FORT WORTH, Texas – Las Vegas is one of the most hallowed sites in PBR history.

And, with the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Championship in Las Vegas on Oct. 18-20, new legends will surely be made.

But one man returning to Las Vegas has had more success there than anyone: Silvano Alves.

The 36-year-old veteran is a three-time World Champion, winning his gold buckles when the PBR World Finals were held in Las Vegas, and a member of the 2022 PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede.

Four championships don’t lie – Vegas has been very, very good to Alves. He’s a career 56-for-102 (54%) in Sin City.

“I’m very happy to be back in Vegas because, for me, it’s a very special place,” Alves said. “I’ve got to prepare myself. I’m very happy because I’ve won a lot in Vegas. Every year, I ride very well, and I’m excited to be back there to use my scores to help my team.”

Few riders have helped their teams as much as Alves has helped the Stampede since signing with the squad as a free agent in 2022. In three Teams seasons, Alves is 35-for-75 (46%), finishing an astonishing third in the 2023 regular-season MVP race, behind only Jose Vitor Leme and Cassio Dias.

In 2024, he’s 11-for-26 (42%) for the Stampede – nothing to sneeze at, but even more incredible when you note that his riding percentage in the 2024 Unleash The Beast season was 26% (12-for-45).

And it’s been like this since the jump. In 2023, his UTB riding percentage was also 26%, while his Teams riding percentage was 55%. In 2022, his UTB riding percentage was 23%, while on Teams, it was 40%.

Riding for the Stampede has undoubtedly rejuvenated Alves’s career.

“A bull riding career is waves,” Alves said. “You never know, but I try my best every time and try to ride my bulls. The Teams season is different because you can know more some bulls (in your draw), and you can ride. I just try to push my team and push myself because I tell all the boys on my team, ‘You need to believe in yourself.’”

Alves is also motivated by the young Brazilians in every locker room – not just his own.

“I try to push myself because they look at me sometimes and do better and better,” Alves said. “And not just my team – for all of Teams, too, because I’m not old, but more old than all the young guys. They watch me, and they say, ‘Thank you for everything.’ These Brazilian kids, they look up to me. They say, ‘I watch you at home, and I remember.’ A lot of bull riders, I rode with his father or friends, and now he rides together here with me. I push myself because I know all these kids are looking at me, and I try to get better and better all the time.”

And he still is.

Alves has been a solid contributor for the Stampede in T-Mobile Arena. He went 1-for-2 in 2023 when the Stampede went a disappointing 0-2, and 2-for-4 on the Stampede’s run to the 2022 Teams Championship, including an 85.5-point ride on Hunter in the championship game.

Regardless of what the rest of the team does, Alves is always right on the money of his 54% career riding percentage in Vegas.

That consistency and reliability will be crucial for the Stampede this week, as their spot inside T-Mobile Arena is not yet locked down.

The No. 7 Stampede, No. 8 Oklahoma Wildcatters, No. 9 Arizona Ridge Riders and No. 10 New York Mavericks will face off in the Ride-In Round on Oct. 17 at South Point Arena. The four-way game will determine which two teams advance to the Championship and which two go home empty-handed.

Fans can watch all the action at the Ride-In Round on Oct. 17 at 10 p.m. ET on PBR+.

An exit so early would not befit a legend of Alves’s magnitude, and you can be sure he and the Stampede will do everything in their power to lock in their Championship berth.

It’s particularly poignant for Alves and his teammates knowing that he’s nearing the end of his career.

“I try to focus every time,” Alves said. “Being emotional is normal because I’m so proud of my career, and God gave me everything in my life to ride bulls. I’m very happy, and I’m healthy, and I have the best friends. I thank PBR for supporting me all the time, especially the team – Tina (Battock) and Justin (McBride) and Keith (Ryan Cartwright). Thank you for everything. It’s emotional because I love riding bulls.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media