Could shuttered Whiskey Pete’s have a life beyond gaming?
Two years ago, Primm owner Affinity Gaming moved one of Whiskey Pete’s main tourist attractions — Bonnie and Clyde’s death car — to Buffalo Bill’s on the opposite side of Interstate 15. Whiskey Pete’s is now closed. However, visitors can still view and take photos of the bullet-ridden vehicle, one of the few reasons travelers still stop at the small gaming town.
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Affinity Gaming has not yet decided if it will demolish the shuttered Whiskey Pete’s Hotel & Casino in Primm, which closed in December.
But that doesn’t mean the first resort in the small gaming community at the Nevada-California state line along Interstate 15 will reopen as a casino.
“Primm was built for what [Las Vegas] looked like 30 years ago,” Affinity CEO Scott Butera said last week following a 14-minute appearance in front of the Nevada Gaming Control Board for preliminary licensing approval as the company’s top executive.
Butera said the location that has long served as a rest stop for drivers between Las Vegas and Southern California and is roughly 40 miles from the center of the Strip was “designed for another time. It doesn’t need another casino.”
Butera said Whiskey Pete’s, which has 777 hotel rooms, could still be useful.
“It could have something as a feature for families in the Las Vegas area who want to get away,” he said. “There are a lot of options for it to complement our plan.”
Privately held Affinity also operates the off-Strip Silver Sevens Casino, as well as casinos in Iowa and Missouri.
During Butera’s licensing hearing, Control Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick focused much of the discussion on Primm, which has seen a marked decline in business over the decade. The casinos were acquired by Affinity owner Z Capital in the 2010 bankruptcy reorganization of Herbst Gaming.
Butera, who became Affinity’s CEO in April, told regulators the company is looking at new ways of enticing people to stop at Primm.
A 100-foot-tall, 60-foot-long electronic marquee is being designed near the Whiskey Pete’s property on one side of Primm, which is bisected by Interstate 15. The board is expected to include messages about special events, restaurants, hotel room specials and other Primm attractions.
Travel centers, with fuel stations, electronic vehicle charging stations and fast-food outlets are also being contemplated for expansion on both sides of the highway.
Following the hearing, Butera told The Nevada Independent the company’s other two Primm casinos — the 1,242-room Buffalo Bill’s and the 624-room Primm Valley — are still welcoming visitors.
The Desperado roller coaster, one of the world’s tallest thrill rides that has a 225-foot drop through the roof of Buffalo Bill’s and was considered a primary draw, is still out of commission after more than four years. In a November interview, Butera questioned whether a roller coaster was still valuable to Primm, adding that Affinity is surveying its customer base.
Butera said Primm Valley’s hotel was closed late last year because of a transformer outage that has since been repaired and the rooms are now open. Portions of the casino and other public areas are in various stages of renovation.
“We’re doing a lot there,” Butera said.
However, he said there is not much the company can do about the nearly vacant 371,000-square-foot outlet mall, which is attached to Primm Valley and has one store open. The property is owned by the Primm family, which built the community and owns more than 568 acres on both sides of I-15.
“There is a lot that can be done to complement what we’re doing and I’m sure the family is thinking about that,” Butera said.
For Affinity, customer traffic has been primarily directed toward Buffalo Bill’s, which houses the 6,000-seat Star of the Desert Arena. The casino was refurbished in the past two years with new slot machines and restaurants, including a buffet.
Butera didn’t sound hopeful about reopening Whisky Pete’s casino. Two decades ago, Primm did not have competition from Southern California’s tribal casinos, where 45 percent of the state’s Indian casino-operated slot machines are located.
“We need to figure out another feature for Primm,” he said.
Red Rock’s development focus is Vegas, but a potential Reno site draws attention
Red Rock Resorts controls six potential development sites in Southern Nevada totaling 329 acres — the largest being a 123-acre location on the far south end of Las Vegas Boulevard, near Cactus Avenue.
But the company’s 8-acre parcel in Reno near the Atlantis Hotel & Casino and the Reno-Sparks Convention Center recently caught the attention of Truist Securities gaming analyst Barry Jonas.
He asked company officials about the site last week during its quarterly conference call after it was listed in an investment filing as “ready for development.”
Red Rock President Scott Kreeger said the company has “gone back and forth” on developing or selling the site. Red Rock has owned the parcel zoned for gaming since the 1990s.
“It is a great location in Reno. From a priority perspective, we like the development opportunities we have in Las Vegas,” Kreeger said. “We're always open to developing that [site] at the right time.”
Kreeger suggested the company could sell the site if there was “an attractive offer.”
Company executives have said on recent conference calls the immediate development focus is on building a resort in the Inspirada community on the western edge of Henderson that would be similar in size and scope to the 201-room, $780 million Durango Casino Resort, which opened more than a year ago.
Red Rock said it began work in January on a $120 million expansion to Durango that will add 25,000 square feet to the gaming floor — giving the resort a more than 100,000 square-foot casino — and a second 2,000-space parking garage. The expansion is expected to open next January.
CEO: Wynn focused on UAE and — maybe Thailand — but not a Vegas expansion
The CEO of Wynn Resorts, which is spending $5.1 billion on its development in the United Arab Emirates, said the company is not focused on expanding its footprint in Las Vegas.
In addition to Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, Wynn has owned the vacant 34-acre site across Las Vegas Boulevard since 2017. The location housed the since-imploded Frontier.
CEO Craig Billings said during last week’s quarterly earnings conference call that the Strip market is still absorbing the openings of Resorts World Las Vegas in 2021 and Fontainebleau Las Vegas in 2023.
“We don't want to cannibalize ourselves and we don't want to create Wynn Las Vegas 2.0,” Billings said. “So we need to make sure that we have our market positioning right.”
Wynn Al Marjan is expected to open in Ras Al Khaimah sometime in 2027, which is the company’s primary focus. However, rumblings of casino legalization in Thailand piqued Billings’ interest.
“There are opportunities that come along … like Thailand [and] you want to make sure you're in a position to participate,” Billings said.
What I'm reading
🚗 Dubai Loop: Elon Musk looks to build Las Vegas-style underground road network — Nick Reynolds and Rory Reynolds, The National (UAE)
Boring Company will partner with Dubai authorities to construct tunnels for vehicles to shuttle passengers underneath the largest city in the UAE, similar to the Las Vegas Loop.
🌴 Hawaii lawmakers put end to casino gambling bill — Jeremiah Estrada, Island News
That was quick. A day after it was introduced, the state’s legislature killed the bill that would have allowed for two casinos on Oahu, including the new Aloha Stadium Entertainment District.
🏨 Boyd Gaming buys land under its still-shuttered Las Vegas casino — Eli Segall, Las Vegas Review-Journal
The company paid $45 million for the land underneath Eastside Cannery, which hasn’t reopened since the pandemic. Boyd acquired the operations in 2016 but was leasing the land.
News, notes and quotes
💲 Cashless gaming coming to Emerald Island Casino in Henderson
Las Vegas-based Koin Systems will provide cashless gaming technology to the Emerald Island Casino in Henderson. The digital cashless system offers customers the ability to use their mobile devices to fund gambling and other expenditures at the property. “Cashless ecosystems allow for reduced cash management and payment processing costs while providing an overall lift in gaming and retail sales,” Koin President Gary Larkin said in a statement.
🤠 Analyst skeptical toward Texas legalizing sports betting
Despite comments by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that he “didn’t have a problem with online sports betting,” Eilers & Krejcik gaming analyst Chris Krafcik wrote in a research note, “the odds for legalization remain quite long.” Krafcik said lieutenant governor and Senate President Dan Patrick “is the needle-mover.” Patrick has control of all bills. Meanwhile, Las Vegas Sands — according to a legislative filing — has hired nearly 100 lobbyists to help in the company’s latest casino legalization effort, which has failed multiple times in the past 12 years.