Question of the Day - 27 April 2025

Whoa!

We're sure this is the first time in history and not just the Las Vegas Advisor's, but Las Vegas' itself, that anyone has ever mentioned McDermitt, to say nothing of the Say When Casino. We'd also be surprised if any of our readers knows a thing about either, unless they happened to take a long lonely drive on US95 from Winnemucca north to Boise far to the east, or Bend, Oregon, far to the west. 

McDermitt is situated on the northern edge of central Nevada, straddling the border with eastern Oregon. It was established as an Army fort to quell uprisings of the Northern Paiute; later, it became a stage stop on the Idaho Trail between Boise and Winnemucca, then the commercial hub of a 35,000-acre reservation, largest in Nevada, even though part of it is in Oregon, as well as far-flung sheep, cattle, and horse ranches of northcentral Nevada. The population of the town is barely 60 souls, though the reservation's is around 325. 

The McDermitt Mine, 11 miles southwest of town, bolstered the local economy for decades in the mid-20th century. Once among the world's largest producers of mercury, the mine shut down in the 1980s. 

The McDermitt Caldera was the source of the mercury and is believed to contain one of the world's largest deposits of lithium, potentially holding up to 40 million metric tons. As far as we know, Nevada is the only state that produces lithium, a metal used in rechargeable batteries for various applications like electronics, electric vehicles, and grid-scale storage. Its light weight and ability to easily move ions make it ideal for batteries that need to be recharged. Additionally, lithium is used in alloys for aerospace and other industries, and in pharmaceuticals. The Thacker Pass mine is under development; when/if it opens, it'll span 6,500 acres of BLM land and is projected to become one of the largest lithium sources on the planet, potentially supplying up to 25% of the world's lithium demand upon full operation.

Which brings us to the Say When Casino, which has been serving the area, along with the occasional passerby, since 1973. It's a squat 12,000-square-foot building on the highway near the Ore-vada Club, oldest building in town (1880).

But as for buying stock, that's not an option. The Dufurrena family built it, opened it, and still owns it. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s detailed records, Chloe Dufurrena became the sole proprietor in August 2011. You can also follow the ebb and flow of the casino’s ownership, formerly shared between the Dufurrena and Elordi families — the latter not to be confused with Las Vegas’ Elardi family, also in the casino biz.

It was put up for sale in 2015 and 2017, Chloe Dufurrena expressing a desire to retire. But there weren't any takers. The remote location and tiny local population obviously deterred even some of the companies in the casino business that are starting to pick up small local joints, such as Full House Resorts and the Gaughan family’s various enterprises. So no stock, but we imagine you could buy the whole joint if you're so inclined, have the money, and don't mind driving 150 miles roundtrip to Winnemucca to go grocery shopping.

Finally, yes, Beatty, 110 miles northwest of Las Vegas, never benefitted from the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Nor did several speculators of our acquaintance who picked up land in equally remote southeastern Nevada when the MX Missile project was announced and started taking shape. It was ultimately canceled and the "Peacekeeper" missiles were deployed in modified Minuteman silos in southeastern Wyoming. Our acquaintances took a cold bath on the deal.