Horsey Time ain't cheap!

Room rates this weekend are stratospheric. Every hotel, even places like El Cheapo Rio and 4Q, is charging at least $400 a night.

I truly don't get it. As far as I can tell, there are only two elements to a rodeo: 1) Somebody rides a pissed-off horse for a few seconds until it throws him off; 2) Somebody rides a horse, chasing a terrified calf until he throws a rope around it. This might be interesting or even exciting to watch. At first. But over and over and over?

My initial thought was, OK, some folks like it. They shore as darn tootin' must, given how much they're paying to see it. But then I thought; this isn't a game to the animals. The bucking bronco is furious and the roped calf is terrified. I know that the rodeo simulates tasks that used to be routine back on the ranch. But doing those tasks for fun, over and over...,?

For the spectators, it's fun. But for the animals, it's torture. They don't know it's a game. They think they're fighting for their lives.

Oh well. Killjoy, I know. I have to realize that thousands of people cramming an arena to watch torture has a long and storied human history. Gladiators, bullfights, the Miss Universe contest...it's in our DNA.

 Like every weekend in Vegas, anyone waiting til last minute to book a room will face high room rates. The rodeo is a popular yearly event and draws a huge crowd of visitors, and just like any other large scale event, Vegas casinos amp up room rates - nothing new here. Most who plan to attend make reservations well in advance to acquire reasonable room rates.Those bleeding heart individuals who bemoan the rodeo because of the fact that animals are part of a rodeo - you need to have the same amount of grieving for the hamburger or steak you gleefully consume time and again. Apparently some who are of the mindset displayed here are missing out on the opportunity to march, boycott and protest food stores, restaurants, fast food outlets, and home barbecues .... 

Animals raised for slaughter and human consumption aren't tortured to death; they're quickly and humanely killed.

Of course, even you realize the distinction. Your post was nothing but a David Miller stalker bleat.

I dislike torturing animals for entertainment. We should be past that as a society. You can say that makes me a "bleeding heart' (stupid phrase) if you want. You're just trying to be insulting.

    Tortured? - a 3000pound bull is being tortured by a 180 pound man riding it?   A calf is being tortured by being roped?  A horse is being tortured by barrel racing?  But you have no problem with the "humane" killing of a cow with a sledge hammer?  Your "dislikes" are what is insulting.