Primm was initially known as State Line and started as a small motel and coffee shop built by Ernest Primm in the 1950s. Over the years, Primm grew, with Gary Primm, Ernest's son, expanding the area by building casino hotels. In 1996, the town was officially renamed Primm in honor of its founder and to avoid confusion with Stateline in northern Nevada.[2]
The community's economy is based on its three casinos (the Primm Valley Resorts), which attract gamblers from Southern California wanting to stop before reaching Las Vegas 40 miles (64 km) to the north, or as a last chance to gamble before leaving Nevada. Most of Primm's residents are employees of the casinos. Conversely, a store located just over the California state line from Primm sells California State Lottery tickets and games (including the multi-state Mega Millions and Powerball games) mainly to residents of Nevada, whose constitution prohibits a state lottery.[3] In addition to gambling, shopping, and dining, Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino also features several rides and attractions, notably the 200’ rollercoaster Desperado, which was previously—at the time of its debut in 1996–the tallest and fastest steel coaster in America. The ride travels outside and inside parts of the casino. There is also a log flume ride inside the casino building.
While not a census-designated place, the 2000 census population for the community is 436. A Clark County Comprehensive Planning Department estimate placed the population at 284 on July 1, 2006, apparently using different boundaries for the area. In a December 5, 2007 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Primm's population is listed as around 1,132.
For 2020, Census Block 2156, Census Tract 57.03 and Block 2155, Census Tract 57.03 showed a total population of 650.[4]
Transportation
Primm, Nevada is located along Interstate 15, midway between Las Vegas, Nevada and Baker, California.
In the 1920s, Pete MacIntyre owned a gas station at the state line, on a road later designated U.S. Route 91. MacIntyre, apparently, had a difficult time in the gas business, eventually resorting to bootlegging (alcohol); Primm historians remember him as “Whiskey Pete”. According to local legend, MacIntyre expressed his desire to—upon his death in 1933–be buried in a vertical coffin with his body in a standing posture, along with a bottle of bootleg placed in his hands to “drink” as he “watched over” the region. Whiskey Pete's unmarked grave was accidentally exhumed while workers were building a connecting bridge from Whiskey Pete's to Buffalo Bill's Hotel and Casino (on the other side of I-15); the remains were apparently relocated, and are now said to be buried in one of the caves where he cooked his moonshine.[5]
During its heyday, Primm featured family-friendly attractions like the Adventure Canyon Log Flume and the Desperado roller coaster, which was once the world's tallest. However, by the 2000s, Primm's energy waned. In 1998, MGM Grand acquired the casinos from the Primm family, and later in 2007, they were sold to Affinity Gaming.
Dale Hamilton was the proprietor of State Line from the early 1950s to the early 1970s, as U.S. 91 was upgraded to today’s Interstate 15. After obtaining the property, Hamilton built a Chevron station, as well as a small-slots casino and a café/lunch counter. He also opened a basic automotive garage and maintained a towing service. He called the business simply "State Line Bar:Slots". Hamilton also campaigned legislators in Carson City to grant an Interstate 15 interchange to the site, which was not originally planned.
In 2004, under the then-ownership of MGM Mirage, 52 apartment buildings were constructed in Primm to serve as more convenient housing for employees of the three casinos. The name of the apartment complex is the Desert Oasis, and its current location is at 355 E. Primm Boulevard.[6][7]
Prizm Outlets, formerly known as the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas, is a 370,000-square-foot mall that, as of 2023, is almost completely empty.[8] It was sold in 2021 for $400,000.[9]
The Stateline Supermoto Challenge also takes place at Buffalo Bill's casino every year attracting pro and amateur supermoto racers from around the country.[11]
Primm is the location of WORCS, (World Off Road Championship) of two to four rounds of Motocross, UTV, Side by Side and ATV off-road racing.[citation needed]
Primm is also where Simon Lizotte set the Flying Disc Distance World Record at 263.2 m (863.5 ft) on October 25, 2014. He used a 157-gram Innova Blizzard Champion Boss.[12]
Bonnie and Clyde Getaway Car
Primm is home to the Bonnie and Clyde Getaway Car,[13] the vehicle that Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were in when they were shot and killed after being pursued by the police. It was previously located inside Whiskey Pete's, but was moved to the connecting annex between the Prizm Outlet Mall & Primm Valley Hotel & Casino in 2022.
The couple were actually shot and killed in Gibsland, Louisiana, on May 23, 1934, around 2,400 km (1,500 miles) from Primm.[14]
In popular culture
Primm appears as a location the player can visit in the 2010 videogame Fallout: New Vegas.[15]
