40 Years In Vegas

By Patrick Everson

On Wednesday afternoon, about 28 hours before the first chute opened at the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, there was a news conference to kick off this milestone event.

News conferences don’t typically have a title, but this one did, and rightly so:

40 Years in Vegas: A Gathering of Champions.

The gathering was held at The Cowboy Channel Bar, inside the Thomas & Mack Center. 

And indeed, on hand were world champions from the 1985 Wrangler NFR, the first to be held at the Thomas & Mack. Among those champs were barrel racing legend Charmayne James and renowned bull rider Ted Nuce. Also on hand were reigning champions from the 2024 season, including all-around world champion cowboy Shad Mayfield.

Historic cowboys and cowgirls, to mark a historic occasion. So of course, there were several dignitaries on hand, too, including Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, who noted he’s no stranger to the cowboy way.

“I enjoy the environment and the culture and the community,” Lombardo said. “This is probably one of the best weeks of the year, because Vegas becomes Cowboy Town. NFRs have been a [staple] for 40 years, proving Las Vegas could hold world-class events.

“In sports and entertainment, Nevada isn’t just a party, it’s a story. It’s an honor to represent the state of Nevada and this great event, year after year. Hopefully we get to 80 years.”

Las Vegas Events chair Derek Stevens followed, with his unique perspective as owner of Circa, The D and Golden Gate hotel-casinos on Fremont Street. Stevens has experienced first-hand business success thanks to the 40-year run of the NFR.

“I can tell you that we’ve got these couple weeks of December circled every year. We love seeing cowboy boots and cowboy hats coming to town, because we know it’s going to be very, very special,” Stevens said from the dais.

Stevens rightly acknowledged two casino giants who came before him: Benny Binion, instrumental in getting the NFR to Las Vegas, and Michael Gaughan, who was on hand for Wednesday’s festivities and has long been a key driver of the NFR’s Vegas success story.

“Legendary people brought the NFR to Las Vegas,” Stevens said. “The month of December used to be a dark month. Restaurants closed, showrooms shut down. Now, it’s a shining-star month, because of the relationship Las Vegas has with the NFR.

“There’s a special vibe when the NFR is here. It’s polite, it’s patriotic. It matches up perfectly with Las Vegas.”

Las Vegas Events president Tom Keener and PRCA CEO Tom Glause took to the podium, as well, sharing their thoughts on reaching not only this moment, but knowing that the NFR will continue here through at least 2035.

“Coming here in 1985, I’m not sure anybody realized the importance of the NFR,” Keener said, before reeling off the hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact every year, thanks to a wildly dedicated rodeo fan base. “We’re going on 379 consecutive sellouts.”

Glause noted Wednesday’s celebration was really a double bonus for the PRCA.

“This is an exciting time for the PRCA. As we celebrate 40 years in Las Vegas, we also celebrate 90 years of our history,” Glause said. “In 1985, we couldn’t believe this rodeo would pay out $1.85 million.

“Now, it’s 10 times that. Over the next 10 days, we’ll pay out $18 million.”

Indeed, there’s huge economic impact for the city, as well as for NFR contestants – the top cowboys and cowgirls in the world.

UNLV athletic director Erick Harper might have summed it up best Wednesday. Harper has been the AD since January 2022, but he’s been at UNLV since 2012 and fully understands the benefit of the NFR to the university, the broader community, the fans and the contestants.

He’s about to be partake in his 14^th Wrangler NFR. But those new to his staff over the past year aren’t as familiar, prompting them to ask: What’s that smell permeating the arena this week?

Obviously, the rodeo livestock bring a, shall we say, certain aroma with them. But Harper sees it differently, telling his employees:

“It’s just the smell of money!”