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\tn Snel, Las Vegas Review-Journal \u00b7 November 17, 2015 at 1:05 am<\/p>\n
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\n\tThe most talented cowboys in the country are returning to Las Vegas in two weeks and this time they\u2019re going to make a lot more money at the National Finals Rodeo.<\/p>\n
\tUnder a 10-year deal that starts this year, Las Vegas Events will be doling out $10 million in prize money to the 120 cowboys competing in seven categories at NFR, considered the Super Bowl of rodeo events and sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.<\/p>\n
\tThat\u2019s a big jump from the $6.375 million the contestants split during the 10-day finals in 2014, when tens of thousands of western\/country culture enthusiasts and rodeo fans visited Las Vegas and spent $74.5 million on nongambling items such as hotel rooms and food.<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas Events, the event promotional arm of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), pumped up the prize money to keep the NFR in Las Vegas and to deter the PRCA from moving it to either the Orlando area or Texas.<\/p>\n
\tWith the new Las Vegas Events-PRCA deal kicking in this year, Las Vegas Events will go from making about $1 million on the rodeo to losing about $2 million a year. But the LVCVA will make up the loss to Las Vegas Events, said Pat Christenson, Las Vegas Events president, working on his 31st NFR in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\tThe annual loss is the price Las Vegas Events has to pay in order to keep the prized rodeo in Las Vegas, which typically experiences slower hotel and tourism industry business during that time of year. The 2015 NFR starts two weeks from Thursday, running from Dec. 3-12.<\/p>\n
\tThe $10 million in prize money includes $10,000 for each of the 120 contestants, which means a purse of $8.8 million will be split after $1.2 million is distributed evenly among the cowboys for just showing up.<\/p>\n
\tUnder the deal, Las Vegas Events pays the prize money, markets the NFR, sells the tickets and arranges the venue \u2014 Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus. NFR fans will enjoy Thomas & Mack\u2019s new improvements such as new seats, a wider concourse and more concession stands and bathrooms.<\/p>\n
\tLast year\u2019s 10-day attendance at Thomas & Mack was 177,565, a record. Christenson expects another 40,000 rodeo fans every night at some of the 40 hotels in Las Vegas that will be hosting NFR watch parties. In all, there will be 42 NFR satellite feed locations to watch the live rodeo action.<\/p>\n
\tNFR also set an attendance record last year for the country western retail show called Cowboy Christmas with 200,179 shoppers at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It generated $5.72 million in sales.<\/p>\n
\tThis year, Cowboy Christmas will be augmented by \u201cHunter Christmas,\u201d an outdoor hunting and fishing show, with the total retail floor space more than doubling to 840,000 square feet on two levels at the convention center\u2019s South Hall.<\/p>\n
\tLas Vegas Events recommends rodeo fans take the monorail, use expanded parking or hop on one of the free buses leaving eight NFR sponsor hotels to reach the convention center. Those eight hotels are Aria, Excalibur, Golden Nugget, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, The Orleans, South Point and Treasure Island.<\/p>\n
\tIn all, there are 22 NFR sponsor hotels in Las Vegas, with most visitors last year coming from Texas (12 percent), California (8 percent), Arizona, Colorado and Montana (all 6 percent).<\/p>\n