Turnout low for running of bulls

Jace Radke

Monday, July 12, 1999 | 11:17 a.m.

Henderson mail carrier Tom Suchy staggered into view as the last of 15 bulls ran by him at Sunday's Running of the Bulls in Mesquite.

Cradling Danny Bautista, a fellow mail carrier who appeared unconscious, Suchy wailed, "It was a massacre, and it was ugly."

Seconds later Bautista sprang the joke by jumping from his friend's arms and showing everyone he was fine. The spectators gave the two hams a hand, but many of the vendors at the Mesquite Rodeo Grounds felt massacred by an event that didn't generate the crowd they were hoping for.

"This is the saddest event that I've ever been a part of," Las Vegas businesswoman Shirley Povey said. "I've been to some events that have had low turnouts, but this is the worst.

"It's a big disappointment."

Povey, who owns Hippie Chick, a business that specializes in event merchandise like T-shirts and hats, was expecting to see large crowds like the 12,000 that attended last year's event. But the crowds didn't come.

Event promoter Phil Immordino didn't get the attendance numbers he wanted after expanding the run from one day to three this year.

"We were hoping to get 10,000 to 12,000 people out here, but we just didn't get the crowds we were expecting," Immordino said. "I estimate that for the three days we probably had about 8,000 or 9,000 people out."

The vendors disagreed with those numbers, many estimating that there were only about 3,000 people at the three-day event.

Immordino added a Friday night concert, a rodeo exhibition, and held two bull runs Saturday and two more on Sunday to accommodate up to 2,000 runners. About 500 people ran Saturday, while 100 ran Sunday.

"The event is something that is very exciting and unique, but in the first few years of anything you're going to have growing pains," Immordino said. "Overall the event was a success. It ran smoothly and we have something to build on for next year."

Immordino said the rains and flooding in Las Vegas may have played a part in the turnout being lower than last year's.

"We'll probably move the event to the springtime next year," Immordino said. "It will be a little cooler, and we won't get caught by the summer thunderstorms.

"We may make it a one-day event again."

Some of the vendors left after Saturday, and most of those who remained said they had lost money on the event.

"I know we won't be coming back," Povey said. "There needs to be entertainment and things for people to do besides watch the runs. It has to be a full day of events to draw the people."

Suchy and Bautista have run in the event both years, and say the draw for them are the bulls and the rush they get from being chased.

"I'm always looking for a thrill and an adrenaline rush and this does it," Suchy said. "When I was younger I was into judo and was in a tough man contest. Basically whenever there is a line that says, 'morons apply' I'll try it."

Jonathan Lee, a student and track team member at UCLA, also enjoyed the runs on Sunday.

"At first I didn't think it would be that great, but then they let the big bulls out and it's hard not to get excited when the big ones come running right behind you," Lee said. "I kept looking right or left for the escape routes, but when you're going that fast they're hard to see."

The bulls weighed between 1,500 and 2,000 pounds and were released in three waves of five for each run.

"My coach may want to use this as a training technique because it definitely motivates you to run," Lee said.

Lee and runners who pre-registered paid $65 for the right to run with the bulls, while those that wanted in on the action the day of the event paid $75.

An additional $20 was supposed to be charged if a runner wanted to be a part of both heats on Saturday or Sunday, but on Sunday anyone who had already run was allowed to run in the second heat for free.

Some of the runners complained about the condition of the ground in the one-third mile course that was about 30 feet at its widest and 20 feet at its narrowest.

"The ground is really soft from the rain so it's hard to run in the middle because it is all turned up and easy to trip in," Bautista said.

One man suffered a broken leg on Sunday after falling in the soft dirt, but no one else suffered more than minor bruises during the three-day event, Immordino said.