{"id":6720,"date":"2013-12-19T16:48:41","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T16:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2013\/12\/19\/once-state-line-primm-the-proper-name-since-1996\/"},"modified":"2013-12-19T16:48:41","modified_gmt":"2013-12-19T16:48:41","slug":"once-state-line-primm-the-proper-name-since-1996","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2013\/12\/19\/once-state-line-primm-the-proper-name-since-1996\/","title":{"rendered":"Once State Line, Primm the proper name since 1996"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tA freeway exit sign for Primm is shown along Interstate 15 just south of town. Primm is one mile from the California-Nevada state line and is located next to the Ivanpah Dry Lake. (Ronda Churchill\/Las Vegas Review-Journal)<\/span><\/p>\n

\tPersonal note. My last name is very similar to this, it’s funny to watch a floorman get nervous when they think I’m a member of that family.<\/p>\n

\tBy LAURA CARROLL
\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
\n\tBack in the day, it was called State Line. Now known as Primm, the California-Nevada border town has a flavor all its own.<\/p>\n

\tOn one side is Whiskey Pete\u2019s, a hotel-casino where you can get 99-cent McDonald\u2019s hot cakes all day. If you prefer more of a variety, try the cakes at the IHOP. For those who need to catch some Z\u2019s, room rates start around $30 a night.<\/p>\n

\tDuring your Whiskey Pete\u2019s visit, you might check out the Bonnie and Clyde death car, focal point of a free exhibit with artifacts from the day the infamous duo died, including Clyde\u2019s blue shirt. The side show attracted a steady stream of foot traffic on a Friday morning in November, including Healdsburg, Calif., resident Cory Mullahy.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cUnfreakin\u2019 believable. That\u2019s crazy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tMullahy stopped with a friend to eat breakfast at the Whiskey Pete\u2019s IHOP and perhaps shake off some of the drinking from the night before in Las Vegas. The two were headed toward Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\tThe exhibit has been at the hotel since 1988, after Gary Primm purchased it for $250,000. The town is named for his father, Ernest Primm, and has been since 1996. The elder Primm purchased 400 acres for $12,000 in the early 1950s. Later, the federal government deeded him 400 more acres.<\/p>\n

\tIn the mid-1970s, Primm built a 12-room motel and small casino that eventually became Whiskey Pete\u2019s. The property is named for the area\u2019s original entrepreneur, Pete MacIntyre, who apparently supplemented his gas station profits with sales of bootlegged whiskey.<\/p>\n

\tHis last request? To be buried in the surrounding mountains, standing up, holding a bottle of his precious drink. During construction of the Primm Valley monorail, MacIntyre\u2019s body was accidentally exhumed while developers were digging into the mountain. He was reburied.<\/p>\n

\tAs for the original Primm, he died in 1981, but his family carried on.<\/p>\n

\tGary Primm developed the Primadonna in 1990, and the stark white hotel is what we now call Primm Valley Resort and Casino. He built Buffalo Bill\u2019s in 1994, with a log flume and roller coaster. The rides operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the winter but are open every day in the warmer months, weather permitting.<\/p>\n

\tIn 1996, almost 500 people called Primm home, living in beige-colored trailers. Most of them were Primadonna employees.<\/p>\n

\tToday about 600 people live in the Desert Oasis apartments, built when MGM Mirage owned the properties and the adjacent Primm Valley Golf Club from 1999-2006.<\/p>\n

\tHerbst Gaming purchased Primm Valley Resorts from MGM Mirage in 2006 and owns the properties under its new company name, Affinity Gaming.<\/p>\n

\tThe most famous of Primm\u2019s residents is rapper Chank Smith, alter ego of New Jersey-born comedian Chris D\u2019Elia, who released an ode to the town, \u201cPrimm Anthem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tReal-life Primm resident DJ Donaby has lived there for about a month, a decision based on Primm\u2019s low rents. Apartment rents range from about $400 to $600 a month.<\/p>\n

\tDonaby works at the Tommy Hilfiger and Guess stores in the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas. He plans to go into Las Vegas twice a month to do his grocery shopping.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI like living out here. I don\u2019t have to go anywhere but the mall,\u201d Donaby said.<\/p>\n

\tOther than the hotel-casinos, the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas and a slew of fast food restaurants and convenience stores, residents have the Market at Desert Oasis for necessities such as groceries and the occasional DVD rental or sale.<\/p>\n

\tBeyond the Flying J truck stop at Whiskey Pete\u2019s, a single-car monorail transports visitors across I-15 to Primm Valley Resort. There, visitors can eat at restaurants such as the Country Club Buffet or wet their whistle at the Irish-themed O\u2019Mulligans Pub. Artists perform in the Star of the Desert Arena. Dolly Parton will be there Jan. 25.<\/p>\n

\tAcross the way, Buffalo Bill\u2019s has floor-to-ceiling faux trees throughout the casino, lending to the woodsy feel of the property. The log flume winds its way through the casino, while the roller coaster twists and turns outside.<\/p>\n

\tIn 2012, about 484,230 people visited Primm. Almost 1,500 people work in the town.<\/p>\n

\tThe area also has become the home of a few off-road races, including SNORE Racing\u2019s Battle at Primm scheduled for Feb. 21-23.<\/p>\n

\tContact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com<\/a> or 702-380-4588. Follow @lscvegas on Twitter.<\/p>\n

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A freeway exit sign for Primm is shown along Interstate 15 just south of town. Primm is one mile from the California-Nevada state line and is located next to the Ivanpah Dry Lake. (Ronda Churchill\/Las Vegas Review-Journal) Personal note. My…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6720\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}