Whiskey Pete's

{{Infobox casino

|name=Whiskey Pete's

|theme=Old West

|location=Primm, Nevada, U.S.

|address=100 Primm Boulevard

|logo=

250px

|image=Whiskey Pete's.jpg

|rooms=777

|date_opened={{Start date and age|1977}}

|date_closed=

|space_gaming={{convert|34800|sqft|abbr=on}}

|attractions=

|shows=

|notable_restaurants=IHOP (formerly Mega Café)

|owner=Affinity Gaming

|renovations=1983, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2016, 2024

|names_pre=

|website={{URL|primmvalleyresorts.com}}

}}

Whiskey Pete's is a defunct hotel and casino in Primm, Nevada, United States. The hotel had 777 rooms and suites, a swimming pool, a gift shop and four restaurants. Whiskey Pete's was one of the Primm Valley Resorts, owned and operated by Affinity Gaming. The casino covered {{convert|34800|sqft|abbr=on}} and included a race and sports book.{{cite web|url=http://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=3428|title=Listing of Financial Statements Square Footage|date=|publisher=Nevada Gaming Control Board|accessdate=January 13, 2016}} On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, Whiskey Pete’s permanently closed their doors to the public. It is currently vacant, with its future still undecided.

History

File:Whiskey Pete's logo.gif

The area was originally owned by a gas station owner named Pete MacIntyre. Pete is believed to have had a difficult time making ends meet selling gas and had resorted to bootlegging. Primm history remembers him as "Whiskey Pete."{{Cite web |last=Levitan |first=Corey |date=2024-10-25 |title=VEGAS MYTHS RE-BUSTED: The Final Resting Place of Whiskey Pete - Casino.org Uncovering the Truth About Whiskey Pete's Burial Site in Primm, Nevada |url=https://www.casino.org/news/whiskey-pete-final-resting-place-vegas-myths/ |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=Casino.org |language=en-US}}

File:Primm Valley logo.png

When Whiskey Pete died in 1933, legend has it that he wanted to be buried standing up with a bottle of bootleg in his hands so he could watch over the area. Whiskey Pete's unmarked grave was accidentally exhumed while workers were building a connecting bridge from Whiskey Pete's to Buffalo Bill's (on the other side of I-15). The body was moved and is now said to be buried in one of the caves where Pete cooked up his moonshine.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QotyuGNrklEC&q=Buffalo%2BBills%2BExhumed%2BPrimm&pg=PA192|title=Weird Las Vegas and Nevada|year=2007|publisher=Sterling Publishing|isbn=9781402739408|accessdate=January 5, 2012}}

File:Primm NV 24-08-01.jpg

Whiskey Pete's was opened in 1977 by Ernest Jay Primm as the first of the casinos{{cite news|last=Benston|first=Liz|title=Primm's lure: Freebies|url=http://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/02/free-turns-profit/|date=July 2, 2009|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|accessdate=July 2, 2009}} to be located at what was then called State Line.

In 1993, a new hotel tower was constructed as part of an expansion of the property.{{cite web|url=http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/casinosbyname.html |title=Las Vegas Hotels / Casinos: By Name |publisher=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |accessdate=April 11, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901233504/http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/casinosbyname.html |archivedate=September 1, 2006 }}

In late 1998, Whiskey Pete's offered the roof of the parking garage as a Valley Hospital Flight For Life Base.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

=Closure=

On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, Whiskey Pete’s permanently closed its doors to the public and ended all operations. The slots/tables in the casino were removed and transferred to other casinos in the area or sold. It currently sits vacant and there is no status on the future of the property.

Bonnie and Clyde's death car

The automobile in which Bonnie and Clyde were killed was on display in the lobby of Whiskey Pete's until the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 1990s, the vehicle was exhibited for several years at Primm Valley Resort[http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2894 "Bonnie and Clyde's Death Car."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616104802/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2894 |date=June 16, 2009 }} Roadside America.com. Retrieved June 10, 2009. and Terrible's Gold Ranch Casino in Verdi[http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2894 "Bonnie and Clyde's Death Car."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428140715/http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2894 |date=April 28, 2011 }} Roadside America.com. Retrieved October 19, 2020. before being returned to Whiskey Pete's in July 2011. It was then moved back to Primm Valley Resort briefly before being moved to Buffalo Bill's in late 2022, where it is currently.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-19 |title=How the ‘Bonnie and Clyde Death Car’ ended up in Primm |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/how-the-bonnie-and-clyde-death-car-ended-up-in-primm-3019565/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}}

Alexander Harris Case

Alexander Harris, a seven-year-old child from Mountain View, California was reported missing from the video arcade of Whiskey Pete's in November 1987. A body was discovered one month later off the property. Howard Lee Haupt, of San Diego, was later arrested on suspicion, but was acquitted of all charges in 1989.{{cite news|last=Puit |first=Glenn |title=Child slain in Primm |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1997/May-26-Mon-1997/news/5441365.html |date=May 26, 1997 |newspaper=Las Vegas Review-Journal |accessdate=July 21, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514065653/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1997/May-26-Mon-1997/news/5441365.html |archivedate=May 14, 2011 }}

Transportation

Free shuttle buses operate between Whiskey Pete's and the resorts other hotels, Primm Valley Resort and Buffalo Bill's.

Whiskey Pete's is connected to Primm Valley Resort by a free single-car monorail across Interstate 15. The tram was constructed by Schwager-Davis using the UniTrak technology and was retrofitted in 1996.{{cite web|title=Primadonna Shuttle System Retrofit|url=http://schwagerdavis.com/pdf/16_JR16PrimmJR.pdf|publisher=Schwager-Davis|accessdate=September 8, 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402092612/http://www.schwagerdavis.com/pdf/16_JR16PrimmJR.pdf|archivedate=April 2, 2012|df=mdy-all}} The tram travels at 15 mph and can transport 1,200 people, per hour, per direction (pphpd). Doors on either side allow passengers to enter and exit the tram at the same time, thus reducing the dwell time from 2 minutes to 1 minute. Trams arrive every 3 to 5 minutes {{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}. However, the tram had not run as early as 2016 for unknown reasons.

In popular culture

The Vikki and Vance Casino, a location featured in the 2010 videogame Fallout: New Vegas, is based on Whiskey Pete’s. The casino features the death car of fictional outlaws Vikki and Vance, who are based on Bonnie and Clyde.{{cite web|url= https://www.vicharkness.co.uk/2019/04/14/the-fallout-new-vegas-experience-irl-primm/|title=The Fallout New Vegas experience, IRL: Primm|date=April 14, 2019|first=Vic|last=Harkness}}