Primm Casinos Move From Affinity to Terrible's Gaming

The transition happened in stages rather than all at once. Terrible's took over the non casino side of Primm, the Primm Center shops, the Chevron station, the Flying J truck stop and the on-site Starbucks, on July 1. Those reopened under Terrible's on July 2. The casino floors themselves, at Whiskey Pete's, Buffalo Bill's and Primm Valley Resort, changed hands last, with Terrible's taking over gaming operations at 12:01 a.m. on July 5, according to KTNV.

None of this was sudden. Talks between Affinity and the Primm family, who own the land the resorts sit on, reportedly stretched back more than two years before this month's changeover.

Affinity's own explanation, per the Review-Journal, is blunt: the location had become obsolete, and it called Primm a significant cash drain and management distraction. The company says the property was losing an estimated $10 million to $15 million a year, and that the Primm family would not bring rent down to a level Affinity considered viable.

Cory Clemetson, who represents the Primm family in the deal, does not buy Affinity's version. He pointed to Affinity's own planned move as evidence of bad judgment, since the operator had reportedly lined up mass layoffs to take effect over the July 4th weekend, right as the country marked its 250th birthday. Terrible's stepping in as the new operator sidestepped that. The company kept roughly 300 employees who wanted to stay on, according to KTNV, and kept the on-site employee housing running.

There is a full circle element here too. The Herbst family bought these same three casinos for a combined $400 million back in 2007, then lost them in a 2009 bankruptcy that led to the Affinity Gaming restructuring. Now, through Terrible's, the Herbst name is effectively back running Primm.

For anyone driving between Las Vegas and Southern California, the practical answer is simple: the casinos never closed. Whiskey Pete's, Buffalo Bill's and Primm Valley Resort are all open and operating under Terrible's now instead of Affinity, and the gas, food and truck stop options came back online days before the casino switch even happened.

The bigger picture explains why Affinity called the area obsolete in the first place. Primm's retail outlet mall has gone from close to full occupancy in 2007 to essentially a single retailer today, squeezed by both closer competition on the Strip and the growth of tribal casinos across the California line. Primm today functions more as a fuel and gaming stop between two states than the shopping detour it used to be, and that is not likely to change with a new operator's name on the sign.