The world famous barbecue event, the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off is celebrating it's 27th year.Â
In the next couple of days, 24 cookers from around the world are going to serve 250 thousand pounds of ribs, so you can bet they need the extra time to get ready for this big event.Â
Jon Bigalk, the Pit Master of Just North of Memphis BBQ said, "This is the biggest rib cook off, not only in the country but on the planet."
The biggest and the best, with people from all over the world coming out to get a taste.Â
"Came up from California for it every year, so wouldn't miss it," said Rod Bean from Stead. Â
One of the highlights of the event is the rib-eating contest. This year Matt Stonie took the championship title. Fans crowded around to watch.
"We wanted to see the rib eating contest thing so that was pretty interesting to watch. And now we're ready to go taste some ribs, enjoy some drinks and have fun," said Alex Spencer, from Reno.
All 24 competitors say they will cook about 15-20 thousand pounds of ribs this next week.Â
"Last year I broke my personal record which I cooked, myself personally, 5,030 racks of ribs in 8 days. So we started yesterday morning and we won't stop until 6 a.m. on Monday morning," said Bigalk.Â
 With all that time and effort cooking on the grill, you can guess that means the cookers are bringing home the bacon.Â
"On an event like this, every cooker probably 150 to 200 thousand dollars," said Bill Johnson, the Regional Manager for Famous Daves of America.Â
Event organizers say the cook-off is great boost to the local economy.Â
"It brings in about 25 million as a whole to Northern Nevada. Here at the Nugget, we sell out and people who cant get rooms here will go to other local hotels and spend their money there," said Public Relations Director Lauren Garber at the Nugget.Â
Not only are there delicious ribs to try, but you can enjoy the music and craft festival open these next couple of days too. The event runs through Monday.Â
