Las Vegas Weekly

October 30, 2008 · 11:03 AM

15th annual PBR World Finals buck out today as McBride guns for $1 million prize

By Robin Leach

Justin McBride holds a PBR FInals trophy aloft.

Photo: PBR

Week in and week out, for the past eight months the world’s best bull riders have been competing on the elite 2008 Built Ford Tough Series -- all riding to qualify for the World Finals presented by Wrangler. This year, the PBR World Finals celebrates its 15th Anniversary in Vegas and the two-weekend event at the Thomas & Mack Center jump-starts tonight (Thursday) at the Fremont Street Experience with the kick-off party.

Competing riders for the coveted $1 million title will be introduced to the thousands of fans and then “draft” the bull they’ll go head-to-head with in the first round. Country music’s latest sensation, the Zac Brown Band, will perform their top single “Country Fried” plus other hits on the stage immediately after the draft. Two-time and reigning PBR World Champion Justin McBride, a former hometown student at UNLV -- who recently told Luxe Life that this year’s finals would be the last of his bull-riding career -- will be among those introduced.

First-round “warfare” against the bucking bulls gets underway tomorrow (Friday) and continues through Nov. 8, when the million-dollar champion is crowned. “I’m in it to win again,” said Justin. “I’m not in it to lose.” Luxe Life will have daily updates, action photos and videos on our new multimedia interactive VegasDeluxe.com all next week so be sure to log on, bookmark the new website and chart the race towards $1 million.

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