Laura Dona deals blackjack to Benny Jefferson of Salinas, Calif., and Wayne White of Creswell, Ore., Wednesday at South Point. Photo by John Gurzinski.

Two decades ago, Strip casino operators viewed the 10-day National Finals Rodeo as a bridge between November and New Year's.

December, for all intents, was the city's worst visitation month.

"Before the rodeo, we used December to change the carpets and close the showrooms for three weeks," said South Point owner Michael Gaughan, who was one of the main participants in luring the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's annual event to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City in 1985.

"We did it to keep the town alive for a couple of weeks," Gaughan said.

As the NFR kicks off its 22nd year in Las Vegas tonight, beginning a 10-day run at the Thomas & Mack Center, Gaughan and other gaming industry observers no longer view the rodeo as just cowboys and livestock.

Frank Streshley, the Gaming Control Board's senior research analyst who tracks casino revenues, said Strip casino operators have anecdotally told him the rodeo is responsible for a steady climb in gaming revenues during December. Since 2003, gaming win on the Strip has increased more than 15 percent year-over-year during December.

"The comments I've gotten back from operators is that interest in the rodeo has grown stronger every year," Streshley said. "There are more people coming in each year, and it's been good for the casinos."

This year, the NFR will surpass $600 million in nongaming economic impact to Las Vegas during the rodeo's history. Rodeo visitors are expected to spend $48.5 million in the community over the next two weeks.

While the rodeo competition itself has sold out the 17,500-seat arena for 200 straight performances, the visitation goes beyond fans of bull riding and steer wrestling.

"It's really become more than just a rodeo. It's a two-week-long Western festival, the largest of its kind," said Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson, whose organization produces and promotes the NFR.

As in previous years, hotels turn their showrooms over to mainstream country western singers, such as Big & Rich and Brooks & Dunn, and Southern-style comedians, including Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy.

The annual Cowboy Christmas Gift Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center runs simultaneously with the rodeo and has attracted more than 2 million people in the past 20 years.

This year, more than 30 Las Vegas resorts are planning to pick up a live closed-circuit television feed of all 10 NFR events so rodeo fans without tickets can view the competition.

Gaughan, who is hosting the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's convention at the South Point, said visitation has increased as the rodeo has grown in popularity. Those folks, he said, also spend money in the city's casinos.

"Even people not attending the rodeo come to town just to be here anyway," Gaughan said. "With the live television feed, I think we will see even more people this year. December always was our worst month (for gaming win). Now, because of the rodeo, December is not a bad month. June is the worst month."

Las Vegas Events said the NFR will attract its 800,000th out-of-town visitor during the 2006 competition, based on ticket holder surveys at the Thomas & Mack. But officials realize that figure doesn't account for country western fans.

"The rodeo is the centerpiece that creates the synergy for the entire event," Christenson said. "It's just part of the entire festival, that includes the entertainment, shopping and the experience. In some ways, the economic aspects of the NFR don't reflect what this event has meant to the city and to the sport."

Cowboys competing in the 2006 NFR are vying for almost $5.4 million in prize money, the largest purse ever. The first Las Vegas NFR had a prize purse of $1.8 million.

Troy Ellerman, commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, said the popularity of Western culture has piqued an interest in rodeo. While none of the association's other sponsored events can match the NFR, Ellerman said prize money has grown at some rodeos to try and emulate some of what happens in Las Vegas.

Rodeos in Houston and San Antonio next year, will both have $1 million prize pools, a first for the circuit.

"The National Finals Rodeo wouldn't work anywhere else but Las Vegas," Ellerman said. "It's the atmosphere and hospitality aspects that makes this an event more than just a rodeo. People come here to watch the rodeo, shop and gamble."

Christenson was the assistant director of the Thomas & Mack when the NFR first arrived. He's watched the growth first-hand.

"I don't think we knew what we had originally," Christenson said. "What the rodeo has done has brought people to Las Vegas when we didn't have any visitors. And it's become more than just a rodeo."