The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off is an annual rib

Ribs (food)

Ribs of beef, lamb, venison, and pork are a cut of meat. The term ribs usually refers to the less meaty part of the chops, often cooked as a slab .They can be roasted, grilled, baked, braised, or smoked....

 cook-off

Cook-off

A cook-off is a cooking competition where the contestants each prepare dishes for judging either by a select group of judges or by the general public...

 in Sparks

Sparks, Nevada

Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States, located east of Reno, Nevada. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count was 90,264. Sparks is often referred to as half of a twin city .-Geography and Climate:...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. The competition involves St. Louis-style pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

 ribs

Spare ribs

Spare ribs are a variety of pork ribs and beef ribs, cooked and eaten in various cuisines around the world. They are the most inexpensive cut of pork and beef ribs. They are a long cut from the lower portion of the pig or cattle, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and...

. The event is held at Victorian Square in Sparks and has taken place annually over the Labor Day

Labor Day

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...

 weekend since 1989; it is sponsored by John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort

John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort

John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort is a casino resort/hotel in Sparks, Nevada. The main portion of the casino consists of two 29-story towers nestled between Interstate 80 and the Union Pacific rail yard. There are additional attached buildings underneath and across Interstate 80 from the towers...

.

History

The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off began in 1989, with six entries and a small group of casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 customers. The initial event did not involve cooking the ribs on-site, but rather reheating them with cans of Sterno

Sterno

Sterno is a fuel made from denatured and jellied alcohol. It is designed to be burned directly from its can. Its primary uses are in the food service industry for buffet heating and in the home for fondue and as a chafing fuel for heating chafing dishes...

 fuel. The inaugural winner was North Main Barbecue from Euless, Texas

Euless, Texas

Euless, known as "Tree City USA," is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities between Dallas and Fort Worth...

.

The event is the main attraction for Sparks, and is mentioned in travel guides and barbecue books.

Rib cook-off and other competitions

The rib cook-off takes place over six days in Victorian Square in Sparks, Nevada; traffic is prevented from entering . Aside from the actual cook-off, ribs are sold to the general public. In 2007 the event, for the first time, drew half a million visitors, and has done so every following year, serving up to 100 tons of St. Louis-style ribs. It was calculated that the 2006 event produced "1.4 million bones' worth of pork ribs."

Top prize for the judged event is $7,500. There is also a "people's choice award" and an award for best sauce

Barbecue sauce

Barbecue sauce is a flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to very thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking...

.

Statistics

Year	Attendance (estimated)	Ribs cooked (lbs)	Winner's home state	References
1989	30,000		Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996			Texas
1997			Texas
1998			Nevada
1999			Michigan
2000			Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
2001	300,000*	126,000*	Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
2002			Kentucky
2003			Kentucky
2004	300,000	148,000	Texas
2005	300,000*	150,000*	New Jersey New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
2006	400,000		Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
2007	500,000*	200,000*	Minnesota
2008	500,000	100,000	Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
2009	500,000	200,000	Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

Note: Statistics marked with an asterisk (*) are pre-event estimates.