Michael Gaughan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael John Gaughan March 24, 1943 |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, Coast Casinos |
| Children | Brendan Gaughan |
| Parent | Jackie Gaughan (father) |
| Website | www |
Michael John Gaughan (March 24, 1943 in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American casino owner and operator in Las Vegas, Nevada, who is the owner of the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. He is the son of Jackie Gaughan and was the owner of a NASCAR race team, South Point Racing, for which his son, Brendan Gaughan, used to drive. The team was dissolved at the end of the 2007 season.
Gaughan won the 1966 Mint 400 race, and continued that interest with South Point Racing which he founded in 1999 and dissolved in 2007.[ citation needed ]
After many roles in casinos, including various ownership roles, Gaughan opened the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino in March 1979 at a cost of $11.5 million. That casino, on 4.3 acres (1.7 ha) of land, became the foundation for Coast Casinos. [1] He was instrumental in bringing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)'s year-end championship event, the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), to Las Vegas in 1985. He serves on the NFR committee and is a longtime sponsor of the NFR and PRCA. He is also a board member of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. [2] In 2004, Gaughan sold Coast Casinos for $1.3 billion to Boyd Gaming. In July 2006, Boyd gaming announced that it was selling the South Coast to Gaughan for an estimated $576 million. The casino was built at a cost of $600 million. [ citation needed ]
Gaughan has been granted the rights to operate slot concession at Harry Reid International Airport under the name Michael Gaughan Airport Slots, [9] operating over 1,300 slot machines in all of the airport's terminals. [10]
Lane Clyde Frost was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull rider. He was also the only rider ever to score a qualified ride on Red Rock, the 1987 PRCA Bucking Bull of the Year.
Tom R. Ferguson is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion all-around cowboy for six consecutive years from 1974 to 1979; breaking the previous mark of five consecutive titles held by Larry Mahan. He was also the 1974 World Champion calf roper and the World Champion steer wrestler in 1977 and 1978. In 1999, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame.
Bodacious #J-31 was an American bucking bull. He was known throughout the rodeo world as "the world's most dangerous bull". He was also known as "the greatest bull ever to buck". During his rodeo career, he was the 1994 and 1995 Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA) Bucking Bull of the Year, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Champion Bull. He and Bruiser are the only bulls who have won bucking bull world championship titles in both organizations.
The ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Museum of the American Cowboy was opened in August 1979 as a museum designed to "preserve the legacy of the cowboy contests, the heritage and culture of those original competitions, and the champions of the past, present and future." It is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and only inducts Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women's Professional Rodeo Association members. It is the "only museum in the world devoted exclusively to the sport of professional rodeo."
Ty Monroe Murray, is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He competed in the three "roughstock" events; bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. He won nine world championships in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA); seven in all-around and two in bull riding. He was also one of the co-founders and a board adviser of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). From 2005 to 2020, he was also a regular color commentator for several televised PBR events.
Robert Edward "Rob" Smets, known professionally as The Kamikaze Kid, is an American former professional rodeo bullfighter.
Larry Mahan was an American professional rodeo cowboy. He won six all-around world championships and two bull riding world championships in the Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit at the National Finals Rodeo.
James A. Shoulders was an American professional rodeo cowboy and rancher. He is commemorated at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. At the time of his death, he was one of the most successful contestants in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), having won 16 World Championships, which was the most of any performer at that time. He was known as the 'Babe Ruth of rodeo'.
Cody Lambert is an American former professional rodeo cowboy. He specialized in saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He was also a co-founder and vice president of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). He created the protective vest that professional bull riders have been required to wear for many years, after witnessing the death of his friend, Lane Frost at the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 30, 1989. Since 2022, Lambert has been the head coach of the Texas Rattlers during the PBR Team Series season. In 2023, the Rattlers won the PBR Team Series Championship title.
Richard Neale "Tuff" Hedeman is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specializes in bull riding. He won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship three times, as well as the 1995 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) world championship. He also won the 1993 world championship for the now-defunct Bull Riders Only (BRO) organization. He is also one of the co-founders of the PBR and is known for having been one of rodeo icon Lane Frost's closest friends. He and the infamous bucking bull, Bodacious, had a few historic clashes. He later served as the President of the PBR and then the President and Ambassador of Championship Bull Riding (CBR). In 2018, he formed his own bull riding organization: the Tuff Hedeman Bull Riding Tour (THBRT).
DonaldGay is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won eight Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championships; a record as of 2024. His father, Neal Gay, was a well-known rodeo competitor and later rodeo producer and stock contractor. Don was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1979; Neal was inducted in 1993, becoming the only father and son to receive that honor. In 2015, Don was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
Myrtis Dightman is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He is a ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee. Known as the "Jackie Robinson of Rodeo", Dightman was the first African-American to compete at the National Finals Rodeo.
Ted Nuce is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion bull rider in 1985, and was a co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) in 1992. He won the inaugural PBR World Finals event in 1994. In his career, he qualified for the NFR 14 consecutive times from 1982 through 1995 and qualified for the first two PBR World Finals in 1994 and 1995.
Scott Mendes is an American former professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He won the 1997 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) bull riding world championship, and is the inventor of Rodeo Judge, the original rodeo card game. He was also a co-founder of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR). In 2022, he was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
Pacific Bell #14 was an American bucking bull best known for being the only three-time consecutive Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Bucking Bull of the Year and for only being ridden 5 times in 150 attempts. In 2007, he was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. The PRCA said in an official YouTube induction video that "Skoal Pacific Bell was a crowd pleaser and a cowboy challenger."
The Professional Bull Riders Heroes and Legends celebration honors five divisions in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), including the best bucking bulls.
The Bull Riding Hall of Fame, located at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, is a hall of fame for the sport of bull riding. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization in the State of Texas, and created to "recognize, memorialize, and applaud the bull riders, bullfighters, bulls, stock contractors, events, and individuals who have made a historic contribution and attained stellar performance in the sport." Membership is open to fans worldwide.
Guy Allen is an American ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy and an 18-time steer roping world champion. He competes in rodeos sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He won the world title for the steer roping event 18 times when competing at the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) and also won the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) Average title five times. He had won the title 11 times in a row when Buster Record broke his streak. Allen is also inducted into eight rodeo halls of fame.
The George Paul Memorial Bull Riding is an annual bull riding event held every spring at the Val Verde County Fairgrounds in Del Rio, Texas, United States. It is held in honor of George Paul, the 1968 Rodeo Cowboys Association (RCA) World Champion bull rider.
Brent Cullen Thurman was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding. He competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), Bull Riders Only (BRO), and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuits; the last organization of which he was one of the founding members.