In the 1990s, the stateline town of Primm, Nev., boomed with three resorts, a concert arena, an outlet mall, and a complement of attractions — including what was once the world's tallest roller coaster.
On July 4, Primm's last operating resort will close, effectively shutting down the highway stop-turned-mini-destination — that is, until another entity steps up to take over operations and ostensibly revitalize it. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on June 4 that the Primm family, which owns the land, is close to announcing a gaming company to do just that.
But will that save the unincorporated town, which has been on the decline since the late 2000s?
Gaming reporter and editor of Casino Life David McKee expressed his pessimism on a comeback to KNPR's "State of Nevada." He said, "It's a business model that is all but doomed to failure."
Primm got its start about a century ago with "Whiskey" Pete MacIntyre, a bootlegger who owned a service station that served drivers on U.S. 91 (later replaced by the parallel I-15). MacIntyre died in 1933, but Ernie Primm — who owned the Primmadonna hotel-casino in Reno — began developing in the area in the 1950s, in the hopes of establishing a casino there. He did just that in 1977 with Whiskey Pete's. Primm Valley Resort and Buffalo Bill's hotel-casino followed under the leadership of Ernie's son, Gary, who runs the family's business, Primadonna Casino Resorts.
"Eventually, he ends up merging with MGM [Resorts] in the late '90s, where he's involved in building the New York New York on the Strip," UNLV history professor Michael Green said. "MGM, in turn, has his properties in tandem with him. So, really, I'd say the '90s is when you really see Primm blossom."
California visitors in particular begin patronizing Primm's resorts and amenities, either as a stopping point on the way to Las Vegas — which experiences its own boom in the 1990s, due to its expansion of largely family-friendly megaresorts — or as a gambling destination. Las Vegans also drove 35 minutes southwest to shop at the outlet mall, which opened in 1998. But well into the 2000s, a number of factors begin Primm's downturn, from the increasing popularity of Las Vegas and the newer tribal casinos in California, to the Great Recession.
McKee also blamed the transition from the MGM Resorts ownership era to that of Herbst Gaming, which later rebranded to Affinity Interactive, the most recent Primm operator. "They gradually kept subtracting amenities, and the product was allowed to get beaten up," McKee said. "There was just less and less and less of a reason to go to Primm, until at the end, there was just one hotel casino left, no outlet mall to speak of — really, no draw."
Holly Vaughn, owner of Battle Born Pins — which commemorates mostly bygone Southern Nevada landmarks and cultural institutions in the form of enamel pins and other accessories — visited Primm shortly after Affinity's announcement that it would end all operations in the area. A frequent Primm visitor dating back to her youth, Vaughn wants to see the area thrive again.
"Primm feels like this place that you feel is always going to be there, and it's like a part of your childhood ... growing up and going in between these two states," Vaugh said. "I'm hoping that someone will save it. It just feels like this place that we should maybe try to protect and help, in any way possible. We deserve to get to keep some things, right?"
Guests: Michael Green, professor, UNLV; David McKee, editor, Casino Life; Holly Vaughn, owner, Battle Born Pins
