An executive with Affinity Gaming, the company that plans to permanently close three casinos and other amenities on land it leases on the California-Nevada border at Primm, told regulators Thursday a special committee has been formed to help find a successor to take over the properties.
Affinity CEO Scott Butera and company attorneys say they have been working since the May 5 closure announcement to find an alternative to the planned July 4 closure of properties that could put more than 300 people out of work.
“All I can tell you is that from my perspective, my team has been working tirelessly to provide voluminous information to the Primm family, hopefully to support that cause,” Butera told board members.
The Primm family owns the land where Affinity has operated three hotel-casino properties — Whiskey Pete’s, Buffalo Bill’s and Primm Valley Resort — and at the Primm Center gas station and Flying J trucker fueling stop.
“We invested a lot of money in that asset over the years, to no avail,” Butera told Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer during a special meeting on an unrelated licensing matter.
“We tried many things there, including building a new sign and new slot machines. The long and short of it is that it’s just not viable as a casino operation and as such, we informed the landlord that we’re no longer able to operate.”
The company also attempted a partial closure — the hotels and casinos would be open temporarily for special concerts and events at the Star of the Desert arena at Buffalo Bill’s, which also is home to a roller coaster that once was the tallest in the world.
It was explained that the special committee “is charged with reviewing, evaluating, negotiating, proposing, approving and or entering into strategic options with respect to Affinity and its subsidiaries, with respect to potential transactions, including sale, financing, restructuring, reorganization, recapitalization, bankruptcy, insolvency, and or other transactions, and also reviewing, negotiating, evaluating, proposing, approving, and or enter into in settlement terms and conditions in connection with potential claims or causes of action.”
Regulators said they are gravely concerned about the Primm shutdown, since it serves as a gateway to Southern Nevada from one of its largest markets, Southern California.
While Primm’s fortunes have gradually worsened, as recently as last year some optimism was expressed for long-term success if the proposed Ivanpah Valley supplemental airport is built just north of Primm along Interstate 15.
But construction work on that project likely isn’t happening for at least a decade.
The Primm family has made a public appeal conveyed in an open letter published by the Review-Journal to assist the workers and their families. Clark County Social Services is getting involved to provide resources to people who live and work in Primm.
Primm once was a lucrative roadside destination on the border. The trio of hotel-casinos once sold for $400 million combined, and the sprawling outlet mall in Primm was reportedly among the top 10 outlet centers nationally by sales.
But for now, there appear to be no solutions.
“From the management perspective, the things that I’m in control of, I know that we’ve done everything possible,” Butera said. “And I do believe our special committee is working as hard as they can. Again, it’s in our best interest that this is transferred successfully.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
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