We checked out Primm and Jean on Thursday, June 9, 2020. These are the two towns between Las Vegas and the California state line on Interstate 15.
Only two of the four casinos are open in this area. Buffalo Bill’s in Primm and Terrible’s Roadhouse in Jean are closed. Whiskey Pete’s and Primm Valley Resort are open. We wanted to see what changed there.
The Primm casinos do a temperature check. You receive a wristband that has the day of the week on it. It can be used to bypass the checks for the remainder of the day.
Our first stop was Whiskey Pete’s. Its hotel is now open on Friday and Saturday nights. The casino is open from 7am to 2am daily. Table games are closed indefinitely at Whiskey Pete’s. All the tables are still on the floor. There were about 15 people playing slots. The configuration was changed to allow for proper spacing.
Every other machine at the bar was turned off. At midnight tonight, that becomes all the machines due to the order from Governor Sisolak that closes all bars in Clark County.
The only two restaurants open now at Whiskey Pete’s are IHOP and Cuca’s Mexican Food. IHOP is 24 hours. Cuca’s is open noon to midnight on Friday, 10am to midnight on Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.
We headed over to Primm Valley. It was a bit busier. Its table games were open. The pit is half its size from my survey last year.
There were 16 table games at Primm Valley Resort when I surveyed it last year. There are eight tables now. Players will find a mini $15 craps table with 3-4-5 times odds. The Field pays double on 12. There is one double zero roulette table. Its minimum bet is $10. Three Card Poker and four 6:5 blackjack tables also have a $10 minimum bet. A lone 3:2 blackjack table has a $25 minimum bet.
The missing table games from my last visit are Pai Gow Poker, Mississippi Stud, a roulette table, the large craps table, four 6:5 blackjack tables and a Free Bet Blackjack one. The space is now empty where these tables once sat.
The hotel at Primm Valley Resort is open seven days a week. Its restaurant situation is limited. The food court was closed during our visit. The only open dining option was the Primm and Proper diner. It is open from 6am to 10pm daily. According to Primm Valley’s website, Mrs. Fields is open in the mornings for baked goods, yogurt and coffee. All other dining options are closed. It appears to erroneously list a pizza place as open daily, but it was closed with the other food court options during our visit.
The news out of Jean seems to be bad
I put together the Las Vegas reopening directory last month. This listed all the casinos around Las Vegas and the expected reopening date. Terrible’s in Jean is one of the few that has made no official announcement. It has not reopened after closing its doors under state order on March 17.
The Terrible’s Roadhouse deleted its web site during the closure. Its phone number was disconnected. I noticed around early June it was changed to a Ramada call center. Nobody there knew anything about the property’s plans when I called. I asked the casino if it had a reopening date on its Facebook page. I did not receive a reply.
I was able to reach someone at Terrible’s through Facebook Messenger on June 27. The company confirmed to me that the property was closed indefinitely.
A few days later, what appeared to be a former employee responded to my question on its Facebook page. He claimed the property was closed permanently and it was for sale. I replied trying to get more info as did others he responded to on the Facebook page, which started some conversation between people that seemed to know something.
I reached back out to the Terrible’s Facebook account by Messenger. I pointed to these responses and asked if there was any accuracy to it. The account never responded. However, an admin on the page deleted the entire discussion about it. I then emailed corporate headquarters on July 5 and did not receive a response.
There is nothing official beyond the casino being closed for a long time. The only question now is whether it ever opens again or follows in Nevada Landing’s footsteps.
