MtM Vegas – Primm Valley Tour 2023
Primm, Nevada is located just about 30 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip and has quite an interesting backstory. Originally home to a moonshiner named Pete, the area has grown over the years to include a giant mall and 3 casinos. Unfortunately it has withered on the vine over the years with Covid not helping a ton in that department.
Last week I gave you a look inside Buffalo Bill’s in Primm. This casino was closed in March, 2020 and just resumed daily operations on December 23, 2022. I was generally positive about my visit there, but I can’t say the same for its neighbor Primm Valley.
Sad Primm Valley Visit
Primm Valley Resort & Casino opened in 1990 as Primadonna. It used to be the “flagship” resort in Primm, however the building has now fallen into a state of disrepair. The mall which once held 100 stores is down to 4. Bird poop and rotting wood dominate the scene. And the worst part is that half of the casino has now been gutted with the machines sent over to the new favorite child Buffalo Bill’s.
Take a tour with me of Primm Valley as it looks in 2023. Admittedly the property is looking worse than it ever has. With all of the attention given to Buffalo Bill’s this property is now rotting away along with its shuttered monorails. Enjoy the tour!
Bottom Line
What do you think? Let me know in the comments!
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Yes, there was a ferris wheel. I stopped there once while it was still open.
Lots of trips to the roller coaster, only a couple times in the mall. Even in the 90s I wondered why people stopped in Primm…
Never a ferris wheel,,, roller coaster,,,and there was a 7 year old little boy murdered in late 80s found buried under a trailer…employee housing,
Here is a picture of the ferris wheel. It opened with the property. https://www.ebay.com/itm/185649861923?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28
WOW!! What a blast from the past!! Yeah, we went to this mall in it’s heydey quite often, when I think they only had 2-3 vacant stores. The rollercoaster though was the really cool draw… At that time, it was one of the highest / fastest. One day, we finagled 5-6 free tickets and rode it over and over. On the first drop, it was about 150? feet up, and was almost 75 – 80 degrees straight down into a hole in the ground at 80 MPH!
Coming from Florida, everything in the Vegas area was such a contrast to home. We had at least two tradeshows a year, each over a week to work and set up. We’d go out early with a whole crew of us, take in various sites in and around Vegas. I learned to snow ski on Mt. Charleston, often visited Fire Valley, one of the largest AFB airshows they did twice a year, Death Valley, Boulder Dam, and even Pahrump, NV.
But likely one of the most interesting was visiting Johnny, NV, near Pahrump, population according to my paper map, 2… TWO!! There was a little store, with evidently some bedrooms attached. There was a bunch of junk, rocks, etc. for sale outside, and a few old things for sale inside as well. One guy was very old, sitting in a chair near the back, who never seemed to move or speak, although I think we saw him nod once. On the glass counter, there was a loaded 45. The owner was telling us this story about how people used to come by all the time, since this was reportedly been where Butch Cassidy was buried. He’d go out back and show the guests. Finally however, he had to come clean and explain that although honestly, Butch Cassidy really was buried out back, that it was actually Butch Cassidy, his cat that had died!! Quite the character, and fitting for Pahrump and many of the tiny towns we visited in the area.
Great story! Pahrump is a very “interesting” place!
Lolol love it! We left the PV golf course late & very tired after a long round 20 years ago headed to AZ. Unfort went the wrong direction for a long while, taking us 6 hours to get where we were originally headed.