Las Vegas Weekly

November 5, 2009 · 1:52 PM

Professional bull riders resume chase for $1 million title

By Robin Leach

Professional Bull Riders defending world champion Guilherme Marchi of Brazil signs autographs at Mandalay Bay.

Photo: Glenn Pinkerton/Las Vegas News Bureau

It will take a miracle for professional bull rider and reigning world champion Guilherme Marchi of Brazil to win the first-ever back-to-back championship title at the Professional Bull Riders World Finals, which resume tonight at Thomas & Mack Center and continue through Sunday.

Guilherme was the odds-on favorite when it all began as the tightest race in the 16-year history of PBR, but he was bucked off bulls all three times during last weekend’s opening rounds. He was strongly tipped to become the first-ever rider to win consecutive championships, but it’s not likely to happen this year.

In fact, six of the world’s Top 11 riders have been thrown at the World Finals. Guilherme would now have to win each of the next five rounds and also hope that the two American leaders will be thrown off and forced to quit.

Even though only 6 points separate the Top 5 in the finals here, it will probably come down over the next four meets between two men: current leader Kody Lostroh of Colorado and J.B. Mauney of North Carolina. Only 429 points separate the two riders as they battle for the world title and the $1 million purse.

J.B., 22, who has won $40,000 here from the three rides to date, is the leader in the World Finals event. However, Kody leads overall in the eight-month season.

With mounting injuries, the ring is now down to 40 riders for tonight’s tournament, which will air on Versus through Saturday. By Sunday afternoon, when NBC broadcasts the finals, only the Top 15 riders will be competing in the high-octane, adrenaline-filled, 8-second ride of thrills and spills.

The Cherokee National Youth Choir will perform the national anthem at the 6 p.m. opening ceremony today. Tomorrow, Treasure Island’s the Sirens of T.I. will perform the national anthem, and on Saturday, it will be sung by Felix Carlo. Our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue will be on duty for the remaining PBR events, and we’ll have his photos galleries the day after the event.

Incidentally, members of George Strait’s Ace in the Hole band will be playing at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel tonight. The PBR Fan Zone, Marketplace and Nightclub continues at Mandalay Bay.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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