Primm and Jean Nevada Casinos

Primm and Jean are located between Las Vegas and the California state line.  Most of the visitors to these casinos are from California.  Primm is a small resort town that offers typical Las Vegas amenities, just on a smaller scale.  Jean is little more than a travel plaza with a small hotel and casino.

Primm Casinos

There are three casinos located in Primm, NV.  They are Primm Valley Casino, Buffalo Bill’s and Whiskey Pete’s.  Primm also offers a large outlet mall, gas stations and more than a dozen restaurants.  There is also a California Lottery store on the California side of the border.  This is the closest place for Las Vegas residents to purchase lottery tickets.  Not coincidentally, it is the busiest California Lottery retailer in terms of sales.

Primm spreads concerts and other entertainment in its Star of the West amphitheater.  There is also golfing available in Primm.  Buffalo Bill’s has a small amusement park.

Whiskey Pete’s is located west of I-15.  The resort’s dining options include McDonald’s and IHOP in the casino and Qdoba, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius and Subway in the travel plaza.

There are 777 hotel rooms at Whiskey Pete’s.  The rates start at $32 per night during the week and $75 on weekends.  This does not include the $15 per night resort fee.

There is a monorail that connects Whiskey Pete’s with Primm Valley Casino.  It runs on Saturdays and Sundays.  There is a shuttle that operates when the monorail is not in service.

Whiskey Pete’s offers five regular blackjack tables.  Two use continuous shuffle machines.  The limits are $10 to $500.  Players may double down on any two cards and after splitting.  The dealer hits soft 17.  Blackjack only pays 6-5.  Unfortunately, this is common among the games in Primm.

There is a Face Up Blackjack game at Whiskey Pete’s.  The player’s and dealer’s cards are dealt face up.  There are several rule changes that offset this clear advantage.  Players may only double down on 9, 10 and 11.  Double down after the split is not permitted.  The dealer hits soft 17.  Blackjack only pays even money.  The player wins ties on blackjack.  All other ties lose.

There is one craps table at Whiskey Pete’s.  It has $5 to $500 limits.  The odds are 3-4-5 times.  The Field pays double on 12.

There is a $5-$500 double zero roulette, $5-$100 Three Card Poker and a $2 Big Wheel game.  Table games are only open Friday through Monday.

The video poker selection at Whiskey Pete’s is poor.  There are some Game King and Game Maker machines with pay tables that are below average, even for Primm.  The best game we found returned 98% and that was at the $1 denomination.

There is a William Hill full service kiosk by the monorail entrance.  Winning tickets may be redeemed at the casino cage.

Buffalo Bill’s is located on the east side of Interstate 15.  It offers 1,242 hotel rooms.  Rates start at $29 during the week and $55 on weekends.  There is a $15 per night resort fee.

There are eight dining options at Buffalo Bill’s.  Most are only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Those that are open during the week have limited hours on weekdays except for Denny’s, which has a 24-hour operation.  The Buffalo Bill’s restaurants are Guillermo’s, The Dog House, Pizza at Buffalo Bill’s, Las Salsa, The Ice Cream Shop, Denny’s, Panda Express and McDonald’s.

Buffalo Bill’s has a small amusement park.  There is a large roller coaster called Silverado.  There is also a log flume and Frog Hopper.  These only operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during most of the year.  There is a 24-hour arcade on the property.

The gambling at Buffalo Bill’s is comparable to the Whiskey Pete’s.  Table games are open from noon on Friday until 5am on Tuesday.  The table game pit is available from noon to 4am there other days.

There are 11 $10-$500 six-deck blackjack tables that pay 6-5 on a natural.  Some are dealt out of continuous shuffle machines.  Players may double down before and after splitting.  The dealer hits soft 17.  There is also a $5 to $500 6-5 Free Bet Blackjack table.  The house pays for all double downs of 9, 10 and 11, as well as all splits that do not involve 10’s.

There are three $5 to $500 double zero roulette tables.  There are two $5-$100 Three Card Poker tables.  Pai Gow Poker is available with $10 to $500 limits.  There are three craps tables with 3-4-5 times odds.  The Field pays double on 12.  The limits are $5 to $500.  One of the craps tables is only a half game.

The only video poker games at Buffalo Bill’s that returns more than 99% is $5 and $10 denomination 8/5 Bonus Poker and 9/6 Double Double Bonus Poker.  Players will find a few 98% games in the $1 denomination.

Primm Valley Casino is the centrally located resort in Primm.  It is located east of Interstate 15.  It is connected to the outlet stores in Primm.

There are 624 hotel rooms at Primm Valley Casino.  Rates start at $34 on weeknights and $75 on weekends.  Guests nay choose between two doubles or one king bed.  The resort fee is $15 per night.

There are eight restaurants at Primm Valley.  The highest end dining experience is at GP’s Steakhouse.  The Back Nine offers tavern food options.  The only buffet in Primm is also available here.  There is also a Subway, Starbucks, Original Pancake House, pizza and ice cream.

The only 3-2 blackjack game in Primm is found at Primm Valley Casino.  It is a $25 six-deck blackjack game dealt out of a shoe.  The max bet is $1,000.  Players may double down on any two cards and after splitting.  The dealer hits soft 17.

There is a Face Up Blackjack table at Primm Valley Casino.  The dealer’s hole cards are exposed.  Players may only double down on 9, 10 and 11.  Double down after splitting is not allowed.  The dealer hits soft 17.  Blackjack pays even money.  The player wins ties on blackjack.  All other ties lose.

There is a $10 to $500 Free Bet Blackjack table.  Like most other Primm tables, it only pays 6-5 on a natural.  The house pays for all double downs on 9, 10 and 11.  All splits that are not 10’s are also covered by the house.

There are 12 six-deck blackjack tables.  Some use shoes, while others have continuous shuffle machines.  The limits are $10 to $500.  Players may double down before and after splitting.  Blackjack pays 6-5 at all of these tables.  The dealer hits soft 17.

There is a $10 to $500 Pai Gow Poker table.  There are two $5 to $100 Three Card Poker tables.  There is a $2 Big Wheel game.  There are two craps tables with 3-4-5 times odds.  The Field pays double on 12.  The limits are $5 to $500.  There are three double zero roulette wheels with $5 to $500 limits.

There is no video poker at Primm Valley that returns more than 99%.  We did not find anything that even crosses the 98% threshold.

Gold Strike Jean

The Gold Strike is located about halfway between Las Vegas and Primm on Interstate 15.  The new name for the property is Terrible’s Road House.  That signage has not been added to the building.  The old Gold Strike logos are still seen from the highway and throughout the property.

There is nothing to do at Gold Strike other than gamble.  There is a small auto display of movie cars on the rear of the casino floor.  That is the only attraction, if you can call it that.

The hotel at Gold Strike is being remodeled.  One entire 500-room tower closed in 2011.  Terrible’s has slowly remodeled this tower and has since reopened four floors. The 300-room tower has limited availability.  Guests must call the front desk to see if there are any open rooms.  There is no way to book a hotel room at Gold Strike over the internet.  Gold Strike is the only hotel in Jean in a town with a population of zero.

There are three restaurants at Gold Strike.  One is a 24-hour Denny’s.  There is also a steakhouse that opens at 4pm daily.  There is a snack bar available during the day.

Gold Strike used to offer good gambling.  That changed when MGM sold the property to JETT Gaming.  JETT Gaming removed all coin video poker machines.  This included full pay Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.  The games that replaced them return anywhere from 93% to 99.5%.  The players club only returns 0.1% on these games, as well as the slots located at Gold Strike.  The 99.5% game is full pay Jacks or Better in the $1 denomination.

There is one machine at Gold Strike that returns more than 99.5%.  It is a Dealers Angels video blackjack game.  Players may double down before and after splitting.  Surrender is offered.  The dealer stands on soft 17.  The machine uses four decks.  It reshuffles after 80 cards.  The reshuffle point is disclosed.  This game does not accept free play but it does issue it at a rate of 0.1%.

There are four table games at Gold Strike.  Two tables are six-deck blackjack tables.  Players may double down before and after splitting.  Blackjack only pays 6-5.  The dealer hits soft 17.  There is also a single deck blackjack table that pays 6-5 on a natural.  Players can double down before but not after splitting.  The dealer hits soft 17.  The bet limit for both games is $5 to $500.

There is one double zero roulette table.  The minimum bet is $4.  The maximum payout on any bet is $600.