When Oklahoma City won the bid to host the National Finals Rodeo back in 1965, the first event drew just 47,027 fans and the prize money was only $44,500, down even from the 1959 starting figure of $50,000. We read that in its latter days in OKC during the late '70s and early '80s, after the event had moved from State Fair Arena to the Myriad Convention Ceter, it was bringing in an estimated $8 million/year for the city's merchants.
In 1985 Las Vegas began hosting the NFR. It took four years to become a sellout event here, but by 2004 the purse was up to $5.1 million, with an attendance figure of approximately 18,000 fans per night for 10 nights, which remains true to this day.
In terms of economic impact, by 2006 the total figure for nongaming revenue was $52.8 million and that figure seems to have held steady since, according to reports we've read. Casino revenue from the annual cowboy invasion is not recorded, but as the questioner notes, you see a lot of cowboys and girls in the casinos, although not necessarily gambling, since there are so many autograph signings and parties and other non-gaming-related events. Still, no less than 21 casinos officially sponsor the event, so they must be seeing some financial benefits.
As South Point owner, Omaha native, and lifelong rodeo fan Michael Gaughan put it in a 2010 interview with the Las Vegas Sun, "In terms of total hotel rooms, it accounts for 5,000 to 6,000 rooms per night, which is not a lot in Las Vegas, but it has been really important in drawing interest in the city and creating business around town. I remember 15 to 20 years ago, when the (Las Vegas) Hilton [now LVH] wasn’t even a (sponsorship) partner in the NFR, and they saw a huge increase in business from people who were in town for the rodeo. So they started putting country acts in the theater there, so it looked like they were actually part of the event.
Gaughan was responsible some twelve years ago for successfully lobbying the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, which stages the NFR, to allow the televised live feed to the hotels, which he credits with making a huge difference to the event's popularity and impact. "It got people who come to stay and never go to the rodeo. They watch it in the showroom, they watch in the bar and they party with the cowboys for 10 days ... We used to have three bad weeks in Las Vegas, in December," observes Gaughan. "Now we have just one, and that’s because of the success of the NFR."
