Follow up to a PFA news story- Premium Outlet Mall @ Stateline.

[desertrunner]

About two years ago, I emailed a news story to Druff and he promptly covered it in the next PFA radio show (thank you). The highlight was the premium outlet mall in Primm at the CA/NV state line was for sale.

I remember specifically Druff reading the details for the property being listed for 1.25 million and Druff said- “Whoa, I know a couple of guys and we could do this!” I was cautious and curious as the story unfolded.

Fast forward to last November and a friend and I checked the place out. Walking up to the entrance, there was an obvious lack of maintenance seeing all of the bird poop in the entry porch and even an actual dead bird under a bench. I got pics to prove it and will try and post later.

Going inside, the place was dead as expected. Maybe 3-4 shops open. I actually bought some 501 jeans at the Levi’s store because I felt sorry for them. Might have been the only sale there that day.

Bottom line- I’m glad Druff and Friends didn’t buy the property. It’s only a matter of time before the whole place closes. Add in the Primadonna hotel closed once Buffalos Bills opened back up again next door. I actually stayed at the PD hotel the very last night they were open last year.

Maybe Druff can do a follow up radio report or Vegas History report on the slow death of Primm and/or the outlet mall soon.

[Jayjami]

Here’s the synopsis: Primm used to be hopping on the weekends, but the California Indian Casinos did them in. Covid was the last straw.

[ftpjesus]

About two years ago, I emailed a news story to Druff and he promptly covered it in the next PFA radio show (thank you). The highlight was the premium outlet mall in Primm at the CA/NV state line was for sale.

I remember specifically Druff reading the details for the property being listed for 1.25 million and Druff said- “Whoa, I know a couple of guys and we could do this!” I was cautious and curious as the story unfolded.

Fast forward to last November and a friend and I checked the place out. Walking up to the entrance, there was an obvious lack of maintenance seeing all of the bird poop in the entry porch and even an actual dead bird under a bench. I got pics to prove it and will try and post later.

Going inside, the place was dead as expected. Maybe 3-4 shops open. I actually bought some 501 jeans at the Levi’s store because I felt sorry for them. Might have been the only sale there that day.

Bottom line- I’m glad Druff and Friends didn’t buy the property. It’s only a matter of time before the whole place closes. Add in the Primadonna hotel closed once Buffalos Bills opened back up again next door. I actually stayed at the PD hotel the very last night they were open last year.

Maybe Druff can do a follow up radio report or Vegas History report on the slow death of Primm and/or the outlet mall soon.

Unfortunately shopping malls are dying a slow death. They've closed three malls here in Phoenix Metro in the past couple years. The most famous being Metro Center mall which was used for filming for Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure as a stand-in for San Dimas Mall. Also the mall in Paradise Valley and one of the two closest to me at Fiesta Mall in West Mesa (there remains speculation that the Coyotes owner wants to buy the property from the current owners and use it to build the new arena and a new east end destination location with shops and hotels etc. after the vote failure by the morons in Tempe). The one even closest to me does ok only because its the closest mall if you really want to shop department stores face to face or whatever other then the one about 15mins away those are it for my side of town for a good long while (the couple outside malls are great when its not summertime why anybody would want to shop outside in 115 degree weather is beyond me).

[tyde]

LOL @ living in Phoenix

[desertrunner]

Here’s the synopsis: Primm used to be hopping on the weekends, but the California Indian Casinos did them in. Covid was the last straw.

Always loved Primm, Buffalo Bill’s, Gold Strike and Jean in the 90s. I remember the young black girl being murdered in a PD bathroom in 1997.

[tgull]

I have been in a mall a grand total of 1 time in the last five years. I got a Macy's gift card for some reason, I had it for years. I finally stopped at a mall, the place was desolate except for mall rats. I cashed in the card for like a hat and some golden toe socks. Right outside the Macys were those massage chairs in the center of the mall where the balls just roll up your back and candidly hurt. I put in 5 bucks, sat, and just watched some amazing losers walk by. Never saw so many teenagers with kids, mall rats. That was my mall experience in the last 5 years.

[Kumo303]

Sounds like a great place to get a good deal before it shuts down lol

[Dan Druff]

About two years ago, I emailed a news story to Druff and he promptly covered it in the next PFA radio show (thank you). The highlight was the premium outlet mall in Primm at the CA/NV state line was for sale.

I remember specifically Druff reading the details for the property being listed for 1.25 million and Druff said- “Whoa, I know a couple of guys and we could do this!” I was cautious and curious as the story unfolded.

Fast forward to last November and a friend and I checked the place out. Walking up to the entrance, there was an obvious lack of maintenance seeing all of the bird poop in the entry porch and even an actual dead bird under a bench. I got pics to prove it and will try and post later.

Going inside, the place was dead as expected. Maybe 3-4 shops open. I actually bought some 501 jeans at the Levi’s store because I felt sorry for them. Might have been the only sale there that day.

Bottom line- I’m glad Druff and Friends didn’t buy the property. It’s only a matter of time before the whole place closes. Add in the Primadonna hotel closed once Buffalos Bills opened back up again next door. I actually stayed at the PD hotel the very last night they were open last year.

Maybe Druff can do a follow up radio report or Vegas History report on the slow death of Primm and/or the outlet mall soon.

Thanks for the update.

Jayjami is right. The CA Indian casinos eventually took Primm's business, as they grew and became large operations.

I never understood Primm's viability. It's only 40 miles south of Vegas, and it has nothing else close to it. So what was their expected market? People who didn't want to drive that final 40 miles to Vegas?

But in the '90s it worked, because it had a few draws to it:

1) There were buses in LA (operated by the casinos) bringing people out and back

2) Didn't have the craziness and crowds of Vegas, which appealed especially to the elderly

3) Buffalo Bill's had a functional amusement park with a pretty good rollercoaster


However, as the years went by, those same old people started going to Indian casinos (which were also closer), the buses stopped running, and the amusement park fell into disrepair.


The decline of the mall surprised me, though, because last I had seen, that was still viable. People would stop there to/from Vegas and buy stuff. In fact, the Nike store there figured into that Ernie Scherer poker murder story, as he bought a baseball bat (murder weapon) and large shoes (to look like someone else did it) at that store. Even though he paid cash, they were able to connect him with the purchase, and he was convicted on circumstantial (but likely correct) evidence. Ernie murdered his parents for inheritance money because he was a losing poker player and was broke.

Anyway, I heard the whole mall property was on sale for $1.25m, and I remarked on radio that it would be funny if a consortium of PFA people owned the entire mall at Primm. But I did wonder why it was so cheap.

Looking forward to the pics...

[desertrunner]

Sounds like a great place to get a good deal before it shuts down lol

There are no good deals there, the place is just dead.

Side note- True story, I actually bought a nice white long sleeve Levi (?) dress shirt there 20+ years ago, never wore it and it’s still sitting in my closet today.

[ftpjesus]

LOL @ living in Phoenix

Its nice 8-9 months of the year. Hell first 6 months this year was below normal. Moved out here due to job offer that paid 50% more then Id been making in NC with the same basic cost of living (was living in a resort coastal area in SE NC). But yeah its getting tedious now. Wanted to be out of here and back east mainly due to family back east as moms not getting any younger and wifes daughter is now in east texas and her brother is transfering to Charlotte NC rest of my closest family is all in FL. Need to get back fixed as much as I can and one of the top neuro hospitals is here in Phx at St Joes (Covid put a damper on that shit for a couple yrs unfortunately along with shitty insurance issues). Finally aligning to probably be able to get repaired what needs to be with a spinal cord defect in upper back (hence St Joes) and level below my 2012 fusion is going shitty as was warned 8-10 yrs post surgery. Once thats resolved probably will take a year ultimately then can arrange to move away from this blast furnace.

[BetCheckBet]

Where are the pics?

[desertrunner]

Here are the pics. One correction, I posted I was there in November, it was actually January 2023.







This bird is donk down…













The attachment from the mall to the Primmadionna Hotel is perm closed.

[BetCheckBet]

Reminds me of this video

[Dan Druff]

Here's the Wikipedia on the mall: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prizm_Outlets


COVID killed it.

The mall was approximately 66-percent occupied as of early 2020. Prizm Outlets lost 95 percent of its value during the final six months of the year, amid the COVID-19 lockdowns. In 2021, the outlets at auction was purchased by the Kohan Retail Investment Group for $1.525 million. The loan on the mall suffered a loss of 120% or $74 million dollars. Only around a handful of stores remained open as of 2022, with the food court entirely shuttered.

[desertrunner]

New 7/10/24 article, credit to Druff for finding it.

What’s the future of Primm, outlet mall?

Before of the Fourth of July holiday, Sandra Dimas was filling up her car at a gas station in Primm as she was driving to Las Vegas from Southern California for a dance competition — but didn’t plan to stay for long.

“This is just a rest stop for me,” Dimas said of Primm. “I just want to get to Vegas and don’t want to do much else here.”

About a 40-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip, Primm is just an oversized rest stop for many. The unincorporated community offers a small collection of a places to stop: a lottery store, a roller coaster, casino-resorts, gas stations, fast food restaurants, an apartment complex and an outlet mall on the border between Nevada and California.

I like this idea-

Shipping and logistics space could be an option for the mall but it’s not likely, experts say.

[Sloppy Joe]

New 7/10/24 article, credit to Druff for finding it.

What’s the future of Primm, outlet mall?



I like this idea-

Shipping and logistics space could be an option for the mall but it’s not likely, experts say.

Crazy how these physical spaces to congregate are just evaporating.

80's-90's kids spent hours and hours fucking around at malls, I can't imagine my teen years without. In Europe there are massive public places where people connect in person.

Less and less of that these days in America, imo a large part of what is killing the country. Having a child forces me to be out and about which I'm grateful for.

[Dan Druff]

The LVRJ article Desertrunner posted mentioned something amazing:

The $1.5 million asking price wasn't achieved in 2021. Instead, a deal to buy it at that price fell through, and someone bought it for $400k!

Imagine buying an entire mall for $400k!

I admit that if I heard that was the price, I might have gone down there and bought it. Not joking.

The problem is what to do with it. It's not viable as retail space, not viable as industrial space, and not viable as casino/hotel space (that's already saturated).

My idea? Maybe make it an event center. It could be a concert venue for big concerts, perhaps one which offers a much better deal for artists than Vegas. People will make the 40-mile drive for concerts, whereas they won't for casinos or attractions.

I believe it has the parking, and if it doesn't, there's plenty of adjacent land to expand parking.

An event center would also solve the problem of needing daily foot traffic and employees willing to drive the 40 miles each way every day. An event type venue would require these drives only occasionally, and the jobs could be filled by contract employees, perhaps even offering buses to take them to and from Vegas.

If I were younger, I might try to offer to take this shit off the owner's hands for like $200k, and then develop the event center concept. But I don't have the energy for such a thing anymore.

[desertrunner]

July 1, 2023 article-

This town on the California border once bustled. Now, it’s quiet and quirky.

[desertrunner]

This week I drove past the Primm Outlet Mall leaving Vegas. My only idea or vision for the dead mall would be a shipping storage warehouse for Amazon. It’s cheap real estate and right on I-15.

The future is less brick and mortar stores and online buying and delivery.

[desertrunner]

My opinion on the mall is the same- Make it a USPS, FedEx, Amazon receiving hub.


Update on July 8, 2025.

Primm outlet mall, after years of declines, has only 1 store left.