by Terry Lidral
ProRodeo Hall of Famer Benny Binion built a legacy back in 1985 when he lured the National Finals Rodeo to Las Vegas with paid entry fees and bigger prize purses.
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.
Born in 1904, Binion was a Texan who loved rodeo and lived gambling. He spent the first part of his nefarious life burning bridges and making enemies. His checkered history includes murders and a reputation for getting rid of anyone who got in the way of his business dealings. By the 1940’s, Binion had moved through the ranks of the Texas gambling syndicate to become a Dallas mob boss.
When things with the law got too tough to handle, Binion moved on to Las Vegas. His thorough understanding of the gambling business and his ruthless nature took him to the top in the Las Vegas casino industry. His infamous Horseshoe Casino made him a legendary figure in “Sin City.”
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 the country. (Read about the NFR here: https://www.prorodeo.com/-national-finals-rodeo)
Binion, always the entrepreneur, created an event within an event with his World Famous bucking stock 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.
For 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 provided a portion of the proceeds from the 2019 Benny Binion’s World Famous NFR Bucking Horse and Bull Sale to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
