Is Nugget Rib Cook-Off Still Open? Food Paradise Update (Sparks, NV)
Food Paradise, Season 1 Sparks, Nevada
Current status
As of October 2026, Nugget Rib Cook-Off is open — confirmed via Yelp, September 2026.
What the source shows: A Yelp listing for the Nugget Casino Resort updated in September 2026 and Wikipedia's account of the cook-off's continuing Labor Day tradition both indicate ongoing operation, even though the resort's own site returned an HTTP 403 error during the 2026-09-08 check. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 1, Episode 11
- Address 1100 Nugget Ave, Sparks, NV 89431
- Now called Nugget Casino Resort
- Website nuggetcasinoresort.com
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Food Paradise?
Food Paradise's "Ribs Paradise" (Season 1, Episode 11) featured the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, an annual competition centered on St. Louis-style pork ribs, held at Victorian Square in Sparks, Nevada, over Labor Day weekend every year since 1989 and sponsored by the Nugget Casino Resort, according to Wikipedia. The Nugget Casino Resort is a longstanding hotel-casino in Sparks that hosts the cook-off alongside its gaming floor and event space. A Yelp listing for the resort, updated in September 2026, lists it with more than 2,000 reviews, indicating continued operation, according to Yelp.
The resort's own website returned an access error rather than page content during a site check on 2026-09-08, so the Yelp listing and Wikipedia's account of the cook-off's continuing tradition stand as the evidence of current operation. No closure or ownership change has been reported.
The episode
Also in Season 1
Season 1: 85 of 114 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners
-
Ep 10Jersey Mike's Subs
Open -
Ep 10Katz's Deli
Open -
Ep 11Baby Blue's Bar-B-Q
Open - Open
- Closed
- Open
- Closed
-
Ep 11The Shed
Open
Nearest places
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Hotel Impossible
Open -
Carolina Kitchen and Barbeque Company
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Closed
Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the hotel — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record fp-0082 · checked by Cal Marchetti.