Rodeo Blues: National Finals Rodeo Lassos Blue Man Group To Promote Professional Cowboy Event

October 20, 2021 Alan Snel Sage Kimzey, Shane Hanchey

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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com

Sure, Las Vegas is a gambling town. But at its roots, Las Vegas is an old horse town.

And it’s most apparent for 10 days in December when the cowboys and cowgirls — and the nation’s country-western lifestyle — descend on Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo.

When you mix the NFR and their jeans-wearing cowboys like bull rider Sage Kimzey and tie-down roper Shane Hanchey, with the Blue Man Group fellas at a promotional gig at Luxor’s BMG Stage last week.

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NFR is returning to Las Vegas after moving to Texas in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The “Super Bowl of Rodeos,” as NFR like to call itself, typically sells out each of the 10 nights at Thomas & Mack Center. The 10-day run is set for Dec.. 2-11 and is attracts attendance for the 10 days of just under 170,000 at the arena on the UNLV campus.

Photographer Tom Donoghue captured the scenes of what happens you combine Blue Man Group with rodeo events.

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

July 5, 2021

LVSPORTSBIZ.COM, launched June 2017: We are a digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports/stadium industry. Our stories are quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda in Las Vegas. Publisher Alan Snel has reported on the business of sports and stadiums in Denver, South Florida, Seattle and Tampa besides Las Vegas and is considered a national authority on the topic.

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To contact LVSportsBiz.com Publisher Alan Snel or buy his book, Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys, email him at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

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