Inside the 'Cowboy City' in Las Vegas with Ryan Growney

There is a mini rodeo city along Las Vegas Boulevard. Home to cowboys and cowgirls more than 40 weeks out of the year, 'Vegas Cowboy Central' is an unforgettable glimpse into Western culture.

What is it about the cowboy culture that’s so alluring to others? Their love for their heritage, pride in the work they put forward, and respectful mannerisms may be what draws outsiders into the Western way of life. It’s certainly part of what prompted Mr. Michael Gaughan and his wife Paula to build them a city.

“Cowboy City, I like that. Vegas Cowboy Central is what we call it,” General Manager Ryan Growney said.

Growney proudly balances his professional career with his love for the Western way on a daily, managing the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa, and serving as Mr. Gaughan’s right-hand man.

World-famous Budweiser Clydesdale Elite, South Point Owner Michael Gaughan, Budweiser Dalmatian King, and South Point GM Ryan Growney play a hand of blackjack inside the casino. 

Tom Donaghue

“It’s awesome. It all starts with Paula and Michael Gaughan. It was their vision to build this equestrian center, and everyone thought they were crazy.” he added. “For the first couple of years, people would have said they were right.”

Growney said their vision for Vegas Cowboy Central took some time to build, and even more time for people to understand what they were aiming to accomplish.

South Point Hotel & Casino Owner Michael Gaughan and GM Ryan Growney during the Wrangler NFR.

“The Gaughan has been taking care of cowboys for so long, and they literally built them a hotel, a playground for them to house their horses in, to do rodeos, and whatever they want to do within the western way of life.”

The South Point Arena and Equestrian Center is the number one equestrian center in the United States. It hosts the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) Convention ahead of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, world-famous reigning and cutting events, and the World Series of Team Roping, which is the third richest equestrian event in the world.

Kicking off The American Rodeo Contender Tournament, the South Point has also made a home for contestants to compete in the Western Regional Finals, which just wrapped up on January 13, 2024.

“We love it. I just have to compliment my guys and girls out here in the arena. My staff is absolutely unbelievable. We will do 49 weeks of events out here and 42 of them are Western way of life,” Growney emphasized.

Many people are surprised to see their mini rodeo city embedded into Las Vegas Boulevard and Growney loves that too.

At least 1,200 horse stalls (often more during events), a top-notch veterinarian clinic, feed store, 60 acres of trailer parking, and three competition areas, including two indoor and one outdoor arena, make up the equestrian part of the hotel, none of which you would ever see coming in the front doors to the casino.

Growney credits his upbringing in the rodeo business to ‘lend itself pretty well to this operation.’

“The fact that I can leave my office, jump on a horse, and go out back to unload cattle trucks with my Uncle Lloyd on some average Sunday is just amazing and I love the Western way. Some of my greatest friends in the world are from this community.” - Ryan Growney

Lloyd Faria walks his horse through an elevator at the South Point Hotel in the early morning hours with Ryan Growney standing to his left, next to a couple of hotel guests.

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What would you like to see from the Western industry in 2024?

“I think we need to keep doing what we’re doing. Expose more people to the history of what the American Cowboy has done for this country… We need to continue as people are gravitating towards it. With all the stuff you see in today’s world and around the country, people ARE gravitating toward it and we need to keep bringing them into the fold.”

From employees to CEOs, anyone who has met Mr. Growney knows he lives by these words as well. ‘Yes sir,’ ‘No ma’am,’ and often taking his hat off to greet you is something you will see the GM do consistently, regardless of who’s watching.

“Introducing more people to the Western of life… They become attracted to the values with which we all love: The love of God, love of country, and we need more of that. So what everyone is doing to try to introduce more people to that world is a great thing and we’re just trying to do our small part too to help that cause.”

The ‘Yellowstone effect’ was discussed widely throughout the 2023 PRCA Convention held at the South Point, and Growney agrees with what leaders like Taylor Sheridan are working to do.

“It’s that extension of culture, the Western way of life,” he says that coincides with Mr. Gaughan’s original philosophy. 

So don’t be surprised to see hat boxes and saddle bags at the check-in counter of the hotel or, on some days, maybe even a horse paraded through the casino lobby. Bringing cowboys to Las Vegas and Las Vegas to cowboys is a legacy the South Point only wants to see grow.