in 1994. Whiskey Pete's was the first casino to close, in December 2024. Buffalo Bill's Resort ended on the 24th/7 operations on July 6It only opened when the casino's concert venue, the Star of the Desert Arena, hosted special events.
David G. Schwartz, a gaming historian and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Primm's casinos were “built for a completely different world.”
“Southern California is a huge market for Las Vegas and, in particular, was once very attractive to those in the Inland Empire,” Schwartz said. “It was a way to save a 45-minute trip; it was a 2-hour trip. It's a different math.”
Lights shine on the sign at Buffalo Bill's Resort and Casino on July 6 in Primm, Nevada.
(Bridget Bennett / for The Times)
Primm was once one of Nevada's most popular gaming centers, a less expensive and slightly kitschier alternative to Las Vegas that benefited from being closer to Southern California.
Primm Valley, Whiskey Pete's and Buffalo Bill's were all home to the famous Bonnie and Clyde V-8 Ford at one time. riddled with more than 100 bullets in 1934.
Whiskey Pete's offered a fast and affordable 24-hour IHOP, compared to the more expensive buffets in Las Vegas, and Californians and Nevadans visited the 100-store Primm Valley shopping center, supported by shoppers who were bused to the mall for free.
All three resorts enjoyed expansion and growth throughout the 2010s by using low prices, gimmicks and attractions to attract guests.
Buffalo Bill's was the largest of the trio, boasting a buffalo-shaped pool and 592 rooms at its opening (the Bellagio has about 4,000 rooms.) and eventually expanding to 1,242 rooms.
Buffalo Bill's and its sister resorts closed in March 2020 when the pandemic hit and reopened between December 2022 and 2023. But they struggled to attract customers.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic affected all Nevada casinos, that was only part of the reason for Primm's decline. Schwartz said tribal casinos in Southern California saw their prospects soar as Primm's hotels faltered.
California voters approved Proposition 1A in 2000, which allowed tribal casinos operate slot machines and erased limits on card games.
“Many of those people that Primm relied on started staying in Southern California, where commutes are much shorter and amenities much closer,” Schwartz said. “You see the same problem in Laughlin, along the Arizona border, and in Reno and Tahoe, in northern California.”
Shortly after the passage of Proposition 1A, San Manuel was one of several tribal casinos in San Bernardino and Riverside counties that declared an arms race with Nevada.
Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, run by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, inaugurated in December 2004. The tribe was the fourth between 2002 and 2004 to open or expand operations, including Agua Caliente in Palm Springs, Morongo in Cabazon and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians in Temecula.
Most of these casinos have continued to build and expand their operations as revenue has continued to flow.
Southern California tribal resorts are classified by the National Indian Gaming Commission, a gaming regulatory body, as part of the Sacramento region, which includes all resorts in California and northern Nevada.
In 2014, the Casinos combined contributed $7.9 billion. in gross gaming revenue.
Ten years later, 87 tribal operations in two states combined for $12.1 billionwhich represents a modest increase of 1.4% from 2023.
Yaamava' Resort & Casino, run by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, is located in Highland, about 200 miles from Primm but less than half that distance from downtown Los Angeles.
Yaamava' completed a $760 million expansion in 2021, adding a 17-story tower, three bars and about 1,700 new spaces.
Yaamava's 7,400 slot machines make the casino the largest on the West Coast, with 4,000 more slot machines than its Las Vegas peers. By square footage of play space, Yaamava ranks fourth in the country and remains the largest on the West Coast.
“The decline has been part of a broader trend,” Schwartz said of Primm. “People choose the options that most appeal to them.”
