ProRodeo Sports News - August 2, 2019

INTERVIEW

Bill Boyd (left) and family are a key factor behind the Wrangler NFR phenomenon

Join us for live entertainment every night during WNFR. Cowboy up. Party down.

DECEMBER 7 - 16, 2017 WRANGLER NATIONAL FINALS RODEO Thomas & Mack Center Photography:AdamShane.com.Location:NevadaStateRailroadMuseum,BoulderCity,Nevada. BOYD HAS THE ANSWERS

Vegas was trying to wrestle the NFR away from Oklahoma City. I remem- ber Benny Binion, Jackie Gaughan, and my dad, Sam Boyd, were all sup- portive of bringing the NFR to Las Vegas. In fact, I remember that Boyd Gaming purchased 5,000 tickets during the first several years to help NFR get going in Las Vegas, and we gave them away to any interested customers. Today, of course, those tickets go for quite a premium! What is your favorite on-the-dirt best memory? For many years, I rode out onto the dirt in a stagecoach wagon before the start of Boyd Gaming night at the NFR. I think that’s my favorite memory. Why is the Wrangler NFR so important to your family and Boyd Gaming? It has greatly changed the month of December for Las Vegas. Since the Wrangler NFR came to town, Boyd Gaming and the entire Las Vegas Valley have really received a great boost in business because of the Wrangler NFR. Today, it’s really hard to imagine what December would be like in Las Vegas without the NFR and the great rodeo fans that visit us every year.

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he Boyd family is legendary in Las Vegas and nowhere is that felt more than in and around the Wrangler

Bill Boyd and his family have been front and center along with Boyd Gaming properties of The Orleans, Sam’s Town, Gold Coast and several others. Here are thoughts from the man himself. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the Wrangler NFR in Las Vegas? The first thing that I think of is how important the Wrangler NFR has been to Las Vegas. Before its arrival in Las Vegas in 1984, many hotels and casinos would have probably liked to have closed during Decem- ber because of low visitation. Today we have 10 good days of business in December each year while the Wran- gler NFR is in town. What is your favorite off-the-dirt best memory of the long and suc- cessful run in Las Vegas for Wran- gler NFR? Off the dirt, I remember when Las

National Finals Rodeo. More than a few rodeo fans, competi- tors and organizers were more than a little hesitant about the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo moving from Oklahoma City to Las Vegas when it made the historic move in 1985. The relocation came following a very close vote by the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Asso- ciation organizing committee with the deciding vote cast by Shawn Davis. Without several founding Las Vegas business people embracing the effort and investing in making it a success, the Wrangler NFR wouldn’t have become what it has today when Las Vegas turns into a Cowboy town for 10 days each December and the West- ern lifestyle is celebrated in a fashion unlike anywhere else in the world.

December 6 at 10 p.m. in the Treasure Island Theatre Bill Engvall

December 13 at 10 p.m. in the Treasure Island Theatre Chad Prather

S A L O O N • DA N C E H A L L • BA R - B - Q U E gilleyslasvegas.com

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Illustration: Adam Shane; design by Eric Berner.