• Sports News

Who Will Be the Last Cowboy Standing in Las Vegas? PBR Will Show Him the Money at Nearly $200,000

At $10,000 per second for an 8-second ride, the world’s toughest cowboy will not only be crowned in Las Vegas, he’ll get paid. 

Mandalay Bay Events Center welcomes the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) to Las Vegas, May 10 -11 for the third annual Last Cowboy Standing – the bull riding event where the only thing that matters is riding for 8 seconds. The format is simple: if a rider stays on his bull until the 8-second buzzer, he moves on. If he gets bucked off, he’s done. At the end of the night, the survivor of the fittest will be the Last Cowboy Standing.

A PBR first, the Last Cowboy Standing will air on CBS Network Television on two days back-to-back, Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12 from 4-6 p.m. ET.  Virtually every ride from the Top 50 bull riders in the world will be featured as they attempt to master the fiercest bucking bulls in the country. Fans will witness exhilarating 8-second rides and wrecks as these men risk it all to make a qualified ride against their two-ton opponents during this action-packed, two-day event.

Tickets for the Last Cowboy Standing are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800 745 3000.  They range in price from $20 to $125.

Luke Snyder returns to the Events Center where he captured the first Last Cowboy Standing event title in 2011.  After outlasting his competitors through three consecutive rides, he was awarded the $100,000 top prize.

“It was tough,” Snyder said.  “I didn’t know how many rides I would have to make that day in order to win, but I was determined to give it everything I had to stay on my bulls.  I wanted that title and this year I want to reclaim it.  Only one man can be the last cowboy standing and I intend to be in the running.”

In 2012, Silvano Alves won the title at the Detroit Last Cowboy Standing event.

The Last Cowboy Standing begins Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. and, for the only time this season, features the Top 50 bull riders in the world including Snyder, current No. 1 bull rider Shane Proctor; 2013 Iron Cowboy Austin Meier; five former PBR World Champions: Alves (2012, 2011), Renato Nunes (2010), Kody Lostroh (2009), Guilherme Marchi (2008), and Mike Lee (2004); fan favorites J.B. Mauney and L.J. Jenkins; and young guns Chase Outlaw, Ryan Dirteater and Jory Markiss.

It’s the best-of-the-best facing off until one man rises to the top of the heap.

Challenging the riders in the second elimination round on Saturday will be PBR World Champion Bulls Bushwacker (2011) and Asteroid (2012), the Monster Energy Money Bulls of the event. Two riders will have to make it through the terrible twosome to claim the event title and could earn an additional $80,000 bonus for overpowering either of these foes. With Bushwacker holding the PBR record for his buck-off streak at 39 cowboys, and Asteroid as the reigning PBR World Champion, this feat will be anything but easy. 2013 Iron Cowboy Austin Meier has been faced with the challenge of riding these bulls.

“All I had to do in Arlington was ride Bushwacker longer than L.J. [Jenkins] rode Asteroid in order to win the Iron Cowboy title this year,” Meier said.  “I managed to last one-half of a second longer. If I had had to ride him for the full 8 seconds to win, I might not be the Iron Cowboy this year.”

At $10,000 per second, these men will try to hang on to win the Monster Energy Money Bull bonus of $80,000. Adding that to the $100,000 purse for the overall event winner, nearly $200,000 awaits one resilient cowboy.

The Last Cowboy Standing is the 17th of 26 events taking place in 18 states on the Built Ford Tough Series this season.  The series culminates at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals October 23-27 at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center. The season’s best bull riders will compete to claim the ultimate prize, the PBR World Champion’s title, a $1 million bonus, a new Ford truck from the series’ title sponsor and the coveted PBR World Champion buckle.

The PBR is celebrating 20 years of competition in 2013. Its Built Ford Tough Series is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.