NIPTON, Calif. — The “Unsafe Water Alert” posted at the gates of the shuttered Primm Valley Golf Club tells the story of a property that has gone from Tom Fazio-designed destination to a brown, dying landscape in just two years.
The club, located along Interstate 15 about 40 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip, closed in July 2024 after new owners bought the 543-acre site from MGM Resorts International for an estimated $1.5 million. Now, with fairways dead and water hazards green and mucky, the property’s future is tied to long-shot development plans — while the nearby casino outpost of Primm faces its own shutdown.
Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming announced on May 5 that it will permanently close Whiskey Pete’s, Buffalo Bill’s, Primm Valley Resort, and the Primm Center gas station and Flying J truck stop on July 4, laying off 344 employees. An apartment complex for workers and a Lotto store in California are also closing.
The golf club’s owners, Iyad “Eddie” Haddad and Georges Maalouf, said they closed the course because it wasn’t profitable. Maalouf called it “an amazing golf spot” but noted it was “not a profitable course.” They let the potable water permit expire, prompting the health warning.
San Bernardino County Department of Public Health spokesman Francis Delapaz said the notice is posted “on a recurring basis until the water system is brought into compliance” and is “not a reflection of contaminated water being served to the public.”
Holding Out for an Airport
Haddad and Maalouf envision the site as industrial real estate, betting on the long-planned Ivanpah Valley airport, which Clark County says won’t open before 2037. “Logistically, it’s an excellent location,” Haddad said. They acquired the property “ahead of all that development,” Maalouf added.
The club opened in 1997 with one course, built by Primadonna Resorts for about $30 million. A second course followed. MGM acquired the whole package in 1999 for $244 million plus debt. In 2006, MGM sold the Primm casinos to Herbst Gaming for $400 million but kept the golf club, which it used for marketing until losses mounted.
The property holds water rights of 1,900 acre-feet annually — more than 619 million gallons — though no water is currently being used. By comparison, the club used 1,741 acre-feet in 2010.
Meanwhile, Primm’s landowner group president Cory Clemetson said he hopes to soon announce a new operator for the closing casinos. Haddad noted someone recently pitched turning the golf course into a zoo. “There are a lot of opportunities at the site,” he said.
