Las Vegas Weekly

December 9, 2008 · 12:03 PM

Photo Gallery: At the halfway point, NFR features competition, autograph and photo ops and country legend Ronnie Milsap

By Robin Leach

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Country singer Crystal Shawanda kicked off last night’s fifth day of festivities at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo as we reached the halfway mark with the fabulous finale set for Saturday and the $5.5 million prize purse awards.

Susie Luchsinger sang the national anthem for the country crowd, and our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue was at our Thomas & Mack Center to capture all the action and excitement.

Here’s today’s photo gallery, and don't forget to click to our Photo File for the ever-expanding souvenir photo album of Tom’s shots that will eventually include all 10 days of photo highlights! Tom will be back on duty there today for the 6:45 p.m. start of the sixth performance.

Today in MGM’s lobby, you can get up close for photos and autographs with Speed Williams, eight-time world champion team roper; Fred Whitfield, seven-time world champion tie-down roper; Billy Etbauer, five-time world champion saddle bronc rider; Will Love, world champion bareback rider; Josh Peek, tie-down roping leader; and Royce Ford, the bareback rider who is currently third on this year’s earnings list.

Tonight country star Ronnie Milsap performs for two nights of special shows downtown at the Golden Nugget. Ronnie , a seven-time Grammy Award-winning artist, was one of the top country singers throughout the 1970s and ’80s and still today is hailed as a country king, with 40 No. 1 hits and sales of more than 30 million records.

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