Popular event bigger than ever with family-friendly festival, carnival games

The Helldorado Days Rodeo returns to downtown Las Vegas, Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8 at the CORE Arena at the Plaza Hotel & Casino. This year, the event will be bigger than ever before with the addition of a family-friendly festival before the rodeo excitement begins each night. The festival will include a petting zoo, a mechanical bull, carnival rides and games, line dancing, and more.

The Helldorado Days Rodeo is fully sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. The rodeo will feature bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, breakaway, and bareback riding, with prize purses totaling $40,000.

The Helldorado Days Rodeo also features related western-themed events, like mutton bustin (a sheep riding competition for future cowboys and cowgirls who are 4-10 years old and under 60 pounds), a Whiskerino contest, and a historical exhibit area. The winning artwork of a children’s coloring contest will also be on display the first night.

After parties featuring country music acts will be held at the Sand Dollar Downtown after the rodeo concludes.

General admission tickets for the Helldorado Rodeo are now on sale online for $10 per person (plus taxes). VIP tickets for $30 each (plus taxes) offer guaranteed seating as well as access to an exclusive bar and restrooms.

Sponsored by the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial and the Plaza Hotel & Casino, the mission of the Helldorado Days Rodeo is to bring the community together to celebrate the spirit of Old Las Vegas, including those who shaped the city’s history and those who are working to preserve the western lifestyle while looking toward the future.

Details about the Helldorado Days Rodeo, associated events, and sponsorships are at: plazahotelcasino.com/entertainment/helldorado-days-rodeo/.

Attendees of the initial sessions noted positive anecdotal outcomes.

EPIC Global Solutions announced a new partnership with Underdog to further the sports gaming operator’s investment in responsible gaming education through a series of training and workshops.

As part of the partnership, customer-facing Underdog employees participated in gaming harm awareness sessions and VIP relationships workshops presented by EPIC staff, increasing Underdog staff’s ability to recognize potentially problematic gaming behaviors in their customers.

The sessions were led by consultants who shared their own experience of how different forms of gaming proved problematic in their lives, including former NCAA and NBA point guard Stevin ‘Hedake’ Smith and former boxer Liz Thielen, and provided Underdog staff the chance to explore the human side of harm through a gaming-neutral lens.

EPIC’s VP North America Teresa Fiore noted: “We’re very pleased with the positive start to our working relationship with Underdog. They have a deep understanding that responsible gaming practices must be at the core for any major operator, and it’s a constant and consistent process of learning and attentiveness. It’s clear from the session feedback that the responsible gaming message we share – influenced by the lived experience of our team – is making a difference to Underdog’s staff in a way that will further enhance their communication and customer relationships in a positive way.”

The training and workshops promoted business sustainability and customer protection by exploring communication techniques and best practices to foster healthy customer relationships.

“Partnering with EPIC has reinforced the culture of responsible gaming that we are building at Underdog,” said Adam Warrington, Vice President of Responsible Gaming at Underdog. “We look forward to furthering the understanding of responsible gaming within Underdog and continuing to participate in training sessions and workshops to deepen our player protection knowledge.”

Attendees noted positive anecdotal outcomes, such as learning ‘the nuances of messaging’ and how to ‘dive deeper to get to the bottom of what messaging could be problematic’ and taking the message of ‘direct experiences to help understand how people are impacted’.