Picture this: It’s early December 1984. You’re a hotel/casino operator in Las Vegas. Business is more lively at a morgue than on the Strip or on Fremont Street.

That was the reality.

“Forty years ago, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Las Vegas was a ghost town. And I mean a ghost town,” renowned casino owner Michael Gaughan said. “Showrooms were closed, employees were on vacation. We’d be changing the carpets in the casino or remodeling bathrooms in the hotel rooms.

“It was four to five weeks of no business.”

But that same month, a historic vote took place among the PRCA Board of Directors, on whether to keep the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City or move it to Las Vegas. The result was a 5-5 tie, requiring then-PRCA President Shawn Davis to break the tie.

He voted in favo

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