Affinity Gaming targets Primm casinos for renovation

Affinity Gaming is finally doing what its predecessor, Herbst Gaming, had planned to do all along with the three properties in Primm -- turn the hotel-casinos into the company's top source for revenues.

The company emerged from a 15-month-long bankruptcy reorganization in December with a new name, a revamped ownership structure, and a stronger balance sheet that reduced long-term debt from $1.1 billion to a more manageable
$350 million.

With the financial issues in the background, gaming operation is now Affinity's focus.

"These properties really just needed some love, tender care and some attention," Affinity Gaming President Ferenc Szony said of the casinos located off Interstate 15 near the California-Nevada border. "That's what we've been able to accomplish these past few months."

Together, the three Primm casinos -- Primm Valley, Buffalo Bill's and Whiskey Pete's -- constitute the largest cluster of hotel-casino operations in Affinity's portfolio, which covers 15 casinos in three states and a 6,000-slot machine route operation in Nevada.

The initial efforts were focused on a roughly $7 million renovation of Primm Valley, which has 624 of Primm's 2,643 hotel rooms. It is considered the high-end resort at Primm, with its low-rise hotel buildings that have a similar exterior to the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, a connection to the Tom Fazio-designed golf courses just over the border in California, and an outlet shopping mall attached to the property.

The remodeling costs may not seem like a large figure, but Affinity made the most of its money. All of the Primm Valley hotel rooms were renovated, the casino floor was given new carpeting and reconfigured with 870 new slot machines, a spa and fitness center was added and the buffet was upgraded.

One change shelved was a renaming of the property to Terrible's, which was planned by Herbst.

A direct mail marketing campaign to Southern California will begin in the coming weeks and a television advertising effort will start up in February. The idea is to win back the customers lost from San Bernardino and Riverside counties and the Inland Empire cities, who turned toward California Indian casinos when the economy tanked and gasoline prices rose.

"The idea is to bring back the feeling in the operations when Gary Primm owned these places," Szony said of the original developer of the Primm market. "The focus is on customer service and value."

During a tour of Primm Valley, Loren Gill, general manager of the three resorts, stopped several times to greet familiar customers. Gill, who has been at Primm since April, spent several years as an executive with Boyd Gaming Corp. and Harrah's.

"Customer service is big for us and we have great properties for all markets," Gill said, adding that a promotional effort will also be focused on Las Vegas.

Over the next 18 months, the 1,242-room Buffalo Bill's and the 777-room Whiskey Pete's will also be remodeled. Affinity is expected to break ground next year on a travel center next to Whiskey Pete's in partnership with Flying J and Chevron Oil Co. to serve the thousands of truckers that pass Primm along Interstate 15. Szony said the travel center will give truckers a reason to stop for a while.

"These are important properties to our company," Szony said.

The company plans to market Primm as its own destination, where customers can spend time in the casino, golfing, shopping, dining and taking in a show at the Buffalo Bill's Star of the Desert arena.

Combined, the three Primm casinos have 1,480 employees, 13 restaurants and 2,455 slot machines.

In the second quarter ended June 30, Affinity had a net profit of $716,000 while net revenues grew less than 1 percent to $164.9 million. At Primm, revenues were $54.7 million in the quarter, up from $52.8 million a year ago.

Herbst Gaming spent $349 million in April 2007 to acquire the casinos from MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts International). A few months earlier, Herbst spent $140 million to buy five Northern Nevada casinos.

The economy, which zapped business and revenues, kept Herbst from putting any effort into the Primm casinos.

"We're following through with our original plans," said Szony, who is one of the few holdover executives from the company's former management team. "It's just taken a while."

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.