The casinos in Primm are set to go dark, but the last remaining store in its outlet mall remains open for business.
Sanithrift sent out an email Friday promoting its “Summer Treasure Hunt” over Memorial Day weekend. Shoppers who complete the in-store quest will get 30 percent off their entire purchase.
The offer runs Friday through Monday.
“Because in the desert, the best oasis isn’t always water. Sometimes it’s treasure,” the email says.
Finding the thrift shop itself shouldn’t be too hard: Sanithrift’s name is displayed in huge capital letters on the exterior of the mall, and it’s the only retailer left in a sprawling outlet center that was once packed with stores and shoppers.
“Sanithrift remains fully operational and committed to serving the community without interruption,” marketing director Samantha Jo Julian said in a statement Friday, adding that while management is aware of the announced closures in Primm, “it does not impact Sanithrift’s operations.”
“While conditions in the broader market will continue to evolve, our commitment remains unwavered: disciplined operations, strong community access, a dignified thrift experience and delivering meaningful savings to the families we serve,” she said.
She also said the store continues to see “consistent customer activity” from locals, travelers, commuters and destination shoppers.
Closures on the way
Overall, Primm, an unincorporated area along Interstate 15, roughly 40 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip, has struggled for years and is about to become even quieter.
Las Vegas-based Affinity Gaming told state officials in a letter dated May 5 that it will permanently close its operations at Primm’s three hotel-casino properties — Whiskey Pete’s, Buffalo Bill’s and Primm Valley Resort — and at the Primm Center gas station and Flying J trucker fueling stop in Primm.
Overall, 344 employees will lose their jobs, and the businesses will close on July 4, the letter said.
An apartment complex in Primm that was built for the local workforce is also closing, and the nearby Lotto store just over the border in California is closing too.
Affinity does not operate Primm Mall, as the property is now known.
The mall — formerly Prizm Outlets and, before that, Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas — is attached to Primm Valley Resort and used to be a busy place.
It opened in 1998 to a crowd of around 10,000 people and was 85 percent leased, and by 2007, it was 99 percent leased and among the top 10 outlet centers nationally by sales. As recently as 2015, it was still about 92 percent occupied, according to published accounts.
The mall, which spans around 380,000 square feet, is positioned to intercept tourists and others driving between Southern Nevada and Southern California on I-15, a heavily traveled route. But in Las Vegas, competition for shoppers has only increased over the years, with numerous malls and other retail hubs now lining the tourist-choked Strip.
There are also two outlet malls — one downtown, the other south of the Strip — that are operated by retail giant Simon Property Group and draw tourists and locals alike.
Last store standing
Eventually, financial issues started brewing at the mall in Primm.
After waves of tenants moved out, lenders foreclosed on the mall in 2018. It was about 66 percent occupied at the time and had “significant deferred maintenance throughout the property,” mortgage-research firm Trepp previously reported.
Kohan Retail Investment Group eventually acquired the mall for just $400,000 in 2021, after it was appraised at $125 million several years earlier, in 2012, court records show.
By 2022, the mall had been blanketed in murals, but only a handful of retailers were left. The fountains where people could toss coins for charity were bone dry, and the food court was closed.
In 2025, an attorney for Primm’s landowner group indicated to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that his clients now operated the outlet mall, after they had filed a lawsuit alleging past-due rent on the ground lease.
Sanithrift, meanwhile, spans 30,000 square feet and initially debuted at the mall around late 2021.
It temporarily closed in 2024, with signs on the doors saying it was being updated, and then held a grand opening last June.
The store says that every garment is sanitized. As seen on a recent visit, its offerings included $12.99 jackets; $9.99 jeans; $3.99 men’s shorts; and 99-cent T-shirts.
Shoppers enter Sanithrift from the parking lot, but the rest of the outlet center is closed.
Entrances to the mall are locked. Plus, the roll-down gate inside Sanithrift — a security barrier that’s normally in use when a store is closed — was down during business hours, preventing shoppers from entering the corridors of the emptied retail hub around it.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.
