Primm’s Desert Oasis Apartments residents have less than 60 days to leave

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]A small town's days are numbered as Prim Valley Resort is set to join Buffalo Bill's and Whiskey Pete's on the list of Prim casinos to be shuttered by Affinity Gaming. However, it's not just the casino shutting down, but the apartments as well, where several workers for those last standing casinos live. Will Silverstein reports from the state line.

[00:00:18]The Desert Oasis Apartments in Prim have been exactly that. They've been an oasis for all these people that work in the small tiny casino town, but now residents tell us that they've got less than 60 days left before the town shuts down. Oh, well, I'm stressed out. I have a lot of anxiety. Speaking by phone from behind the gates of the Desert Oasis Apartments, this resident fears their time in Prim is coming to a close.

[00:00:42]Desert Oasis residents receiving this notice last week from Prim Valley Casino Resorts. It says in part, "We are deeply grateful for the dedication each of you has brought to the Prim Valley Casino Resorts property." Then one sentence later, it reads, quote, "This shall serve as a formal notice of termination of your apartment lease agreement." The letter later informing residents like this one that they have until July 6th to vacate their apartment unit, return all keys and company property, and for good measure, leave the unit in clean condition. This resident, like many, feels abandoned.

[00:01:16]>> Do you have family that can take you in, or do you have um anyone else who who can help care for you?

[00:01:21]No.

[00:01:22]I do not. I am by myself. And that's where that Carsten decided to step in.

[00:01:27]The Apple Valley, California resident drives a few hours every other week to meet her best friend in Prim. The two already offer their services as much they can to help employees drive all the way to Las Vegas. Some of my friends don't have a way to get into town. We take them into town when they need a ride.

[00:01:46]>> That includes doctor's appointments, errands, funerals, but she can only help so much. That sent Carsten to turn to GoFundMe with the hope of raising $200,000 for affected workers and their families who live at Desert Oasis and work for the casino and the town's other stores. Carsten's concerned long-time workers will wind up on the streets.

[00:02:05]They have to work till July 4th and then be out of the apartments in 2 days. How do you do that?

[00:02:11]>> they going to do? They can't go into Vegas and get an apartment that is comparable to what they're paying now.

[00:02:18]That is Carsten's best friend Susie Paladino. Paladino drives in from Utah to Primm every other week to meet Carsten. Like her best friend, Paladino is worried for the well-being of the multi-generational families who have decided to call Primm home. A lot of them they grew up there. This is all they know. They found this little community where they can be successful and build and I mean they're succeeding and they're doing great and now all of that's just being ripped away from them. Our Desert Oasis resident wonders what they will have if their home is, as Paladino describes, ripped away from them.

[00:02:51]>> And I don't have a lot of wherewithal, you know, um I don't want to be homeless in my golden years. Something that the people on and off the camera wanted to let it you know, the viewer know, today, is that all those people that are going to be living in here for less than 60 days, they're the people that you may have met at the front desk, behind one of the blackjack tables here in town, and they need your help more than ever.

[00:03:19]Reporting in Primm, Will Silverstein, News 3.

[00:03:22]Also shutting down in early July is the famous California lottery store. It is the closest opportunity for Nevadans to participate in Mega Millions and Powerball drawings. News 3 caught up with some players who were surprised to hear about the shop's expected closure.

[00:03:37]A lot of people are hoping for a jackpot.

[00:03:40]And if it is closes, then we have to go farther away, and that's a hassle.

[00:03:47]So, it'll be nice if they won't close this place.

[00:03:51]>> That's crazy, man. It should stay up, you know?

[00:03:53]You know, a lot of people come and they have jobs and maybe now that I've no jobs. The next closest store is a few miles south in Nipton, California.