by Terry Lidral
It wouldn’t be traditional Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas without Benny Binion’s World Famous NFR Bucking Horse and Bull Sale. This longstanding sale and bucking competition highlights the investment Binion had in rodeo and in the NFR.
It was Binion who was a major catalyst in bringing the NFR to Las Vegas in 1985, luring it away from Oklahoma City where it had been held for nearly three decades. A mastermind and innovator in Vegas’ gambling industry, Binion was said to have been trading horses since the age of 10. And over the course of his 84 years, he raised some of the finest bucking and pick-up horses in the business. (Top flight stock contractors like Lynn Beutler, Harry Vold and Mike Cervi had Binion horses in their herd.)
A Texan, Binion loved rodeo and he lived gambling. He spent the first part of his nefarious life burning bridges and making enemies as a major player in the Texas gambling scene. When things with the law got too tough to handle, Binion moved on to Las Vegas where he became an icon in the casino industry. Fueled by his passion for rodeo, Binion saw great potential in combining the events of the PRCA finals with the high rolling party culture of the city he’d come to call home. Bringing the NFR to the bright lights of Vegas worked in both the rodeo’s and the city’s favor. Binion paid the cowboy’s championship entry fees of the PRCA finale, competitor and contractor purses were increased and the fans came to Las Vegas to party. Over the three and a half decades that the WNFR has called Vegas home, it has become one of the most famous and lucrative sporting events in “Sin City.”
Binion, always the entrepreneur, created an event within an event with his World Famous sale. First held in the Thomas and Mack Center, the Benny Binion World Famous NFR Bucking Horse and Bull Sale grew too big and was moved to the South Point Equestrian Center. Now put on by the stock contractors of the PRCA, the sale is sponsored by the Binion Family in honor of Benny’s contributions to the sport of rodeo.
Over the course of three days, PRCA fans are treated to the World Futurity Association’s Finals for 2 and 3 year old colts (all colts bucked to be sold); PRCA Permit Challenge with Bucking Horse and Bull Sale; and Stace Smith’s World Futurity Bronc Finals, with all horses bucked to be sold after the performance.
The Binion Family have announced that a portion of the proceeds from the 2019 Benny Binion’s World Famous NFR Bucking Horse and Bull Sale will be given to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
Author: Terry Lidral
Terry Lidral is a western writer/journalist who lives in Idaho. She is the publisher and editor of the online magazine Bucking Stock Talk and the online magazine Western Living Journal. Her publishing credits include Storyteller for Real American Cowboy Magazine, writing feature articles for Humps N Horns Magazine as well as a wide variety of national and international web sites, historical magazines and news publications. She is known for her "up close and personal" profiles of celebrities and industry moguls such as NPR's Tom Bodett; PBR's Wiley Petersen and D.H. Page, PRCA's Sammy Andrews, Cindy Rosser and Julio Moreno to name a few. She has been applauded for her way of making a personal connection between her readers and her subjects. She indulges in her love of rodeo by serving as an associate board member for the Caldwell Night Rodeo. She is also an accomplished trainer and handler in dog agility. Her shelties Amelie and Milo are titled in NADAC, USDAA and AKC.
