An iconic casino that has operated in the town of Primm, around 40 miles from Las Vegas on the border between Nevada and Southern California, is set to close imminently.
Whiskey Pete’s has served customers driving between California and Las Vegas since 1977. Primm Valley Casino Resorts, owned by Affinity Gaming, is set to close the property in 2025, sources recently told local media. Its hotel is currently unavailable for reservations.
Affinity, which also owns Silver Sevens Casino in downto,wn Las Vegas, is set to focus on its Primm Valley Casino Resort property. Rumor is that its other Primm casino Buffalo Bill’s, will also close in 2025.
The Casino Closure
Whiskey Pete’s opened in 1977 as the namesake of a notorious, by then long-dead local gas station owner who occasionally shot at visitors to his store.
Despite the western name, operator Primadonna Casino Resorts decided to make a low-budget medieval castle for the hotel tower.
Attractions at Whiskey Pete’s included the car infamous outlaw bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde died in, and a statue of less notorious local legend Whiskey Pete.
In 1999, Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International bought all the casinos in Primm from Primadonna. However, it then sold them in 2007 to the company that would become Affinity Gaming.
However, since then, the town’s fortunes have faced a slow decline.
The Town of Primm
Buffalo Bill’s casino closed its famous Desperado roller coaster during the pandemic and never opened it again. The casino will be going to weekends only hours soon, and potentially closing fully in 2025, sources said.
The local casinos have faced increased competition up the Interstate 95 closer to Las Vegas, including Penn Entertainment’s M-Resort and Michael Gaughan’s South Point Casino.
The nearby Fashion Outlet Mall, opened in 1998, saw only half a dozen stores reopen in 2020, and now only one remains.
Primm Valley Casino Resort is the only fully operational 24/7 casino in Primm as of this report. And even that was so quiet in July this year that a couple managed to slip into the casino cage and get away with stealing $600,000. They were only caught when they came back to the casino weeks later to gamble and security recognized them.
If Whiskey Pete’s bites the dust officially before the end of 2024 and Buffalo Bill’s follows, Primm Valley might soon be the only casino in town.
Primm has a cult following of sorts among fans of the video game Fallout: New Vegas. The renowned entry in the retro-futurist Fallout series featured the community heavily as one of its starting area locations, as well as the nearby historic town of Goodsprings.
Fans of the game now visit the two small communities for tours most years, which has created somewhat of a cottage industry.
The Primm segment of the game heavily featured Bison Steve Casino, complete with wooden roller coaster, instead of Buffalo Bill’s, and Vikki & Vance as Whiskey Pete’s. It is possible Primm could feature in the return of the Fallout TV show in 2025. The show has been confirmed to feature New Vegas, which is the fictional universe’s post-apocalyptic version of Las Vegas.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
