Casino resorts in Nevada location, once packed, become ghost town as closure nears

A Nevada location once thrived with multiple casinos, hotels, restaurants and plenty of outlet shopping.

Today, the town of Primm will have its last casino hotel close on July 4 — putting 344 people out of work, according toas well as other outlets.

“In Nevada, we have a lot of old mining towns where, when the boom ended, or they had used up whatever precious metal they were looking for, everybody cleared out,�

“Primm, I think, could end up being the first gambling ghost town,” he said.

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Located on the California-Nevada border, Primm is a 38-mile drive south from the Las Vegas Strip.

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Since the 1970s, travelers driving to and from Vegas or seeking a less-expensive Sin City-style experience made Primm a booming place, SFGate reported.

The Primm Valley Casino Resorts is scheduled to close 624 hotel rooms and suites this summer.(iStock)

In December 2024, however, the first of the three casinos in thePrimm Valley Casino Resortscomplex closed. 

The shuttering of Whiskey Pete’s was followed by Buffalo Bill’s Resort &Casino limiting its operations to special events in July 2025.

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Primm Valley Casino Resorts’ parent company, Affinity Gaming, informed staff earlier this month of their termination and told them to vacate company housing by July 6, according to an8NewsNow.comreport.

The company informed employees it would cease charging them rent on May 15 and offered to help coordinate government assistance, according to a letter issued to tenants and published by 8NewsNow.

As gambling became more accessible elsewhere, the town of Primm, Nevada, experienced decline.(iStock)

“Primm has seen aslow decline of the past15 to 20 years, largely because of development in California and partly because of development in Las Vegas,�

That’s one reason Las Vegas started emphasizing the tourist experience as opposed to “just gambling,” Green said. 

Primmdid offer buffets,a roller coaster, concerts, a golf course and an exhibit dedicated to Bonnie and Clyde’s “death car,” but “three hotels in that area were a bit too much,” Green said.

The casinos in Primm, Nevada, never recovered from the hit they took during COVID times, experts say.(iStock)

Businessdropped substantially during COVIDand never really recovered, Green added.

In spite ofonline betting, casino gaming is not disappearing, said David G.Schwartz, UNLV professor and gaming historian.

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“Gambling is going to continue to parallel retail,” Schwartz said.“People would buy paper towels online, but they might not buy aLamborghinionline.”

“When it comes to buyinglotterytickets, it is probably more convenient to do that on your phone,” Schwartz said.

The rise of internet gambling has led to changes in the casino industry.(iStock)

If people want to play a $20,000-hand of baccarat, they will likely want to do that in person, he said.

Schwartz believesvacation resort destinations centeredaround gambling will shift toward other amenities.

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“If you look at Las Vegas over the past 10 years, what have the big developments been?” Schwartz said.

“It’s not necessarily been the casinos that have opened.It’s been things like T-Mobile Arena, Allegiant Stadium, the Sphere.Non-gaming has really been the big news.”