Once upon a time, Primm, Nev., had three bustling casino resorts, glittering gas stations, a roller coaster and Bonnie and Clyde’s “car of death.”
It was surreal, said former visitor John Honell of West Covina: “You have this complex in the middle of the desert.”
Southern Californians traveling along the dry stretches of I-15 will see Primm appear. As he drove to Sin City for bowling tournaments, Honell would stop and “drop a few coins” in a slot machine. It was a gambling haven – brighter and less expensive than Vegas and 45 minutes away.
“I think it worked for a while,” Honell, 85, said.
But it doesn’t work 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 the growth of desert gambling: the expansion of the Primm area, in the gritty town once known as State Line, from a Whiskey Pete’s gas station, a bar and slot machines into three busy resorts.
Nevada’s gambling center south of Las Vegas along the 15 Freeway appears to be over. Southern Californians who thought it was a short drive can now find gambling much closer, at the nation’s casinos.
Las Vegas interior book Las Vegas Area sent a termination letter from Affinity Gaming’s affiliate, Primadonna Co. LLC, to employees working in Primm Valley.
The casino will close on July 4, with all operations ending that day.
Affinity Gaming declined to make an official comment.
The odd-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 24-7 operations on July 6it is only open when the casino’s concert venue, Star of the Desert Arena, hosts 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, it used to be very attractive to those in the Inland Empire,” Schwartz said. “It was a way to cut 45 minutes off your drive – it was a 2 hour drive. Different math.”
The lights are on at the Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino sign on Sunday, July 6, 2025 in Primm, NV. (Bridget Bennett / For The Times)
(Bridget Bennett/For The Times)
Primm was once one of Nevada’s most popular gambling destinations, an inexpensive, somewhat kitschy alternative to Las Vegas that benefited from its proximity to Sin City.
Primm Valley, Whiskey Pete and Buffalo Bill all hosted the famous Bonnie and Clyde V-8 Ford at one time. filled with more than 100 characters in 1934.
Whiskey Pete’s offered a fast and affordable 24-hour IHOP, compared to the more expensive buffets in Vegas, and Californians and Nevadans visited Primm Valley’s 100-story mall, supported by shoppers who were bussed into the mall for free.
These three resorts enjoyed expansion and growth throughout the 2010s by using low prices, gimmicks and attractions to attract visitors.
Buffalo Bill’s was the largest of the three, boasting a buffalo-shaped pool and 592 rooms at its opening ( The Bellagio has nearly 4,000 rooms) and finally expand to 1,242 rooms.
Buffalo Bill and its sister resorts were closed in March 2020 during the pandemic, and reopened between December 2022 and 2023. But they struggle to attract customers.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is hurting all Nevada casinos, that was part of the reason for Primm’s decline. Schwartz said tribal casinos in Southern California saw their opportunities increase as Primm’s hotels faltered.
California voters passed Proposition 1-A in 2000, which allowed state casinos to use slot machines and clear limits on card games.
“Many of those people Primm moved from started living in Southern California, where the drive is much shorter and the services are much closer,” Schwartz said. “You see the same issue playing out in Laughlin along the Arizona border and in Reno and Tahoe in Northern California.”
Shortly after the passage of Proposition 1-A, 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, owned by the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, opened in December 2004. The tribe was the fourth between 2002 and 2004 to open or expand its operations, including Agua Caliente in Palm Springs, Morongo in Cabazon and the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians in Temecula.
Most of these casinos have continued to build and expand their operations as revenue continues to flow.
Southern California tribal resorts are divided by the National Indian Gaming Commission, the gaming governing body, into the Sacramento region, which includes all resorts in California and Northern Nevada.
In 2014, the combined casinos contributed $7.9 billion in total gaming revenue.
Ten years later, the operation of 87 nations across the two regions a combined $12.1 billionmarking an estimated increase of 1.4% from 2023.
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, sits in the Highlands, about 200 miles from Primm but less than half the distance from downtown LA.
Yaamava’ completed a $760 million expansion in 2021, which added a 17-story tower, three bars and about 1,700 new spaces.
Yaamava’s 7,400 slot machines make it the largest casino on the West Coast, with 4,000 more slots than its Vegas counterpart. In terms of square footage of playing space, Yaamava is No. 4 in the nation and still the largest on the West Coast.
“The decline has been part of a larger trend,” Schwartz said of Primm. “People choose the options that appeal most to them.”
