Update: Primm Valley Resort & Casino is currently the only hotel open in Primm. Whiskey Pete's casino is open but the hotel isn't. Buffalo Bill's is completely closed.
Update: Terrible's Hotel & Casino, also known as Ramada by Wyndham Jean Hotel & Casino, is permanently closed.
Jean is the closest town to Primm. It is located twelve miles north of Primm, 32 miles south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15.
Jean is largely a commercial area that has a humongous gas station, a truck stop-travel plaza, a gigantic convenience store, and a large hotel-casino that's now closed.
Other businesses in Jean include a plastics manufacturer and a towing service.
In terms of government facilities, Jean is home to the Jean Conservation Camp, a minimum-security all-female prison operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections.
The 240 or so prison inmates are the only residents in Jean.
Jean also has a Nevada Highway Patrol substation, the Goodsprings Township Courthouse, and the main post office for the area.
Jean sits at an elevation of 2,841 feet. It's about 200 feet higher in elevation than Primm and about 800 feet higher than Las Vegas. Jean is the location of the main post office for the 89019 zip code.
Businesses and residents of Primm, Goodsprings, and Sandy Valley may have "Jean" listed as the city in their mailing address as they all share the same 89019 zip code and the same post office.
The paved section of Las Vegas Boulevard ends about a mile south of Jean. It can be taken as an alternate route to Las Vegas, in addition to Interstate 15, which has exits for Jean in both directions.
The Jean Airport, also known as the Jean Sport Aviation Center is just south of the community. It is popular with glider aviators and skydivers. The airport is operated by the Clark County Department of Aviation.
The area south of this airport would be used for the proposed Ivanpah Valley Airport, which if constructed, would serve the Las Vegas area.
The Jean exit also serves to access Highway 161, which can be taken west to Goodsprings, Sandy Valley, and into California.
Due to it being only 30 miles south of Las Vegas with plenty of available land, there have been a number of movies filmed around Jean.
It offers a variety of desert landscapes, including Jean Dry Lake, that are easily accessible.
With its proximity to Las Vegas, Jean has an accessible and open desert setting. It's been a filming location for several popular movies.
At the time of its founding, Jean was known as a township. The township was established in 1904, which is a year before the city of Las Vegas was founded.
Jean was originally known as Goodsprings Junction. It was a stop on the railroad line between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. There was a spur line that went from Jean up the hill to Goodsprings.
In 1904, George Fayle operated a mercantile store at the railroad stop. In 1905, the town was renamed after George's wife, Jean.
George Fayle built a hotel in Goodsprings in 1917. He then sadly passed away a year later in the Spanish flu epidemic.
Jean, despite it being only thirty miles south of Vegas, remained a very small community for decades without the growth seen in the Las Vegas valley.
In 1930, with mining on the wane, the Yellow Pine Mining Company Railroad discontinued the railroad connection from Jean to Goodsprings.
Jean suffered as a result and there was no real business growth in the community for decades.
The first casino that opened in Jean was the Pop's Oasis Casino. It opened in 1972 and then closed in 1988. A few later, the Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall ("Gold Strike"), opened on the property in 1990.
The Gold Strike was owned by MGM Mirage and had 811 rooms with several restaurants. It was an affordable option for travelers as rooms on weekdays typically started at about $30.
In 1989, the Nevada Landing, a hotel and casino, opened in Jean. It was located on the west side of Interstate 15.
The Nevada Landing was a sister property to the Gold Strike and the two properties were typically marketed jointly by MGM.
The Nevada Landing was designed to resemble two riverboats and featured 303 guest rooms, over 800 slot machines, table games, wedding services, and four restaurants.
The Nevada Landing was closed in 2007 and subsequently demolished.
MGM closed the hotel/casino with the intention of building a new master-planned community complete with housing, shops, restaurants, and a new hotel/casino.
In the wake of the Great Recession, those plans did not materialize.
In 2014, MGM sold the Gold Strike to JETT Gaming. They subsequently renovated the property, and also added an Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame and a movie cars display of vehicles.
The vehicles features were from popular films including Fast & Furious, Batman, and Back to the Future.
In 2018, the name of the property was changed from Gold Strike to Terrible's Hotel & Casino. It has 812 rooms.
More recently, the property again changed names to Ramada by Windham Jean Hotel & Casino. The property closed down in March 2020 with the onset of adverse health conditions. It has remained shuttered.
In November 2021, the Herbst family who operates the property announced it would be shut down indefinitely.
The other big development in Jean was that in 2018 a massive travel center opened.
It's billed as the world's largest Chevron station and features an expanse of 96 pumps, and a 50,000 square feet of retail space with a convenience store and a White Castle restaurant.
The travel center is on the west side of I-15 across the highway from the Terrible's truck stop.
It's also a good stop if you're stuck in a traffic jam coming out of Las Vegas.
Below are pictures showing how the Gold Strike Hotel & Gambling Hall in Jean appeared in 2009.
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