Live! Casino Rodeo To Provide Formidable Challenges in Pennsylvania, That’s No Bull

Posted on: June 3, 2022, 08:59h. 

Last updated on: June 3, 2022, 09:17h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Pro bull riding will be on display this weekend during an outdoor rodeo at the Live! Casino Pittsburgh.? Among the bulls taking part is Proctor’s Pride. No one has ever ridden him for at least eight seconds on the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Tour.

Proctor's Pride
Proctor’s Pride makes it difficult to ride him, pictured above. He will appear in a weekend rodeo at Live! Casino Pittsburgh. (Image: K Bar C Bucking Bulls via Facebook)

Proctor’s Pride has appeared twice at the PBR’s world finals. He also is ranked as among the top 100 bulls worldwide, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Another major challenge will be riding I’m a Secret. That bull also appeared in the PBR world finals twice, the newspaper said. It has just been four times I’m a Secret has been ridden.

We’re going to have an all-star lineup of livestock…,” Live! casino general manager Sean Sullivan told the Post-Gazette. “And it’s critical. It attracts the cowboys and cowgirls to come to these events. And it’s all about the show. You can’t have an event without the professionalism of the livestock.”

Rides, Ropes, Clowns

Among the events are bull riding, barrel racing, trick ropers, and rodeo clowns, TribLive.com, a regional news site, reported. Most of the riders come from such states as Oklahoma and Texas. But some brave Pennsylvania residents may take part, too.

The rodeo will be held in a temporary arena constructed in the property’s Westmoreland Mall parking lot. To construct the arena, the casino shipped in 42 tons of dirt. Seats will hold about 2,000 spectators. Also, the events will pay out $17,000 in prize money over the weekend.

The shows will be held between 3 pm and 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. General admission tickets are $25 for each show. Tickets for children are $12.50. VIP tickets are $50 each.

A concert is scheduled for 8 pm to 10 pm on Saturday. David Nail and the Hobbs Sisters are among the featured acts.

Food trucks are expected to be onsite for lunch and dinner.

Those attendees who wish to can contribute to the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. The casino’s parent company, Cordish Gaming Group, has pledged $1 million to the museum.

Expansion, REIT Deal

In April, Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Greensburg, Pa., announced it is expanding its footprint with a new 7,000-square-foot events center. Dubbed The Venue at Live! Casino, the events facility will occupy formerly vacant space inside the Westmoreland Mall. Live! Casino Pittsburgh opened in what was formerly a Bon-Ton department store in November of 2020.

Also in December, Cordish announced it was selling the physical assets of Live! Casino Pittsburgh to Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI), the real estate investment trust of Caesars Entertainment. The transaction allows Cordish to rent Live! Pittsburgh’s operations from GLPI for a minimum of the next 39 years.

Cordish will pay GLPI $125 million annually to run Live! Casino Pittsburgh, plus Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland and Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia. GLPI paid Cordish $1.81 billion for the three casino properties.