Potential Primm Partner Promises Revival for Shuttered Whiskey Pete’s

• A Las Vegas travel-center operator has expressed formal interest in saving a least a third of the businesses in the once-thriving border town of Primm, Nev
• LV Petroleum wants to reopen Whiskey Pete’s, which Affinity Gaming shuttered in December 2024, as well as an adjacent truck stop and retail complex
• The Primm family, who own the land, stated that this is only one of multiple proposals being considered

A Las Vegas–based travel‑center operator is positioning itself as a potential lifeline for Primm, Nev., aiming to revive the fading border town as Affinity Gaming winds down operations and 344 workers brace for unemployment.

LV Petroleum, which operates convenience stores and gas stations nationwide, told the Nevada Independent earlier this week that it has formally expressed interest in reopening Whiskey Pete’s. The first of its three Primm properties that Affinity announced would close, the casino has been abandoned since December 2024.

“We have gaming partners that can help,” LV Petroleum CEO Kristopher Roach told the Independent, adding that restaurants and convenience stores associated with its 76 TA Travel Centers nationwide have slot machine route operations.

“We’re a Las Vegas‑born company with thousands of employees,” Roach said. “This is an important location, and we believe we’re a natural fit.”

Seven months after closing Whiskey Pete’s, Affinity switched Buffalo Bill’s to event-only operation and then, earlier this month, announced the July 4, 2026, abandonment of all its Primm properties.

These include its only remaining fully operational casino, Primm Valley Casino Resort; as well as the truck stop, a gas station, a Lotto store just across the California line, and the company-owned apartments behind the casinos that Affinity told its employees to vacate by July 6.

In addition to Whiskey Pete’s, Roach said, LV Petroleum would reopen the truck stop under the TA Travel Center banner and keep the workforce housing open – effectively reviving a third of Primm’s businesses.

Not So Fast, Says Primm

In a statement Thursday (May 28), the Primm family — which owns the land and leases it to Affinity — said this isn’t necessarily the proposal it will accept.

“Our family is currently considering opportunities involving multiple well-established operators that have successfully operated similar hotel-casino properties in Nevada,” read the statement from Primm South president Cory Clemetson, which described reports suggesting that any agreement is imminent as “overstated and premature.”

Affinity, owned by New York–based Z Capital Partners, told state gaming regulators last week that Primm is no longer viable under its management and that it is working with the landlord on a transition. Z Capital’s outside counsel confirmed receiving LV Petroleum’s letter of interest on May 13 and said the board convened within hours to acknowledge it.

Regulators have urged Affinity and Z Capital to keep them informed of any developments that could preserve jobs and maintain operations in the struggling border community.

For now, Primm’s future still hinges on a new operator stepping up with an acceptable proposal before Nevada’s newest ghost town is born.