Casinos in Primm won’t go ‘dark,’ could have buyer as planned closing date looms

A dusty casino outpost that many Southern Californians know as the final pit stop before Las Vegas may have just scored a dramatic reprieve.

Primm Valley Resorts — the last full-time casino still operating in Primm, Nevada, the tiny gambling outpost formerly known as State Line along Interstate 15 — will not go completely dark on July 4 after all, according to representatives of the family that owns the land.

Cory Clemetson, grandson or Primm’s legendary founder Ernie Primm, revealed that a new “well-respected gaming operator” is waiting in the wings. “Primm will not be going dark on July 4,” a defiant Clemetson told The Nevada Independent.

Members of the Primm family have been working to keep the neon glow that once welcomed millions of Californians on their way to Las Vegas after a May 5 termination notice said operations at Primm Valley Resort, Buffalo Bill’s, Whiskey Pete’s, the Primm Center and the Flying J truck stop will all close permanently.

Around 344 employees will lose their jobs, the notice said.

“We’re obviously very concerned, first and foremost, about the 300 Nevadans who are potentially going to be displaced on July 4,” Clemetson said. “So the primary thing has been getting a management agreement with a particular group.”

The sudden rescue mission breathes life back into a community that was facing total economic annihilation.

Affinity Gaming and its principal owner, Z Capital, had been operating the properties for 15 years, but tourist numbers have cratered as casinos open closer to home in California and COVID-19 demolished the industry.

Primm has been a “significant cash drain and management distraction of Affinity for many years,” said Melissa Krantz, spokeswoman for the company, in a statement.

It was previously reported that LV Petroleum — a Las Vegas-based company that operates 84 truck stops across 34 states — was potentially interested in taking over the hotels, casinos and other amenities in Primm, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

According to Clemetson, the conversations with LV Petroleum were held “early in the process. At the same time, we’ve spoken to other groups who are very well respected, particularly in the gaming, hotel and fuel businesses.”

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