National Finals Rodeo returns to Las Vegas for 38th year

Get out your lassos and cowboy boots. The rodeo is coming back to town.

The Wrangler National Final Rodeo, which is celebrating its 38th year in Sin City, begins Dec. 7 and lasts through Dec. 16 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Cowboys and cowgirls will compete in team roping, steer wrestling, bareback riding, barrel racing and more for a chance to win tens of thousands of dollars in prize money.

This year’s purse is almost $4 million more than last year’s. The rodeo’s payout increased to more than $11.5 million, with $1.2 million in guaranteed prize money for qualifiers.

Ticketmaster is selling resale tickets for the event for around $100 on the low end to more than $900 on weekend dates. As of Tuesday evening, the cheapest ticket for sale is $88 on Thursday, Dec. 14. The second-lowest priced tickets are being sold for $94 on the rodeo’s Dec. 11, 12 and 13 dates.

Rodeo enthusiasts without tickets can still watch NFR performances at several free-to-attend viewing parties around the valley, including at Sam’s Town, the Plaza and Westgate, among other casinos.

Rodeo fans who want to watch nightly performances at home can get the Cowboy Channel with Cox, DirecTV, DISH and several other cable providers. For those without cable, fans can catch the action on Cowboy Channel+ with the $119.99 “Everything We Got” package that includes streaming for over 950 rodeo performances and all 10 days of NFR. Cowboy Channel+ is available on Roku and other popular mobile devices.

Annual gift conventions, including Cowboy Christmas at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Cinch Western Gift Show at South Point, the Cowboy Marketplace gift show at the Horseshoe and Stetson Country Christmas at the Rio will also return this year and run concurrently with the event.

To see all of the Review-Journal’s coverage of NFR, visit reviewjournal.com/sports/rodeo/national-finals-rodeo.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.