Terrible’s partnership – With Primm, Nevada—once a familiar stop along the 15 Freeway—headed toward closure, the Primm family has struck a partnership to transfer the casinos’ operations to Las Vegas-based Terrible’s. The deal follows the shutdown of Primm Valley Casino Resorts and te
For months, Primm has looked like a warning sign—dark storefronts and blocked entrances along the California-Nevada state line. Now. less than a month before closure. the Primm family says it has found a lifeline for the struggling strip of three casino resorts and other businesses that once defined the destination.
On Tuesday, the family announced a partnership meant to save the state-line stretch and hundreds of jobs. The arrangement would allow Las Vegas-based Terrible’s—owned by the Herbst family—to operate the properties.
“We saw with them the same energy that we had in rebuilding Primm,” said Cory Clemetson in an interview. Clemetson is president of Primm South Real Estate Co., and a grandson of Primm founder Ernie Primm, who became known in Southern California during the 1930s and ’40s for his Gardena card rooms.
In a statement, Tim Herbst, president of Terrible’s, said the partnership reflects a commitment to preserving Primm’s legacy while creating opportunities for growth, investment, and tourism “for decades to come.”
The new operator is stepping in for Affinity Gaming, which had been operating the properties after taking control of Primm in a full-circle moment for southern Nevada gaming. In 2010, Herbst Gaming declared bankruptcy, and Primm was taken over by Z Capital Partners.
Affinity Gaming did not immediately respond to an email sent to representatives.
The timeline that drove the urgency began months earlier. The process to bring Terrible’s back to Primm started May 5, when Affinity confirmed the closure of Primm Valley Casino Resorts. Affinity’s subsidiary, Primadonna Co. LLC, sent termination notices to more than 300 employees effective July 4.
Clemetson called the shutdown devastating.
“It felt like a gut punch,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me that they would announce something like that for the Fourth of July. Laying off in excess of 300 Nevadans who are mostly paycheck to paycheck with nowhere to go didn’t sit well with my family.”
Primm Valley Casino Resorts had been the last of three resorts built between 1977 and 1994 at the site that remained in full operation. Buffalo Bill’s—the largest of the three—closed 24-7 operations in July 2025 after Whiskey Pete’s shuttered in December 2024.
Affinity Gaming’s stance on why the resorts could not endure has been clear. even as the partnership now suggests there may be a different path forward. In a letter presented at a Clark County Board of Commissioners meeting. Erin Barnett. Affinity’s vice president and general counsel. wrote in October 2024 that “traffic at the state line has proved to be heavily weighted towards weekend activity and is insufficient to support three full-time casino properties.”.
At the May 21 meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Affinity’s chief executive and president. Scott Butera. offered a few remarks about the closure. He said that as a tenant with a “difficult lease. ” an “expensive property. ” and increased competition every day in California. the business became “a very difficult thing. ” and that Affinity had been losing money for years.
Clemetson said Affinity asked for help over the years—such as potential rent reductions—but that the Primm family was not aware of Affinity’s finances.
Looking ahead, Clemetson said Terrible’s is in the process of reacquiring a gaming license for Primm. He said he hoped it would happen in the next three weeks.
He also said the Herbst and Primm families plan to try to keep all workers who received a termination notice employed.
Clemetson described Terrible’s as a company he believes can restore momentum to a place that once drew travelers in for a long stop. He pointed to the Herbst family’s history in Nevada and said he saw the 2010 bankruptcy of Herbst Gaming as a fate similar to what struck other major brands during the Great Recession.
“They suffered a similar fate of many big brands like MGM and Caesar’s,” Clemetson said.
“They’re very well thought of in Nevada and they’re a very successful family who’s done well,” he added.
Clemetson tied the optimism to a personal memory from his earlier career as a young sports agent. He said he was once warned not to represent L.A. Galaxy players because soccer would never “make it here.” Now, he said, Major League Soccer has franchises “over a billion dollars.”
As for Tim Herbst and his family, Clemetson said, “we believe Primm’s best days are still ahead.”
Primm Nevada Terrible's Herbst family Affinity Gaming Primadonna Co. LLC Primm Valley Casino Resorts Nevada Gaming Commission Clark County Board of Commissioners gambling industry state line casinos
So they’re not closing now? Good, I guess.
Terrible’s coming in to save jobs but it’s still gonna feel like a ghost town for a while. I remember driving by Primm and it was like lights out.
Wait, wasn’t this place already bought like 100 times? Affinity, Z Capital, then Terrible’s… feels like nobody ever actually fixes anything, just swaps names. Also “15 Freeway” like that matters? Idk.
They say “hundreds of jobs” saved but how many of those are actually real full-time jobs vs temporary “opening the doors” stuff? And why did Primm Valley shut down in the first place if they had a lifeline ready. Sounds like a last-minute deal because closure is literally next month, smh.