Desert Companion - October 2012

Da r k n i g h t r i s e s

Great Basin's stellar skyscape

B l a n k c a n va s

P u f f Da dd i e s

Two artists target Vegas for an art attack

You can thank these chefs for smoking (their food)

OCToBER 2012

43 great

Places to

shop!

Whether you're a foodie, fashionista or gadget freak, these Stores will have you dancing in the aisles

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editor’s note

s

In a material world

Next Month in Desert Companion

To the rescue: local heroes! Plus our gift guide

4 | Desert

Some might consider it absurd to say that shopping can be personally fulfilling, but, yeah, just went there. When I say shopping, I’m not talking about compulsive indulgence in raw consumer want, or stoking that weird hoarding impulse that fuels warehouse stores and discount chains. I mean something at once more discriminating and expansive, curatorial and broad-minded. You see something fine, or beautiful, or true, or even useful. In nature, the rule is to let it be. In the city, there’s the option to buy. (Isn’t civilization great?) In the best shopping scenarios, you get something of lasting value that gives your life a sense of upgrade — a little psychic boost.

It’s more than about acquiring things, of course. It’s about the experience of the exchange. We’ve all withered a bit under the lost, vacant gaze of the robo-clerk at the big-box store checkout lane, or sampled the miasma of spiritual defeat that hangs like a pall over most fast-food restaurants, and we’ve thought, You know, I’d be willing to pay a few bucks more to not feel like my soul is slowly dying.

The mantra of the 21st century is that experiences have value, and it’s true whether you’re backpacking through Europe or buying a new sofa. That’s why I’ve always liked small businesses. Not only do they make the experience count, but the personal service they so often provide can make you feel like a VIP with inside access.

Those were among our simple criteria when we chose 45 of our favorite shops in the valley — from ethnic delis to design boutiques to hobby stores.

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

We also asked: Do they provide quality goods or services? Are they decent, interesting people? And are they in it for more than just the bottom line, to make the community, maybe even the world, a better place? In the pages that follow, you’ll find a longtime local jeweler helping Ugandan women escape poverty, a design boutique that sells eye-popping, upcycled pieces from independent artists, and a bookstore owner who believes reading matters more than ever in our data-addled age.

(And when you’re done pleasing the angel on your shoulder, there are also some cool places that sell meat and cigars.) Start browsing on page 51. * * * * * Congrats — to us! Desert Companion took home 14 awards at the Nevada Press Association banquet, held Sept. 22 at The D Las Vegas downtown. The annual statewide journalism contest recognizes excellence in writing, reporting, photography and design — and we got some serious love.

I’m particularly proud of our first place winners: Jarret Keene for Best Feature Story (“Chairpunk!,” April 2011), Heidi Kyser for Best Explanatory Journalism, Amy Kingsley for Best Investigative or In-depth Story or Series (“Fight This Feeling,” April 2011), Desert Companion Art Director Chris Smith for Best Overall Design, and Aaron McKinney for Best Illustration (“Talk Hard Die Free,” September 2011). I’m grateful to have such a wealth of talent filling the pages of Desert Companion every month. * * * * * We want your brains. Okay, make that your thoughts. We’re launch-

ing a monthly reader survey to get your take on the latest issue of Desert Companion — what you enjoyed, what you thought could be better, and what you’d like to see in future issues.

(Of course, if you want to use it to lavish undiluted praise on us too, you’re more than welcome). Think of it as your turn to play armchair editor — and as a reflection of our commitment as a public media company to continue publishing a magazine of quality and integrity for Southern Nevadans.

The monthly online Desert Companion Reader survey is quick, simple and best of all, you could win a $100 dining certificate at a great local restaurant. Watch for the survey to be posted on our website during the middle of each month — that way, you’ll have time to have thoroughly enjoyed your issue of Desert Companion.

Andrew Kiraly Editor

THE BRIGHTEST OUTLOOK

STARTS IN SCHOOLS Education is critical to improving the quality of life for our communities. Caesars Foundation has joined Teach For America’s efforts to eliminate education inequity by enlisting our nation’s most promising future leaders to teach in high-poverty schools. Through our partnership with Teach For America, we have adopted Walter V. Long Elementary School for the 20122013 school year in an effort to engage parents and students through sponsored monthly PTA meetings, reinvestment projects, offering Vegas PBS’s Back-to-Work program and enriching student studies through cultural events.

Find out more about how these organizations are supporting education in Nevada. Visit Teach For America’s website at 4 color process

www.teachforamerica.org and Vegas PBS at www.VegasPBS.org.

® The will to do wonders®

contents desert companion magazine // desertcompanion.com

10.2012

DEPARTMENTS 13

All Things to All People

Teaching the iKid generation

By Lynnette Curtis

24

Art

Targeted for art

By Scott Dickensheets

30

Design

A digital design archive

By Tony Illia

34

Issues

Lawyering up

By Heidi Kyser

41

Dining

What are they smoking?

By Julie Hession

101

Guide

From rock to theater to dance, your guide to culture

112

History lesson

The custom of costume

By Michael Green

FEATURES on the cover

51 What’s in store

Wait ’til you see the shopping list we’ve made for you

6 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

64 Night and day

Great Basin National Park’s sky is a landscape unto itself

69 Top Lawyers

We partnered with Martindale-Hubbell to find the highest-rated lawyers in the valley

Photography by Jerry Metellus Styling by Christie Moeller Hair/makeup by Krystle Randall Model Diane Boyle Location Patina Décor Diane is wearing Joie leggings, $128; Vince navy blouse, $275; Trina Turk jacket, $595; Tory Burch riding boots, $495; Marc by Marc Jacobs handbag, $448, all available at Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall

UPCOMING SHOWS T I C K E T S STA R T I N G AT $2 4

Dr. John & The Blind Boys of Alabama Performing “Spirituals to Funk”

A State of the Union Conversation: An Evening with Frank Rich & Fran Lebowitz

Two American greats team up to explore jazz, blues and gospel Tuesday, 10/16 – 7:30pm

Two powerhouses of political discourse tackle the election Wednesday, 10/17 – 7:30pm

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

ZOPPÉ – An Italian Family Circus

Presenting the works of Schubert, Chopin and Brahms Monday, 10/29 – 7:30pm

A traditional one-ring circus right in Symphony Park Thursday, 11/1 – 7:00pm | Friday, 11/2 – 7:00pm Saturday, 11/3 – 2:00pm & 7:00pm Sunday, 11/4 – 2:00pm & 5:00pm

|

T h e S m i t h C e n t e r. co m

John Tesh: Big Band LIVE! The entertainment icon presents his favorite big band tunes Sunday, 10/21 – 7:30pm

Ballet Folklorico de Mexico The pinnacle of traditional Mexican dance and music Sunday, 11/4 – 7:30pm Monday, 11/5 – 7:30pm

|

70 2 . 74 9 . 2 0 0 0

Pilobolus Dance Theatre Jaw-dropping dance mixed with startling humor Wednesday, 10/24 – 7:30pm

Clifford The Big Red Dog – LIVE! TM

An all-new, larger-than-life musical fit for the whole family Tuesday, 11/6 – 6:00pm

UPCOMING SHOWS AT

Clint Holmes Friday, 10/5 – 8:30pm Sunday, 10/7 – 2:00pm

Doc Severinsen & The San Miguel Five Friday, 10/12 – 7:00pm Saturday, 10/13 – 7:00pm & 9:30pm

An Evening With Christine Ebersole: The End Of The World As We Know It Cabaret Friday, 10/19 – 8:30pm Saturday, 10/20 – 7:00pm & 9:30pm

Visit TheSmithCenter.com to see the full lineup today 361 Symphony Park Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89106

SEASON PARTNERS

An Evening With John Pizzarelli Friday, 10/26 – 8:30pm Saturday, 10/27 – 7:00pm & 9:30pm

Award Winning Gardens!

p u blish e D B y n e vada p u blic radio

Mission Statement

Desert Companion is the premier city magazine that celebrates the pursuits, passions and aspirations of Southern Nevadans. With award-winning lifestyle journalism and design, Desert Companion does more than inform and entertain. We spark dialogue, engage people and define the spirit of the Las Vegas Valley.

Publisher Melanie Cannon Editor Andrew Kiraly Art Director Christopher Smith Sales manager Christine Kiely National account manager Laura Alcaraz Account executives Sharon Clifton, Robyn Mathis, Carol Skerlich, Markus Van’t Hul

W

e don’t set out to create Award Winning Landscapes.

We build intimate and delightful garden spaces that grow ever more beautiful, year after year. We invite nature into our lives, help the environment, and celebrate life in Southern Nevada.

“One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.”

—W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

Marketing Associate Lisa Kelly Subscription manager Chris Bitonti Web administrator Danielle Branton

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0 0 0 1 1 1

Contributing writers Brian Paco Alvarez, Jim Begley, Lynnette Curtis, Chantal Corcoran, Cybele, Alan Gegax, Michael Green, JoAnna Haugen, Julie Hession, Mélanie Hope, Tony Illia, Jarret Keene, Heidi Kyser, Andrew Kiraly, Debbie Lee, Monera Mason, Danielle McCrea, Christie Moeller, Helen Moore, Kristen Peterson, Jennifer Prosser, Brock Radke, Lissa Townsend Rodgers

7 8 9 0 1 2

Contributing artists Bill Hughes, David Lamfrom, Aaron McKinney, Jerry Metellus, Sabin Orr Editorial: Andrew Kiraly, (702) 259-7856; andrew@desertcompanion.com

Fax: (702) 258-5646 Advertising: Christine Kiely, (702) 259-7813; christine@desertcompanion.com

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(702) 452-5272

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

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Subscriptions: Chris Bitonti, (702) 259-7810; subscriptions@desertcompanion.com

Website: www.desertcompanion.com Desert Companion is published 12 times a year by Nevada Public Radio, 1289 S. Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89146.

It is available by subscription at www.desertcompanion.com, or as part of Nevada Public Radio membership. It is also distributed free of charge at select locations in the Las Vegas Valley. All photographs, artwork and ad designs printed are the sole property of Desert Companion and may not be duplicated or reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The views of Desert Companion contributing writers are not necessarily the views of Desert Companion or Nevada Public Radio. Contact Chris Bitonti for back issues, which are available for purchase for $7.95.

ISSN 2157-8389 (print) ISSN 2157-8397 (online)

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Desert Companion Board of Directors Officers

Elizabeth FRETWELL, Chair City of Las Vegas

Steven Thomas, M.D.

Susan Brennan, vice chair Brennan Consulting Group, LLC

Thomas & Bigler Knee & Shoulder Institute

cynthia alexander, ESQ. Treasurer Snell & Wilmer Florence M.E. Rogers, Secretary Nevada Public Radio

Hear Dr. Thomas’ complete story at cnb.com/thewayup.

Directors

shamoon ahmad, m.d., mba, facp Louis Castle, Director emeritus Patrick N. Chapin, Esq., Director Emeritus KIRK V. CLAUSEN Wells Fargo sherri gilligan jan L. jones Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Experience the City National Difference.

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Dianne Merkey Private Client Services (702) 952-4447

John R. Klai II Klai Juba Architects Lamar Marchese, President Emeritus William mason Taylor International Corporation Chris Murray Director Emeritus Avissa Corporation Jerry Nadal Cirque du Soleil Peter O’Neill R&R Partners William J. “Bill” Noonan, Director Emeritus Boyd Gaming Corporation kathe nylen PBTK Consulting Anthony j. pearl, esq.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas MARK RICCiARDI, Esq., director emeritus Fisher & Phillips, LLP Mickey Roemer, Director Emeritus Roemer Gaming

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Member FDIC

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

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10.2012

NE W S

to all people

PEOP L E C OMM U NIT Y S H OP D ESI G N

cul t u r e

Smart learning for digital kids (no bunnies, please)

g a b u d u c k p h oto : c h r i s to p h e r s m i t h

j

John McClain’s eureka! moment arrived during a children’s birthday party a couple of years ago. The collected toddlers shunned a stack of more traditional presents in favor of a game-changing piece of technology freshly unleashed on the world: the iPad. “I was amazed at the way the kids gathered around it,” says John McClain, a local producer and sound designer.

Later, McClain and friend Angela Abshier, a former intellectual property lawyer with an entertainment industry background, just sort of looked at each other and said, “There it is.”

The it: The pair had been searching for a creative project to work on together, and now they had it: designing apps for kids. They researched the market — competition was plentiful but mostly feeble, they say — pulled together a team of like-minded creative folks in Las Vegas, and launched Gabuduck, named for the adorable way McClain’s young son said “garbage truck.”

Abshier is the now year-old company’s CEO; McClain’s business card reads, “Head of Fun and Games.”

Their first two music-centered apps — “KBC Kids” (positive hip hop for kids of all ages!) and “The Silly Fun Adventures of Miko & Cola” (interactive story and songbook!) — garnered plenty of praise from app critics. The company website itself hints at the apps’ quality with its polished look and clever interface.

“Anytime anyone has the opportunity to say anything bad, they do — and they haven’t,” Abshier says.

“Our mission is to produce better kids’ content and build a brand parents can trust.”

The local firm is getting ready to launch several new apps, including two that feature the musical talents of famously bespectacled ’90s songstress Lisa Loeb. In one, she takes the form of a cat who happens to play guitar. Including talented artists such as Loeb makes a better product while helping the struggling music industry, Abshier and McClain say.

Gabuduck’s apps will generally range in price from $2.99 to $5.99. Abshier says they are “premium priced” for a reason: “We believe you get what you pay for.”

HEAR MORE

You know, for the kids: John McClain and Angela Abshier of Gabuduck

Community

Makin’ it Pawel Szymczykowski will never forget the firebreathing dragons, the steam-powered bicycles, the magical instruments that played music on their own.

Sounds like an LSD trip, but Szymczykowski was just at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif.

Put on by Make Magazine, it’s an annual show-andtell festival where tinkerers and DIYers are the rock stars. “We walked away inspired by the things we saw.”

(Szymczykowski, a software engineer for Zappos, participated too: His crew hacked a Microsoft Kinect input to turn it into a system for trying on clothes virtually.)

Now he wants

The long-term goal is to turn Gabuduck into a subscription service through which parents can continued on pg. 14 get trustworthy, constantly updated content for their children. Abshier believes it will take another year or so to get to the point where Keep up with Desert parents “trust us and know us” enough to Companion events, news start subscribing. and bonus features at Meanwhile, Gabuduck plans to continue desertcompanion.com. creating smart, interesting content for kids.

“These aren’t songs about fluffy bunnies,” McClain says. “Those aren’t interesting to children. All kids like to be challenged, but not all kids are being challenged by their parents.”

— Lynnette Curtis

College-bound? Learn how to handle rising education costs on “KNPR’s State of Nevada” at desertcompanion.com/hearmore DesertCompanion.com | 13

Las Vegas to get on the make. He’s one of the organizers of the Las Vegas Mini Maker Faire, slated for Feb. 2 at the Historic Fifth Street School. He’s calling on all tinkerers, workbench gurus, grease monkeys, do-it-yourselfers, hackers and crafters to get out of the garage and register for the event.

“We’re looking for anything interesting or exciting, whether it’s engineering or chemistry,” says Bill Tomiyasu, a volunteer organizer. (And a maker: Tomiyasu builds desktop trebuchets.). He’s also a member of Syn Shop, a local hackerspace — that is, a community hub for makers — started in 2008.

Makers are encouraged to visit makerfairevegas. com to register before Dec. 22. Since it is a familyfriendly event, it might be best to hold off on showcasing that homemade nuclear reactor.

— Andrew Kiraly

ON THE TOWN These makers aren’t just making beautiful jewelry — out of old magazines, no less, painstakingly rolled, glued and polished — but they’re making a better life for themselves in Uganda. You can support MJ Christensen’s partnership (and score some beautiful necklaces) with BeadforLife at its “Runway for Life” fashion shows 6 p.m.

Nov. 7 and 8 at both its stores.

Info: mjchristensen.com

T H E ANS W ERS

Q: Where was the hot shopping spot in the Las Vegas of yesteryear?

f

A: For most of the 20th century, Fremont Street was the historic, commercial and economic center of Las Vegas. It was the place where people shopped, gambled, caught a movie — and even the train. This was Las Vegas’ main street, where the community would gather and carry on the important business of the day.

It was also a cool place to shop. By the late 1940s, the community was rapidly growing, and a need for new shops and department stores developed.

These new establishments would keep Las Vegas at the forefront of the latest fashions: retail shops such as Woolworth, Sears, J.C. Penney and local favorite Ronzone’s, a community staple for many years. J.C. Penney made a particularly strong impact when it announced in 1949 that it would build a brand new store on Fremont Street. At 27,000 square feet and two stories, it was the largest department store in Las Vegas — and the first with an elevator. Its ultramodern façade with a decorative ceramic veneer — with the Penney name emblazoned across the front — framed large show windows displaying the latest

in men’s, women’s and children’s styles. It opened on April 3, 1952, elegantly decorated just in time for Easter.

But even the mighty J.C. Penney could not halt downtown’s eventual decline. Developments such as the Paradise Palms community two miles south of downtown and The Boulevard Shopping Center (later the Boulevard Mall) prompted Fremont Street stalwarts such as Sears and J.C. Penney to pull up stakes and move south. By the 1970s and ’80s, Fremont Street would be almost exclusively hotels and casinos with a smattering of souvenir shops. The Penney building eventually became a medical center. But now things are coming full circle: Today, the former Penney building is home to the Emergency Arts complex, hosting The Beat coffee shop, art galleries and even a technology library, harkening renewed energy and enterprise on Fremont Street. — Brian Paco Alvarez Brian Paco Alvarez is an urban historian and curator of the Las Vegas News Bureau archive.

Got a question? We’ve got the answer. Email it to editor@desertcompanion.com.

14 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

F r e m o n t S t r e e t C o u r t e s y L a s V e g a s C o nv e n t i o n a n d V i s i to r s A u t h o r i t y

continued from pg. 13

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

PROFILE

Printed matter that really matters Mitch Hanson and Amy Pienta

somersault letterPress

When you ask Mitch Hanson what makes letterpress print-

describes Pienta’s design work. Now meet the machines be-

ing so special, he answers by handing you his business card.

hind the people. There’s Peanut, a Chandler & Price American

Then you get it. “You feel that? It’s tactile. It’s dimensional.

letterpress, a veritable steel tank bristling with flywheels and

There’s substance,” he says. “When I hand people our card,

levers. When Hanson fires it up, it chugs along with a visceral-

they understand. ‘This is cool. They spent some money and

ly satisfying ka-choom ka-choom ka-choom. And then there’s

time on this.’” And love. In an age of iPads, Evites and cheap

Eva, a 1957 Heidelberg Windmill, a German machine the size

laser printers, Somersault Letterpress is a enthusiastic throw-

of a small fridge; watching the slender arms feed paper and

back that serves up slow-cooked print amid a sea of digital

retrieve fresh prints is mesmerizing. Oh, and the sound. The

fast food, from wedding invitations to menus — heck, even

throaty chutter of the Heidelberg’s crank raising the feed ta-

the promo pieces they’ve created for Strip megaresorts are

ble is sooo steampunk. “It always reminds me of the sound

achingly gorgeous. Meet the ink-stained duo: Mitch Hanson

when the rollercoaster is going up the first hill,” says Pienta.

(printer) and Amy Pienta (designer) launched Somersault

(She can’t help but shout, “Ladies and gentlemen, make sure

Letterpress (somersaultletterpress.com) in June 2011, long

your arms and legs are safely in the car!” when she hears Han-

suspicious that reports of print’s death were greatly exagger-

son turn the crank.) And soon to join the crew: A Kelsey Ex-

ated. “A book is a book and paper is paper, and nothing will

celsior handpress, a stout tabletop model. “This is what Ben

ever change that,” Pienta declares. She even got the blessing

Franklin used,” Hanson says with fatherly affection. Indeed,

of her parents — sort of. When she told her father, a former

it wouldn’t be surprising if the Kelsey did duty printing pam-

printer, she was planning to start a letterpress company, he

phlets during the Revolutionary War. “These things never

balked: “He says, ‘Those guys are all drunks with missing fin-

break down,” says Hanson (knock on steel). “They require

gers! Why would you do that?’” Thus far, no missing fingers,

a lot of lubrication, but these were built to last.” Not unlike

but a growing clientele of people who want something more

their print work. One perk of being friends with Hanson

than a Facebook post or email blast to announce a special

and Pienta? You’ll get one hell of a custom birthday card.

event. What is letterpress, anyway? It’s a craft method of

Case in point: Pienta recently designed a congratulations

machine printing that plays in three dimensions: Think raised

card for a bride-to-be friend. She designed the card, and

letters, embossed logos, custom cuts and foils. The result is

Hanson was up half the night, making the plates, prepping

simultaneously crisp, clean, lush and luxurious — which also

the machine — for a press run of one. — Andrew Kiraly

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOHER SMITH

DesertCompanion.com | 17

SHOP

Prada fabric pouch Halloween gets haute with this versatile and vivid pouch. $260, Prada in Crystals at CityCenter

Kate Spade Garance Dore Massie handbag A perfectly pumpkin handbag for holding all those treats (and maybe a few tricks). $498, Kate Spade in the Fashion Show Mall

King Baby Studio “Day of the Dead” enamel belt buckle Spanish style with a dark touch. $190, Caesars Palace and kingbabystudio.com

the browser

Scare up a style No tricks here — just wickedly fabulous fashion that will have everyone shrieking at how chic you are

King Baby Studio “The Band” enamel cuff links These “Day of the Dead”-style cuff links will make you the life of the party. $105, Caesars Palace and kingbabystudio.com John Varvatos “Fight for Peace” graphic T Mummify yourself in style — with a message to boot. $78, John Varvatos in The Forum Shops at Caesars

By Christie Moeller

Dog-eared skull charm This charm may not ward off evil spirits, but it’s certainly bonechillingly beautiful. $34, Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall

House of Harlow triple skull ring with metal stones Get three times the scares with this stylish ring. $60, shopbop.com

18 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Charlotte Olympia spider-embroidered slipper These creepy crawlies on your feet won’t give you the heebie-jeebies. $675, Neiman Marcus in the Fashion Show Mall

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SHOP

S H o p t a lk

A playground for her

Henri Bendel brings its trademark NY chic to Las Vegas — and a touch of bling

h

By Christie Moeller Henri Bendel has arrived in Las Vegas, and now it’s painting the town brown and white. The iconic luxury retailer, known for its trademark brown and white stripes, recently opened its doors at the Fashion Show Mall. Walking through the archway (modeled after the legendary Fifth Avenue flagship store), you’ll be transported into a world of sparkling baubles and heavenly scents. That’s where I recently sat down with Chris Fiore, president of Henri Bendel, to find out what they have in store for Las Vegas.

Desert Companion: What does Henri Bendel bring to Las Vegas?

What sets it apart from other retailers?

Chris Fiore: Accessible luxury. Henri Bendel brings an assortment of energy and excitement in the leather goods category, jewelry category and gifting category all under one roof. That’s difficult to find.

What we offer is unique to Henri Bendel, steeped in our heritage.

Modern versions of what we are known for include the heritage of New York, the quintessential style of New York, and we put it together in a way that is hard to match. There is so much about our assortment that is right for the Vegas customer from a fashion point of view — and from a “bling party” point of view.

DC: In addition to that, Henri Bendel’s personal fragrance bar is legendary.

CF: Henri Bendel was the first American retailer to launch a private label fragrance business. He was a personal friend of Coco Chanel, and introduced her to the United States almost 80 years ago. We will be relaunching our private label collection in the spring. Home fragrance is also a big piece of our business. We have over 40 different scents, a different one for every room of your house and every mood.

DC: Known for carrying the new and next “it” accessories, how does Henri Bendel stay ahead of the trends?

CF: We try our best to run a little faster, work a little harder and keep looking over our shoulders to see what is out there, and try to get it to market, certainly if not before, then as soon as our competition. There are interpretations of style that we “Bendelize.” We take a style and make it our own, and this is the only place you’ll find it.

A splash of sparkle: Henri Bendel’s Chris Fiore

DC: Who is the typical Henri Bendel shopper?

CF: You are, she is and she is. Our target is probably late 20s to early 30s. That’s who we think of when we design, but as far as a woman who comes into our store and finds something she is emotionally connected to, I don’t think there is an age limit.

DC: Lavish window displays, celebrity appearances and events have come to be the New York standard for Henri Bendel. What should Las Vegas expect to see in the coming months?

CF: Next for us will be the opening of our second location at The Forum Shops at Caesars in November, with another slam-dunk opening party. You can always expect to see newness in our stores. New products and focus every two weeks. We will always deliver fashion and excitement.

PHOTO COURTES Y O F HE N RI BE N DE L

From left to right: West 57th sunglasses, $135; Hand Me Down necklace, $228; Sole Ambition loafers with travel pouch, $128

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TRAVEL

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D e s t i n at i o n k n o w n

Lone Mountain

Lone Mountain is just the right size for an afterwork hike, with a motivating view to keep folks climbing. The hike starts at Lone Mountain Park and meanders around the mountain to the west side. Then the trail gets steep. Really steep. In less than half a mile, hikers ascend 600 feet to the limestone peak with panoramic views of the Las Vegas valley. Rest easy at benches halfway up if you get tuckered out. — Alan Gegax

You don’t have to travel far in Las The Hotel Nevada in Vegas to find a ghost. From Bugsy Siegel to Ely is worth a jaunt — Elvis, they’re lurking in dozens of places for a good haunt. around the valley, and spirit-spotting tours are available. October, however, is a great time to venture beyond the city — combine an autumnal road trip with a specter hunt.

Head out toward Death Valley to the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel (amargosaopera-house.com) for a day or weekend jaunt.

Well-known for its resident (and now retired) ballerina Marta Becket, this cluster of historic buildings has also long been a favorite destination for seekers of the paranormal. A spirit or two reportedly haunt the hotel, and you For more corporeal frights, head out on I-15 to might hear stories about the ghost cat that the Stagecoach Depot’s Haunted Cornfield Maze interrupted performances at the Opera House. (glendalehauntedcornmaze.com) near Moapa. Kick Several other historic Nevada hotels boast colorful off your evening with an outdoor barbecue dinner, spirits and haunted guestrooms. One of the nicest is and then climb aboard a big farm trailer for a ride the Mizpah in Tonopah. Built in 1907, the Mizpah out to the corn field. You’ll have plenty of excuses (mizpahhotel.net) was recently restored to its former to scream as you meet local teenagers dressed up as glory and reopened. Keep an eye out for the Mizpah’s chainsaw murderers and zombies around every corbest-known ghost: “The Lady in Red” was a call girl ner. The Haunted Cornfield Maze ($10) is open every who was murdered in the 1920s up on the fifth floor. weekend in October. (For a maze without menace, an Even if you don’t catch sight of her, you can enjoy a “unhaunted” corn maze is open weekdays.) glass of excellent Lady in Red Zinfandel at the bar.

Nighttime is also the only time you can enjoy For a weekend jaunt, head up to the Hotel Nevada some local fauna dressed up for Halloween. Okay, in Ely (hotelnevada.com). While a number of ghosts scorpions fluoresce under black light every day of reportedly call this great old hotel home, one of the the year, but what better time to carry a black-light friendliest haunts the Mickey Rooney Room. Not a flashlight in your car than October? If you’re driving screamer, this old wraith just likes to sit on the bed. in the desert at night (or even around town) do a Much closer to home, the Boulder Dam Hotel in little exploring with your UV beam. Glowing scorBoulder City (boulderdamhotel.com) is reported pions are way cool — and they’re a lot easier to find to be home to a whole squadron of ghosts, from a and photograph than ghosts. — Mark Sedenquist former owner and several criminals to a child and something creepy in the basement.

A brush with greatness You’re bound to see some jaw-dropping beauty this November at Zion National Park — and we’re not just talking about the soaring red cliffs and angelic blue skies. There’ll be lots of beauty popping off the countless canvases at the “In The Footsteps of Thomas Moran” Fourth Annual Plein Air Invitational. Basically, an army of acclaimed landscape artists are set loose in Zion, where they’ll capture the park at the same spots where landscape painting icon Thomas Moran did some of his finest work. Feeling inspired?

The 25 painters will also give free talks, tips and demos on technique, plus offer a few paid, in-depth workshops if you really want to get your Monet on. Proceeds support the artists’ muse: Zion National Park itself. — Andrew Kiraly The “In The Footsteps of Thomas Moran” Fourth Annual Plein Air Invitational takes place Nov. 4-12 at Zion National Park. Info: zionpark.org/artinvitational2012

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l o n e m o u n ta i n : A L A N GEGA X ; h ot e l n e va d a p h oto : p e t e r t h o dy ; pa i n t e r i n z i o n : pa m e l a t e r r y

Ghost towns, haunted hotels and children of the corn

art

We choose you

n

Lots of artists “end up” here.

Couple Matt Couper and J.K. Russ targeted Las Vegas with a particular goal: to live, work and love as artists

By Scott Dickensheets Photography Bill Hughes

1.

Never mind that the Stratosphere Tower looms in some of Matthew Couper’s paintings, as though it’s heavy with specific meaning. That doesn’t mean he’s quite figured out how the two years he’s spent here have affected his art.

“I still haven’t got done processing my reaction to Vegas,” he insists. Something about cultural displacement, perhaps? (He’s from New Zealand.) That’s the sort of thing the paintings themselves will reveal to him over time. For now: “You just have to trust that your instincts were right,” he says.

“The money thing,” observes his wife, artist J.K. Russ, referring to the symbols of corrosive capitalism cropping up recently amid the bones, primates, alchemy and other iconography he uses in his work — bold, symbolic canvases executed in a Spanish colonial style retooled for the 21st century. “That

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Two of arts: Matthew Couper and J.K. Russ

is really a direct response to being in Vegas,” she points out. (“Vegas” comes out as “Vaigus” in their New Zealand accents.)

Couper nods as he lounges in his studio, which sometimes doubles as the living room of their downtown apartment. Everywhere there’s the stuff of artistic production: drop cloths on the floor, source images on the walls, unfinished pieces awaiting attention. Russ sits a few feet away, in the kitchen; her studio is down the hall, in a spare bedroom where she snips images from

girlie magazines and old album covers to assemble collages that explore gender and sexuality.

She’s clearer than her husband about what moving here has meant for her work: “In a lot of ways, Vegas was the perfect place for me to come to,” Russ says. You can see it in the desert creatures that have crept into her collages, snakes and arachnids worn as jewelry by the languid women in her images. Couper sees it, too. “They’ve become much more direct,” he tells her.

2 .

You’d love their place — it’s practically a shrine to the creative life, to the belief that art should be woven into your everyday world, to inventive space management. If Couper wants to show you one of his finished pieces, he has to gingerly peel it out of a roll of paintings stored on the hallway floor. Wow, you think, they even have art underfoot.

The apartment itself is deep in old Vegas, down an alley in a neighborhood Tony Hsieh hasn’t bought yet. (Theirs is the unit with the small painting on the door.) Soho Lofts rises not far away, a brawny reminder that downtown never stops dreaming of an urban cosmopolitanism to call its own. But there’s some righteous street art nearby, too. And bail bondsmen. Wedding chapels. The Arts District. City Hall. The dishabille charm of Main Street. At night, they can see a wink of light from the Fremont Street Experience.

It’s that sense of in-betweenness, and the open-ended narrative of possibility that comes with it, that largely explains why Russ and Couper chose Las Vegas two years ago when they abandoned the smallness of their native New Zealand. It’s not like they aimed for L.A. and overshot the landing, either — this was a deliberate choice.

3.

Consider that for a minute: Let’s go to Sin City and make art.

Counterintuitive, yes: Other cities boast more cultural infrastructure and star-making power, which, with their talent and experience, they might’ve taken advantage of. But Russ and Couper believed they would find extra creative latitude here precisely because Vegas isn’t burdened by that stifling apparatus. They’re free to “feed off of what’s here,” Couper says. “Los Angeles is established, jaded; going there we’d have to start at the bottom of the ladder.”

“There’s more opportunity here,” Russ adds, “if you’re willing to put in the time and effort to make something happen.”

“They could have gone almost anywhere, and it would have been easier on them, at least financially,” says artist Brent Holmes. “But they made what I think was a more difficult choice — almost as a challenge.”

4.

Of course, Russ and Couper aren’t the first to seek creative license in Vegas — the tag cloud of their ambitions (“opportunity,” “freedom,” “pioneering spirit”) resembles that of pretty much every incoming artist

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art

since Bugsy Siegel — but they’re making the most of it now, having worked their way very close to the center of the city’s visual arts scene, with rising profiles and a subtle but undeniable influence.

If you’ve lately been to any art event more public than hanging a picture in your living room, chances are you’ve seen one or both of them. Matt, slight of build, shaven of head, intense of eye, perhaps talking about the art in that unmistakable Kiwi accent; Jo, maybe taking notes for her blog ( jorussfotodiary. blogspot.com), perhaps talking about the art in that unmistakable Kiwi accent. (They’re “intimidatingly smart,” Holmes says, and can genuinely drop the deep art-history knowledge.) Gallery openings, exhibit closings, lectures, parties, informal get-togethers — they’re always looking, always talking.

“They kind of noticed me after my show at Blackbird Studios in 2011,” Holmes recalls.

“They thought maybe we had something in common and were like, ‘You wanna come hang out and talk?’”

“If I have a question about art or the gallery, they’re the people I go to right away to bounce things off of,” says Shannon McMackin, owner of Henderson’s Pop Up Art Gallery.

And there’s substance beneath the network-

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Left: “Lascivious Landscape I” by J.K. Russ, mixed media on vinyl record (courtesy of Sin City Gallery). Right: “Burden” by Matthew Couper, oil on canvas (courtesy of PAULNACHE, New Zealand)

ing. Earlier this year, Russ had a well-received exhibit of her collages in the Sin City Gallery, “The Desert of Earthly Delights,” and she organized the Contemporary Arts Center’s important Off the Strip performance art event in September. Couper has exhibited in numerous shows here and elsewhere. (His Facebook friends are often treated to posts from cities where he’s hanging something of his in a gallery.) He’s got a pair of big shows in New Zealand coming up, mostly paintings that deal with his time here.

5.

In that way, conversation by conversation, show by show, piece by piece, they’ve become prominent among a vanguard of newly pronounced talent — artists such as Holmes, Filipino painter and performance artist Jevijoe Vitug, fabric artist Eri King and others

who, if they stay, will be pillars of the scene.

The core group bonded during the run-up to the London Biennale, a performance-art event many participated in this July. Now they get together often, to talk shop or plot the future.

They may have little stylistically in common, Vitug says, “but when we talk about art, it’s as if we’re on the same page.”

“They’ve had a strong influence on the direction my career has taken,” Holmes says.

Russ and Couper’s timing has been fortuitous. Thanks to such developments as the Emergency Arts complex, The Smith Center, a revitalized First Friday and Zappos’ promise of downtown as a creative-class playpen, the arts scene is experiencing one of its periodic fevers of excitement. There’s once again a sense that something homegrown might jump the city limits. People meet, formally or casually, to talk about the state of,

Russ and Couper have worked their way close to the center of the city’s visual arts scene, with subtle but undeniable influence. the needs of, the future of Vegas art. Russ and Couper are among the leading voices in those conversations, gently supporting the idea that Vegas is poised for bigger things without trying to dictate the details. Theirs is a soft influence.

“They tend to add an air of legitimacy to whatever they touch,” Holmes says.

6.

At this point you might be feeling saccharine overload — they just sound too good to be true. Well, it gets worse: “They’re nice, too; they’re not assholes,” Holmes will tell you. “As we speak, Matt’s at the (Contemporary Arts Center) drilling holes in the wall to help other artists hang their work, instead of

getting ready for his shows in New Zealand.”

There you have it.

Their appeal is surely enhanced by the fact that they’re a couple. It’s romantic and charming that two people have twined their lives around one idea, wholly invested in the art life — down under, Russ often worked as a graphic designer. Here, they’re both full-time artists.

“I’ve always admired couples like that,” McMackin says. “I think it’s amazing, two people just making art, surviving off of their work.”

“When you see hard-working people like Matt and Jo,” says Vitug, “who are full-time artists with no steady income coming from here, but who have managed to stay here and continuously do ambitious project, it gives you confidence that there is still hope here.”

Say I Do In a Wonderland

7.

There have been some distinctive phases in the discussion of what constitutes a Vegas style of art. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, smart people talked about risk as an artistic theme, the way certain art could link casino wagering to the apocalyptic gambling represented by the Nevada Test Site to various social issues. A French theorist or two later, it was all about the Spectacle or the Simulacrum — did you know Vegas was all about the authenticity of artifice? Then came Dave Hickey and his poetics of beauty, expressed in a preference for hard, gorgeous surfaces that echoed the high-tech shimmer of the Strip.

Yes, that’s a vast simplification, and sure, it’s riddled with exceptions, but it does get at the way the local culture regularly feels an urge to bust out a national presence, as if Las Vegas is an aesthetic inheritance it would be foolish to squander. We’re at that point again.

“It’s become kind of a challenge,” Couper says, “working out what could be an aspect of

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the arts scene here, and contemporary practice, that’s regional — that’s reacting to the region, but the region is a total global experience. The Strip is about the whole world put in one place.”

8.

If the idea of a new Vegas regionalism sounds cool, specifics about what it might entail are still maddeningly vague. “It doesn’t necessarily have to have a Vegas look, but a Vegas feel,” Couper suggests. That is, a cultural and psychological content clearly rooted in ... well, what? The internationality of the Strip?

Maybe. The thin line between marketing and art? Possibly. A determination to look at the unpretty machinations behind the pretty facades? Couper thinks so. But, he adds, “the Vegas feel hasn’t been unpacked yet.” And in the absence of a French theorist to do that for us, we’ll have to leave it up to the artists.

“We can’t do what L.A. can do, or New York or Houston or Austin or Chicago,” Holmes says. “So (Russ and Couper) are working on, ‘What can we do that no one else can do?’ And that’s just a really big, big, important question.”

Not just for these two, either. “It’s got to come from an attitude of the artists,” Couper says. Which suits this couple just fine. “What I keep discovering about Las Vegas is that you’ve got to be kind of entrepreneurial in your thinking about how things work,” Couper says. “Just because it’s worked somewhere else doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work here. Which is a good thing; I really like that.”

In other words, Vegas is a blank canvas.

On the floor of his studio, Couper rolls out several of the large canvases he’ll send to New Zealand for his shows there. They are intellectually complex, layered with allegory. In “Retrograde Cabal,” a quartet of pop culture aliens (E.T., Alf, the alien from “Alien” and Roger from “American Dad”) smoke and drink in the shadow of Vegas — visitors using the city for their own self-destructive purposes before moving on. Aliens, caught between worlds.

On one level it’s Couper’s response to the couple being told when they got here that they shouldn’t think they could change an arts scene that didn’t really need them. On another, like most of his work, it adroitly mixes high concept with low culture, an international perspective with city-specific images, the sacred with the profane, all executed with tremendous skill.

Much, you might say, like Vegas itself.

He carefully rerolls his paintings and prepares to send them out into the world.

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Come and stay a while UNLV’s new digital archive of casino architecture reveals the evolution of the modern all-in-one megaresort

l

Las Vegas’ casino architecture has been called a lot of things — kitschy, iconic, gorgeous, outrageous. Now add “historic” to the list.

It’s getting its long-overdue design props thanks to a new digital archive celebrating the city’s imaginative and influential architectural history.

The project, dubbed “Dreaming the Skyline: Resort Architecture and the New Urban Space,” is composed of 2,000 artifacts documenting Vegas’s evolution from sleepy desert rest-stop to extravagant neon metropolis. UNLV led the 12-month archival collecting and digitizing effort, aided by an $80,000 federal grant. Now it lives at digital.library.unlv.edu/skyline.

The archive charts the city’s metamorphosis from the 1950s to 1980s through photographs, drawings and proposals from two key players: architects Martin Stern, Jr. and Homer Rissman. The pair pioneered the template for the modern all-in-one megaresort. (The archive also includes examples from Reno and Lake Tahoe, as well as Atlantic City.)

“Homer Rissman and Martin Stern were the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of resort architecture in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s,” says assistant UNLV architecture professor Glenn NP Nowak.

“Their creation and re-creation of an archetype made the Las Vegas experience simultaneously more accessible and more exotic.”

E v e rything you nee d Indeed, the dynamic duo helped reinvent the local landscape — literally. Rissman and Stern forged the blueprint for destination resorts by integrating multiple amenities into a single location, including gaming, theater, dining, pools and shops.

Stern, for example, designed the groundbreaking International Hotel for Kirk Kerkori-

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

an. The $60 million, 1,519-room International was the largest and most lavish resort of its day in 1969. The 30-floor complex had white marble floors, chandeliers and a 2,000-seat showroom with opening acts such as Barbra Streisand and Peggy Lee. The tri-wing International eventually became the progenitor of the modern Strip megaresort, serving as a model for the Bellagio, Treasure Island, Mirage and Mandalay Bay, among others.

“The International was a landmark at the time. It was the largest hotel resort built, and it was Stern’s first major project,” says UNLV’s Library Special Collection Director Peter Michel.

“It was also off the Strip, which allowed for a different design scheme. It gave Stern the op-

The design of the International Hotel (now LVH) became the template for future megaresorts.

portunity to build from scratch, integrating a big casino with restaurants, venues, and theaters.”

Consolidating disparate attractions into a single location was practical and convenient; it also kept visitors on the property longer. Rissman and Stern used lighting and floor plans to subtly manipulate where patrons would walk — basically, these guys are the reason finding an exit in a casino can be a tricky navigation feat. The pair interlaced entertainment attractions throughout the resort for constant enticement and distraction. In short: the longer they stay, the more money they’re likely to

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design spend. It’s a winning recipe that Strip and offStrip developers have used ever since.

“These resorts were not randomly thrown together,” says architecture critic Alan Hess, author of “Viva Las Vegas: After-Hours Architecture.” “Stern and Rissman very consciously used the elements of design — space, color, sound, circulation and sequences — to optimize the visitor experience and optimize

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owner profits. These designs were intended to keep visitors inside and keep them interested.”

Gone to m o r r ow Architecturally, the work of Stern and Rissman was only meant to last a short while. Las Vegas, after all, prides itself on invention and re-invention. The commercial nature of entertainment architecture requires as much.

“The architecture of the Strip is more of a

performance art than a static sculpture,” says Nowak, who coordinates UNLV’s hospitality design program. “You can tell that most kitsch was designed to last only a short while.”

Rissman and Stern consequently concocted work that embraced the freedom, whimsy and kitsch of car culture with over-sized, sculptural neon displays signs that Tom Wolfe once called a “staple design of the American landscape.”

Families were embracing a new sense of liberation and adventure made possible by the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, which had begun construction in 1956. Travel fueled urban sprawl and the birth of the suburb. It also spurred new roadside development. (Rissman designed most of Primm, Nevada, including Whiskey Pete’s, the Primadonna, and Buffalo Bill’s.) Car travel was cheap and easy, and fueled bigger resorts that served more visitors.

“Roadside America changed the nature of the Strip. More attention was paid to traffic patterns, vehicle access, parking garages, and how buildings were oriented on the site,” Michel says. “The style of automobile culture influenced resort façades and their appearance.”

Both architects embraced the mercurial, ephemeral nature of Las Vegas, with a design aesthetic that characterizes modern urban entertainment and recreational space. Rissman, for instance, designed the Flamingo Hilton Hotel’s white-and-pink-glass concrete towers, built over several phases from 1976 to 1993 for Kerkorian, who was a patron to both men.

Rissman, in fact, added room wings to Stern’s original International Hotel.

“Both men were constantly tearing down and rebuilding each other’s work,” Hess says.

“Renovating and redesigning existing work was their bread and butter.”

The city’s rapid transformation and renewal is famously chronicled in Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour’s “Learning From Las Vegas.” The landmark 1972 book calls Vegas “the archetype of the commercial strip … at its purest and most intense”; it champions the city’s sociological responsiveness to common tastes and values, while simultaneously eschewing heroic, self-aggrandizing architectural monuments.

Although most of Rissman and Stern’s work has been razed and built anew, their influence remains. Both men died in 2001. The pair trained the next generation of Las Vegas architects, including Joel Bergman (Mirage, Trump Las Vegas) who got his start in Stern’s office.

Stern and Rissman’s imagination and creative process still resonate anew through UNLV’s free digital archive. Perhaps best of all? You can’t implode jpegs.

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Lawyering up

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With a flood of new law school grads and discount legal services crowding the Las Vegas market, the new law of the land: Adapt By heidi kyser | Illustration Aaron mckinney Times are tough for lawyers, just like they are for everybody else. The recession shrank demand for legal services — giving rise to competition from cut-rate specialists, causing some firms to lay off staff or close, and forcing those who remain open to make changes in the way they do business. It’s a brutal landscape for any attorney to navigate, but especially for the newly minted.

“People with years and years of experience can’t keep their jobs. Firms are downsizing, not growing; experienced people have lost their jobs. We, with no experience, can’t compete with them for the few jobs there are,” says 27-year-old Las Vegan Amanda Litt, who graduated from Thomas Jefferson Law School in San Diego in May 2011.

Take the gut-wrenching inability to find work in your chosen field, and add to it a six-figure student debt: You begin to understand what it’s like to be many of Litt’s law school friends who remained in California, unemployed — or employed in some field other than law.

“I have friends who have gone to work in clothing stores and restaurants,” she says.

For Litt, it’s easier. She’s a law clerk for Clark County Judge Michelle Leavitt, a position she began just a few months after finishing law school and moving home to Las Vegas.

She finds the employment picture to be better here than in California, and the facts back up this observation. Graduates from UNLV’s Boyd School of Law have higher job placement rates than the national average.

As the economy slowly recovers, some wellestablished folks in the legal field say business is looking up. Despite the upheaval, they say they’d still encourage young people to pursue the respectable and — yes — lucrative field of law. But in this market, the new law of the land is adapt — or fall behind.

T h e law of evolution The legal profession is hemorrhaging jobs nationally. According to the National

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issues Association for Law Placement, the sector lost more than 45,000 jobs during the recession. The recovery that began in 2011 only meant it was losing them at a slower pace.

What caused most of the pain locally, says Boyd School of Law professor Jeffrey W. Stempel, was the end of the construction boom, which had brought with it high demand for legal services.

Stempel says the recession shifted Nevada’s legal landscape, which for many years pre-boom had been “under-lawyered,” making it a great place for solo practitioners to hang their shingle. “There weren’t that many New York City-style big law firms,” he adds.

Then, in the late 1990s, large regional and national firms began opening offices here.

This continued until the mid-2000s, adding more lawyers and larger, more sophisticated firms to the local scene.

Another problem, adds Darcy Neighbors, founder and CEO of CIM marketing partners, came from collections. As businesses struggled, former partners waged war against each other in courts, while attorneys racked up mountainous legal fees that might never be paid.

“In retrospect, we should have seen that it wouldn’t last forever,” Stempel says. “As a result of that, some of what’s gone on has been a correction that might have happened in any event.”

As the recession took hold and business dried up, lawyers moved into action. Although discount-rate firms and those that offer cheap, specialized services have been around for a while, suddenly, they were everywhere.

“The attorneys who advertise on TV tend to specialize in auto accidents, or estate planning, but you didn’t see them painting their buildings pink. It’s not high margin to do tickets, so you need to get high volume. They advertise a lot,” Stempel says.

Responding to pricing pressure, attorneys began to transform the age-old practice of billing hourly for most commercial services and charging contingency fees for cases that might lead to monetary awards or settlements. Suddenly, clients were asking for flat fees or combined flat-hourly fee arrangements.

Firms began cutting costs, taking measures like replacing hard copy law libraries with online resources to save office space and storage fees.

Survivors learned new skills, leaving behind specialties in fields like construction defects for more relevant practices, such as bankruptcy. Entire firms were remade, says Connie Akridge, immediate past president

of the State Bar of Nevada. She went from 80-year-old Nevada-based firm Jones Vargas, which was absorbed by Phoenix-based Fennemore Craig, to Holland and Hart, which operates in the mountain states, taking some people with her.

“I have a health law practice, and I felt it was important to get on a larger platform to be able to market myself,” she says. “I would say it’s a buyer’s market, from a client’s standpoint.”

Into this picture walked law school graduates like Amanda Litt, hoping to find a job.

F r e s h fac e s , m i x ed p r os p ec ts “Law School Grads Face Worst Job Market Yet – Less Than Half Find Jobs in Private Practice.” That was the headline on the National Association for Law Placement’s June 2012 employment report.

Things got so bad for law grads in the last several years that some have sued their schools for misleading them about their job prospects. One such case, filed by graduates of New York Law School, was dismissed in March, but the attorney who represented the students has filed several other, similar complaints around the U.S. Boyd students haven’t got it made, but they seem to have it easier than these disgruntled juris doctorates.

According to NALP, 85.6 percent of 2011 law school graduates are employed on average across the U.S. But UNLV reports that 89 percent of its 2011 graduates are employed. While only 65.4 percent of law grads nationally are in jobs that require them to pass a bar exam, nearly 71 percent of Boyd grads have such jobs. The comparison is similar in almost every parsing of the data; UNLV is faring relatively well. Moreover, most Boyd grads say the work they found is in Nevada.

Trouble is, both local and national numbers are still at historic lows. Akridge says the number of people who took the state bar exam in 2006-07 was in the 900s. In 20112012, only 559 people applied.

“It’s been a sort of gradual decline since the recession kicked in,” she says.

“It’s tough,” Litt adds. “It’s a bad job market, and Vegas is one of the better ones.”

Although some judges will keep their law clerks longer, most of these positions last a year. Litt has been in her clerkship 13 months and says she wants to get into private practice – that’s why she went to law school.

“I’ve applied to many places. I’ve been to many interviews. I’m waiting,” she says.

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Aggravating the problem — particularly for those who are unemployed — is the heavy student loan debt load that law students carry, the only way many of them can pay for the expensive programs. In March, a U.S. News data study found that the overall average indebtedness for American law school graduates was a whopping $100,433. The highest approached $165,000. Juxtapose this with NALP’s finding that the national median salary for these grads in 2011 was $60,000 (and that’s down from $63,000 for the class of 2010).

Litt says law students — and those from other professional fields who are in the same boat — aren’t greedy; they just expected to be able to make a good living. “Most of us are in huge amounts of debt. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are. You have dreams and aspirations.

That’s why you did it. At least that’s why I did.”

Ca r e er a dvi ce: Go for it And yet, Litt says she would tell her young family members, kids of friends, neigh-

As the recession took hold, lawyers moved into action.

Discount-rate firms were suddenly everywhere. bors interested in pursuing a law degree to go for it — not just because she would never deter someone from his own dream, but because it’s still a great career.

Stempel and Akridge agree, noting that one doesn’t have to use a law degree to be a lawyer — a professional degree improves his or her job prospects generally. Lawyers are still better off, they insist, than the average Joe in a recession.

The State Bar of Nevada has organized efforts to help young grads find jobs. A new mentoring program began last year, pairing up new lawyers with seasoned lawyers to help the newbies get their feet wet while still in job search mode. And a new referral service pairs members of the public who call looking for a lawyer with members of the bar who pay a fee to be listed.

CIM’s Neighbors, who specializes in marketing law firms, sees a market that has remained strong in the face of adversity – particularly for those who have adapted.

“The clients we’ve had during the recession have actually grown, “ she says, giving the example of Hutchison & Steffen, a regional firm that she says hired six attorneys in 2010. “They stayed in strong from a marketing standpoint.”

Stempel, whose son is currently at Stanford Law School, believes there will always be demand for attorneys — unlike some other professions that were put out of business.

“You wouldn’t say to your kid, ‘Open up a video store; you can be just like Blockbuster,’ but I would never advise a kid of mine against law,” he says. “Law has changed in evolutionary ways, but it’s still relevant.”

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

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Buy your tickets in advance at www.orion.eventbrite.com for only $25.

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ORION Foundation is a charitable us s organization that assists individuals who are wag unable to afford the essentials of daily living while undergoing treatment for cancer. ORION was established in honor of former Nevada Governor Mike O’Callaghan and First Lady Carolyn O’Callaghan, both cancer survivors. Carolyn and Mike were well known for their genuine care and compassion for those in need.

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One coupon per visit per table. Must be presented at time of purchase. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Unauthorized internet distribution or resale is strictly prohibited. Not refundable or redeemable for cash. Excludes tax, gratuity and purchase of gift cards. Not Valid on Mondays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or New Year’s Eve.

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or 20% off total check

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Tuesday - Friday 3-6pm

$15 off a $75 check

or 20% off total check

One coupon per visit per table. Must be presented at time of purchase. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Unauthorized internet distribution or resale is strictly prohibited. Not refundable or redeemable for cash. Excludes tax, gratuity and purchase of gift cards. Not Valid on Mondays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or New Year’s Eve.

$20 off a $100 check

or 20% off total check

One coupon per visit per table. Must be presented at time of purchase. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Unauthorized internet distribution or resale is strictly prohibited. Not refundable or redeemable for cash. Excludes tax, gratuity and purchase of gift cards. Not Valid on Mondays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or New Year’s Eve.

7501 West Lake Mead Boulevard, at the corner of Buffalo, 228-9463, www.grapestreetcafe.com

10.2012

News Reviews Interviews anomymous O n t h e P l at e

42

The dish

Up in smoke

45

at first Bite

Sweet tooth satisfaction

45

On the Plate

The month in eating

46

eat this now!

An Indian mini-feast

Up in smoke: Two cuts of pork butt in the smoker at Table 34

PHOTOGRAPH BY SABIN ORR

DesertCompanion.com | 41

dining The Dish

What the heck are they smoking?

w

Everything — from pork to salmon to turkey. Inhale the wisdom of two of the valley’s most accomplished smokers

By Julie Hession | Photography SABIN ORR

“When did you learn how to smoke?”

Not my usual opening question for an interview, but in this case it made sense. I received a backyard smoker for Christmas, a gift I was extremely excited about — never mind the fact that I had zero experience smoking meat.

Armed with a notebook (and an empty stomach), I hit up two local experts for words of wisdom on the technique: Chef Wes Kendrick of Table 34, my favorite neighborhood restaurant, and Henry Black of H&H BBQ, which I discovered while judging last year’s Bite of Las Vegas. (H&H easily and deservedly won four categories.)

They’re very different dining establishments employing different smoking methods, but they both produce rich, tender, slide-offthe-bone bites. Whether you’re interested in infusing your own home cooking with smoky flavor or tasting some of the valley’s most expertly smoked goods, these guys are a puff above the competition.

Smoking is a delicate but versatile process.

Left: Table 34’s smoked salmon appetizer. Right: Their tasty smoked turkey breast sandwich.

42 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Ta ble 3 4 : T h e co m p l e x simpl ic i t y o f s m o k i n g “It’s a delicate process.”

Delicate? The first word that comes to mind when you think of smoking food probably isn’t delicate. When Table 34’s Chef Wes Kendrick starts talking about his approach to the technique, however, you gain an appreciation for this cooking method not usually associated with white-tablecloth dining. Each item Kendrick smokes is prepared in a unique way, and the results are indicative of his, yes, delicate process.

For starters, there’s the smoked turkey breast sandwich. It’s become commonplace for restaurants to describe the turkey in their sandwiches as “smoked” when it’s truly just roasted. Hey, we get it. Smoked sounds much more enticing, and nine out of 10 people won’t call you on it anyhow. Well, the turkey in Table 34’s version is actually smoked, in-house.

Chef Kendrick starts with a raw, boneless skin-on breast, which is brined in saline for 24 hours. The turkey is then dried and smoked for an additional four hours before finishing it off in the oven. It is then cooled, sliced, and served simply on toasted wholegrain bread with Swiss and mustard. Kendrick smokes about four six-pound breasts a week, suggesting word has gotten out about this spectacular sandwich.

Alternatively, to create his popular housesmoked salmon appetizer, Scottish salmon is covered in a three-day salt cure, and then airdried for one day before being cold-smoked for six hours. Smoked sausage links are poached before smoking, rather than boiled, to retain the fat and moisture.

He carries out this complex process in a surprisingly simple, standard three-bytwo-foot countertop smoking box in the Table 34 kitchen. Although Chef Kendrick says the general smoking style of a region comes from its indigenous wood (mesquite in the Southwest and cherry or walnut in the Northeast), he prefers to use applewood chips for smoking because they yield a more subtle flavor, which better lends itself to his “New American Cuisine.”

Kendrick’s smoking education started at the restaurant Joe Greensleeves in Redlands, Calif., where he learned the basics. He gradually learned how to modify the process, working with brines and seasoning and putting his own stamp on the technique. Other smoked items he’s featured on Table 34’s menu include their house barbecue sauce, corn and roasted chili soup, trout, blue marlin, albacore and yellowtail tuna for salads. His next goal: smoked cheeses. If anyone can do it, he can.

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Green show at 6:00 p.m.

Performances at 7:00 p.m.

Complimentary Admission STAY CONNECTED - STAY IN THE LOOP!

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DesertCompanion.com | 43

dining H&H : I t ta k e s a l i t t l e lov e (and s ec r e t sauc e ) “Love what you do.”

This was owner Henry Black’s best advice to me for succeeding at the smoker. After I sampled six of H&H BBQ’s meats as part of their combo platter (pork ribs, brisket, rib tips, chicken, beef hot links and pulled pork), it became apparent that this family-run business was built on just that.

H&H was started in 1986 by Black’s father-inlaw. Initially located on Jackson Street, Henry and his wife Cassandra took over the business in 1997, and they moved to their current location on North Las Vegas Boulevard six years ago.

Boasting “Down Home Cooking at Its Best,” H&H is a no-frills establishment, from their unassuming red and white building with a few picnic tables for dining on the side, to their simple Styrofoam packaging and their “BailOut”- or “Starving”-sized portions. It’s as if they’re saying, Our food stands on its own and needs no embellishment.

And it doesn’t. Although H&H also serves Southern soul-food standards such as collard

greens, banana pudding, sweet tea and cornbread, the meat on the menu is the scene-stealer.

Tender pulled pork is mesquite-smoked for eight to 12 hours behind the restaurant in a don’t-messwith-me-sized charcoal-colored smoker, which has been so well-used the wheels are embedded into the ground. The aroma emitted from this giant permeates the meat (and your hair and clothes) with a bold, wood-smoked flavor.

Customer favorites such as the catfish, brisket and pork ribs are coated in a secret rub, then bathed in an equally secret spicy-sweet barbecue sauce, secrets that have helped H&H maintain their reputation as serving the best homestyle smoked barbecue in Las Vegas.

In addition to their take-out business, H&H does a significant amount of catering around the city. They have a second bright red smoker reserved strictly for exhibitions, catering and special events — just some food for thought the next time you want to smoke out your guests.

Table 34 600 E. Warm Springs Road, 263-0034 H&H BBQ 2245 Las Vegas Blvd. N. 444-4227, hhbbqvegas.com

Cloud control Chef Kendrick’s top tips

for turning your creations into a smoking success • Regulating the temperature of your smoker is 90 percent of the process.

If the smoker’s too hot, your food will lose moisture. If it’s too cool, your food will be smoked, but raw.

• For hot smoked meats, brining helps to hold the moisture content. For a cold smoke, such as Table 34’s salmon, use a salt cure in place of a brine.

• To infuse extra flavor into whatever you’re smoking, place fresh herbs (e.g., bay leaves or thyme) on top of the wood chips.

• If you’re just learning to smoke, anything on the half-shell is a good place to start. The natural brine eliminates the need for any additional brining. Oysters, clams, scallops and mussels are smoked in-shell for one and a half to two hours at a very low temperature (100-120F). — J.H.

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

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ON THE PLATE

October’s dining events you don’t want to miss project dinner table Oct. 13. This pop-up dining series features fine food prepared by some of the valley’s most acclaimed chefs, served on at a long table where the drinks and conversation flow. Even better, a portion of the proceeds support a local charity or nonprofit. This month’s event takes place at a private estate and orchard in the northwest valley, and will benefit Three Square and Helping Hands Surgical Care.

3 p.m. $175. projectdinnertable.com

Ellis island’s oktoberfest

Now that’s just cold: Sweet Addiction’s ice cream sandwiches

a t FIRST B ITE

Sweet Addiction

By Debbie Lee | Photography Christopher smith Vegas is ever-changing: casinos get razed and rebuilt, transients move in and out, people get rich and go bust. So when Thrifty’s ice cream left town, its devoted cult following briefly mourned the loss and accepted a new tradition of fancy gelatos and ultra mod frozen yogurt emporiums.

But Marissa Creighton is on a mission to preserve a piece of old Vegas, as well as a treasured childhood memory. Last month, the former school counselor teamed with her husband Randy to open Sweet Addiction, an ice cream sandwich parlor featuring a rotating selection of Thrifty’s ice creams.

The days of the 10-cent scoop are long gone, but a few bucks will get you a generous schmear between two cookies that are baked daily from scratch. The

Creightons tested hundreds of recipes before settling on a menu, and their painstaking efforts paid off. A chocolate chip cookie was just chewy enough to hold up to its frozen strawberry cheesecake filling, and a bite of oatmeal raisin wasn’t too cloying — perfect for letting the ice cream shine.

After only a few weeks, Thrifty’s devotees have formed lines out the door for a fix of the popular chocolate malted crunch and (eerie but colorful) birthday cake flavors.

But a mint chocolate chip sandwich made with chocolate brownie cookies — a hand-held grasshopper of sorts — is a nostalgic and bracingly cool sweet treat.

Summer is over, but it’s not too late to stop in. If the Creightons have it their way, the Thrifty’s revival is here to stay.

Oct. 20. This celebration of beer features live entertainment by the Squeezebox Hero, a pretzel-eating competition and a beer steinholding contest. Specials include: $1,000 in cash drawings; plus $20 for all-you-can-drink Ellis Island microbrews with an authentic German dinner. 4-10 p.m. Free. ellisislandcasino.com

downtown brew festival Oct. 20. Whether you’re a fan of crisp lagers, rich amber bocks or a chewy, chocolatey stout, this is the place to get your beer on. With 125 kinds of suds on offer, the Downtown Brew Festival will celebrate beer of every stripe. The fest will also feature lots of live music, food and vendor booths for buzzed browsing. 2-6 p.m. $32-$52. Clark County Government Center Amphitheater, motleybrews.com

Sweet Addiction 5165 S. Fort Apache, 570-6993, sweetaddictionlv.com

DesertCompanion.com | 45

dining

eat this now!

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702-589-7557 LasVegasIRSHelp.com 46 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Thali

at Rani’s World Foods You may not expect to find fresh Indian cooking hidden inside a supermarket, but that’s exactly what’s happening at Rani’s World Foods. This cafeteria-style spread is best sampled with a thali, an Indian mixed plate consisting of two vegetarian dishes from a rotating selection, dal (lentils), roti (Indian flatbread), basmati rice and pickles. Sure, you may end up eating in the refrigerated foods section, but you won’t find fresher Indian food in town — even outside a grocery store. — Jim Begley

Rani’s World Foods 4505 W. Sahara Ave., 522-7744, ranisworldfoods.com

All-you-can-eat

at Goyemon Sushi House All-you-can-eat sushi is not for everyone; however, under the right circumstances, it can be quite the windfall. This is true of the spread at Sushi House Goyemon, where highquality fish is served alongside Japanese staples. Besides the sushi, don’t miss the seared pork belly or innovative desserts. And here’s an insider secret: If you’re dining there after 11 p.m., you can even order Monta’s renowned shoyu ramen. Just keep that secret between us — they’re busy enough already. — JB

Goyemon Sushi House 5255 S. Decatur Blvd. #118-199, sushihousegoyemon.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOpHER SMITH

Congratulations to our thirteen attorneys recognized as Preeminent Rated Lawyers by Martindale-Hubbell®

Re: Reinvent The Business Lens From: 1 Shot

To: 13 Galleries

He’s photographed all 50 states. Presidents and celebrities collect his work. The $1 million sale of his photo “One” set a world record. Life is good for Master Photographer Peter Lik. And while Peter focuses on capturing his next award-winning landscape, his legal advisors at Lewis and Roca focus on helping him protect his creativity and grow his business.

Thousands of photos and 13 galleries later, Peter knows that being the best means having the right team to help you see the bigger picture.

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wellsfargo.com/aspirations © 2012 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. (734742_06226)

WHAT's IN STORE STORIES By Jim

Begley, Chantal Corcoran, Alan Gegax, JoAnna Haugen, Tony Illia, Jarret Keene, Andrew Kiraly, Debbie Lee, Monera Mason, Danielle McCrea, Christie Moeller, Helen Moore, Kristen Peterson, Jennifer Prosser, Brock Radke, Lissa Townsend Rodgers Photography By Christopher Smith

If you've ever gone half-mad navigating the cavernous aisles of a crowded big-box warehouse outlet, you know shopping can be a chore. But with the right store, the right people and the right price, shopping can be a pleasure. Maybe even an art. That’s what inspired our What's In Store feature. Here we share our favorite stores in the valley, whether it’s where we go to indulge a sweet tooth, pick up a drop-dead gorgeous dress or furnish a living room. From homegrown mom-andpops to specialty stores to food and drinks produced right here in the valley, our What's In Store list will give you good reason to spend some quality time at some quality valley businesses. Read up — and shop on.

DesertCompanion.com | 51

EAT IT UP

Snack s , noshe s, S w e e ts a n d S i ps Sugar high: Victor and Arlene Bordinhao of B Sweet

O l d - fa s h i o n e d s w e e t n e s s

B Sweet Candy Boutique Feel the burn

True Foods Salsas Whole Foods and Fresh52 Market, truefoodslv.com True Foods Salsas isn’t a shop, but a purveyor of artisanal salsas that distributes right here in Las Vegas. While you may not be able to wander to their storefront, you can find them in the salsa cases of your local Whole Foods or at Tivoli Village's Fresh52 Markets Friday through Sunday. True Foods offers five salsa variants: Death — that’d be the hot one; House, a mild red reminiscent of a standard Mexican restaurant table offering; Pico 2.0, their play on a Pico de gallo; Taco Shop Green, a salsa verde with a surprising kick; and my favorite: Guacamolito. Guacomolito? Imagine the crazy love child of guacamole and salsa with a bite to match its insanity and you’ve got a vague idea. JB

52 | Desert

A c a r n i va l f o r carnivores

Village Meat and Wine 5025 S. Eastern Ave. #23, 736-7575, villagemeatandwine.com Entering Village Meat and Wine is like an expedition into Noah’s Ark. A very tasty Noah’s Ark. If it flies, gallops, hops, sprints, scurries or even just kind of meanders about, then they’ve most likely got it. Seriously, their meat case reads like Ted Nugent’s trophy room: alligator, antelope, duck, elk, kangaroo — and that’s only halfway through the alphabet. Besides the exotic meats, Village Meat and Wine showcases practically every house-made sausage imaginable.

Standards such as brats and Italian sausages are housed alongside English bangers, Cajun boudin and andouille, and Portuguese merguez. They also butcher any cut of beef to your liking and carry freerange turkeys for your upcoming Thanksgiving

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

In The Market LV at Tivoli Village, 440 S. Rampart Blvd., bsweetlv.com Walking through the doors of B Sweet Candy Boutique takes you to a simpler time. A time of jukeboxes, soda shops and small-town coziness. A time when storeowners remembered your name and your favorite candy. Achieving this feel was a key ingredient in owners Arlene and Victor Bordinhao’s recipe for their store’s design. “We were inspired by old-fashioned candy stores and candy boutiques that you see in cities like San Francisco, Paris, London and little towns, where customer service was key and making sure the customer loves the sweet treats they choose,” says Arlene.

The result: A real-life Candyland that will satisfy every sweet tooth. The stunning white walls are filled with row after row of apothecary-style jars brimming with licorice, gummy bears, gobstoppers — and classic childhood favorites such as Astro Pops, Abba-Zabas and Razzles. They even make fresh handspun cotton candy with edible glitter.

On my visit , I saw a classic "kid in a candy store" scenario. Eyes wide, a timid boy clapped in delight as he perused each jar before finally deciding on a Coke-bottle gummy. As Arlene placed it in a bag, the look on the kid’s face might as well have been filled with rainbows and sunshine. He hugged her leg and skipped off to enjoy his treat. Where else could you witness joy like that? CM

celebrations. Seafood appears to be the only protein missing from this carnivore’s smorgasbord.

Sure, the place is called Village Meat and Wine, but the wine selection is vastly overshadowed by the myriad of meats. This isn’t a bad reflection on the spirits, but rather a testament to the diversity of the meat menu. I suggest a new name: Village Meat and Meat has a nice ring, doesn’t it? JB

Unidentified drinking object

Alien Tequila

alientequila.com Without a doubt, the best place to drink Alien Tequila is at Mundo, where if you have a few too many Alien Margaritas, the awe-inspiring environs of World Market Center might have

you thinking you’re on another planet. Since the vibrant Latin fusion restaurant shares the same ownership as this smooth elixir (also available at Lee’s and Total Wine stores) it’s kinda the unofficial Vegas headquarters.

It’s made in Tepatitlan, Mexico, from agave grown in the highlands.

Once distilled, it’s aged in whiskey barrels for at least 16 months. These are the factors that give it a cognac-like richness

and a warm, vanilla flavor, and won its anejo tequila gold medal honors at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. But the most important things to remember: Though it’s available in 19 states now, this is Las Vegas tequila, hence the Area 51-influenced branding, and it tastes better than you think tequila should. BR

Sweet memories

Rocket Fizz

9410 W. Sahara Ave., 889-4292, rocketfizzvegas.com Sugar and nostalgia are the fuel blend here. If you ever long to spoil yourself (and your teeth) absolutely rotten, you can’t miss with this boutique soda-pop shop and candy-store franchise, with a location now in Summerlin.

And if you’re a parent, there’s no way your little monsters will resist the gauntlet of Salt Lake City-made Taffy Town gourmet taffy in bins lining a wall of the store, with more than 40 flavors — buttered popcorn, caramel cheesecake, fresh apricot, to Popped Gourmet Popcorn: Fluffy, crunchy and flavorful

name a few. The sodas are equally encyclopedic in terms of taste, ranging from the refreshing (apple pie, peaches & cream) to the downright bizarre (bacon, buffalo wing, PB&J). You’ll also find yesteryear sweets (Mallo Cup), quirky treats (gummy rat) and, for the conservatively sweet-toothed, everyday delights. Reinforcing the shop’s throwback charm are faux vintage tin signs featuring pop-culture icons like the Jack Kirby-rendered Fantastic Four and cola-glugging femme fatales from the ’40s. JK

Corn gets crazy

Popped Gourmet Popcorn

9480 S. Eastern Ave. #110, 998-9234, poppedcornshop.com Like toast, popcorn — practically lacking in any distinct flavor itself — serves as the perfect vehicle for toppings.

While salt and butter are a damn fine baseline, cheddar cheese, cara-

Prepare for takeoff: A sweet display at Rocket Fizz

mel, or the wonderful combination of those two commonly referred to as Chicago are both tasty and readily available at Popped, a Henderson gourmet popcorn store. Then they see your Chicago and raise you with flavors such as Buffalo Hot, Dilly Pickle, Salt & Vinegar and even S’mores. While they no longer offer Blue Cheese (Blue Cheese and Buffalo Hot were transcendent!) you can get Buffalo Hot and Ranch for your very own taste of the 716. Interested in New Mexico? The 505 is the house-prepared combo of caramel and Hatch chiles. Best of all is Dirty Vegas, representing

the 702 with a combination of all the flavors Popped offers. And then there are the “special” flavors in constant rotation. Oishi Nori and Ling Hing Mui were recent Asian-inspired flavors.

What’s next? You’ll have to check it out yourself.

But can I suggest Pepperoni Pizza? JB

Asian persuasion

Greenland Market

6850 W. Spring Mountain Road, 459-7878 Our ever-blossoming Chinatown has always been fortified by treasure-laden ethnic food markets, but the arrival of Greenland Supermarket in the Korea Town Plaza (owned by the Lee’s Liquors family) added new dimensions.

Huge, bright, fast and squeaky

clean, Greenland is a model of convenience, packed with massive produce and fresh seafood sections, a full service butcher department, a bakery, and rows and rows of noodles. All the Hawaiian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese specialty products you could possibly explore create a colorful wonderland of grocery shopping.

There’s even a prepared foods display near the meats, a mini-mall of kimchi and fish cakes.

Extra bonus: Greenland’s got a wild, vibrant food court, a place where even the hardiest Chinatown culinary adventurer will experience new levels of authentic eats. BR

Europe in your mouth

Ron’s Market

6085 S. Fort Apache Road, 431-6444 The unassuming Ron’s Market, located in a southwestern strip mall, offers every Eastern European edible you could think of. Their

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EAT IT UP Snacks, noshes, Sweets and Sips

deli cases offer a variety of European meats — including Hungarian salami, Polish ham, and German bologna — while abounding with cheeses.

Need to make adjarski khachapuri at home?

They’ve got your suluguni, a pickled Georgian cheese integral to the dish. Craving saganaki? They carry kasseri, the highlight of the classic Greek flaming cheese dish. And then there’s the feta. They have a LOT of feta. Ron’s also serves a number of freshly prepared plates. The lahmejun, or Armenian pizza the size of a tortilla, is a steal at 90 cents. The prepared plates, meanwhile, take about 20 minutes each to prepare, but worth the wait — especially the chicken thigh kabob plate. BTW: Don’t bother trying to get free lahmejun by telling them you know Ron, because he doesn’t exist. They just made up the name because it sounded cool. The more you know. JB

Get sauced

1888 barbecue sauce Available in select stores, 241-5590, 1888bbqenterprise.com Bob Hutchings of Henderson, formerly of Portland, Ore., didn’t

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invent barbecue sauce, nor did his “great great great grandpappy.” But grandpappy did concoct a pretty killer recipe many, many years ago — hence the name 1888 — and Hutchings may have perfected it. His four sauces and three seasoning rubs were first available locally three years ago at Glazier’s Food Marketplace, and more recently have taken over the aisles at Albertsons.

“They’re the top-selling barbecue sauces at every store they’re in,” he says proudly. The pride is deserved. He’s been crafting, bottling, labeling and delivering the goods by himself up until now, and is set to expand into California stores soon. The flavors of 1888 sauce are much better balanced than those bigname bottles, blending sweet and spicy without going overboard in either direction. “I’ve been barbecuing all my life, and I know the flavors I like,” Hutchings says.

And now, so do you. BR

Gimme a beet

Polish Deli 5900 W. Charleston Blvd., 259-2008 Hookah lounges and nail parlors and sushi joints come and go, but the Polish Deli is forever.

Well, not exactly, but it has held down the storefront for nearly a decade — pretty close to forever in Las Vegas strip mall terms. The narrow, utilitarian space is packed with products from Eastern Europe: a half-dozen varieties of (unexpectedly tasty) fro-

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

zen pierogis, glass bottles of vividly colored fruit nectars, tins of “breakfast pork ham” and every darn thing you can possibly do with beets. And, of course, many varieties of pickles in giant glass jars with dill blossoms and chunks of garlic floating near the bottom — pickles as they were meant to be, and as far from your mass-supermarket variety as Warsaw is from Summerlin.

At the cash register, the blonde proprietress is absorbed in voluble Polish conversation with a customer as she wraps up an order of wedding sausage. Behind the counter is a mural of a dancing couple in traditional Polish dress; below that, shelves of floral face masks, herbal

eye creams and exotic varieties of Nivea. Bags of candies are packaged with adorable cartoons of rosy-cheeked farm boys or Bambi-eyed cows — even if you don’t know the flavor, anything so cute must be delicious. LTR

The big cheese

Valley Cheese & Wine 1570 Horizon Ridge Parkway #140, 341-8191, valleycheeseandwine.com Valley Cheese & Wine is no hidden treasure; local gourmands have been pillaging its well-stocked Henderson shelves for six years now. But in case you didn’t know,

Valley Cheese & Wine: A recent move to a larger space means grape things are on the horizon.

it moved: conveniently, just down the street.

Now it’s the farthest thing from hidden, fronting Horizon Ridge Parkway in a nice new space with extra, well, space. Does bigger mean better for a store that already serviced visitors from all over the valley with an expansive wine selection and tough-tofind-elsewhere artisanal food products? But of course. The Valley Cheese & Wine experience will now include more cheese and wine during your experience, which is to say the bigger space affords expansive (and free!) in-store tastings. (Don’t worry, the weekly wine classes aren’t going anywhere.)

It was already temptingly easy to spend an afternoon getting lost in deliciousness here; now, it’s all but mandatory. BR

Love your look

C lothing, coutur e a n d d es i g n

Home sleek home

UnicaHome

3901 West Russell Road, 616-9280, unicahome.com “The best kind of design is design that you appropriate into your life, that makes you happy and makes your life a little better,” says Unica Home owner Hugh Fogel.

Spoken like a true … scientist? Yes: Fogel actually studied molecular biology in college, financing his education by buying and selling art in the bygone era before eBay. Fogel eventually gave up the microscope, but kept his keen eye. He started UnicaHome in Birmingham, Mich., and moved the business to Las Vegas in 2002 to have access to a greater range of product. They now represent more than 400 brands, big and small.

And they do this quite well. Some of my favorite pieces: pillow pancakes and butter pads (made by local artists Todd von Bastiaans and Brian McCarthy), Rubik’s Cube salt and pepper shakers,

and a low-profile couch with textured taupe upholstery that feels like you’re sitting on the most comfortable packaging ever created. DM

K i t s c h y, q u a i n t or just plain cool

Creative Space

1421 S. Commerce St., 439-3923, hhcreativespace.com The showroom at Creative Space is one of those places where, yes, you might find that one unique piece that defines a room, but more importantly (and much more fun), you might discover what you like.

I was mesmerized by a purple print of Yul Brynner from “Westworld,” in all his scarykitschy glory. That would define any of my rooms. But the boutique showroom is just the tip of Vegas native Hayley Hunter’s design iceberg: she’s got a giant warehouse/workshop where she’s customizing inspired furnishings, sculpting funky

Creative Space: From classic cool to crazy kitsch, this showroom has something for every taste.

figures and generally just plushing things up.

If you’re the type who wants to tell your guests that you picked up that classic-cool armchair at this crazy little shop downtown, that can be accomplished here. But if you really want to spend some time on it, match up your personal aesthetic (or define it) with a bold upholstery choice and unique structure, well, now we’re talking. Now this chair is yours in every sense. That’s probably why she calls it Creative Space, right? BR

C l ea r ly b ea u t if u l

Glassic Art

2972 S. Rainbow Blvd., 875-5111, glassicart.com Leslie Rankin won’t tell you how she’s able to color glass without heating it — that’s a

trade secret she spent eight years developing — but she will beautify your home with her Glassic Art creations.

Rankin custom-designs everything from the sculptures to waterless waterfalls and more functional items such as floor tiles, backsplashes and light panels. A gorgeous ocean-inspired bathroom has glass countertops, recalling incoming waves that pour into sink vessels, above driftwood cupboards installed by another local shop, Artesia Kitchen and Bath.

Glassic Art recently found a new home in Artesia’s showroom — an obvious union since the companies often collaborate on projects. Both Glassic Art and Artesia have adapted to the economy.

Artesia, which used to be strictly high-end, now carries Lowe’s and

Home Depot products.

As for Glassic Art, by avoiding the costly kiln process, Rankin can sell her wares for less than you’d think. “My biggest challenge is that people figure they can’t afford it,” she says. “They rob themselves of the opportunity of having something spectacular, when we’ve fit into budgets for 26 years.” CC

I d e f i n i t e ly d o

Mina Olive Boutique

In The Market LV at Tivoli Village, 440 S. Rampart Blvd., minaolive.com “No two brides should ever be alike.” That’s Megan Thompson's motto — and she takes it as seriously as, well, a wedding vow. In a world of mass-market production, Mina Olive owner Thompson believes in quality, craftsmanship —

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Love your look

Clothing, couture and design

rience the whole process of making their dress from start to finish,” says Thompson. No objections to that union. CM

For haute moms

Colorz and uniqueness. “I want each dress to be oneof-a-kind and a perfect representation of each bride. … I love being able to give the brides more options and ideas than they ever thought was possible.” The journey to the perfect dress begins with a bride-to-be walking in the doors of Mina Olive — and lots of questions. Thompson quizzes her on her personal style, likes, dislikes — even her favorite band — to get a feel for her personality.

After perusing fabric samples and designs, Thompson sketches preliminary designs, and moves on to fitting when she nails the right look.

Brides don’t just get a dream dress — they get a deep sense of satisfaction in being part of the fun.

“They really get to expe-

The District at Green Valley Ranch, 2235 Village Walk Drive, 242-1029.

Stylish and perky stayhome mom Bobbie Helseth needed something to do when her son went off to school, so she found herself a spot in The District — where Henderson moms like to treat themselves — and opened a women’s clothing boutique. Eight years later, Colorz has a steady stream of chic and loyal moms, some of whom drop in weekly, which is as often as new items arrive. It carries (you guessed it!) colorful clothing that can’t generally be found elsewhere in Vegas, and includes

four lines. Bird & Vine features California-style loungewear of the softest fabrics — sweats, tanks and hoodies — blingedout mommy-style in rhinestone hearts. Sky is a slightly pricier but popular line: a stylish, tie-dyed maxi dress costs $140. Desigual (of Europe) is Helseth’s newest fashion-forward line. But the store’s all-time bestseller is a long ruched skirt by Elan that Helseth stocks year-round. The best part about Colorz is Helseth’s eagerness to make Mom happy. You don’t like the rhinestone hearts? Prefer cherries, or baseballs or spiders?

Helseth will custom-order to suit your taste. CC

Deeper shade of sole

CRSVR

In The Cosmopolitan, 698-7605, crsvr.com DJ Vice’s sneaker boutique CRSVR

Say yes to the dress: Amari Boutique specializes in contemporary styles designed by up-and-coming talent.

(“crossover”) offers limited-edition men’s and women’s sports shoes and frilly-free clothing in a laid-back lounge atmosphere complete with a “Beats by Dre” listening station. Shoppers get free music CDs with each purchase. Fashionistas can find court-ready Nikes, including Air Jordans and the latest model from Kobe Bryant, plus Supra and Native footwear displayed as wearable urban art. There are comfy cool threads and lids (hats) from Five Four Clothing, And Still La Brea, Brixton, Krew, and SLVDR. CRSVR’s streetready gear has a casual hip-hop vibe that’s both colorful and chic. The store, which first opened in Santa Barbara, has since exported its brand of culture, fashion and fun to The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas. CRSVR also has occasional in-store events such as a recent June 9 meet-and-greet with super-DJ Steve Aoki. TI

artists from across the country to create a blend of home furnishings, gifts and clothing.

“I wanted to create an accessible art gallery,” says Gaddy-Walters.

“Everything I carry is made by an artist. I don’t go through any vendors or any distributors. Everything is bought from an artist or consigned by an artist.” Really good artists — such as Ryan Boase, whose ReAcoustic line features iPod and iPad speaker docks that turn vintage brass instruments and gramophones into acoustic amplifiers that, amazingly, require no electricity. Local artists hold their own in this gallery of wonders as well. Joel Spencer’s one-of-a kind retro TV mirrors may not be delivering Nielsen ratings anymore, but they’d rate highly as wow-inducing conversation pieces on any wall. CM

Object lessons

Amari Boutique

Artifact

In The Market LV at Tivoli Village, 440 S. Rampart Blvd., artifactlv.com Imagine all the best Pinterest boards — everything you’ve ever repinned and favorited — brought to life and placed in one stunning gallery. Better yet, all the items are repurposed, upcycled and eco-conscious. That gives you an idea of what Artifact offers.

The brainchild of Molly Gaddy-Walters, this boutique brings local artists together with

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Fun meets function

10271 S. Eastern Ave. #114 in Henderson, 476-3900 Nestled in an unassuming shopping center on South Eastern Avenue sits Amari Boutique, a specialty dress shop.

What makes Amari so special? It all begins with the owner Marisela Altamirano’s sharp sense of style. Amari Boutique focuses on contemporary, affordable pieces designed by up-and-coming talent and not typically carried by major retailers.

Fav o r i t e t h i n g s

Patina Décor 1211 S. Main Street, 776-6222, patinadecorlv.com

Boutique of the unique: Kate Aldrich and Tim Shaffer of Patina Décor

“Vegas is about being social,” Altamirano says.

“It’s about looking puttogether and presentable all the time. I wanted women to be able to stop into a neighborhood boutique and find something chic to wear to work, to cocktail hour — and then that they could dress up to for evening.” The designers carried include some of her favorites, such as Mink Pink, Keepsake the Label, TFNC London, Cameo, Finders Keepers and JJ Winters. CM

Da n g e r o u s c u r v e s ahead

Candy Beach Swimwear In the Fashion Show Mall, 866-5950, candybeachswimwear.com In the center of the Fashion Show Mall is a display of such vibrant color that you can’t help but take

notice of the itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, Colombiancut, hand-finished bikinis that adorn Candy Beach Swimwear’s kiosk. They work just as effectively poolside — and if the gorgeous colors don’t get you noticed, the brilliant patterns and unique embellishing will. Think of so many beads and rhinestones, sequins and sheers, frills, laces and unlikely fabrics coming together to make up elaborate little (and I do mean little) pieces of art to dress up your most personal parts. But it’s the cut of the suits that owners Candice Severino and Marcela Chica credit for the popularity of their product. American-made swimwear is generally cut rounded in the tush, but these suits, imported from Colombia, are cut straight (like small triangles) to fit better and avoid any unpleasant sagging. Candy Beach carries four different designers — Agua Bendita is the

Patina Décor on Main Street has everything from gleaming mid-mod barware to sparkly Hollywood Regency lighting to industrial-chic furniture, but the eclectic mix is bound by a simple philosophy. “Everything in our store is a carefully curated object of desire,” says co-owner Kate Aldrich. Her partner Tim Shaffer — as laid-back as Aldrich is poised and placid — has his own word for it: “Groovy.”

Opened in April, the fine vintage furniture and decor store has quickly become a must-shop stop for the new urbanites putting roots downtown and 'burb-dwellers dressing up their homes — and for good reason: “Tim has a phenomenal eye for beautiful things,” says Aldrich, whose own relaxed elegance and curatorial instincts hint at her former life as a plate designer for five-star hotels and restaurants. But their shared vision goes beyond just a successful store. They chose Main Street for Patina Décor — with the support of neighboring shop Retro Vegas — to plant the seed for something bigger. “If you have just one business, you’re a destination,” says Aldrich. “We want to be more than a destination. We want to be part of a larger business district on Main Street, where it’s shop, shop, shop, coffee, shop, shop, lunch — a place where you can spend the entire day around these hip little stores.” When this portion of Main Street grows up into a buzzing design district, you can guarantee it’ll be impeccably furnished. AK

fanciest; Phax has an impeccable fit — and prices range from $100 to $200.

Since they order only three of each design (one each in small, medium and large), it’s unlikely you’ll end up in an embarrassing “Who-wore-itbest?” tabloid shot. CC

Vintage with a j o lt

Electric Lemonade

220 E. Charleston Blvd.

776-7766, electriclemonadeshop.com Nestled in the heart of the Arts District, this sunlit, clean, supercool boutique store (its name is a reference to Ken Kesey’s “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test”) is a million light years away from the lowly concept of downtown thrifting. Sisters Courtney and Kinsey Peters make an ador-

Paradigm thrift: Electric Lemonade painstakingly handpicks its vintage clothes for a well-curated selection.

able and friendly team.

They’re always rockin’ rad threads themselves and are nonstop busy — watching them joke with each other while wrestling pants onto a not-so-manly mannequin is a hoot. Indeed, these retro-savvy redheads hand-pick every item displayed in their “vintage fashion bodega,” from ’50s-era railroad denim men’s jeans to a carbon-dated

’80s-metal Quiet Riot sleeveless T. Nothing here could be unearthed at Savers. Prices are right, too, from cowboy boots to high school letter jackets to namebrand accessories that once ruled Cold War America. Here, Vegas’ urban-hipster elite comes to get garb — Lady Silvia bartenders, Globe salonists and any musician worth her indie-rock salt. JK

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Art, Lit & fun

A r ts, literature, m u s i c a n d l e is u r e

those brain waves. 4.

Act: Neurons fire as Alexia Vernon helps you find your moxie. 5. Eat: A communal breakfast for the Vegas vegans.

Sunday Reset is held in various locations throughout the city and often sells out. Get on the mailing list — and get ahead of the holiday weight gain. MM

S t r i n g s at ta c h e d

Violin Outlet Revenge of the nerds

Ninjabot At Maximum Comics, 520 Marks St. and 5130 S. Fort Apache Road, theninjabot.com Geek culture is cool now, but geeks always knew they would be cool someday. This is the conclusion I’ve accepted from admiring the quirky little works of Ninjabot, designs I feel the need to collect comprehensively because they’re just so cool. It’s tough to decide which playful iPhone cover you need more, the minimalist pop art innuendo of the steaming hot cocoa mug murmuring “Blow Me,” or the one recasting ’80s TV alien Alf as Chewbacca. These creations come from Estefania Rodriguez and Arnel Baluyot, First Friday regulars who are getting big; they’ll be vendors at this month’s New York Comic Con. It doesn’t get geekier. Luckily, we don’t have to travel to acquire these nifty

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prints and knick-knacks.

Just go online and tell me you won’t compulsively order the Star Wars postage stamp set, brilliantly chronicling all six episodes. Resist, you will not. BR

Start me up

Sunday Reset Project Various locations, 769-2991, theresetprojectlv.com Sometimes you need to push the reset button on life, to kickstart the person you know you can be. So, on the first Sunday of every month, leave your cozy womb of existential angst and get ready for some serious renewal. Welcome to the Reset Project, where doers show up at 7 a.m. to begin a transformative journey through the fivefold path. 1. Move: A walk, run or ride that challenges you no matter your level of physical fitness. 2. Stretch: A session to sate your inner yogi. 3. Meditate: Center

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

900 E. Karen Ave. #A122, 733-3028, violinoutlet.com If you ask Mara Lieberman, the owner of Violin Outlet, what makes her store so special, she’ll tell you it’s her staff, many of whom have been with her for decades, and several of whom began as young students in the store’s music education program, such as her manager, Sabrina Saffel,

who was 11 when she began lessons at Violin Outlet. If you ask Lieberman’s staff, they’ll tell you it’s Lieberman who’s kept customers coming back for 30 years: “I’ve never met a more honest woman, ever,” says Barbara Gurley, a cello instructor with 28 years under her bow. Probably it’s both — and then some other factors, such as the fact that Violin Outlet is the number one supplier for the Clark County School District’s orchestra program, and that program is one of the largest in the country.

That this store is one of the few to still stock an enormous selection of hard-copy sheet music — despite that it takes up space, and is more of a hassle than a moneymaker — might also have something to do with it. Violin Outlet sells, rents, and repairs more bowed string

instruments — violins, violas and cellos — than any other store in Vegas.

CC

I n f o r m at i o n , please

The News

3720 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 590-9229, crystalsatcitycenter.com/news Crystals at CityCenter is supposed to offer a high-end shopping experience. So then why is there a grubby newsstand and sundry shop plopped on the first floor near valet? Well, actually, The News isn’t an airport junk stall, where you only pick up a trashy celeb-sniffing mag to read during a flight. This is an elegantly designed — hey, check out the ceiling fixtures and the towering magazine displays — little shop that sells advanced items like

Ninjabot: From Star Wars stamp posters to cute iPhone cases, this is the place for geek chic.

wine, liquor and designer chocolates, not to mention a much wider array of magazines and newspapers, national and international.

The News is perfectly positioned next to the Crystals coffee shop, The Cup, where you can guzzle java and flip through the New York Times or, if you lean the other way, the Wall Street Journal. Or maybe you’d like to veg out with the Globe and gaze at never-beforepublished pics of topless Lucille Ball. In any case, who says print is dead? JK

Guys and dolls

Kidrobot

Inside The Cosmopolitan, 698-7670, kidrobot. com/lasvegas Kidrobot is bringing pop vinyl cool to Vegas.

The 10-year-old collectible toymaker has a store inside The Cosmopolitan specializing in limited-edition artist figurines, plush objects and counterculture T-shirts. The inventory runs the imaginative gamut from subversive plastic items to tonguein-cheek creations from Marc Jacobs and Nike. Designer Frank Kozik, for example, recently produced for the retailer a smoking rabbit in bondage with detachable dog collar chain. Kidrobot’s launch of a new Dunny — or a customizable bunny figurine — can become a rock concert-like event.

Collectors lined up late into the night in June to get a Dunny signed by artists Mad and Scribe.

Toys sell from $5 up to $25,000, with many editions selling out fast. Kidrobot figurines have even been displayed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. But don’t be intimidated: The store has a fun fanboy vibe that is lax and playful. TI

The board room

ChessNGames In The Market LV at Tivoli Village, 440 S. Rampart Blvd., chessngames.com Strategize your next purchase at ChessNGames, one of the many small retail stores nestled in Tivoli Village’s newly opened The Market LV. Capture (well, actually, you have to buy them) lion-headed chess chairs sufficient to intimidate any opponent. In the mood for a more elegant game?

Then consider GO, the original Japanese art of war in which, on a 19 x 19 grid, opponents employ black and white stones to grab territory and ensnare enemies.

My own personal wish list includes Diplomacy, JFK and Kissinger’s favorite game, no doubt because it’s far more Machiavellian than Risk: Players conspire with each other only to turn quisling in their quest for world domination.

ChessNGames plans on hosting game nights at The Market LV, so be prepared to mate the competition while indulging in crudités and cotton candy. MM

Martin Lawrence Galleries: Love Warhol? Got a hankering for Haring? Martin Lawrence Galleries' collection pops.

Pop goes the art

Martin Lawrence Galleries In The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, 991-5990 You’ve got extra cash, you want art, a bigname artist and maybe a little something that matches the sofa. (It’s okay. A lot of people want something to match the sofa when buying art; they just don’t say it out loud.)

If that’s your criteria and you don’t want to leave town or deal online with Christie’s or Sotheby’s, an op-

tion might be Martin Lawrence Galleries in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Its on-site inventory has works by Erte (lots of Erte!), Warhol, Picasso, Chagall and Murakami, to name a few. Works

by Keith Haring, Alex Katz and Roy Lichtenstein are always great to see without being bombarded by sales clerks in the 26,000 square-foot gallery. Also in stock are original paintings by lesser-known artists and an occasional treat like the arrival last month of Calder’s “Spiral, 1966 (‘No! to Frank Lloyd Wright’).” If the Chagall and Picasso etchings, lithographs or serigraphs aren’t doing it for you, ask what the

company might have in its 10 other galleries throughout the United States — from San Francisco to New York City and down to New Orleans. And since we’re not talking about multimillion-dollar originals, you can get something lovely for the living room for under $10,000. (I’d go with a Katz.) KP

P o w ! Ba n g !

Krunch!

BattleZone Comics & Gaming 7910 Tropical Parkway #120, 645-7249, battlezonecomics.com Some comic stores have rows upon rows of graphic novels,

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Art, Lit & Fun Arts, literature, music and leisure

alphabetized bins of comic books and corners packed with dice and card packs, but some, like BattleZone Comics & Gaming, seem to sense that too much merchandise can be downright overwhelming. Instead of opting for in-andout customer sales, this northwest Las Vegas shop has created an open and inviting atmosphere that encourages community over consumerism.

No comic store would be complete without a wall of the newest comic books, a variety of strategy games and a large supply of gaming supplies, but BattleZone’s in-store gaming tables and scheduled events make it an experience, not just a shop.

There are about 40 regular players (mainly guys) who frequent BattleZone to roll dice

and strategize through imagined scenarios, but anyone is welcome to participate in organized play days for games ranging from Magic: The Gathering to Game of Thrones.

If your adventure of choice isn’t on the schedule, stop in on an open gaming day and grab a table for your self-conducted play of Dungeons & Dragons, War Machine or whatever else grabs at your inner geek. JH

now with more than 50 employees to boot. On Pololu’s website, you’ll find a host of sensors, controllers, gear boxes, motors, breadboards and regulators to piece together your own robotic hedgehog. They sell online only, but

local enthusiasts opt to drink in the culture and pick up parts at their south valley HQ. Pololu is also home to the LVBots robotic club (lvbots.org) and the host of SYN Shop’s beginner maker classes.

Solder on! MM

Rise of the robots

Pololu Robotics and Electronics 920 Pilot Road, 262-6648, pololu.com “Engage your brain” is owner Jan Malášek’s mantra (and the name of his blog). Fact is, you have to be one smart cookie to be a Pololu customer, as the intellectually faint of heart will drown in their sea of electronic components and boards just jonesing to become ro-

The droid you're looking for: A robot kit from Pololu

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bots (or robot armies).

To pursue their dreams of engaging the highend robotics community, Jan and his cohorts moved from Boston (and MIT specifically) to bask and thrive in Nevada’s low-tax, libertarian mecca —

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Reader leader: Linda Piediscalzi of Dead Poet Books

T h e w r i t i n g o n t h e wa l l

Dead Poet Books 937 S. Rainbow Blvd., 227-4070

You know how an old book can stop you in your tracks? And, having blown away the dust, you open the cover and the words seize you until the world falls away? The same sort of thing happens when you step into Dead Poet Books. Linda Piediscalzi, the sweet lady who’s owned this used bookstore with her husband, Rich, since 1994, wants it to be “a place to step away from the outside for a while.”

So, with the traffic whizzing by on Rainbow, children nestle in pint-sized chairs to get lost in fairytales while their parents peruse the classics in the literary section of the calm and peaceful shop. There are also plenty of books on metaphysics and religion, and a whole table of books for a dollar. Dead Poet takes mass market paperbacks on trade, but it’s been a while since Piediscalzis have been able to buy books from the public.

“It’s a struggle,” she says of trying to keep the shop in the face of everadvancing technology, where downloading literature is cheap and convenient.

To compete, the store hosts community events, writers' groups, science fiction fantasy groups and art workshops, to attract browsers and sales. “It’s hard to watch this whole thing unfold,” says the soft-spoken Piediscalzi, before she warns: “If people want books to continue, they’re going to have to support their local bookstores — used or new.” CC

Niche appeal Service s, spe c i a l t i es and unique o f f e r i n gs

Ca r d s t h a t c a r e

Alligator Soup, Paper and Gift Boutique

9350 W. Sahara #130, 804-0544, alligatorsoup.com “Alligator soup, alligator soup / If I don’t get some I think I’m gonna droop,” goes the children’s rhyme from which this charming stationery and custom invitation shop took its name, in 1982, when Sharon Carelli and Helen Edell opened their doors. The shopkeepers credit the quality products for their success — for many years, Alligator Soup was one of the only shops in Vegas to carry the superior Crane & Co. invitations.

Oh, and their specialized service. “We are etiquette-centered,” says Carelli. But the crowd that recently gathered for Alligator Soup’s elegant 30th birthday soiree leads me to believe it is these two lovely women who keep their customers loyal. “We did wedding

invitations for them, and now we’re doing their children’s bar mitzvahs, or their grandchildren’s birth announcements,” says Carelli. Jam-packed with specialty paper, novelty items, precious gifts and personal treats, Alligator Soup makes for wonderful browsing, even if you don’t have an event coming up. Stop by — you don’t need an invitation. CC

peddlers to pedalers

damaging but still pretty sweet pair of $150 Bontrager RXL road shoes. More importantly, for those of us who love to ride but somehow lack the repairing gene, there’s an on-site service department staffed with techs who can get you overhauled or finely tuned, and walk-ins are welcome. Of course, racing foodstuffs are almost as strangely compelling as astronaut ice cream. In other words, don’t walk out of this shop with too many organic Honey Stinger chocolate waffles like we did. Forget doping — check Lance’s waffle levels! JK

Gear to go

Desert Rock Sports 8221 W. Charleston, 254-1143, climbvegas.com If you want to buy outdoors gear in Las

Vegas from a local shop staffed by experienced mountaineers with tons of local knowledge, there’s only one place to go. Literally. Desert Rock Sports is Las Vegas’ only locally owned outdoors retailer, and their small shop, just 15 minutes from Red Rock, is packed to the rafters with top-quality rock climbing and expedition gear. Not only do they have an impressive selection of goods, from bolts to backpacks, they have the expertise to tell customers exactly what works best for each adventure.

Of course, expertise comes with a price, and Desert Rock Sports sells its wares at full MSRP. But the buying experience makes it worth every penny. Whether you’re climbing or mountaineering, Desert Rock Sports' staff knows

that their customers’ lives will depend on the equipment they’re buying, and they go the extra mile to make sure that people get precisely what they need. That effort brings peace of mind you just can’t get at a big-box store. AG

Find yourself here

Gotta Getta Map

1566 Western Ave., 678-6277 “Whadda I gotta getta map for?” you ask. “I’ve got GPS!” “If you think you’re gonna just use GPS, get a map and bring plenty of water,” says Kurt Wippler, a genial, gray-bearded fellow who has been the proprietor of Gotta Getta Map for more than

Peloton Sports: Bike enthusiasts consider this expert-run shop to be the wheel deal.

Peloton Sports

911 N. Buffalo Dr. #101, 363-1991, pelotonsports.com OK, let’s say you’re serious about road bicycle racing or anywhere close to pro level. Then you may want to consider a trip to this hardcore haven for bike nuts in outer Summerlin. (Quick test: If you think a Giro is what you inhale at Mediterranean eateries, skip this one.) Here you’ll find elite, handcrafted machines, like the $3,500 2013 Trek Domane 5.2 C or a less pocketbook-

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NICHE APPEAL s ervice s, specialtie s a nd unique offering s

a decade. “Give me a map and a compass and I won’t get lost.”

Even if you’re not planning a road trip into Death Valley, Gotta Get a Map has plenty to peruse. The small shop is crammed floor to ceiling with maps, from “Streetwise Athens” to a regional map of Tuscany to full-color cartography of French Guiana, along with maps for fishing and hunting.

There are globes, relief maps and guides from “Paiute Valley ATV Trails” to “Where to Find Gold.”

“There’s over 50,000 maps in here, easy,” says

Wippler. Their most expensive? “Afghanistan,” he says. “It’s life-threatening to try to go there and map it. That’s why the price is high, as far as maps go.” Most popular?

The Directions Street Guide, a turn-by-turn explanation of how to get everywhere in town.

“I used it all of the time back when I was making deliveries,” says Wippler.

Who better to help you figure out where you’re going than someone who spent a chunk of his younger years looking for unknown addresses? LTR

Where dogs h av e t h e i r d ay

Bone Appetit 4985 Fort Apache Road, 644-3644, bogartsboneappetit.com Animals have it so easy.

While our taste for fine food forces us to

trek all the way to the Strip, Fido can get his foodie fix by hitting the nearest strip mall. Only holistic and organic brands of kibble line the shelves of this natural foods pet shop. If you’re browsing their selection and think you heard an oven timer go off, you’d be right. Unlike the pet treat aisle of your nearest big box store, Bone Appetit’s in-house bakery provides a range of fresh-baked goods that have been known to make humans drool.

Start with a bacon Parmesan muffin, move on to a slice of pizza, and finish with a peanut butter cookie for dessert — not you, the dog!

The shop’s behavior and training classes don’t cover table manners, but if your pet gets crumbs caught in its fur, they can be cleaned off afterward in the shop’s grooming station. DL

A little hair of the dog

Samy’s Grooming Salon

693 N. Valle Verde Drive, 435-0667, samysgroomingsalon.com Entrusting your animal to a groomer is the same as searching for a babysitter — you want to keep your “kids” safe, calm — and it doesn’t hurt if they have a little fun. Well, drop ’em off at Samy’s. You’ll feel at ease the moment you open the door. You’re greeted by soothing music, and the clients being clipped all seem to have happy looks on their faces. It’s a bona fide pet sanctuary. Not only do Samy’s works of art come alive on all dog breeds, but cats will be making a fancy statement as well

— and, as anyone who’s looked for a good cat groomer knows, it would be easier to climb an active volcano. The lion cuts are priceless, and not only will they keep your kitty cooler, they’ll reinforce good grooming habits — worth the price of the cut alone. Once Samy and his staff have worked on your pet, you’ll want for no other groomer. JP

Are you kidding?

Well Rounded Baby Boutique 6000 S. Eastern Ave. #9A, 795-2500 Time was, the only breastfeeding supplies a new mother needed were the ones nature gave her. Throw in a pink or blue baby bag and some diapers, and you were good to go. But something

W h at a j e w e l

MJ Christensen Diamonds 10400 S. Eastern Ave., 617-8818, and 8980 W. Charleston Blvd., 952-2300, mjchristensen.com You have to hear Jennifer Miller for yourself. It’s almost as though her voice has bold, italics, underlining — all stylizing the font she speaks in, which might be called EARNEST ENTHUSIASM. “In the bigger picture, we work for other people, our common brother — and that’s how you have joy in life, by giving the opportunity for others to experience joy. And when you give others the opportunity to experience joy, you get a sense of purpose in your own life,” she says.

Sounds like the bubblings of a Peace Corps recruit. But Miller is in the jewelry biz.

As director of marketing for MJ Christensen Diamonds, her job is to promote the store.

Now she’s joining the store’s community roots with a global cause. Under her direction, MJ Christensen has taken on a cluster of iniatives dubbed “Ethical Affair” that ensure diamond producers get a fair shake. MJ Christensen’s sales of BeadforLife bracelets and necklaces support business literacy education of women in Uganda; its participation in the Diamond Development Initiative ensures artisanal diamond miners are fairly paid; and it supports the Diamond Empowerment Fund to educate girls in Botswana.

“One of the guiding themes of our business has been to embrace the community,” says MJ Christensen owner Cliff Miller. “Now we’re extending our reach to embrace the world.” — AK 62 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

about those plastic diapers bugged. Today’s moms are blessed with a bounty of earth-friendly nursing and nurturing options for their newborns that would make Dr. Spock’s head spin. From the birth experience itself (bed or birth-tub?) to the best way to wear your baby (MeiTai or Moby Wrap?), the choices are endless.

Guidance and support and really cute cloth diapers — with names like Bummis and Fuzzibunz — are all in stock at the Well Rounded Baby Boutique, nestled within the Well Rounded Momma, dedicated to offering women “mind and body awareness during the transition to motherhood.”

Area midwives, like Well Rounded Momma owner Sherry Hopkins, doulas and herbalists have banded together with boutique owner Brittany Hollister, and together these passionate, knowledgeable women provide expert guidance for expectant mothers (and fathers) via classes and workshops on baby wearing, attachment parenting, cloth diapering and breastfeeding. And who could resist a business with a product line that includes “Fuzzibunz?” HM

two locations are staffed by knowledgeable, avid smokers, who share their customers’ passion for fine tobacco products. The walk-in humidors are wellstocked with everything from Havana Honeys to Fuente’s Opus X, all kept at a perfect 70 degrees and 70 percent humidity. What really sets Tobacco Leaf apart: their special events.

Tobacco Leaf regularly plays host to some of the giants in the cigar industry at their customer appreciation events. In addition to meeting big shots, events regularly include free food and drinks, as well as giveaways ranging from free cigars to pricey humidors. Tobacco Leaf has even hosted a “Leave your wallet at home” free cigar day! As an added bonus, hang out for a while and enjoy your stogie in the back room, decked out with a big screen TV, comfy, oversized chairs, and plenty of ash trays.

They’ll even light your cigar for you. AG

Up in smoke

5140 W. Charleston Blvd., 207-2337, vegashomebrew.com

9400 S. Eastern Ave. #105 and 7175 W. Lake Mead #120, 897-5977

The warm smell of earthy grains is the first indication that something is brewing in this small, utilitarian shop. Simple wire shelving heaped with plastic buckets, bags of bottle caps and glass bottles make Vegas Homebrew & Winemaking feel like the discount section of a neighborhood hardware store, but all

Tobacco Leaf Mark Twain famously said, “If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go.” A better destination might be Tobacco Leaf.

Tobacco Leaf is much more than your average smoke shop. Their

C r e at e yo u r own buzz

Vegas Homebrew & Winemaking

these items have a purpose: To make the perfect batch of homebrewed beer.

Though the store is also well-stocked with beer kits ranging from stouts to IPAs, winemaking kits for a variety of discerning palates and bags of malts, hops and flavorings (orange peel or licorice root, anyone?) for more advanced brewers, it is owner Steve Berg’s passion for the art of homebrew that defines this store. He is quick to develop a rapport with anyone who walks through the door, happy to explain beer-making to newbies at a simple demonstration station and talk strategy to kitchen brewers with a few bottles under their belts.

Steve even willingly and patiently answers questions and provides advice by phone for those brewing emergencies. We’ll raise a glass to that. JH

Hi-Rollers: If you want your hair to have a little pomp and circumstance, take a seat in the barber's chair.

Ha i r - r a i s i n g experience

Hi-Rollers Barbershop & Shaving Parlor 1120 S. Maryland Parkway, 382-6790, facebook.com/martinthebarber Pomp (as in pompadour) it up at this old-school barbershop on the edge of the historic Huntridge district downtown. Barber Martin Corona and his brothers-in-clippers will give you whatever you want — flat top, crew cut, high and tight, burr, bowl, businessman, whitewalls, fade or just a clean, warm-

foamed, razor-bladed shave. (Nothing beats it.) Corona is such a cool cat, he plays guitar in rockabilly band Will & the Hi-Rollers, from which the shop takes its name.

Sure, Hi-Rollers seems like a guy’s place, what with the latest issues of Playboy and Lowrider within easy reach, and rockabilly music playing in the background. But scores of ladies, moms and kids, and suit-and-tie types from the nearby law and medical offices come for the retro atmosphere (original artworks adorn the walls) and great conversation. Oh, one more thing: If you’re a “Mad Men” fanatic, you should know that no other place provides a better “Don Draper” ’do than HiRollers. JK

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Photogr aphy by David Lam f r o m

Great Basin National Park offers a dramatic landscape lush with mystery and wonder (and that's just the sky) B y Andrew Kir aly

nightand day The difference between

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Travel

Dusk

Dark night rises: Dusk falls over a grove of aspens in Great Basin National Park.

If you’re coming from Las Vegas, I recommend that you drive into Great Basin National Park as the sun is setting. That way, you get the full effect of an unusual phenomenon. After a leisurely, six-hour cruise through the railroad toy towns, curio communities and pocket farms dotting US 93, you expect denouement in a wild place with few people. But the opposite occurs. Day’s end doesn’t creep into Great Basin National Park quietly; it enters with great and sustained drama. The Great Basin evening sky deepens and surges with an orchestral, momentous, even metropolitan energy. The lush dark is layered and sophisticated, and it’s as though it knows it. You have found yourself in a place that consciously proposes to be the inverse of Las Vegas.

What I mean is that in Las Vegas, we’ve washed out the night sky proper with our casino flash and flicker. We’ve essentially installed an artificial night sky on the ground. The Strip is an engineered constellation. By contrast, the Great Basin National Park is considered to have one of the darkest night skies in the lower 48 states — but that factoid is almost misleading. It is certainly dark. But there’s so much going on in this fertile dark. Framed by streaking, lens-shaped clouds and pine-dotted peaks, the sky plunges into opulent gradations of blue, violet and a purple that seems almost liquid.

Many of us think of the sky as an absence of land, a cipher or a blank canvas; except for the occasional bird or plane up there, most of the interesting things happen on the ground. This will change that way of thinking. The Great Basin evening sky is a landscape unto itself.

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Night

We gazed for a good 20 minutes until a park cop roused us from our reverie, nudging us out of the picnic area as official hours ended. However, we found a nearby vantage point just outside the park, a gravel lot where astronomy buffs and nightside shutterbugs often set up telescopes and cameras that look achingly fragile, complex and expensive. But we had the area to ourselves; no car domelights or cell phone screens to poke holes in this inky, gathering scrim. We’d never been so excited to see the somethingness of so much nothing. There was a dare in it; we were giddy to see just how dark it would get.

The starlight emerges with a sense of aggression. Yes, we all mentally supply the word “twinkle” when it comes to stars, but there’s no temptation (or reason) to use that here.

The stars flare in varying intensities, giving you a sense of space’s ferocious depths. Never mind constellations. There are so many stars that the constellations get crowded out of the visual field as laughable human constructs, quaint organizational schemes.

But what’s with that errant smear of fog muddying the view? It’s a mistlike ribbon that neatly spans the whole sky like a stripe on a beach ball. That’s the Milky Way.

Day

I’ll get off the sky in a minute, but first let me point out how the clouds at Great Basin have this juicy, tufted quality like someone spooned dollops of cream on a painting. That’s what we saw on the drive into the park to hike the Alpine Loops trail.

This moderate hike takes you through a forest of Ponderosas creaking in the breeze and elm trees — which, at this time, were starting to drop soft, leathery yellow leaves that look like gold coins. (And some of the plush glens with their meandering, stonechoked streams are so mythically green that you half-expect a leprechaun to startle you on the path.) The trail connects with a few small brook-fed lakes: Stella, a murmuring gray-green lake bordered by chocolatebrown boulders, lined with Ponderosas that look like they’ve stopped in mid-march to the edge of the water. Not far is Lake Teresa, a gravelly bowl fed by a crooked stream, where we saw two mule deer shyly step down for a drink.

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Companion | OCTOBER 2012

People

On the way back, we ran into a park ranger on the trail, who stopped to offer advice on the area’s best photo ops. The park rangers are worth mentioning because they’re avatars of eerie near-perfection, looking like catalog models in their trim beige and green outfits, tucked and tailored, complete with the trademark broad-brimmed hat.

They’re unflappably cheerful and indulgent as saints when being asked dumb questions. Some, in their more casual moments, talk about flora and fauna like surf bums, riffing on where to find “gorgeous b-cones” — that is, bristlecones — the noble and twisted ogrekings that live quiet and mighty at the higher elevations. If you play your cards right, you might score an invitation to a park ranger’s house. In this world, their fancy telescopes have the equivalent cachet and appeal of a great wine cellar.

Great Basin National Park Superintendent Andy Ferguson says, “This is how national parks used to be. You feel like you have it to yourself. You’re not a number. You’re not crowded.” With only 90,000 people visiting a year, it can afford such boutique charms.

Night II

At night, townies often gather at the bar at the Border Inn, a nearby motel. There, you’ll find young hikers, old bikers, ranchers and water activists sipping wine and plotting the latest countermoves against Pat Mulroy’s pipeline plan, which aims to draw

Travel

Opposite page, top: The mountain ranges of Great Basin are only half the story — the dramatic clouds complete the picture.

Opposite page, below: The placid Lake Stella murmurs and ripples in the morning.

This page: A mighty bristlecone — or "b-cone," as some locals say — tow-

water from, among other places, Snake Valley and Spring Valley, which bookend the park on the east and west. Opponents say the pipeline would dry up the land and send dust into the air, clouding half their assets: the largely unspoiled night sky. It would be a shame, they say, especially now that there’s a movement to build an observatory in the park. The Great Basin National Park Foundation board recently voted to endorse the observatory proposal, and a fundraising campaign is ratcheting up.

Earlier this evening, a mandolin/guitar/ cello trio called Trotta & Ronstadt performed a funk-inflected roots-rock set in the auditorium adjoining the Border Inn’s restaurant. It was a fundraiser to support the Great Basin Water Network’s fight against the pipeline plan, but you wouldn’t know such a grim issue loomed from the festivity of it; everyone from squealing toddlers

to sun-baked bikers were tapping their feet.

After Trotta & Ronstadt’s set — in which they dished out everything from ballads led

by Michael Ronstadt’s sonorous cello to antic, sunny anthems fronted by Dave Trotta — the band invited anyone with an instrument on stage. Many locals raced home and returned with guitars and even some violins.

Trotta & Ronstadt are veteran road dogs who log countless miles a year — and, no doubt, log plenty of sights and parties, too.

But after the show — exhausted but smiling, nerves keyed up from the musical buzz — where did they want to go? Outside. They walked out the back door of the Border Inn, beyond the lights, through the dirt lot, amid zipping bats and across the field, out, out — for a taste of that luxurious dark.

ers on a hill; wild turkeys strut their stuff in the park; aspen leaves glow gold in the light.

Thanks to Lynn Davis and David Lamfrom of the National Parks Conservation Association.

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Our October Baby of the Month.

features

Taytum’s Story This little pumpkin’s mom was unfortunately diagnosed with having an elevated FSH level at a very young age. She had been trying to conceive for 18 months and the initial evaluation revealed her FSH level was 13, meaning that her egg quality was very poor. She underwent a failed injectable FSH/Intrauterine insemination cycle and a failed IVF cycle but luckily the couple did not give up. They took a break, saved up money and tried again. Little Taytum was conceived on her second IVF cycle! Congratulations to Taytum, the October Baby of the Month!

View video of Taytum’s story online at www.redrockfertility.com Red Rock Fertility Center is Nevada’s 1st and only boutique-styled center specializing in personalized physician care and expertise in an intimate, cozy setting. Giving the gift of a new life all year long...

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& Stanford Universities

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I Schedule An Appointment Today I 702.749.4902 I 6410 Medical Center Street, Suite A • Las Vegas, NV 89148 I

DesertCompanion.com | 69

D e s e r t

2012 C o m p a n i o n ’ s

Now’s your chance to take the law into your own hands — in a manner of speaking, anyway: With Desert Companion’s Top Lawyers list. In the pages that follow, you’ll find more than 600 of Southern Nevada’s most recommended lawyers.

Whether you need legal guidance to clinch a real estate deal or you’re just trying to get your personal finances back on track, our list of local legal eagles covers it all.

How did we do it? To put together a list of top area lawyers, we invited LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®, the company that has long set the standard for peer review ratings, to share their list of local lawyers who have reached the highest levels of ethical standards and professional excellence. The result: A powerful list that contains information about the brightest legal minds in the state.

Acquisition and Development

Anthony C. Gordon Anthony C. Gordon, Ltd. Borrowing, lending 313 Pilot Road, Suite A, 2nd Floor, Navegante Building, 876-0673 gordon-ltd.com

Acquisition Disposition Leslie Terry Jones Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1600, 382-2101 bhfs.com

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Administrative Law Jack Conrad Cherry Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen and Sanders Appellate law, commercial litigation 7401 W. Charleston Blvd., 384-7000 alversontaylor.com

Matthew Q. Callister Callister and Reynolds Commercial litigation, gaming law 823 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 385-3343 callister-reynolds.com

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Norman Ty Hilbrecht Hilbrecht and Associates, CHTD Business start-ups, corporate law 723 S. Casino Center Blvd., 384-1036 lawyers.com/hilbrecht Joseph W. Brown Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Business law, corporate law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com

How to use this guide

Areas of legal practice are listed alphabetically. Below those, lawyers are listed, alphabetized by firm; specialties are provided below that, followed by the address, phone number and website.

Christopher Leigh Kaempfer Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer and Fiorentino Zoning, planning, land use, construction law 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 792-7000 kcnvlaw.com Theodore Parker, III Parker Nelson and Associates Commercial litigation, insurance defense 2460 Professional Court, Suite 200, 868-8000

Alternative Dispute Resolution Ara H. Shirinian Ara Shirinian Mediation Mediation, arbitration 10651 Capesthorne Way, 496-4985 arashirinianmediation.com

Joseph J. Bongiovi, III Bongiovi Dispute Resolutions 9510 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 225, 889-4600 bongiovi.com Michelle R. Schwarz Buckley King, PC Appellate advocacy, class action, MDL, mass tort 10655 Park Run Drive, 190 Astoria Building, 727-2930; (877) 558-5464 buckleyking.com Jay Earl Smith Smith Larsen and Wixom, CHTD Civil litigation, banking law 1935 Village Center Circle, Hills Center Business Park, 252-5002 slwlawfirm.com Patrick G. Byrne Snell and Wilmer, LLP Commercial litigation, environmental 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1100, 784-5200 swlaw.com

James G. Armstrong Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com Roy E. Smith Arbitrations, mediations 12015 Whitehills St., 732-2989

Antitrust

C. Keith Rooker American Pacific Corporation Real estate, securities, finance 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700, 735-2200

Antitrust and Trade Regulation

P. Gregory Giordano Lewis and Roca, LLP Business law, corporate law 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com

Appellate Litigation

Michael K. Wall Hutchison and Steffen, LLC Insurance defense 10080 W. Alta Drive, Suite 200, Peccole Professional Park, 385-2500 hutchlegal.com

Appellate Practice

Daniel F. Polsenberg Lewis and Roca, LLP Trial practice, complex litigation 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com David N. Frederick Lionel Sawyer and Collins Business, commercial and insurance litigation 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Mary E. Berkheiser University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law Clinical, legal education, criminal law 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 451003, 895-3671 law.unlv.edu Franny A. Forsman Administrative law, defamation law P.O. Box 43401 Howard Mark Miller Business law, business organization 7300 W. Sahara Ave.

Arbitration

Floyd A. Hale Floyd A. Hale Law Office Mediation 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 11th Floor, 457-5267 Bill C. Hammer Hammer and Associates, Ltd. Mediation, international dispute resolution 9030 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 699, 387-0530 Gregory J. Kamer Kamer Zucker Abbott National labor relations board proceedings, union avoidance 3000 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 3, 259-8640 kzalaw.com Edwin A. Keller, Jr. Kamer Zucker Abbott Collective bargaining, national labor relations board proceedings 3000 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 3, 259-8640 kzalaw.com Richard L. Peel Peel Brimley, LLP Mediation, contracts 3333 E. Serene Ave., Suite 200, 990-7272 peelbrimley.com

Architect and Engineer Law

Nicholas M. Wieczorek Morris Polich and Purdy, LLP Construction law, copyright and trademark 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 560, 862-8300 mpplaw.com

Asset Protection

Jerome M. Hesch Jeffrey M. Verdon Law Group, LLP Estate planning, tax planning 5915 Edmond St., Suite 102, 521-0464 jmvlaw.com Jeffrey M. Verdon Jeffrey M. Verdon Law Group, LLP Estate planning, tax planning 5915 Edmond St., Suite 102, 521-0464 jmvlaw.com Robert F. Saint-Aubin Saint-Aubin, CHTD Administrative law, antitrust 3753 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, (949) 496-5075 rfsaint.com

Layne T. Rushforth The Rushforth Firm, Ltd. Probate, estate planning 9505 Hillwood Drive, Suite 100, 255-4552; (866) 740-9195 rushforthfirm.com

Automobile Accidents and Injuries

Keith E. Galliher, Jr. The Galliher Law Firm Premises liability 1850 E. Sahara Ave., Suite 107, 735-0049 galliher-law.com

Aviation

Jeffrey S. Behar Ford, Walker, Haggerty and Behar, PC Construction defect litigation, products liability 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 500, 990-3580

Aviation Accident Law

Gary Logan Medical malpractice, legal malpractice 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 701, Bank of America Plaza, 385-9900 garyloganlaw.com

How we chose Desert Companion’s Top Lawyers

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To create this list of Top Lawyers in Southern Nevada, LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell® tapped its comprehensive database of Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ to identify lawyers who have been rated by their peers to be AV® Preeminent™ — the highest Peer Review Rating available.

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are driven by the confidential opinions of lawyers and members of the judiciary who receive invitations from LexisNexis® MartindaleHubbell®, via an online survey or by mail, to provide reviews of lawyers of whom they have professional knowledge. Peer Review Rated lawyers are not required to have a paid listing on Lawyers.comSM or martindale.com®.

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These lawyers can be found online at Lawyers. com and martindale.com®, in the MartindaleHubbell® Law Directory in print and CD-ROM formats, and online through the LexisNexis® services and at lexis.com®.

Aviation and FAA Regulatory

Daniel S. Rodman Snell and Wilmer, LLP Commercial litigation, labor and employment 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1100, 784-5200 swlaw.com

Bad Faith Law

Walter R. Cannon Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC Civil rights law, malpractice law 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com

Banking and Financial Services

Bruce A. Leslie Armstrong Teasdale, LLP Real estate, tax/ employee benefits/ trust and estates 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, 678-5070 armstrongteasdale.com

Banking

Robert J. Kolesar Kolesar and Leatham Real estate, corporate law 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com Michael John Toigo Law Offices of Michael J. Toigo Real estate, securities P.O. Box 19444, 731-9555 Kent F. Larsen Smith Larsen and Wixom, CHTD Civil litigation, personal injury defense 1935 Village Center Circle, Hills Center Business Park, 252-5002 slwlawfirm.com Michael B. Wixom Smith Larsen and Wixom, CHTD Corporate law, general commercial law 1935 Village Center Circle, Hills Center Business Park, 252-5002 slwlawfirm.com Robert Vaughn Gourley Stephens, Gourley and Bywater, PC Business, business planning 3636 N. Rancho Drive, 656-2355 stephensbywater.com

Bankruptcy

Nancy Lee Allf Business Law 200 Lewis Ave. Daren Barney Barney McKenna and Olmstead, PC Business law, construction law Mesquite, 590 W. Mesquite Blvd., Suite 202A, 346-3100 barney-mckenna.com Richard F. Holley Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley, Woloson and Thompson Business law, trial practice 400 S. Fourth St., Third Floor, 791-0308 cottondriggs.com Timothy S. Cory Durham Jones and Pinegar, PC Litigation 10785 W. Twain Ave., Suite 200, 870-6060 djplaw.com Laurel Elizabeth Davis Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Creditors’ remedies, commercial litigation 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com James D. Greene Greene Infuso, LLP 3030 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 101, 570-6000 greeneinfusolaw.com Gregory A. Koppe Koppe and Koppe Commercial law, criminal law 711 S. Fourth St., Suite 201, 382-3553 Jeffrey G. Sloane Kravitz, Schnitzer, Sloane and Johnson, CHTD Banking law, commercial transactions 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 kssattorneys.com David W. Huston Law Offices of David W. Huston Transaction law, commercial litigation 601 S. Seventh St., Second Floor, 384-9555 hustonlawfirm.com Richard McKnight Law Offices of Richard McKnight, PC Commercial litigation

330 S. Third St., Suite 900, 388-7185 lawlasvegas.com Rob Charles Lewis and Roca, LLP Commercial litigation, legal ethics 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com Rodney M. Jean Lionel Sawyer and Collins Commercial litigation 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Zachariah Larson Marquis Aurbach Coffing, PC Real estate, elder law 10001 Park Run Drive, 382-0711 marquisaurbach.com Jeanette E. McPherson Schwartzer and McPherson Law Firm Insolvency, business reorganization 2850 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 1, 228-7590 s-mlaw.com Lenard E. Schwartzer Schwartzer and McPherson Law Firm Receiverships, asset protection 2850 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 1, 228-7590 s-mlaw.com Shelley D. Krohn Shelley D. Krohn, Ltd. Estate planning, wills 228 S. Fourth St., Suite 300, 421-2210 krohnlawoffice.com Kelly L. Kindelan Sylvester and Polednak, Ltd. 1731 Village Center Circle, 952-5200 sylvesterpolednak.com Jeffrey R. Sylvester Sylvester and Polednak, Ltd. Creditors’ rights, commercial litigation 1731 Village Center Circle, 952-5200 sylvesterpolednak.com Ann Bersi General litigation, administrative law P.O. Box 552215

Bankruptcy and Reorganization

R. Mont McDowell Bankruptcy, workouts 8831 W. Sahara Ave., Lakes Business Park

Robert R. Kinas Snell and Wilmer, LLP Commercial finance, Europe practice 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1100, 784-5200 swlaw.com

Business

Albert C. Lum Litigation, real estate 3375 Pepper Lane, Suite 103, 458-9556 albertlumlaw.com W. Leslie Sully, Jr. Leavitt, Sully and Rivers Taxation, real estate 601 E. Bridger Ave., 382-5111 Nikolas Lamont Mastrangelo Nikolas L. Mastrangelo, Esq., Ltd. Commercial litigation, personal injury 811 S. Sixth St., 384-5770 Richard F. Campbell, III Real estate 54540 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 10

Business and Commercial Litigation

John T. Steffen Hutchison and Steffen, LLC Landlord/tenant, products liability 10080 W. Alta Drive, Suite 200, Peccole Professional Park, 385-2500 hutchlegal.com

Business and Corporate

Glenn E. Wichinsky Gaming law, government relations N. Las Vegas, 4170 Distribution Circle, Suite 103

Business and Finance

Patricia J. Curtis Snell and Wilmer, LLP Commercial finance, condominium and hospitality 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1100, 784-5200 swlaw.com

Business Formation

Loren A. Piel Mercer and Piel, Ltd. Limited liability company law, nonprofit organizations law 7473 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 100, 253-7300 mpnvlaw.com

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David B. Daley Boyd Gaming Corporation Commercial law, construction law 6465 S. Rainbow Blvd., Fourth Floor, 792-7200 Michael J. Danner Danner and Chonoles, LLP Business formation, business transactions 3838 Raymert Drive, Suite 10, 676-1068 Robert C. Anderson Holland and Hart, LLP Corporate law, taxation 9555 Hillwood Drive, 669-4600 hollandhart.com Melvin D. Close, Jr. Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Estate planning law, probate law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000, fclaw.com Mark A. James Mark A. James, Ltd. Commercial litigation, environmental law 4001 S. Decatur Blvd., Suite 37-357, 798-3424 Robert E. Armstrong McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Taxation law, trust and estates 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano.com Preston B. Howard Preston B.Howard, PC Corporate law, gaming law 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 800, 856-4331 lawyers.com/ prestonhowardlaw Steven B. Glade Corporate law, construction law 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 108, 3854433 gladelaw.com George J. Chanos Business negotiations, business dispute resolution P.O. Box 530875 Marc C. Gordon Corporate law P.O. Box 80930

Business Litigation

Ellis and Gordon, PC Commercial litigation, transactions 510 S. Ninth St., 385-3727 ellis-gordon.com Craig S. Newman Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Commercial litigation, collections (gaming and nongaming) 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com Michael N. Feder Gordon Silver Commercial litigation, real estate litigation 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Ninth Floor, 7965555 gordonsilver.com Wayne J. Hardy Hardy and Hardy, PC Commercial litigation, construction law 7175 N. Durango Drive, Suite 270, 366-1366 hardylawlv.com John H. Cotton John H. Cotton and Associates Commercial litigation, professional liability defense law 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 420, 367-9993 jhcottonlaw.com Georlen K. Spangler Kolesar and Leatham Construction litigation, mechanics’ liens 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com Martha Jane Ashcraft Law Offices of Martha J. Ashcraft Energy law, representative cases 7251 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 300, 562-4010 ashcraftlawyers.com

Business Reorganization

Nile Leatham Kolesar and Leatham Creditors’ rights, commercial transactions 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com

Frank A. Ellis, III

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Business Risk Management Advice Michael A. Royal Royal, Jones, Miles, Dunkley and Wilson General liability litigation and counsel, appellate practice 1522 W. Warm Springs Road, 4716777 rjdwlawfirm.com

Business Torts

Fred D. “Pete” Gibson, III Lionel Sawyer and Collins RICO, commercial litigation 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Business Transactions

William H. Stoddard Albright, Stoddard, Warnick and Albright, PC Business litigation, commercial transactions 801 S. Rancho Drive, Quail Park I, Suite D4, 384-7111 albrightstoddard. com Jeffrey P. Zucker Lionel Sawyer and Collins 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Casino Law

Lloyd D. Levenson Cooper Levenson, April Niedelman and Wagenheim, PA Gaming law, litigation 6060 Elton Ave., Suite A, 366-1125 cooperlevenson.com

Catastrophic Injury

Daniel E. Carvalho Rogers, Mastrangelo, Carvalho and Mitchell Insurance defense law, medical malpractice law 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 710, Bank of America Plaza, 3833400 rmcmlaw.com Frank W. Mitchell Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn and Dial, LLC Commercial litigation, environmental and toxic tort 6385 S. Rainbow

Blvd., Suite 400, 938-3838 wwhgd.com

Catastrophic Personal Injury

Donald J. Campbell Campbell and Williams Commercial litigation, white collar criminal defense 700 S. Seventh St., 382-5222 campbellandwilliams. com

Civil and Criminal Litigation

Lawrence J. Semenza Lawrence J. Semenza, Ltd. 3025 E. Post Road, 369-6999 Thomas D. Beatty Insurance defense, products liability 601 E. Bridger Ave., 382-5111

Civil Appeals

Michael V. Infuso Greene Infuso, LLP Civil practice, federal civil practice 3030 S. Jones Blvd., Suite 101, 570-6000 greeneinfusolaw.com Jennifer Cole Dorsey Kemp, Jones and Coulthard, LLP Commercial litigation, class actions 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 17th Floor, Wells Fargo Tower, 3856000 kempjones.com Stephen K. Christiansen Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall and McCarthy, PC Federal litigation, civil litigation 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 800, 436-0008 vancott.com

Civil Litigation

G. Mark Albright Albright, Stoddard, Warnick and Albright, PC Construction defects, mechanics’ liens 801 S. Rancho Drive, Quail Park I, Suite D4, 384-7111 albrightstoddard. com J. Bruce Alverson Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen and Sanders 7401 W. Charleston

Blvd., 384-7000 alversontaylor.com Steven L. Day Cohen Johnson and Day Employment, insurance defense 1060 Wigwam Parkway, 309-3333 nevada-injury-lawyer. com Jeffrey R. Albregts Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley, Woloson and Thompson Contracts, real estate 400 S. Fourth St., Third Floor, 7910308 cottondriggs.com E. M. Gunderson Elmer Millard Gunderson Appellate practice, administrative law 3113 Calle De El Cortez, 871-5520 Jeffrey L. Eskin Eskin Law Offices Civil litigation, corporation 3191 E. Warm Springs Road, Longford Plaza E., 933-4448 eskinlawoffices.com John Peter Lee John Peter Lee, Ltd. Real estate law, corporate law 830 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., 382-4044 johnpeterlee.com

Theodore R. Cercos Lincoln, Gustafson and Cercos Construction defect 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, Box 2, 257-1997 lgclawoffice.com Randall D. Gustafson Lincoln, Gustafson and Cercos Insurance coverage, business planning 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, Box 2, 257-1997 lgclawoffice.com Thomas J. Lincoln Lincoln, Gustafson and Cercos Insurance coverage, business planning 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, Box 2, 257-1997 lgclawoffice.com Bruce W. Kelley McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte and Carruth, LLP Negligence, products liability 8337 W. Sunset Road, Suite 350, 949-1100 mccormickbarstow. com Steve Morris Morris Law Group 300 S. Fourth St., 900 Bank of America Plaza, 474-9400 morrislawgroup.com

James E. Smyth Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer and Fiorentino Construction litigation, construction law 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 792-7000 kcnvlaw.com

John F. O’Reilly O’Reilly Law Group, LLC Commercial litigation, regulatory law 325 S. Maryland Parkway, Nevada Professional Center, 382-2500 oreillylawgroup.com

Michael D. Davidson Kolesar and Leatham Criminal litigation, municipal and administrative law 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com

David A. Carroll Rice Silbey Reuther and Sullivan, LLP Commercial real estate litigation 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700, 732-9099 rsrslaw.com

Gary P. Sinkeldam Law Office of Gary P. Sinkeldam Construction defects, insurance defense 844 E. Sahara Ave., 866-0089

Ross I. Gallen Ross I. Gallen, Attorney at Law Criminal defense, negligence 1920 Canvas Edge Drive, 285-6519 gallenlaw.com

David J. Rivers, II Leavitt, Sully and Rivers Construction, real estate 601 E. Bridger Ave., 382-5111

Paul Howard Schofield Schofield Miller Law Firm Construction law, construction defect litigation

8440 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 200, 474-4444 schofieldmillerlaw.com Robert A. Steller Selman Breitman, LLP Appeals, insurance coverage 3980 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400, 228-7717 selmanbreitman.com Robert A. Goldstein Sklar Williams, PLLC Trial practice, commercial litigation 410 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 350, 360-6000 sklar-law.com Adam H. Springel Springel and Fink, LLP Insurance defense, construction defects 10655 Park Run Drive, Suite 275, 804-0706 springelfink.com Robert P. Dickerson The Dickerson Law Group Family law, divorce litigation 1745 Village Center Circle, 388-8600 dickersonlawgroup.com Michael M. Later The Law Office of Michael M. Later Natural resources, corporate law 8861 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 230, 685-4400 mlaterlaw.com David R. Sidran Toschi, Sidran, Collins and Doyle Construction law, employment law 7251 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Third Floor, 256-5589 toschisidran.com John A. Snow Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall and McCarthy, PC Commercial litigation, business litigation 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 800, 436-0008 vancott.com John Paul Wanderer Wanderer Law, PC Creditors’ rights, collections 1830 E. Sahara Ave., Suite 102, 382-9558 wandererlaw.com Roger W. Wenthe 333 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

Civil Litigation and Construction Law David Wilson, II Hays, McConn, Rice and Pickering, PC

{Straight talk}

Commercial Litigation

Local lawyers answer common questions

Douglass A. Mitchell Boies, Schiller and Flexner, LLP Federal criminal law 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 800, 382-7300 bsfllp.com

Can my credit card company garnish my wages to force me to pay my credit card debt?

J. Colby Williams Campbell and Williams First Amendment law, appellate practice 700 S. Seventh St., 382-5222 campbellandwilliams.com

“A person, by using their credit card, has agreed to repay these charges. This agreement is not automatically enforceable by the credit card company, but can be enforced by lawsuit. Therefore, garnishment upon non-payment is not automatic. If the charge is disputed in writing, then no action is taken until the card company reaches a decision. After informing the user of the decision, they may proceed if not resolved.

However, before a person’s wages can be garnished, there are many hurdles. Upon defaulting in payment, the person usually receives a demand for payment. If that is not resolved, then they may be sued. Only after judgment, and notice of entry of judgment to the cardholder, can the card company initiate garnishment. This takes place through the constable or sheriff. The maximum garnishment for credit card debt is 25 percent. A person can, of course, work out a settlement or payment plan at any time in the process which will resolve the matter prior to any garnishment. Additionally, bankruptcy may be a resolution that will prevent garnishment.”

— Ronald H. Reynolds, Reynolds and Associates

8275 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 990-8418 haysmcconn.com

Civil Litigation and Appeals

Pat J. Fitzgibbons, Jr. Pat J. Fitzgibbons, Jr., Esq., PC Personal injury, wrongful death HCR 38, Box 566, Lee Canyon

Civil Rights Law David T. Wall Eglet Wall, LLP Civil rights Section 1983, race discrimination 400 S. Fourth St., Suite 600, City Centre Place, 450-5400 mainorlawyers.com Peter M. Angulo Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC Malpractice, insurance defense law 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com John E. Gormley Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC Insurance defense law, products law 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com

Civil Trial

Christopher H. Byrd Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Real estate, commercial law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com John Hammes Mowbray Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Real estate, construction law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com Gerald I. Gillock Gerald I. Gillock and Associates Medical malpractice, premises liability 428 S. Fourth St., 386-0000 galatzgillock.com John D. O’Brien John D. O’Brien, Ltd. Corporate law, probate law 700 S. Seventh St., 382-5222 Michael A. Koning Law Office of Michael A. Koning, PC Personal injury, automobile accidents and injuries

844 E. Sahara Ave., 221-7500 Harold M. Morse Law Offices of Harold M. Morse 715 S. Sixth St., 8703600

Class Action Litigation

William R. Clayton Greenberg Traurig, LLP Construction litigation, employment litigation 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 792-3773 gtlaw.com

Collections

Kevin R. Diamond Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Contracts, insurance defense 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com

Commercial and Business Litigation

Cory M. Jones Royal, Jones, Miles, Dunkley and Wilson Personal injury matters, insurance coverage and bad faith claims 1522 W. Warm Springs Road, 471-6777 rjdwlawfirm.com

Thomas A. Ericsson Ellsworth, Moody and Bennion, CHTD Construction litigation, insurance defense 7881 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 210, 658-6100 emblaw.com Joseph P. Hardy, Jr. Gordon and Rees, LLP International law, ERISA 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 100, 577-9300 gordonrees.com

Commercial and Retail Collections

Ronald H. Reynolds Reynolds and Associates Creditor bankruptcy, probate 823 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., Suite 280, 4457000 reynoldslawyers.com

Commercial Law

Thomas J. DeVore DeVore and Associates, Ltd. Real estate law 3455 Cliff Shadows Parkway, Suite 220, 242-4949 Barry Stephen Goold Goold Patterson Ales and Day Real estate law 4496 S. Pecos Road, 436-2600; (866) 642-2600 gooldpatterson.com Phillip S. Aurbach Marquis Aurbach Coffing, PC Contracts, litigation 10001 Park Run Drive, 382-0711 marquisaurbach. com William M. Scott, IV Banking law, Indian gaming law 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

Justin C. Jones Holland and Hart, LLP Civil litigation, real estate litigation 9555 Hillwood Drive, 669-4600 hollandhart.com J. Stephen Peek Holland and Hart, LLP Real property law 9555 Hillwood Drive, 669-4600 hollandhart.com Patrick J. Reilly Holland and Hart, LLP Administrative law, real property law 9555 Hillwood Drive, 669-4600 hollandhart.com Gary R. Goodheart Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Title insurance and escrow litigation, corporate law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com Kevin R. Stolworthy Armstrong Teasdale Commercial litigation, construction litigation, insurance law 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, 678-5070 ext. 2952 armstrongteasdale. com/kevin-stolworthy

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John C. Renshaw Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer and Fiorentino Construction litigation, condemnation litigation 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 792-7000 kcnvlaw.com William L. Coulthard Kemp, Jones and Coulthard, LLP Business litigation, construction litigation 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 17th Floor, Wells Fargo Tower, 3856000 kempjones.com Mark M. Jones Kemp, Jones and Coulthard, LLP Real estate litigation, construction litigation 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 17th Floor, Wells Fargo Tower, 3856000 kempjones.com Matthew J. Forstadt Kolesar and Leatham Financial law, real estate litigation 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com James D. Hibbard Kolesar and Leatham 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com Randolph L. Howard Kolesar and Leatham Real property, business litigation 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com Annie J. Kung Kung and Associates Construction defects, bankruptcy 214 S. Maryland Parkway, 382-0883 ajkunglaw.com Joice B. Bass Lewis and Roca, LLP Government contracts 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com Ike Lawrence Epstein Lewis and Roca, LLP Sports law, entertainment law 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com

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Von S. Heinz Lewis and Roca, LLP Civil litigation, labor and employment 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com Thomas G. Ryan Lewis and Roca, LLP Labor and employment, products liability 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com Todd M. Touton Lionel Sawyer and Collins Construction litigation 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Charlie H. Luh Luh and Associates Bankruptcy, insurance defense 8987 W. Flamingo Road, Suite 100, 367-8899 Jay Young Marquis Aurbach Coffing, PC Bankruptcy, litigation 10001 Park Run Drive, 382-0711 marquisaurbach.com Andrew P. Gordon McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Real estate, construction law

2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano.com Pat Lundvall McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Employment and labor law 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano.com Josephine Binetti McPeak McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Civil litigation, construction law 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano.com Thomas R. C. Wilson McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Natural resources law, environmental law 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano.com Darius F. Rafie Mortenson and Rafie, LLP Civil litigation, insurance bad faith 10781 W. Twain Ave., 363-4190 mortensonandrafie. com James J. Pisanelli Pisanelli Bice, PLLC Construction law, health care 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 800, 214-2100

Dennis M. Prince Prince and Keating, LLP Construction law, personal injury 3230 S. Buffalo Drive, Suite 108, 228-6800 princekeating.com James F. Holtz Stutz Artiano Shinoff and Holtz, PC Insurance coverage, professional liability 1120 Town Center Drive, Suite 220, 304-1803 stutzartiano.com David J. Larson Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn and Dial, LLC Construction 6385 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 400, 938-3838 wwhgd.com Brian C. Whitaker Woods Erickson Whitaker and Maurice, LLP Insurance defense litigation, employment litigation 1349 W. Galleria Drive, Suite 200, 433-9696 woodserickson.com Charles H. McCrea Commercial transactions, gaming law 3191 E. Warm Springs Road, Building 13 Nicholas J. Santoro Tort litigation 10001 Park Run Drive

Judith Simon-Kohl Labor and employment law, litigation 336 Cathedral Way

Commercial Real Estate

Lawrence E. Castle The Cooper Christensen Law Firm, LLP Tax law, franchise law 820 S. Valley View Blvd., 435-4175 ccfirm.com

Commercial Transactions

Michael H. Singer Law Offices of Michael H. Singer, Ltd. Litigation, business law 4475 S. Pecos Road, 454-2111 mhsingerlawfirm.com

Company-wide Gaming Operations

William L. Buffalo Indian gaming development, business 8918 Spanish Ridge Ave.

Complex and MultiDistrict Litigation Will Kemp Kemp, Jones and Coulthard, LLP Commercial litigation, insurance law 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 17th Floor, Wells Fargo Tower,

{Straight talk} Local lawyers answer common questions

I was in a car accident several months ago, but only now I seem to be showing symptoms of injury. Is it too late to file a personal injury lawsuit?

“Gaps of several months from a car crash to an initial visit to a physician are usually fatal to the success of an injury claim. Although a delay of symptoms such as you describe are medically possible, a delay such as you describe rarely passes the common sense-test employed by a jury. You will incur costs in litigation. If you lose your case, you may be responsible to pay the other side’s costs and attorney fees. I recommend that you get medical care for your injuries on an insurance basis, if you have coverage, and forego litigating your personal injury claim.”

— Keith E. Galliher, Jr., The Galliher Law Firm

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

385-6000 kempjones.com James R. Olson Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC Products liability law, professional malpractice law 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com

Complex Civil Litigation

Scott R. Cook Kolesar and Leatham Complex claims and catastrophic injury, environmental law 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com

Complex Litigation

Dennis L. Kennedy Bailey Kennedy, LLP Legal ethics, health care 8984 Spanish Ridge Ave., 562-8820 baileykennedy.com Kevin N. Anderson Fabian and Clendenin, PC Energy, electric utilities 601 S. 10th St., Suite 102, 233-4444 fabianlaw.com Lynda Sue Mabry Lionel Sawyer and Collins Contract disputes, business torts 300 S. Fourth St. 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com John L. Thorndal Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Toxic torts, probate 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com

Complex Real Estate Litigation

Grant K. Riley Riley and Associates CA/NV Business disputes 4534 W. Hacienda Ave., Suite A, 4361688 rileylawca-nv.com

Condominium Law

Dean J. Gould The Law Offices of Jackier Gould, PC Real estate law, business law 6236 Laredo St., 715-2709 jackiergould.com

Construction

Dennis R. Haney Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley, Woloson and Thompson Real estate, estate planning 400 S. Fourth St., Third Floor, 7910308 cottondriggs.com Ronald S. Sofen Gibbs, Giden, Locher, Turner and Senet, LLP Business litigation 7450 Arroyo Crossing Parkway, Suite 270, 836-9800 gglts.com Robert E. Schumacher Gordon and Rees, LLP Commercial litigation, tort and product liability 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 100, 577-9300 gordonrees.com Philip J. Dabney The Law Offices of Philip J. Dabney, PC Real estate, business 701 N. Green Valley Parkway, 990-3375

Construction Claims

Jason W. Williams Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson and Haluck, LLP Construction litigation, general legal defense 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 500, 853-5500 knchlaw.com

Construction Defects

Scott A. Burdman Burdman and Coston Real estate, civil litigation 8440 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 100, 3872400 burdmanlaw.com Scott K. Canepa Canepa Riedy and Rubino Homeowners’ association law, products liability 851 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 160, 304-2335 crrlaw.com Robert B. Gerard Gerard and Associates Consumer energy law, personal injury 2840 S. Jones Blvd., Unit 4, Building D, 251-0093 gerardlaw.com

Charles M. Litt Fenton Grant Mayfield Kaneda and Litt, LLP Civil litigation 1955 Village Center Circle, 947-4900 fentongrant.com Alexander Robertson, IV Robertson and Vick Toxic mold, commercial litigation 401 N. Buffalo Drive, Suite 202, 247-4661 rvcdlaw.com Elaine K. Fresch Selman Breitman, LLP Commercial litigation, equine law 3980 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400, 228-7717 selmanbreitman.com Bruce Mayfield Fenton Grant Mayfield Kaneda and Litt, LLP 1955 Village Center Circle, 947-4900 fentongrant.com Eileen Mulligan Marks The Marks Law Group, LLP Insurance defense 1120 Town Center Drive, Suite 200, 341-7870 markslg.com Allyson R. Noto Sylvester and Polednak, Ltd. Civil litigation, commercial litigation 1731 Village Center Circle, 952-5200 sylvesterpolednak. com Duane E. Shinnick Shinnick, Ryan and Ransavage, PC 2881 Business Park Court, Suite 210, 631-8014 ssllplaw.com Bruno Wolfenzon The Wolfenzon Law Group Personal injury defense, commercial litigation 4530 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 9, 836-3138 Tracy Strickland Personal injury, civil rights 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 106

Construction Law

Justin L. Watkins Atkinson and Watkins, LLP Construction litigation, civil litigation 6720 Via Austi

Parkway, Suite 170, 562-6000 atkinsonwatkins.com Leland Eugene Backus Backus, Carranza and Burden Health law, complex litigation 3050 S. Durango Drive, 872-5555 backuslaw.com Joseph R. Ganley Hutchison and Steffen, LLC Employment law, business and commercial litigation 10080 W. Alta Drive, Suite 200, Peccole Professional Park, 385-2500 hutchlegal.com Bruce W. Lorber Lorber Greenfield and Polito, LLP 8960 Howard Hughes Parkway, 990-3625 lorberlaw.com Noah G. Allison Martin and Allison, Ltd. Construction litigation, real estate litigation 3191 E. Warm Springs Road, Building 13, 933-4444 battlebornlaw.com David T. Pursiano Pursiano Barry Lavelle, LLP Construction defects, community association law 851 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 260, 233-3063 pblattorneys.com

Construction Litigation

Robert C. Carlson Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson and Haluck, LLP E-discovery and data management, environmental law 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 500, 853-5500 knchlaw.com Joseph J. Cullen Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson and Haluck, LLP General legal defense, insurance coverage/bad faith litigation 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 500, 853-5500 knchlaw.com Megan K. Dorsey Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson and Haluck, LLP Employment litigation, general legal defense 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 500, 853-5500 knchlaw.com George F. Ogilvie, III McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Commercial litigation, government affairs 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano. com Mark A. Hutchison Hutchison and Steffen, LLC Corporate commercial law, environmental litigation 10080 W. Alta Drive, Suite 200, Peccole Professional Park, 385-2500 hutchlegal.com

Corporate

Daniel E. Angius Angius and Terry, LLP Community association law 1120 Town Center Drive, Suite 260, 990-2017 angius-terry.com

Kenneth A. Woloson Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley, Woloson and Thompson Business, estate planning law 400 S. Fourth St., Third Floor, 7910308 cottondriggs.com

Paul P. Terry, Jr. Angius and Terry, LLP Community association law 1120 Town Center Drive, Suite 260, 990-2017 angius-terry.com

P. Blake Allen Duane Morris, LLP Securities law, mergers and acquisitions 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1560, 8682600 duanemorris.com

Tomas V. Mazeika Fredrickson, Mazeika and Grant, LLP Personal injury, business litigation 333 S. Sixth St., Suite 230, 384-4048 fmglegal.com

Richard L. Galin Gordon Silver Securities, financial institutions 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Ninth Floor, 796-5555 gordonsilver.com

Alan C. Sklar Sklar Williams, PLLC Securities, real estate 410 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 350, 360-6000 sklar-law.com

Corporate and Securities

Michael J. Bonner Greenberg Traurig, LLP Gaming, mergers and acquisitions 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 7923773 gtlaw.com John N. Brewer Greenberg Traurig, LLP Mergers and acquisitions 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 792-3773 gtlaw.com

Corporate Law

Dean S. Bennett Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley, Woloson and Thompson Real estate, real estate finance 400 S. Fourth St., Third Floor, 791-0308 cottondriggs.com J. Douglas Driggs, Jr. Cotton, Driggs, Walch, Holley, Woloson and Thompson Real estate law, real estate finance law 400 S. Fourth St., Third Floor, 7910308 cottondriggs.com Sherwood N. Cook Durham Jones and Pinegar, PC Securities law 10785 W. Twain Ave., Suite 200, 870-6060 djplaw.com Mike H. Sloan Gaming licensing 8380 Carmel Ridge Court, 249-1817

Yvette E. Landau Gaming law 395 E. Sunset Road Robert M. Rosen Securities 2655 Evening Sky Drive

Corporate Litigation

Daniel R. Castro Castro and Baker, LLP Commercial litigation, toxic torts 6600 Amelia Earhart Court, Suite C, 442-2780 lawyers.com/drcastrolaw

Corporation

Laurence A. Speiser Laurence A. Speiser, Ltd. Business, gaming law 51 Braelinn Drive, 454-9544

Creditors’ Rights William M. Noall Gordon Silver Insolvency 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Ninth Floor, 796-5555 gordonsilver.com

Garry L. Hayes Law Office of Hayes and Welsh, PC Real estate tax appeals, bankruptcy 199 N. Arroyo Grande Blvd., Suite 200, 434-3444 lvlaw.com Candace C. Carlyon Shea and Carlyon, Ltd. Insolvency, representation of financial institutions 701 E. Bridger Ave., Suite 850, 471-7432 sheacarlyon.com James Patrick Shea Shea and Carlyon, Ltd. Insolvency, representation of financial institutions 701 E. Bridger Ave., Suite 850, 471-7432 sheacarlyon.com

Rew R. Goodenow Parsons Behle and Latimer, PC Business litigation, bankruptcy 3753 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, 599-6000 parsonsbehlelaw.com

Lester A. Berman Simon and Berman Real estate, civil litigation 5812 S. Pecos Road, Suite A, 451-7077 simonandberman. com

Peter C. Walsh Sklar Williams, PLLC Securities, commercial transactions 410 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 350, 360-6000 sklar-law.com

Criminal Defense

David Z. Chesnoff Chesnoff and Schonfeld, PC Civil trial 520 S. Fourth St., 384-5563

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George Foley, Sr. Family law, probate 302 E. Carson, Suite 902, 382-1406; 382-1407 Dominic Gentile Gordon Silver First Amendment litigation, professional disciplinary proceedings 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Ninth Floor, 796-5555 gordonsilver.com I. R. “Renny” Ashleman, II Ivan R. Ashleman, II, Ltd. Family law, government lobbying 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 1500, 671-2420 mediate.com/ashleman Terrence M. Jackson Law Office of Terrence M. Jackson 624 S. Ninth St., 386-0001 Thomas F. Pitaro Law Office of Thomas F. Pitaro Drug crimes, DUI/DWI 330 S. Third St., Suite 860, 382-9221 pitaro.net Mace J. Yampolsky Mace J. Yampolsky, Ltd. Felonies, misdemeanors 625 S. Sixth St., 385-9777 macelaw.com Robert M. Draskovich, Jr. The Law Office of Turco and Draskovich Personal injury 815 S. Casino Center Blvd., 474-4222 draskovich.com William B. Terry William B. Terry, CHTD Juvenile law, administrative law 530 S. Seventh St., 385-0799 Richard A. Wright Wright Stanish and Winckler Appellate, gaming 300 S. Fourth St., 382-4004 wjwprofcorp.com Edward R. J. Kane Bankruptcy law 309 S. Third St., Suite 226, P.O. Box 552610

Criminal Law

Charles E. Kelly Charles E. Kelly and Associates, PC Personal injury 706 S. Eighth St., 385-0777 charlesekelly.com Peter James Christiansen Christiansen Law Offices 9910 W. Cheyenne Ave., Suite 110, 2407979 christiansenlaw.com Daniel J. Albregts Daniel J. Albregts, Esq. Personal injury law, litigation 601 S. 10th St., Suite 202, 474-4004 Frank J. Cremen Administrative law 715 S. Fourth St., 385-7475 frankjcremen.com James L. Gubler DWI, drug crimes 10 Sawgrass Court, 592-2683 criminallawgubler. com Kevin M. Kelly Kevin M. Kelly, Ltd. Personal injury, federal criminal defense 6029 S. Ft. Apache, Suite 100, 385-7280 kevinmkellyltd.com Richard Frankoff 1339 Quiet River Ave., 520-8040 John J. Momot The Law Offices of John J. Momot 520 S. Fourth St., Suite 300, 385-7170 johnmomot.com Scott S. Mitchell 200 S. Third St. David M. Schieck Civil litigation, family law 330 S. Third St., Suite 800 Steven B. Wolfson 200 Lewis Ave., Third Floor

Criminal Trial Practice

Stephen Stein Law Offices of Stephen Stein 520 S. Fourth St., 384-5563

Debtor and Creditor

Sean K. Claggett Claggett and Sykes Real estate litigation, personal injury

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8751 W. Charleston, Suite 220, 219-0491 accidentlawyerlasvegas.com

Discrimination

Helene M. Fleishe Wrongful termination 47 Panorama Crest Ave.

Discrimination and Harassment

Patrick H. Hicks Littler Mendelson, PC Competition and trade secret law, training-compliance, ethics, leadership 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 300, 862-8800 littler.com

Divorce

Radford J. Smith Radford J. Smith, CHTD Jurisdictional issues, child custody 64 N. Pecos Road, Suite 700, 990-6448 radfordsmith.com

Domestic Law

Michele T. LoBello Black and LoBello General civil litigation 10777 W. Twain Ave., Third Floor, 8698801 blacklobellolaw.com Daniel Marks Law Office of Daniel Marks Labor law 530 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Suite 300, 386-0536

Domestic Relations

Paul A. Lemcke Pecos Law Group 8925 S. Pecos Road, Suite 14-A, 487-7548 pecoslawgroup.com

Drug and Medical Device Litigation

J. Christopher Jorgensen Lewis and Roca, LLP Complex and multidistrict litigation, premises liability 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com

DUI Defense Law John G. Watkins 804 S. Sixth St.

Eminent Domain

Michael G. Chapman Chapman Law Firm, PC Condemnation, inverse condemnation 1100 Bridger Ave., 382-1859 michaelchapman. com

Employee Benefits

A. Kent Greene Greene, Roberts and Rasmussen, PLLC ERISA, estate planning 8485 W. Sunset Road, Suite 208, 369-2900 grrlawfirm.com

Employee Benefits Law

Andrew S. Brignone Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Employment law, litigation 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1600, 382-2101 bhfs.com

death, business law 129 Cassia Way, 433-7295 chapinlaw.net

Entertainment

Mark G. Tratos Greenberg Traurig, LLP Intellectual property and technology, litigation 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 7923773 gtlaw.com

Environmental

Linda M. Bullen Lionel Sawyer and Collins Renewable energy, NEPA and litigation 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Rebecca L. Raftery Litigation, class action litigation 35 Pheasant Ridge Drive

Employment Law Edgar Carranza Backus, Carranza and Burden Commercial litigation, professional liability 3050 S. Durango Drive, 872-5555 backuslaw.com Michele Mitchell Fabian and Clendenin, PC Litigation, education law 601 S. 10th St., Suite 102, 233-4444 fabianlaw.com Kathleen Marie Paustian Gordon and Rees, LLP 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 100, 577-9300 gordonrees.com Jody M. Florence Kamer Zucker Abbott Litigation, arbitration 3000 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 3, 2598640 kzalaw.com Mary F. Chapman Law Office of Mary F. Chapman, Ltd. Labor law, corporate law 7465 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 100, 562-1246 Patrick N. Chapin Patrick N. Chapin, Ltd., PC Plaintiffs’ personal injury and wrongful

Environmental and Toxic Tort

Michael J. Pietrykowski Gordon and Rees, LLP Tort and product liability, sports, media and entertainment 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 100, 577-9300 gordonrees.com

Environmental/ Natural Resource Law and Litigation

Don Springmeyer Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman and Rabkin, LLP Construction defect, litigation and dispute resolution 3556 E. Russell Road, Second Floor, 341-5200 wrslawyers.com

Estate Planning

G. Vern Albright Albright, Stoddard, Warnick and Albright, PC Asset protection, trust administration 801 S. Rancho Drive, Quail Park I, Suite D4, 384-7111 albrightstoddard. com Bryan A Lowe Bryan A. Lowe and Associates, PC Probate law, tax law 4011 Meadows Lane, Suite 102, 259-0002 bryanalowelaw.com

George J. Claseman Claseman Law Office Probate, tax planning 7465 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 100, 562-1264 David M. Grant Grant Morris Dodds Asset protection, business organization 2520 St. Rose Parkway, Suite 319, 938-2244 gmdlegal.com Gregory J. Morris Business planning, probate 300 S. Fourth St., 900 Bank of America Plaza, 471-0990 probate-estatelaw. com Jeffrey L. Burr Jeffrey Burr, Ltd. Tax law, probate 2600 Paseo Verde Parkway, 433-4455 jeffreyburr.com Robert E. Clark Jeffrey Burr, Ltd. Taxation, corporations 2600 Paseo Verde Parkway, 433-4455 jeffreyburr.com Jerome L. Blut Jerome L. Blut, CHTD Probate, taxation 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 701, 382-8840 lawyers.com/blutlaw David A. Straus Law Offices of David A. Straus Estate and gift taxation, asset protection 900 Rancho Lane, 474-4500 strauslaw.com Steven J. Oshins Oshins and Associates, LLC Taxation, business planning 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 170, 3416000 oshins.com Kristen E. Simmons Oshins and Associates, LLC Taxation, business planning 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 170, 3416000 oshins.com Elaine Buhan Probate law, taxation law Laughlin, 300 Needles Highway, Suite 9-147, (818) 769-5146

Nicole Whyte Bremer Whyte Brown and O’Meara, LLP Construction litigation, business litigation 7670 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 225, 2586665 bremerandwhyte. com Bruce T. Bauer Brooks Bauer, LLP Banking litigation 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 200, 851-1191 brooksbauer.com Howard Ecker Ecker Law Group, PLLC Child custody 1301 S. Jones Blvd., 384-1700 eckerlawgroup.com Edward L. Kainen Kainen Law Group, PLLC 10091 Park Run Drive, Suite 110, 823-4900 kainenlawgroup.com John T. Kelleher Kelleher and Kelleher, LLC Personal injury, civil rights 807 S. Seventh St., 384-7494 kelleherandkelleher. com Israel “Ishi” Kunin Kunin and Carman Divorce, adoptions 3551 E. Bonanza Road, Suite 110, 4388060 kunincarman.com Charles Dominick Lombino Lombino Law Studio Estate planning, business law 107 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite 105, 3578620 lombinolawstudio. com Rena G. Hughes The Dickerson Law Group Business law, contracts 1745 Village Center Circle, 388-8600 dickersonlawgroup. com Kirby Rollin Wells Wells and Rawlings Insurance defense law, commercial litigation 6900 Westcliff Drive, Suite 710, 341-7117 wellsrawlings.com Marshal S. Willick Willick Law Group

David J. Lyon Fabian and Clendenin, PC 601 S. 10th St., Suite 102, 233-4444 fabianlaw.com

{Straight talk}

Family Law

Local lawyers answer common questions

Is a verbal or handshake agreement enforceable as a contract?

Daniel T. Foley Foley and Oakes, PC 850 E. Bonneville Ave., 384-2070 foleyoakes.com J. Michael Oakes Foley and Oakes, PC 850 E. Bonneville Ave., 384-2070 foleyoakes.com

“Yes, verbal contracts are fully enforceable in the state of Nevada. They carry a four-year statute of limitations, unlike written contracts that have a six-year statute of limitations. However, some verbal contracts would not be enforceable.

For instance, if they are for values in excess of $500, or if they entail extending service beyond a year, they would not be enforceable. There’s an entire list of things that would not be covered because those items would be barred by the Statue of Fraud, which requires writing, but if you can be outside of the Statue of Fraud then your contract can be enforceable.”

— Mary F. Chapman, Law Office of Mary Chapman, Ltd.

Appellate practice, civil appeals 3591 E. Bonanza Road, Suite 200, Willick Law Center, 438-4100 x 112 willicklawgroup.com Jason G. Brent Criminal law, civil litigation P.O. Box 370970

Fidelity and Surety Law David J. Mortensen Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen and Sanders Civil litigation, healthcare law 7401 W. Charleston Blvd., 384-7000 alversontaylor.com

Gaming

Jeffrey A. Silver Gordon Silver Administrative 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Ninth Floor, 7965555 gordonsilver.com Mark D. Lerner Bally Technologies, Inc. Administrative law, business law 6601 S. Bermuda Road, 584-7600 ballytech.com David R. Arrajj Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Hospitality 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1600, 382-2101 bhfs.com

Frank Arthur Schreck Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Securities and corporate finance, hospitality 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1600, 382-2101 bhfs.com Mark R. Dunn Caesars Entertainment Corporation One Caesars Palace Drive, 407-6000 harrahs.com Kirk D. Hendrick Kirk D. Hendrick, Esq. Sports law, administrative law 2960 W. Sahara Ave., 221-4757 kirkhendrick.com Anthony N. Cabot Lewis and Roca, LLP Government relations, administrative law 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com Sean M. McGuinness Lewis and Roca, LLP Administrative law, corporate law 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com Robert D. Faiss Lionel Sawyer and Collins Administrative law, legislation 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Louis V. Csoka LVC Law Group Administrative law, municipal law 10161 Park Run Drive, Suite 150, 835-6966 lvclawgroup.com Alvin J. “Bud” Hicks McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Corporate law, commercial litigation 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano. com W. Owen Nitz Nitz, Walton and Heaton, Ltd., PC Construction law, real estate development law 601 S. 10th St., Suite 201, 474-4004 nitzwaltonheaton. com Scott M. Nielson Station Casinos, Inc. Administrative law, real property transactions 1505 S. Pavilion Center Drive, 367-2458 John A. Godfrey Corporate law, administrative law 8918 Spanish Ridge Ave. Philip C. Parenti 1 Harrah’s Court

General Civil Trial Practice

Leland Edward Lutfy Leland E. Lutfy, CHTD Business law, business litigation 530 S. Seventh St.,

George R. Lyles Olson, Cannon, Gormley & Desruisseaux 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com Neil G. Galatz Gerald I. Gillock and Associates 428 S. Fourth St., 386-0000 galatzgillock.com

477-0443 lelandelutfy.com Drake DeLanoy Business litigation, complex commercial litigation 8348 Turtle Creek Circle

General Counsel

James R. Christensen Law Office of James R. Christensen, PC Products liability, construction defects 630 S. Third St., 2720406

General Liability Litigation

Josh C. Aicklen Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith, LLP Automobile and trucking litigation, premises liability 6385 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 600, 893-3383 lbbslaw.com

General practice

Richard J. Pocker Boies, Schiller and Flexner, LLP 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 800, 382-7300 bsfllp.com Patricia Egan Daehnke Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O’Keefe and Nichols, PC 3441 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 402, 383-9888 bonnebridges.com

Oscar B. Goodman, Esq. Goodman Law Group, PC 520 S. Fourth St., 383-5088 goodmanlawgroup. com Joel F. Hansen Hansen Rasmussen, LLC Civil practice, trial practice 1835 Village Center Circle, 385-5533 hrnvlaw.com C. Stanley Hunterton Hunterton and Associates 333 S. Sixth St., 3880098 huntertonlaw.com Douglas Roman Hill Intermountain West Communications Company 1500 Foremaster Lane, 642-3333 kvbc.com James E. Rogers Intermountain West Communications Company 1500 Foremaster Lane, 642-3333 kvbc.com James P. Chrisman, Esq. James Chrisman, PC P.O. Box 750939, 515-1529 John W. Wood 40 Chalet Hills Terrace, 304-0360

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Charles T. Cook Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury and Standish 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 16th Floor, 699-7500 juww.com R. Gardner Jolley Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury and Standish 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 16th Floor, 699-7500 juww.com Thomas J. Standish Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury and Standish 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 16th Floor, 699-7500 juww.com William R. Urga Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury and Standish 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 16th Floor, 699-7500 juww.com Roger A. Wirth Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury and Standish 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 16th Floor, 699-7500 juww.com Bruce L. Woodbury Jolley Urga Wirth Woodbury and Standish 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 16th Floor, 699-7500 juww.com Ira H. Raphaelson Las Vegas Sands Corp.

3355 Las Vegas Blvd.

S., 733-5535 Jeffery A. Garofalo Lee, Hernandez, Landrum, Garofalo and Blake 7575 Vegas Drive, Suite 150, 880-9750 lee-lawfirm.com Cindie D. Hernandez Lee, Hernandez, Landrum, Garofalo and Blake 7575 Vegas Drive, Suite 150, 880-9750 lee-lawfirm.com David S. Lee Lee, Hernandez, Landrum, Garofalo and Blake 7575 Vegas Drive, Suite 150, 880-9750 lee-lawfirm.com Jennifer E. Mullen Lee, Hernandez,

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{Straight talk} Local lawyers answer common questions

Should I create a trust or a will to distribute my assets?

“I recommend that you have both a trust and will to direct how your assets are distributed after your death. With either a trust or a will, you can specify who will administer your estate, who will receive your estate, and on what terms, but a trust can avoid the need for a guardianship proceeding if you become incompetent during your lifetime and the need for a probate proceeding after your death.

Because a trust operates only on assets for which the trust is the owner or beneficiary, I recommend also having a will that makes your trust the beneficiary of all assets that are subject to probate, just to make sure any assets that are inadvertently left out of the trust end up being part of the trust. If you do not want to create a trust (perhaps because of the expense or to avoid having to change asset ownership), you should use a will to make your wishes known with respect to the distribution of your assets. However, keep in mind that the will only operates on assets in your name alone, and it will be subject to probate in most states.”

— Layne T. Rushforth, The Rushforth Firm, Ltd.

Landrum, Garofalo and Blake 7575 Vegas Drive, Suite 150, 880-9750 lee-lawfirm.com Robert C. Maddox Maddox, Isaacson and Cisneros, LLP 3811 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 110, 366-1900 mic-law.com Phyllis A. James MGM Mirage 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 693-7899 mgmresorts.com William T. Martin MGM Mirage 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 693-7899 mgmresorts.com John M. McManus MGM Mirage 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 693-7899 mgmresorts.com Wendy L. Nutt MGM Mirage 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 693-7899 mgmresorts.com Thomas J. Reich MGM Mirage 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 693-7899 mgmresorts.com Mark W. Russell MGM Mirage 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 693-7899 mgmresorts.com Dennis Neil Jones

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones and Schneider, LLP 2055 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite A, 8808131 mwgjs.com William S. Boyd Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com David M. Jones Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com Richard R. Sooy Richard R. Sooy and Associates 851 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 260, 461-6677 sooylaw.com Mark B. Schellerup Robinson and Wood, Inc. 5556 S. Fort Apache Road, Suite 100, 363-5100 robinsonwood.com Mark A. Hinueber Stephens Media, LLC 111 W. Bonanza Road, P.O. Box 70, 383-0211 donrey.com Gordon Elwood Bywater Stephens, Gourley and Bywater, PC 3636 N. Rancho

Drive, 656-2355 stephensbywater. com

Barry R. Shinehouse 60 Gulfstream Court, 252-8313

Peter C. Wetherall White and Wetherall, LLP 9345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 100, 838-8500 whiteandwetherall. com

Mark T. Shipley 8370 Carmel Ridge Court, 871-5543

William P. Volk William P. Volk, Esq. 8670 W. Cheyenne Ave., Suite 120, 866-6606 wpvlaw.com Brian F. Zimmerman Zimmerman Law Firm 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 100, 228-8916 Lyle L. Boll Horwath HTL (303) 884-5954 Gary B. Gelfand 2850 S. Jones Blvd., 228-7590 Charles W. Paul Kamanski 220 DuFort Ave., 565-3227 Philip J. Kohn, Esq. 309 S. Third St., Suite 226, 455-4685 Thomas A. Peterman 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S., 891-7014 David J. J. Roger 9330 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 200

Robert W. Solomon American Nevada Company 901 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 200, 458-8855 John J. Tobin, Jr. 7043 New Moon Way, 531-5101

Government Affairs

Mark H. Fiorentino Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer and Fiorentino Lobbying, land use 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 792-7000 kcnvlaw.com Gene T. Porter Complex litigation 701 E. Bridger Ave., Suite 570

Government Relations

James B. Gibson General corporate, litigation 2370 Corporate Circle, Third Floor Richard H. Bryan Lionel Sawyer and Collins Gaming, federal leg-

islative practice 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Guardianship Law

Patricia A. Trent Trent, Tyrell and Associates Probate 11920 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 201, 382-2210 probatelawlv.com

Health and Hospital Law

Sara A. Price Environmental law 555 E. Washington Ave., Suite 3900

Health Care

Amy M. Samberg Snell and Wilmer, LLP Insurance, pharmaceuticals and medical devices 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1100, 784-5200 swlaw.com John R. Bailey Bailey Kennedy, LLP Commercial litigation, gaming law 8984 Spanish Ridge, 562-8820 baileykennedy.com Lynn S. Fulstone Lionel Sawyer and Collins Business organization, real property transactions 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

High-Exposure Catastrophic Injury Cases

John B. Campbell Campbell Lauter and Murphy Construction defect cases, subrogation and declaratory relief 8670 W. Cheyenne Ave., Suite 120, (877) 442-1706 clmlawfirm.com

Immigration and Nationality Law and Related Foreign Matters

M. Edwin Prudhomme Prudhomme/Chernysheva Law Office Political asylum, visas 6725 Via Austi Parkway, Suite 230,

258-0032 immigrationlawnv.com

Immigration and Naturalization

Wellington Y. Kwan American Lawyers International Litigation, probate 535 S. 10th St., 4741393 ali-lawyers.us Luis Donovan Coton American Lawyers International Business immigration, employment immigration 535 S. 10th St., 4741393 ali-lawyers.us

Inadequate Security

Robert E. Murdock Murdock and Associates, CHTD Negligent security, catastrophic injury 520 S. Fourth St., Second Floor, 3845563

Insolvency

Gerald M. Gordon Gordon Silver Creditors’ rights 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Ninth Floor, 796-5555 gordonsilver.com

Insolvency/Reorganization

Peter C. Bernhard Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer and Fiorentino Commercial litigation, real estate 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 792-7000 kcnvlaw.com

Insurance

Gina M. Mushmeche Christian, Kravitz, Dichter, Johnson and Sluga Commercial litigation 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 ckllclaw.com Gena L. Sluga Christian, Kravitz, Dichter, Johnson and Sluga Litigation 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 ckllclaw.com Dominica C. Anderson Duane Morris, LLP Trial practice, reinsurance

100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1560, 8682600 duanemorris.com James L. Wadhams Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Taxation, regulatory law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com

Insurance Bad Faith

Steven J. Parsons Law Offices of Steven J. Parsons Insurance coverage, professional liability 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., City Center W., Suite 108, 384-9900

Insurance Coverage

A. Raymond Hamrick, III Hamrick and Evans, LLP Insurance defense, construction defect 8965 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 280, 382-4002 hamricklaw.com Kristin E. Meredith Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith, LLP Insurance bad faith, reinsurance 6385 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 600, 893-3383 lbbslaw.com Robert D. Martin Martin and Allison, Ltd. Condemnation, insurance bad faith 3191 E. Warm Springs Road, Building 13, 933-4444 battlebornlaw.com Wade M. Hansard McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte and Carruth, LLP Crop damage, automobile insurance coverage 8337 W. Sunset Road, Suite 350, 949-1100 mccormickbarstow. com Gordon M. Park McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte and Carruth, LLP First party insurance defense, arson and insurance fraud 8337 W. Sunset Road, Suite 350, 949-1100, mccormickbarstow.com

Philip Goodhart Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Insurance defense, personal injury 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com Gloria J. Sturman Premises liability, municipal liability 200 Lewis Ave., Department 26

Insurance Defense

Trevor L. Atkin Atkin Winner and Sherrod Personal injury litigation 1117 S. Rancho Drive, 243-7000 awslawyers.com Jack P. Burden Backus, Carranza and Burden Premise liability, general liability 3050 S. Durango Drive, 872-5555 backuslaw.com David L. Barron Barron and Pruitt, LLP Insurance coverage, construction law N. Las Vegas, 3890 W. Ann Road, 8703940 barronpruitt.com Anthony T. Case Farmer Case and Fedor Construction defects, premises liability 80 N. Pecos Road, Suite D, 579-3900 farmercase.com Gregory T. Hafen Gregory T. Hafen, CHTD Medical malpractice, personal injury 525 S. Ninth St., 3845800 hafenlaw.com Salvatore C. Gugino Gugino Law Firm, CHTD Labor and employment, Title VII discrimination defense 6970 O’Bannon Drive, Building Two, 385-3801 guginolaw.com James H. Randall Hutchison and Steffen, LLC Construction law, appellate litigation 10080 W. Alta Drive, Suite 200, Peccole Professional Park, 385-2500 hutchlegal.com

Michael Bradley Johnson Kravitz, Schnitzer, Sloane and Johnson, CHTD Personal injury, civil litigation 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 kssattorneys.com Henry H. Rawlings Lewis and Associates, LLC Probate, workers’ compensation 6130 W. Elton Ave., 870-5571 lewislawlv.net Niels L. Pearson Niels L. Pearson, PC Personal injury defense, professional malpractice 3050 S. Durango Drive, 872-5555 Blair C. Parker Parker and Edwards Administrative law, products liability 1481 W. Warm Springs Road, Suite 135, 835-1301 W. Randolph Patton Patton, Shea and Kiraly, PC Personal injury defense, professional malpractice 3016 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 195, 8706790 psklawfirm.com James R. Rosenberger Pico Rosenberger Medical malpractice defense, product liability 1916 S. Eastern Ave., 382-1110 prlawlv.com James P. C. Silvestri Pyatt Silvestri and Hanlon Insurance coverage law, medical defense law 701 Bridger Ave., Suite 600, 383-6000 psh-law.com Bert O. Mitchell Rogers, Mastrangelo, Carvalho and Mitchell Arbitration, mediation 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 710, Bank of America Plaza, 3833400 rmcmlaw.com Stephen H. Rogers Rogers, Mastrangelo, Carvalho and Mitchell Premises liability, products liability 300 S. Fourth St., Suite 710, Bank of

America Plaza, 383-3400 rmcmlaw.com Elizabeth A. Skane Skane Wilcox, LLP Construction defects, personal injury 1120 Town Center Drive, Suite 200, 363-2535 skanewilcox.com Craig R. Delk Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Bad faith litigation, coverage issues 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com Brian K. Terry Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Products liability, premises liability 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com Kathleen M. Maynard Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Insurance bad faith defense, insurance coverage defense 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com

Insurance Litigation

Douglas L. Christian Christian, Kravitz, Dichter, Johnson and Sluga Extra contractual litigation, commercial litigation 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 ckllclaw.com Janice J. Brown Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith, LLP Automobile liability, toxic torts 6385 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 600, 893-3383 lbbslaw.com

Intellectual Property

Gerald D. Hosier Law Offices of Gerald D. Hosier 8904 Canyon prings Drive, (970) 920-3475 W. W. Allen Lewis and Roca, LLP Trademarks, copyrights 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com

Jon E. Hokanson Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith, LLP Architects and engineers, sustainable development 400 S. Fourth St., Suite 500, 893-3383 lbbslaw.com Michael D. Rounds Watson Rounds 777 N. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 350, Rainbow Corporate Center, 636-4902 watsonrounds.com Randal Scott Weide Weide and Miller, Ltd. 7251 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 530, Bank of Nevada Building, Fifth Floor, 382-4804 weidemiller.com

Intellectual Property and Technology

Edward J. Quirk Greenberg Traurig, LLP 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 7923773 gtlaw.com

Labor and Employment

David B. Dornak Fisher and Phillips, LLP 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 950, 252-3131 laborlawyers.com Anthony B. Golden Fisher and Phillips LLP Employment discrimination and harassment, employment-at-will 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 950, 252-3131 laborlawyers.com Mark J. Ricciardi Fisher and Phillips, LLP Class actions, collective bargaining and arbitration 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 950, 252-3131 laborlawyers.com Gary C. Moss Jackson Lewis, LLP 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 921-2460 jacksonlewis.com Elayna J. Youchah Jackson Lewis, LLP Wage and hour law, reductions in force 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway,

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WORkiNg TOgeTheR FOR Nevada

Greg Brower Cynthia L. Alexander White Collar Appellate Defense Commercial Litigation; and Investigations Construction, Financial Recovery and Financial Service

Kelly A. Evans Commercial Litigation; Product Liability

Robert R. Kinas Bankruptcy

Jay J. Schuttert Commercial Litigation; Product Liability

Chad R. Fears Commercial Litigation; Product Liability

Samuel P. McMullen Government Relations

Mandy D. Shavinsky Real Estate and Commercial Finance

Patrick G. Byrne Commercial Litigation; Real Estate and Securities

Aaron D. Ford Commercial Litigation; Real Estate, Employment and Public/Educational

Leon F. Mead II Construction Transactions and Litigation; Commercial Litigation

Michael D. Stein Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property

Patricia J. Curtis Financial Recovery, Energy and Utilities, and Real Estate and Commercial Finance

Alex L. Fugazzi Commercial Litigation; Real Estate

John S. Delikanakis Commercial Litigation; Real Estate

Richard C. Gordon Commercial Litigation and Civil Litigation; Mergers and Acquisitions and Securities

Swen Prior Employment

William E. Peterson Commercial Litigation; Energy and Utilities

D. Neal Tomlinson Administrative Law and Government Relations

Stephen B. Yoken Real Estate and Commercial Finance

Suite 600, 921-2460 jacksonlewis.com Kevin Cleary Efroymson Kevin C. Efroymson Employment law (management) law 2915 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 9, 8709601 Malani L. Kotchka Lionel Sawyer and Collins 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Gregory Eli Smith Lionel Sawyer and Collins Collective bargaining, public sector collective bargaining 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com W. David Holsberry McCracken, Suitemerman and Holsberry Class actions 1630 S. Commerce St., Suite A-1, 3865107 Richard G. McCracken McCracken Stemerman Bowen and Holsberry Securities 1630 S. Commerce St., Suite A-1, 3865107 Norman H. Kirshman Norman H. Kirshman, PC Business law, commercial law 700 S. Third St., 382-5210

Snell & Wilmer is a full-service business law firm with more than 400 attorneys practicing in nine locations throughout the western United States and in Mexico.

With nearly 60 Nevada lawyers in over 30 practice groups, Snell & Wilmer has the breadth and experience to be your strategic business partner. www.swlaw.com Only the office partners are pictured.

d e n v e r | l a s v e g a s | lo s a n g e l e s | lo s c a b o s o r a n g e c o u n t y | p h o e n i x | R e N O | s a lt l a k e c i t y | t u c s o n 80 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

John L. Zenor Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, PC Collective bargaining and arbitration, labor disputes 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1500, Wells Fargo Tower, 3696800 ogletreedeakins.com Richard Segerblom Richard Segerblom, Ltd. Employment discrimination law 700 S. Third St., 388-9600 segerblomlaw.com Patricia S. Waldeck 7881 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 210, 658-6100

Legal Affairs of the Company and its Board of Directors

Dominic F. Polizzotto 9901 Covington Cross Drive, Suite 190

Legal and Medical Malpractice

Vincent Andrew Cass Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith, LLP Litigation, insurance defense law 400 S. Fourth St., Suite 500, 893-3383 lbbslaw.com

Legal Ethics

Rob W. Bare 200 Lewis Ave.

Legislative Affairs James H. Bilbray Kaempfer Crowell Renshaw Gronauer and Fiorentino 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 792-7000 kcnvlaw.com

Licensing

Paul E. Larsen Lionel Sawyer and Collins Land use and zoning law, local and state government law 300 S. Fourth St. 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Litigation

Byron E. Francis Armstrong Teasdale, LLP Business litigation, construction and design 3770 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200, 678-5070 armstrongteasdale. com Thomas E. Winner Atkin Winner and Sherrod Insurance defense law, insurance coverage 1117 S. Rancho Drive, 243-7000 awslawyers.com Stanley W. Parry Ballard Spahr, LLP Climate change and sustainability, commercial litigation 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1750, 471-7000 ballardspahr.com

Barry L. Lieberman Barry Lieberman, Esq., PC Gaming law 9500 W. Flamingo Road, Suite 108, 7978533 Kirk Banks Lenhard Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Bankruptcy, construction law 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1600, 382-2101 bhfs.com John E. S. Robson Fabian and Clendenin, PC Employment law, construction law 601 S. 10th St., Suite 102, 233-4444 fabianlaw.com Wilbur M. Roadhouse Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas International, intellectual property 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com Mark E. Ferrario Greenberg Traurig, LLP 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 792-3773 gtlaw.com Philip M. Hymanson Greenberg Traurig, LLP 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 792-3773 gtlaw.com Thomas F. Kummer Greenberg Traurig, LLP 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 792-3773 gtlaw.com Brandon E. Roos Greenberg Traurig, LLP 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 792-3773 gtlaw.com Scott M. Abbott Kamer Zucker Abbott Employment law, arbitration 3000 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 3, 259-8640 kzalaw.com Carol Davis Zucker Kamer Zucker Abbott Employment law, labor law 3000 W. Charleston

Blvd., Suite 3, 259-8640 kzalaw.com

Same Day appointmentS P e r s o Na l i Nj u rY

Paul R. Hejmanowski Lionel Sawyer and Collins 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

• Automobile • Motorcycles • Boating • Slip & Fall • Dog Bites

Attorneys meet with all clients, difficult Insurance Companies are no problem. We assist with medical treatment, property damage & rental cars. No recoverY–No Fee

Robert W. Hernquist Lionel Sawyer and Collins 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Samuel S. Lionel Lionel Sawyer and Collins 300 S. Fourth St. 1700, Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Michael B. Lee Michael B. Lee, PC Business litigation, commercial litigation 2000 S. Eastern Ave., 477-7030 mblnv.com James L. Edwards Parker and Edwards Wrongful death, plaintiffs’ personal injury 1481 W. Warm Springs Road, Suite 135, 835-1301

• False Arrests • Wrongful Death • Free Consultation • Home & Hospital Visits

c o Ns t r u c t i o N l a w

Eric Dobberstein Nevada MaNagiNg PartNer PracticiNg For 23 Years Highest Attorney AV Rating Possible, Certified & Trained Arbitrator, Mediator & Short Trial Judge

• Contractors • Public Works, • Homeowners Commercial & • Nevada State Residential Contractors Disputes Board • Bid Disputes • Mechanics Liens • Licensing B u s iN e s s l a w • Corporations • LLC’s • Partnership’s

382-4002

• Joint Ventures • Real Estate • Contracts

8965 south eastern ave., ste. 280 las vegas Nv 89123 www.Hamricklaw.com

Michael W. Brimley Peel Brimley, LLP Construction law, real estate law 3333 E. Serene Ave., Suite 200, 990-7272 peelbrimley.com Kathleen Jane England Employment discrimination, civil rights 630 S. Third St.

Litigation and Arbitration

John M. Naylor Lionel Sawyer and Collins Primarily construction, commercial disputes 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

Litigation in Commercial Law

Martin J. Kravitz Kravitz, Schnitzer, Sloane and Johnson, CHTD Insurance law, personal injury law 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 kssattorneys.com

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The cure the common co CPA T he cu c ure for for the common CPA

Local Government Law

Mary-Anne Meyers Miller 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Suite 5075

Media Law

Terry A. Coffing Marquis Aurbach Coffing, PC Personal injury, torts 10001 Park Run Drive, 382-0711 marquisaurbach.com

Prescr ipt ions f or:

anizations rg O t fi ro p n o •N Entities • Government ss • Small Busine • Individuals

www.TrustHRC.com w ww.T .T Tru rustHR stHRC.c .com

Mediation

Lynn M. Hansen Jimmerson Hansen, PC Insurance law, health care law 415 S. Sixth St., Suite 100, 388-7171 jimmersonhansen.com James F. Pico Pico Rosenberger Insurance defense, products liability 1916 S. Eastern Ave., 382-1110 prlawlv.com

Mediation and Arbitration

Mergers and Acquisitions

Medical Malpractice

Jerome Robert Smith International transactions, gaming and regulatory compliance 5441 Kietzke Lane, Second Floor

Carl J. Christensen Christensen Law Offices Probate, wills and trusts, corporations 1000 S. Valley View Blvd., 870-1000 injuryhelpnow.com

Sherman B. Mayor Mayor Law Firm Insurance defense law 2820 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite D-35, 387-9604 Richard E. Desruisseaux Olson, Cannon, Gormley and Desruisseaux, PC Personal injury law, products liability law 9950 W. Cheyenne Ave., 384-4012 ocgd.com Kerry L. Earley Richard Harris Law Firm Litigation, personal injury 801 S. Fourth St., 444-4444 richardharrislaw.com Bonnie A. Bulla Professional negligence, civil trial practice 200 Lewis Ave., Regional Justice Center

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

LeAnn Sanders Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen and Sanders Civil litigation 7401 W. Charleston Blvd., 384-7000 alversontaylor.com

Kirk R. Harrison Kemp, Jones and Coulthard, LLP 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 17th Floor, Wells Fargo Tower, 385-6000 kempjones.com

Arthur W. Tuverson Law Offices of Arthur W. Tuverson Complex litigation, products liability 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 410, 631-7855

82 | Desert

Medical Malpractice Defense

Ellen Schulhofer Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Business and corporate advisory, hospitality 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1600, 382-2101 bhfs.com

Mortgage

Kevin R. McCarthy McCarthy and Holthus, LLP Banking law, real property 9510 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 110, 685-0329 mccarthyholthus. com

Mortgage Banking Law

Thomas J. Holthus McCarthy and Holthus, LLP Banking law, creditor bankruptcy 9510 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 110, 685-0329 mccarthyholthus. com

Municipal Finance Law

Richard F. Jost Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Administrative law, real estate law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of

America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com

Municipal Law

Shauna M. Hughes Government, zoning, planning and land use 240 S. Water St., P.O. Box 95050

Occupational Safety and Health

Stephen C. Yohay Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, PC Labor and employment 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1500, Wells Fargo Tower, 3696800 ogletreedeakins.com

Patent

Philip A. Kantor Law Offices of Philip A. Kantor, PC Trademark, copyright 1781 Village Center Circle, Suite 120, 255-1300 thekantorlawfirm.com

Personal Bankruptcy Law

Mark Segal Mark Segal, CHTD, PC Taxation 720 S. Fourth St., Suite 301, 382-5212 taxhitmanlaw.com

Personal Injury

Matthew W. Hoffmann Arin and Associates, PC 7201 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 208, City Center W., 838-8600 arinassociates.net Thomas Christensen Christensen Law Offices Products liability, medical negligence 1000 S. Valley View Blvd., 870-1000 injuryhelpnow.com Bradley L. Kenny Craig P. Kenny and Associates 501 S. Eighth St., 380-2800 cpklaw.com Ronald W. Truman Dixon, Truman, Fisher and Clifford, PC Catastrophic injury,

wrongful death 221 N. Buffalo Drive, Suite A, 821-1821 dtfclaw.com Eric Dobberstein Dobberstein and Associates Construction litigation, business law 8965 S. Eastern, Suite 280, 382-4002 dobbersteinlawfirm. com Eckley Martin Keach Eckley M. Keach, CHTD 520 S. Fourth St., 384-5563 Bradley J. Myers Eglet Wall, LLP Catastrophic injury, wrongful death 400 S. Fourth St., Suite 600, City Centre Place, 450-5400 mainorlawyers.com G. Dallas Horton G. Dallas Horton and Associates General liability, trust and estate litigation 4435 S. Eastern Ave., 380-3100 gdallashorton.com

David L. Thomas G. Dallas Horton and Associates 4435 S. Eastern Ave., 380-3100 gdallashorton.com Lewis J. Gazda Gazda and Tadayon Motor vehicle accidents, products liability 2600 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 200, 220-7128 injury-lawyersvegas. com George T. Bochanis George T. Bochanis Law Offices Wrongful death, workers’ compensation 631 S. Ninth St., 388-2005 georgebochanislaw. com Aubrey Goldberg Greenman, Goldberg, Raby and Martinez, PC Workers’ compensation law 601 S. Ninth St., 384-1616 ggrmlawfirm.com Michael D. Haight Henness and Haight,

Injury Attorneys Automobile accidents, wrongful death 8972 Spanish Ridge Ave., 862-8200 hennessandhaight. com Mark G. Henness Henness and Haight, Injury Attorneys Automobile accidents, wrongful death 8972 Spanish Ridge Ave., 862-8200 hennessandhaight. com Douglas M. Cohen Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Premises liability, civil trial 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com William R. Brenske Law Office of William R. Brenske Wrongful death, medical malpractice 630 S. Third St., 3853300 brenskelaw.com

Bernard Walter Law Offices of Bernard Walter Automobile accidents and injuries, negligence 723 S. Casino Center Blvd., Second Floor, 493-6257 walter-law.com Neal K. Hyman Morris, Sullivan and Lemkul, LLP Construction defects 2441 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 120, 933-4171 morrissullivanlaw. com Cal J. Potter, III Potter Law Offices, PC Brain injury, automobile accidents and injuries 1125 Shadow Lane, 385-1954 pottercriminaldefense.com James V. Lavelle, III Pursiano Barry Lavelle, LLP Medical malpractice, construction defects 851 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 260, 233-3063 pblattorneys.com

BE PART OF

SOMETHING BIGGER. There’s a lot of great land out there, and it needs a lot of people to keep it that way. From Lake Mead to Red Rock, Pahranagat to Mount Charleston, you could do amazing things. Monitor a trail, host a campsite, help at a visitor center or remove graffiti.To find the spot that’s right for you, visit us online. Make the land your own.

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895.5484 • GetOutdoorsNevada.org DesertCompanion.com | 83

THREE SQUARE JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS CHILd fOCUS NEVAdA MUSEUM Of ART UNITEd wAY NEVAdA dISCOVERY MUSEUM pROJECT REACH GAY & LESBIAN COMMUNITY CENTER Of SOUTHERN NEVAdA THE SMITH CENTER fOR THE pERfORMING ARTS dISCOVERY CHILdREN’S MUSEUM UNIVERSITY Of NEVAdA, RENO fOUNdATION wASHOE EdUCATION fOUNdATION COLLEGE Of SOUTHERN NEVAdA fOOd BANk Of SOUTHERN NEVAdA JUNIOR LEAGUE Of LAS VEGAS SpREAd THE wORd NEVAdA AMERICAN REd CROSS UNIVERSITY Of NEVAdA, LAS VEGAS fOUNdATION dESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE CARSON VALLEY TRAILS ASSOCIATION NEVAdA LANd CONSERVANCY SpRINGS pRESERVE OUTSIdE LAS VEGAS fOUNdATION SAfE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION pUBLIC EdUCATION fOUNdATION ANTI-dEfAMATION LEAGUE NEVAdA CANCER INSTITUTE

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Throughout your community, NV Energy is giving back. with more than 30,000 hours volunteered by our employees and over $5.3 million in charitable donations last year, we’re making a difference. To learn more about what we’re doing to improve the lives of Nevadans, see our community report at nvenergy.com.

84 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Richard A. Harris Richard Harris Law Firm Wrongful death, insurance bad faith 801 S. Fourth St., 444-4444 richardharrislaw.com Robert M. Apple Robert M. Apple and Associates Real estate law, probate 623 S., Eighth St., 646-0085 applelawfirm.com Norman A. Ryan Ryan Mercaldo and Worthington, LLP Products liability, breach of contract 5588 S. Fort Apache Road, Suite 110, 8809222 rmwfirm.com Samuel A. Harding Sam Harding Law Firm 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 384-8023 lvjustice.com Frederic I. Berkley Sklar Williams, PLLC Alternative dispute resolution, appellate practice 410 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 350, 360-6000 sklar-law.com James J. Jackson Thorndal, Armstrong, Delk, Balkenbush and Eisinger, PC Insurance defense, trials and appeals 1100 E. Bridger Ave., 366-0622 thorndal.com Robert Darby Vannah Vannah Costello Vannah and Ganz Products liability, insurance bad faith 400 S. Fourth St., Sixth Floor, 369-4161 vannah.net Robert A. Winner Winner and Carson, PC Administrative law, Public Service Commission 510 S. Eighth St., 471-1111 winnercarson.com Gary Thompson Traffic violations 4750 W. Flamingo Road, Suite B Allen A. Cap Cap and Kudler Attorneys at Law Business litigation, automobile accidents and injuries 3202 W. Charleston Blvd., 878-8778 capandkudler.com

Richard W. Myers Crockett and Myers 700 S. Third St. 382-6711 crockettandmyers.com Steven M. Burris Steve M. Burris and Associates Motor vehicle accidents and injuries, premises liability 2810 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite E-46, 258-6238 steveburrislaw.com Andrew J. Thomas Thomas and Springberg, PC Truck accidents 844 E. Sahara Ave., 731-9222 burrisandthomas.com Albert D. Massi 3202 W. Charleston Blvd.

Personal Injury Trial Law

John W. Turner Scientific law, technical matters 897 Las Palomas Drive, (281) 2808592

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices

Vaughn A. Crawford Snell and Wilmer, LLP Professional liability litigation, product liability litigation 3883 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 1100, 784-5200 swlaw.com

Premises Liability and Security Issues J. Mitchell Cobeaga The Cobeaga Law Firm 550 E. Charleston Blvd., Suite D, 2402499 cotomlaw.com

Probate and Real Estate

John R. Mugan Jeffrey Burr, Ltd. Trust administration, trust litigation 2600 Paseo Verde Parkway, 433-4455 jeffreyburr.com

Probate and Trust Law

Charles William Johnson Law Offices of Johnson and Johnson 530 S. Fourth St., 384-2830 johnsonlegal.com

Probate Law

Dara J. Goldsmith Goldsmith and Guymon, PC Estate planning, business planning 2055 Village Center Circle, (866) 6733477 goldguylaw.com Robert L. Morris Grant Morris Dodds Guardianship, elder law 2520 St. Rose Parkway, Suite 319, 938-2244 gmdlegal.com John P. Foley Law Offices of Elizabeth Foley Wills, trusts and estates 601 S. Rancho Drive, Suite A-1, Quall Park II, 475-9251 foleylawnevada.com Nicholas A. Perrino Criminal defense law, personal injury law 2420 La Seyne Court

Probate Litigation

Commercial litigation, construction litigation 7401 W. Charleston Blvd., 384-7000 alversontaylor.com Joseph P. Garin Lipson, Neilson, Cole, Seltzer and Garin, PC Insurance defense, employment law 9080 W. Post Road, Suite 100, 382-1500 lipsonneilson.com

Professional Malpractice

R. Mac Prout Prout LeVangie, LLP Employment law, sports law 7251 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 300, 562-4044 proutlaw.com

Public Finance

Jennifer Stern Swendseid and Stern 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 500, 387-6073 shermanhoward.com

Dana A. Dwiggins Solomon Dwiggins and Freer, Ltd. Trust litigation, commercial litigation 9060 W. Cheyenne Ave., 853-5483 sdfnvlaw.com

John O. Swendseid Swendseid and Stern State and local government law, housing 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 500, 387-6073 shermanhoward.com

Product Liability Defense Litigation

Real Estate

Greg W. Marsh Law Offices of Greg W. Marsh, CHTD, PC Public utility defense litigation, medical malpractice 731 S. Seventh St., 387-0052 lawyers.com/marshlaw

Product Liability

James D. Carraway Carraway and Associates, LLC Construction defect litigation 7674 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 215, 632-1580 carrawaylaw.com David A. Clinton Clinton and Clinton Toxic torts, environmental litigation 530 Seventh St., 385-0955 clinton-clinton.com

Professional Liability

Eric K. Taylor Alverson, Taylor, Mortensen and Sanders

Elizabeth S. Ashley Ashley Law Group Civil litigation, children’s rights 1880 E. Warm Springs Road, Suite 130, 837-6605 ashleylawgroup.com Troy L. Atkinson Atkinson and Watkins, LLP Civil litigation 6720 Via Austi Parkway, Suite 170, 562-6000 atkinsonwatkins.com Bill Curran Ballard Spahr, LLP Consumer financial services, government relations 100 N. City Parkway, Suite 1750, 471-7000 ballardspahr.com Douglas D. Gerrard Gerrard Cox Larsen Municipal finance, bankruptcy 2450 Saint Rose Parkway, Suite 200, 796-4000 gerrard-cox.com

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Jim Mace Greenberg Traurig, LLP 3773 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 400 N., 7923773 gtlaw.com

Straight Answers Practical Solutions Effective results

Preparing for Life Events Crafting your estate plan for life’s events

Enforcing your Desires Providing personalized plans and defense against unnecessary litigation

Estate Taxes Understanding complex estate/tax planning issues and offering practical solutions

Tax Litigation We help resolve tax disputes with the IRS and in the US Tax Court

Congratulations to our very own Kirk Kaplan for being awarded as one of Las Vegas’ SUPER LAWYERS

rklawnv.com Henderson Office: 452-1500 Las Vegas Office 202-4153

AV

Peer Review Rated ®

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Kirk D. Kaplan

86 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Jodi R. Goodheart Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Commercial law, mergers and acquisitions 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com John M. Netzorg Law Offices of John M. Netzorg Commercial litigation 2810 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite H-81, 878-3400 netzorglaw.com Layne J. Butt Layne J. Butt, Ltd. 1496 E. Lawman Court, 361-1391 K. Michael Leavitt Leavitt, Sully and Rivers Business organizations, real estate development 601 E. Bridger Ave., 382-5111 Matthew E. Watson Lionel Sawyer and Collins Real estate finance, real property transactions 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Edward C. Lubbers Lubbers Law Land use, corporate 8345 W. Sunset Road, Suite 250, 257-7575 lubberslaw.com Albert G. Marquis Marquis Aurbach Coffing, PC Business law, business planning 10001 Park Run Drive, 382-0711 marquisaurbach.com Peter B. Mortenson Mortenson and Rafie, LLP Contracts, commercial litigation 10781 W. Twain Ave., 363-4190 mortensonandrafie. com James Walton Nitz, Walton and Heaton, Ltd., PC

Litigation, employment discrimination 601 S. 10th St., Suite 201, 474-4004 nitzwaltonheaton.com Stephen M. Rice Rice Silbey Reuther and Sullivan, LLP Business law, partnership law 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700, 732-9099 rsrslaw.com Stephen M. Sullivan Rice Silbey Reuther and Sullivan, LLP Business law, corporate law 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700, 732-9099 rsrslaw.com Brian A. Larson Shuffle Master, Inc. Corporate, partnership 1106 Palms Airport Drive, Suite 120, 897-7150 shufflemaster.com Barry Mitidiere Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman and Rabkin, LLP Construction defect litigation 3556 E. Russell Road, Second Floor, 341-5200 wrslawyers.com John R. Erickson Woods Erickson Whitaker and Maurice, LLP Business law, secured lending 1349 W. Galleria Drive, Suite 200, 433-9696 woodserickson.com Ellen C. Bachman Banking, municipal finance 10933 Fort Valley Ave.

Real Estate and Fiduciary Litigation

Dan R. Waite Lewis and Roca, LLP Commercial litigation, construction litigation 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com

Real Estate Law

Charles W. Deaner Deaner, Malan, Larsen and Ciulla Probate law, transactional law 720 S. Fourth St., Suite 300, 382-6911 deanerlaw.com

Michael E. Buckley Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas Commercial law, financing law 300 S. Fourth Street, Suite 1400, 14th Floor, Bank of America Building, 692-8000 fclaw.com Steve Lane Holland and Hart, LLP Commercial litigation, probate 9555 Hillwood Drive, 669-4600 hollandhart.com Earl Monsey Intermountain W. Communications Company Mortgage law, commercial law 1500 Foremaster Lane, 642-3333 kvbc.com Gary E. Schnitzer Kravitz, Schnitzer, Sloane and Johnson, CHTD Commercial litigation law, corporate law 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 kssattorneys.com Laura Wightman Fitzsimmons 3216 W. Charleston Blvd., (775) 8413000 Steven Marzullo Law Offices of Steven Marzullo, Ltd., PC Corporate law, civil litigation 626 S. Third St., 3822522 Mark H. Goldstein Lionel Sawyer and Collins Corporate law, securities law 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Renee R. Reuther Rice Silbey Reuther and Sullivan, LLP Business, commercial law 3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 700, 732-9099 rsrslaw.com Robert A. Wilmot Robert A. Wilmot, Attorney at Law Estate planning, business law 4540 Paseo El Rio Drive, 433-7125 Mark C. Scott, Jr. Business law, corporate law 1620 S. 15th St.

Real Estate Litigation

Susan Williams Scann Commercial litigation, bankruptcy 200 Lewis Ave.

Real Estate Transactions

Douglas R. Malan Deaner, Malan, Larsen and Ciulla Business transactions and consulting, planning and zoning 720 S. Fourth St., Suite 300, 382-6911 deanerlaw.com

Real Property Development

John E. Leach Leach Johnson Song and Gruchow Homeowners’ association law, condominium association law 8945 W. Russell Road, Suite 330, 538-9074 leachjohnson.com

Residential Construction Defect Litigation J. Randall Jones Kemp, Jones and Coulthard, LLP Commercial litigation, construction law 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway, 17th Floor, Wells Fargo Tower, 385-6000 kempjones.com

Securities

Gary R. Henrie Gary R. Henrie, Attorney at Law Estate planning, corporate 2510 E. Sunset Road, Unit 5-777, (801) 310-1419 Bryan M. Williams Sklar Williams, PLLC Technology, corporate 410 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 350, 360-6000 sklar-law.com Troy A. Wallin Wallin Harrison, PLC Real estate Law, corporate and transactions 10161 Park Run Drive, Suite 150, 851-5875 wallinharrison.com William J. Silbey Venture capital financing, corporate law 3960 Howard

Hughes Parkway, Suite 700

Social Security Disability

Gerald Morris Welt Gerald M. Welt, CHTD Workers’ compensation 703 S. Eighth St., 382-2030 weltlaw.com

Tax Law

Mark L. Dodds Grant Morris Dodds Estate planning, probate 2520 St. Rose Parkway, Suite 319, 938-2244 gmdlegal.com Douglas McLellan Edwards Edwards and Chambers, LLP Estate planning, wealth management 10191 Park Run Drive, Suite 110, 242-5282

Tax Liens Law

Robert D. Grossman, Jr. Tax Law Center, LLC Tax litigation, tax appeals 6236 Laredo St., 251-9696 irsproblems.com

Taxation

Dan C. McGuire Lionel Sawyer and Collins Business law 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Richard A. Oshins Oshins and Associates, LLC Estate planning, business planning 1645 Village Center Circle, Suite 170, 3416000 oshins.com Sheldon M. Sisson Real estate, appellate practice 7014 La Cienega St., (818) 609-8969

Torts

Steven T. Jaffe Hall Jaffe and Clayton, LLP Negligence, products liability 7455 W. Washington Ave., Suite 460, 316-4111 lawhjc.com

Trademarks

Michael J. McCue Lewis and Roca, LLP Copyrights, Internet law 3993 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 600, 949-8200 lrlaw.com

Transportation

Zev E. Kaplan Zev E. Kaplan, Ltd. Administrative law, corporate law P.O. Box 370836, 324-8454

Trial and Appellate Litigation

Alan J. Lefebvre Kolesar and Leatham Construction law, commercial litigation 400 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 400, 362-7800 klnevada.com

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Fraud can be hard to see without the right pair of eyes. As Certified Fraud Examiners, CPAs and expert witnesses, we help you see the big picture when it comes to forensic accounting investigations. When financial data needs interpreting on your next case, contact the CPA firm with the 20/20 vision for the job: Piercy Bowler Taylor & Kern.

Trial Practice

Benjamin E. Patterson Hall Prangle and Schoonveld, LLC Health care litigation, product liability 777 N. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 225, 8896400 hpslaw.com

702.384.1120

www.pbtk.com

Michael E. Prangle Hall Prangle and Schoonveld, LLC Health care litigation 777 N. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 225, 8896400 hpslaw.com

Truck Liability

Victor Alan Perry Perry and Westbrook, PC Professional liability, products liability law 1707 W. Charleston, Suite 200, 870-2400 perrywestbrook.com

Trusts

Jay R. Larsen Gerrard Cox Larsen Probate, estate administration 2450 Saint Rose Parkway, Suite 200, 796-4000 gerrard-cox.com Rory J. Reid Lionel Sawyer and Collins Administrative law, governmental affairs 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com

95 Hand Me down Road • alaMo, nevada www.cowboysdReaM.coM • (775)725-3500

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Trusts and Estates

Jeffrey C. Boyce Boyce and Gianni, LLP Tax law, corporate law 1701 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 8A, 898-6322 boycegianni.com Robert L. Bolick Durham Jones and Pinegar, PC Asset protection, tax 10785 W. Twain Ave., Suite 200, 870-6060 djplaw.com Scott A. Swain McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP Business law, taxation law 2300 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 1000, 873-4100 mcdonaldcarano. com Kirk D. Kaplan Roland and Kaplan Business planning, taxation 6480 W. Spring Mountain Road, Suite 4, 202-4153 Mark A. Solomon Solomon Dwiggins and Freer, Ltd. Probate law, general civil litigation 9060 W. Cheyenne Ave., 853-5483 sdfnvlaw.com

White Collar Criminal Defense

Stephen M. Dichter Christian, Kravitz, Dichter, Johnson and Sluga Business litigation, products liability 8985 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, 362-6666 ckllclaw.com

Wills

William A. Beam, Jr. Probate, trusts 537 Lambeth Court, (727) 894-5153

Work Accidents

Michael A. McOsker Craig P. Kenny and Associates Car accidents, personal injury 501 S. Eighth St., 380-2800 cpklaw.com

Workers’ Compensation Law

Dean A. Hardy Hardy and Hardy, PC 7175 N. Durango Drive, Suite 270, 366-1366 hardylawlv.com

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Stephen L. Weiss Weiss and Weiss 2300 W. Sahara Ave., P.O. Box 34, 933-5500 Marvin Samuel Gross King, Gross and Sutcliffe 3017 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 50, 870-3555 king-gross-sutcliffe.com Kirby J. Smith Lionel Sawyer and Collins Management employment law, products liability defense 300 S. Fourth St., 1700 Bank of America Plaza, 383-8888 lionelsawyer.com Kenneth R. Berman Personal injury law P.O. Box 370006, 838-7047 William B. Werner Employment law litigation, employee benefits 4505 Maryland Parkway, P.O. Box 456021

Wrongful Death

J. R. Crockett, Jr. Crockett and Myers Personal injury 700 S. Third St., 382-6711 crockettandmyers. com Robert T. Eglet Eglet Wall, LLP Personal injury, brain and spinal cord injury 400 S. Fourth St., Suite 600, City Centre Place, 450-5400 mainorlawyers.com

an unobstructed view

an unobstructed view

1750 ATTORNEYS | 35 LOCATIONS° | GTLAW.COM

Thank You & Congratulations!

Greenberg Traurig’s Las Vegas attorneys thank our colleagues and peers in the judiciary and bar, whose trust and commitment enabled us to be recognized this year among the “Top Lawyers” in Southern Nevada* in Desert Companion’s inaugural legal issue.

We congratulate all of the attorneys recognized, and we are especially proud of those from our firm.

Michael J. Bonner

John N. Brewer

William R. Clayton

Mark E. Ferrario

Philip M. Hymanson

Thomas F. Kummer

Jim Mace

Edward J. Quirk

Brandon E. Roos

Mark G. Tratos

SERVING OUR CLIENTS FOR DECADES AS NEVADA LAWYERS AND AS GREENBERG TRAURIG SINCE 2005 Greenberg Traurig is a service mark and trade name of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. ©2012 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Attorneys at Law. All rights reserved. Contact: Michael J. Bonner at 702.792.3773. °These numbers are subject to fluctuation. *As ranked and identified by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell in partnership with Desert Companion magazine as having received the highest ranking of “AV Preeminent” Peer Review Ratings™ 15234

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S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson, Haluck LLP

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ounded in 1986, KNCH is a premier civil litigation and transactional firm with over 70 attorneys practicing in five locations in California, Arizona and Nevada. Whether you are facing complex litigation or a complicated commercial transaction, the attorneys at KNCH are well suited to assist you through the process in an efficient, innovative and practical manner. Our broad spectrum of practice areas includes insurance coverage, business law and transactional issues, construction law, bankruptcy, employment law, and environment law.

Today’s world moves quickly and you need attorneys who can keep up with the changes and adapt with your best interest in mind. Our exceptional attorneys can address your legal needs with outstanding service focused on outstanding results.

A2 AT T O R N E Y P R O F I L E s

From left to right: William Nebeker, A.V. rated

by Martindale Hubbell, listed in 2010, 2011 and 2012 Southwest Super Lawyers and a Certified Specialist in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death by the Arizona Bar Association; Megan Dorsey, A.V. rated by Martindale Hubbell and current Managing Partner; Keith Koeller, Founding Partner, A.V. rated by Martindale Hubbell and listed in 2010, 2011, and 2012 Southern California Super Lawyers; Mark Newcomb, member of Firm Executive Committee and past Managing Partner; William Haluck, A.V. rated by Martindale Hubbell and listed in the 2005, 2007, 2008 Southern California Super Lawyers and Super Lawyer Corporate Counsel for 2008 and 2009; and Robert Carlson, A.V. rated by Martindale Hubbell and has been named in San Diego Super Lawyers consecutive years since 2007.

Koeller, Nebeker, Carlson, Haluck LLP

Arizona 3200 North Central Ave., Ste. 2300 Phoenix, Arizona 85012 (602) 256-0000 California 3 Park Plaza, Ste. 1500 Irvine, California 92614 (949) 864-3400 225 Broadway, 21st Floor San Diego, California 92101 (619) 233-1600 1478 Stone Point Dr.,Ste. 400 Roseville, California 95661 (916) 724-5700 Nevada 300 South 4th St.,Ste. 500 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 (702) 853-5500

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Mark A. Hutchison

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ark A. Hutchison is a founding member of the Law Firm of Hutchison & Steffen and an AVrated attorney by MartindaleHubbell®. Mark practices primarily in high-stakes business and complex tort litigation.

As the firm’s most experienced trial lawyer, Mark brings a mastery of turning complex fact patterns into simple, persuasive trial presentations. Mark first achieved national prominence when he served as lead trial counsel in a lawsuit representing the inventor of the microchip against the Franchise Tax Board of the State of California. The case lasted over ten years and resulted in a jury verdict in the client’s favor, totaling $388.2 million after a four-month trial. The verdict is one of the country’s largest jury verdicts ever rendered in favor of a single plaintiff. Mark’s verdicts and legal expertise have been frequently reported in national newspapers and both national and local television.

A native Las Vegan, Mark is recognized as both a knowledgeable and experienced counselor and as a skilled and aggressive trial lawyer. He has been a key figure in some of Nevada’s most significant governmental disputes at the intersection of law and politics. In 2010, Mark was appointed by Nevada’s governor as lead special counsel for the State of Nevada in the multi-state lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal healthcare legislation. In 2011, he represented the Nevada Republican Party in Constitutional litigation over the redistricting over federal and state legislature boundaries.

Mark was appointed by Governor Guinn to serve on the Ethics Commission for the State of Nevada, where he served for six years and as Chairman for two years. Mark has held numerous professional positions, including President of the Federal Bar Association and a member of the prestigious bench-bar committee. Mark currently is a member of the Executive Board of the Litigation Section of The State Bar of Nevada. He has been selected multiple times as a Mountain States Super Lawyer, and was featured in a full-length article in the 2012 Mountain States Super Lawyer Magazine.

Mark has also been recognized as Nevada’s Legal Elite in Nevada’s Business Magazine and Best of the Bar by Las Vegas Business Press.

Hutchison & Steffen

Peccole Professional Park 10080 West Alta Drive, Ste. 200 Las Vegas, Nevada 89145 (702) 385-2500 www.hutchlegal.com AT T O R N E Y P R O F I L E s A3

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Michael Rounds

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Jeffrey L. Burr

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effrey L. Burr, founder and partner of the Law Firm of Jeffrey Burr, is recognized as one of the top tax and estate planning attorneys in Nevada, dedicated to estate planning, probate, trust administration, guardianships, asset protection and business law. He has been serving Southern Nevada families and businesses for more than 30 years. In addition to his extensive legal experience, Burr is also a Certified Public Accountant. The Law Firm of Jeffrey Burr has 8 attorneys and more than 20 qualified staff members to serve their clients’ needs.

Jeffrey Burr has received many honors and awards over the years, including frequent inclusion to the Mountain States Super Lawyers list, an “AV preeminent” rating from Martindale-Hubbell and selection to the Best Lawyers in America’s list of Top Estate Planning Attorneys in Southern Nevada by peer vote.

Besides being an important asset to the Southern Nevada estate planning and probate profession, Burr is an active member in the community. He currently serves on the community boards of the Boys & Girls 2600 Paseo Verde Pkwy.

Club of Southern Nevada, St. Rose Dominican Health Henderson, Nevada 89074 Foundation, Sun Youth Camp and LDS Philanthro(702) 433-4455 pies. He is a former trustee of the Clark County School 7881 W. Charleston Blvd., Board, and holds memberships in the Southern NeSte. 240 vada Estate Planning Council and the State Bar of Las Vegas, Nevada 89117 Nevada, where he is the Former Chairman of the (702) 254-4455 section on taxation. Burr is admitted to practice in www.jeffreyburr.com Nevada, California, Arizona and the U.S. Tax Court.

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founding partner of Watson Rounds, Michael Rounds is a respected trial attorney whose practice is limited to intellectual property litigation and counseling, a passion he developed while working for the renowned San Francisco law firm of Townsend and Townsend and Crew (now Kilpatrick, Townsend and Stockton).

Mr. Rounds has a penchant for meticulous preparation and is a formidable litigator who believes the best way to build a reputation is at the courthouse. He has achieved numerous favorable outcomes for clients in patent infringement and other cases throughout the United States, including an $11.4 million patent infringement verdict in Las Vegas, Nevada, affirmed by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in 2010.

Mr. Rounds is licensed to practice in California and Nevada, all federal courts in those jurisdictions, and the Ninth and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

Watson Rounds has offices in Las Vegas, Reno and San Francisco.

Visit www.watsonrounds.com.

Watson Rounds

10000 West Charleston Blvd., Ste. 240 Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 (702) 636-4902 vegasinfo@watsonrounds.com

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Marquis Aurbach Coffing

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hat started in 1979 with the goal of providing top-quality legal service to the Las Vegas business community in a prompt, personal and professional manner, has resulted in one of fastest growing local law firms in Southern Nevada, Marquis Aurbach Coffing (“MAC”). “We’ve never advertised,” remarked founder Al Marquis. “Instead, we let our work speak for itself. Clients returned with new cases and when friends needed legal work, recommended our firm. As our workload grew, we hired top-notch attorneys to meet the demands of our growing client base.” The precedent was set.

Success is evident by virtue of the firm’s growth.

Today MAC has 42 attorneys and over 100 total employees. “Growth wasn’t necessarily our goal,” said Marquis, “but it was a result of the level of service that we provide our clients.”

The firm is client-oriented, and instills in its staff that clients deserve to be treated like VIP’s. They understand how stressful legal situations can be and strive to ease that burden and assist the client with a prompt and economical solution.

MAC credits teamwork and camaraderie for enhancing the level of service to clients. Susan Burrows,

the office manager for over 27 years, says that, “at MAC, we hire quality employees and they stay with us because everyone here is regarded as a professional and is treated with dignity and respect.” The firm has specific goals when adding staff. “The best and the brightest are the ones we look for,” said Marquis.

In addition to responding to clients’ needs, MAC offers two unique services. First, MAC offers a free second opinion. If you are not sure your current attorneys are handling your litigation properly, we would be happy to take a look and give you a second opinion. Second, the firm offers a free computer analysis of a business’s best practices to see if the company is healthy in seven critical categories that could endanger its operations. Upon completion, MAC can then teach the business (without cost or obligation) how to protect itself against those dangers. Visit www.alegalcheckup.com for more details.

MAC is truly a full service firm, with litigation, real estate, corporate, construction, employment law, bankruptcy, gaming and estate planning practices. It is a local Nevada firm attuned to the unique issues facing Nevada businesses. MAC fights for Nevada businesses.

MAC can be reached at 702-382-0711, or on the web at www.maclaw.com.

10001 Park Run Drive Las Vegas, Nevada 89145 (702) 382-0711 www.maclaw.com AT T O R N E Y P R O F I L E s A5

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Marshal S. Willick, Esq.

M Steven M. Burris

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teven Burris wishes to thank Desert Companion and Nevada Public Radio for choosing him as one of the top lawyers in Las Vegas. Mr. Burris has previously been selected as a top lawyer by other local magazines, and has been honored by his peers as an “AV” lawyer in Martindale Hubbell, and as a “Superlawyer.” He is an elected member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, one of less than 30 such civil trial lawyers in Las Vegas.

Mr. Burris’ practice is limited to plaintiff ’s personal injury, including premise/hotel liability, motor vehicle, hospital negligence, nursing home negligence, and medical malpractice. He has practiced exclusively in these areas since 1983.

Mr. Burris received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University (BA summa cum laude); and his Juris Doctorate from University of Southern California (cum laude.) He had the highest score on the Nevada bar exam of all applicants in 1978. He is a member of both the Nevada and California Bars. He was president of the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association in 1997, and received their highest honor (Badger Award.)

Law Offices of He has been married to Melanie for 30 years. He has Steven M. Burris two adult sons, Michael and Jimmy. In what he calls 2810 W. Charleston Blvd., his “past life” he was a musician who played with many Ste. F-58 70’s artists. He currently plays in the ‘praise band’ at his Las Vegas, Nevada 89102 church (Green Valley Baptist). He was president of the (702) 258-6238 Las Vegas Gideon camp for several years, and helped dewww.steveburrislaw.com liver thousands of Bibles to hotel rooms.

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arshal S. Willick, Esq. is the Principal and Founder of the Willick Law Group in Las Vegas, Nevada. Founded in 1985, the Willick Law Group has dedicated itself exclusively to the field of Family Law for nearly three decades.

Mr. Willick has received numerous awards for his contributions to the field of Family Law, including the Pillar Award, which is the Nevada Bar Family Law Section’s highest honor, multiple Access to Justice Awards presented by the State Bar of Nevada, and been named the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada.

The Willick Law Group has well earned a reputation for meticulous and comprehensive legal writing, as well as diligent and zealous advocacy in both trial and appellate courts, and is committed to remaining the premier Family Law firm in Nevada.

Willick Law Group

3591 E. Bonanza Rd., Ste 200 Las Vegas, Nevada 89110 (702) 438-4100 www.willicklawgroup.com

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Rob Graham

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n the area of Probate Litigation, Attorney Rob Graham is one of only a few attorneys in Nevada whose experience spans several decades.

What was once a part-time sub-specialty within the larger specialty of Estate Planning has now grown into a fulltime and fulfilling career. Originally from Arizona, Graham moved to Las Vegas in the late 80’s as he finished law school at Brigham Young University (’92). His wife, who is also an attorney, was a year behind him (’93), so his first year as an attorney was spent living alone in an empty apartment while he worked twelve hours a day at Jimmerson, Davis & Santoro. “Jim Jimmerson, Nick Santoro and Lynn Hanson were my mentors, and I will always be grateful for the time they spent training me for the courtroom,” Graham continued. “Looking back, that was a powerful bunch of litigators under one roof and I was just at the right place at the right time.” Graham ultimately left the firm and branched out into his desired specialty of Probate and Estate Litigation, and later came to include guardianship disputes. He is now the Managing partner of LawyersWest Limited, a Nevada-based, regional probate, trust and estate litigation law firm having staffed offices in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

• Education: J. Reuben Clark School of Law, BYU (1992) • Co-curricular Activity: Chairman, Trial Advocacy Board, J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU).

• Bar Membership: United States Supreme Court (2010); 9th Circuit Federal Court (1993); Nevada Federal and State Courts (1992).

• Awards of Merit: J. Reuben Clark Law School Faculty Award for Distinguished Service; Clark County Bar Association: President’s Award; Clark County Pro Bono Project: U.S. Senate Service Citation.

LawyersWest, Ltd.

Nevada 10000 West Charleston Blvd.

Howard Hughes Plaza, Ste. 140 Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 (702) 255-6161 Colorado 2720 Council Tree Avenue Bldg. 100 West, Ste. 242 Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 (970) 797-4966 AT T O R N E Y P R O F I L E s A7

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Callister & Associates

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atthew Q. Callister, a Las Vegas native, defies the classical stereotype of a buttoned-down attorney. From hair style and choice of clothing to legal maneuvers, he defies convention. This professional, passionate advocate for those requiring legal representation could be mistaken for a contemporary community activist, rather than a seasoned courtroom lawyer.

For 30 years, first-time visitors to the offices of Callister & Associates have encountered a client-friendly environment staffed by unpretentious “real people.” Clients are ushered into a comfortable conference room, where Matthew maps the details of an entire case on a white board, exhibiting a laser-like focus that quickly identifies the key elements of an issue. He then outlines clear go-forward strategies and tactics consistent with just, strong representation. These and a reputation for winning cases are the discriminators that spawned Callister & Associates’ “Fight Back” brand of legal representation.

A fifth-generation lawyer, Matthew comes from a family of top trial litigators. The Callister name has been synonymous with dedicated legal service, tenacity and compassion in Las Vegas, since 1947.

The firm is involved in complex trial litigation.

Callister & Associates is staffed by five skilled attorneys and ten expert paralegals, who routinely handle cases such as personal injury, wrongful death, trust and estate, bankruptcy, business litigation, loan modifications, social-security benefits and class-action suits brought by homeowners, A8 AT T O R N E Y P R O F I L E s

realtors and others against banks, HOA’s, and government and regulatory agencies. Its clients range from ordinary individuals to major corporations and associations.

Awards and Memberships: AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. Thirty-year member of the Clark County Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Public Service: Nevada State Assemblyman (1987-1993); served two terms as Chairman of the Ways and Means committee. Nevada State Senator (1993 -1997). Las Vegas City Councilman (19951997). Law Clerk for Nevada US Senator Paul Laxalt (1980-1981) Education: University of Utah, BA Political Science (1978). University of San Diego. J.D. Law (1981).

Callister & Associates 823 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 (702) 385-3343 mqc@call-law.com

S p e c i a l A D V E R T I S I N G S EC T I O N

Gordon Silver

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ordon Silver was established over 40 years ago in Las Vegas, and has since expanded with offices in Phoenix, Reno, and Washington D.C. As one of Nevada’s oldest and largest law firms, Gordon Silver’s forward looking perspective and strong commitment to its wide range of clients characterizes the firm’s foundation and continuous success.

As one of the most accomplished attorneys in Nevada, Gerald M. Gordon is a shareholder and chairman of the firm’s Business Restructuring & Bankruptcy Department. Throughout his three decades of legal service, he has been lead counsel or integrally involved in all of the firm’s complex insolvency practice. This year, he was named a “Top 100 Mountain States Super Lawyer.”

Jeffrey A. Silver, who is a shareholder and chairman of the Administrative, Gaming and Government Affairs Department, has been involved in every aspect of gaming, licensing and regulatory law. This year, he was named a “Lawyer of the Year” designee and Best Lawyers in America.

Dominic P. Gentile, who leads Nevada’s only Government Investigations and Business Crimes Group, is a shareholder, representing clients nationwide and internationally. He is a founder of the Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice, the Augustus Society and the La

Voce – the Voice of Las Vegas’ Italian-Americans.

Michael N. Feder is a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Department, Intellectual Property Department, and Entertainment & Sports Department co-chairman. Prior to relocating to Nevada in 2000, Mr. Feder was at two prominent firms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was also a “Best Lawyer” designee in Best Lawyers in America in his practice areas.

For over twenty years, William M. Noall has advised clients on formal and informal business restructuring and insolvency, creditors’ rights, and commercial law.

As a shareholder, he successfully handles complex matters, earning statewide and national recognition as one of the top lawyers in his practice.

As chairman of the firm’s Corporate & Securities Department, Richard L. Galin has extensive expertise in federal and state regulatory, and securities and corporate law issues affecting financial institutions. Before joining Gordon Silver as a shareholder in 1995, he practiced for six years as a licensed foreign attorney in Tokyo, Japan.

It is through prestigious attorneys and a strong focus on perspective, that Gordon Silver can provide powerful representation for their clients that solves their immediate challenges and protects their longterm interests. They are honored to be included on the 2012 Desert Companion list of “Top Attorneys.”

Gordon Silver

3960 Howard Hughes Pkwy.

Las Vegas, Nevada 89169 (702) 796-5555 www.gordonsilver.com AT T O R N E Y P R O F I L E s A9

THE CROWD ” GOES WILD!

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Photos: Chris Callis and Joan Marcus

—The New York Times

800-745-3000 800-745-3000 JerseyBoysVegas.com JerseyBoysVegas.com Original Cast Recording On

10.2012

Art Music T h e at e r Da n c e FA M I LY

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Okay, it’s really quaintly cool that Eddie Vedder can play the ukelele and all, but we won’t be satisfied until he beats the devil in a fiddling contest, after which the devil’s face melts off — revealing he was Snooki all along. Eddie Vedder performs 9 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at The Pearl at The Palms. Tickets $79. Info: palms.com

p i l o b u s p h oto b y j o h n k a n e ; e d d i e v e d d e r p h oto b y d a n n y c l i n c h ; j e n n i f e r e g a n p h oto b y p i e t e r M . Va n H at t e m

Are they humans? Or are they … a bunch of humans mashed together to look like a giant monster bug creature thing? Answer: Both! The Pilobolus dancers are experts at blending their bodies to mind-blowing effect.

They perform 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 at The Smith Center. Tickets $26-$79. Info: thesmithcenter.com Stillman and Marilyn Clark have been photographing the architecture of Las Vegas for 25 years, through building booms, busts, implosions and even that one awkward period when we thought fanny-packed moms pushing baby strollers would save Las Vegas.

Stillman and Marilyn Clark’s work is on exhibit Oct. 19-Jan. 20 at the Springs Preserve. Info: springspreserve.org

Art has been known as a gateway drug that causes kids to go full-on goth. So, parents, make sure your kids use their sidewalk chalk responsibly at the Summerlin Art Festival — which will also feature music, food, crafts and more. The Summerlin Art Festival is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Summerlin Centre Community Park. Free. Info: summerlinartfestival.com

Want your event in our guide? Submit a brief description of it to guide@desertcompanion.com.

With featured authors such as Jennifer Egan, Cheryl Strayed and Charlaine Harris, the collective literary IQ of Las Vegas is going to spike the weekend of the Vegas Valley Book Festival. Brace your brain! The Vegas Valley Book Festival is Nov. 1-3 at the Historic Fifth Street School and other venues. Free. Info: vegasvalleybookfestival.org

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ART INNER SANCTUM Through Oct. 5. Inspired by the Arte Povera movement’s preference for ordinary, everyday materials, Troy Gillett’s “Inner Sanctum” employs found doors in various states of decay to create a space that makes a commentary on passage, decay and time. Gillett speaks 6:30 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Pueblo Room.

Clark County Government Center Rotunda

JORDAN PAYNE’S PARTI CRISIS Through Oct. 13. With a deliberately enticing palette, these photographs attempt to walk lines between decor, design and “art”. Reconfigured forms act as gateways to the heart of the matter. What really constitutes home? 5th Wall Gallery inside the Emergency Arts

DA VINCI – THE GENIUS Through Oct. 15. This multi-dimensional interactive exhibit realizes the creations of Leonardo da Vinci’s imaginations in their three-dimensional functionality. The collection has over 200 original da Vinci pieces, 75 to-scale machine inventions and 11 themed areas showcasing the many realms of his work. $18-$27. The Imagine Exhibitions Gallery inside The Venetian

THE BEAUTIFUL ACCIDENT EXHIBITION Through Oct. 20. French artist Francois Dubeau’s new works are bursts of bold, bright colors confined in perfect lines with messages that are sensual and sexual. Sin City Gallery, 107 E. Charleston #100, sincitygallery.com

GIOVANNI MORALES Through Oct. 27. Giovanni Morales’ pop artstyle paintings are rich with multiple layers and collage-like elements that invoke classic sign script and old-school comic strips — painstakingly created by adding and then removing layers of paint. Brett Wesley Gallery, brettwesleygallery.com

CLAUDE MONET: IMPRESSIONS OF LIGHT Through Jan. 6, 2013. In partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art showcases artworks that reflect the height of Monet’s work with painting and light. The exhibit features 20 pieces by Monet and eight paintings by his predecessors and contemporaries. $8-$15.

Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art

INTO THE WILD: NEW WORKS BY SU LIMBERT Oct. 5-Nov. 30. This Las Vegas artist weaves elusive narratives through a recurring cast of ethereal female and animal characters, who explore themes of vulnerability

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and empowerment and keep the magic of childhood alive through their dialogues with nature. Her new works include surreal watercolors, oil paintings, hand-cut china and a site-specific installation. Refreshments will be served at the First Friday opening, where the artist will be in attendance. Blackbird Studios, blackbirdstudioslv.com

FIRST FRIDAY

PILOBOLUS DANCE THEATRE Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. The New York Post has dubbed them “the most popular modern dance company in the country.” Named after an ever-changing organism and drawing inspiration from biology, Pilobolus often blurs the lines between individual performers, creating a sense of the troupe as a singular living being. $26-$79. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

LAS VEGAS CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATER Oct. 26-28, 7:30 p.m. A stellar lineup of worldpremiere ballets by this company known for its passionate repertoire: “Solstice”, choreographed

by Founding Director Bernard H. Gaddis, with jazz music by George Winston; “Immortal Memories,” choreographed by Mr. Gaddis to honor Jewish Holocaust survivors, with haunting music by Lisa Gerrard; “EXIT 6,” a compilation of

Oct. 5 and Nov. 2, 6 p.m.-midnight. Downtown’s monthly arts and culture event continues to grow bigger and better, featuring art exhibits, open galleries, live music and DJs, food trucks, performances and more. Free. Arts District and Fremont East in the Get Back Alley 6 p.m.-2 a.m. firstfridaylasvegas.com

STILLMAN CLARK: ARCHITECTURE AS ART Oct. 19-Jan. 20, 2013. Stillman and Marilyn Clark’s photography shows that the architecture of Las Vegas is art itself. They have been photographing the architecture of Las Vegas for 25 years, most recently documenting the construction of the Lou Ruvo Brain Center, a Frank Gehry project. Free for members or included with paid general admission. Springs Preserve

DANCE SPIRIT: THE DANCES OF SPAIN AND SOUTH AMERICA Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m. Margo Torea of the Sociedad Cultural Hispana examines the shared spirit underlying Latin America’s rich dance cultures and costumes. Flamenco, tango, rumba and other South American folk dances will be featured.

Co-sponsored by the Sociedad Cultural Hispana.

Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library

YOUTHFUL ENTERPRISE SCHOLARSHIP BENEFIT BALLET Oct. 7, 2 p.m. CSN sponsors a benefit performance of Giselle Act II, by the Las Vegas Ballet Company. The classical ballet will raise funds for the Youthful Enterprise Scholarship, which is available to CSN students who are clients of Shade Tree, Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, and HELP of Southern Nevada Shannon West Homeless Youth Center. $10-$15, CSN’s Nicholas J. Horn Theatre, csn.edu/pac

GEORGE BALANCHINE’S “JEWELS” Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 14, 1 p.m. For the first time ever, three internationally recognized companies will come together to dance this threepart masterwork: “Emeralds” will be performed

by Ballet West, “Rubies” by Nevada Ballet Theatre and “Diamonds” by Pacific Northwest Ballet, all to live music. $35-$128. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, nevadaballet.org

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excerpts from ballets by guest choreographer Ronen Koresh, founder of Philadelphia-based Koresh Dance Company; and “Simply Ella,” celebrating Ms. Fitzgerald with her songs. $25$55. Judy Bayley Theater at UNLV’s Performing Arts Center, lvdance.org

INFORMAL DANCE CONCERT Oct. 31, 1 p.m. Experience what transpires in the wide array of CSN’s Department of Fine Arts’ Dance classes, including ballet, ballroom, jazz, Middle Eastern dance, modern dance and yoga.

Special presentations from the CSN Dance Club and Choreography class will be included.

Free. CSN’s Nicholas J. Horn Theatre, 651-4201

MUSIC CLINT HOLMES Oct. 5, Nov. 2-3, 8:30 p.m. This acclaimed singer is back in Las Vegas for an exclusive monthly engagement, never performing the same show twice, featuring a constantly evolving kaleidoscope of music ranging from contemporary to jazz to Broadway. $35-$45. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center

JAZZ PIANIST VERNELL BROWN, JR.

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Oct. 6, 7-10 p.m. Jazz Under The Stars at Lake Las Vegas is a full-blown performance with this renowned virtuoso known for sparkling compositions and creative performances, with his band of remarkably talented musicians and vocalists on hiatus from touring Europe with jazz great Kenny Garrett. A meet and greet with CD signing follows the performance. Free. MonteLago Village in Henderson, vernellbrownjr.com

KEYBOARD CONVERSATIONS WITH JEFFREY SIEGEL: GERSHWIN AND FRIENDS Oct. 7, 2 p.m. This world-class pianist will present such masterpieces as Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Aaron Copland’s “Cat and the Mouse,” Scott Joplin’s “Wall Street Rag,” Leonard Bernstein’s unpublished “Meditation on a Wedding” and more. Mr. Siegel will discuss each piece prior to its performance and the concert will end with a Q&A session. $35. Troesh Studio Theater at The Smith Center

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UNLV’S JAZZ CONCERT SERIES Oct. 10, 7 p.m. This series highlights the best student musicians from UNLV’s Jazz Studies Program. Each month, different ensembles perform various styles of jazz: from mainstream to contemporary, to vocals or Big Band. Whatever the concert, you can expect it to be good. Co-sponsored by UNLV’s Department of Jazz Studies. Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library

a r t s + e n t e r ta i n m e n t

MARIACHI CONCERT Oct. 12, 7 p.m. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an evening of favorites performed by talented young musicians from Clark County School District’s award-winning Mariachi Music Instructional Program. Since its inception in 2002, it has grown to include upwards of 3,000 students in more than 17 schools. Co-sponsored by the CCSD’s Mariachi Music Instructional Program.

Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library

DOC SEVERINSEN AND THE SAN MIGUEL FIVE Oct. 12, 7 p.m.; Oct. 13, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Vivacious trumpeter Doc Severinsen leads The San Miguel Five in an evening featuring gorgeous Latino and American ballads, great movie music and popular gypsy jazz à la Django Reinhardt. $40$65. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center

THE DESERT WINDS’ “SKETCHES” Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. A semi-professional wind ensemble working to promote the performance of contemporary wind literature as a rendering of today’s societal expressions and for the sake of educational outreach that advances the appreciation of wind and percussion music. $10.

DiNE iN STyLE

Life Springs Christian Church, 2075 E. Warm Springs Road, thedesertwinds.org

MUSIC WITH A CLASSIC TOUCH: LATINAMERICAN CLASSICS Oct. 14, 4 p.m. Maestro Rodolfo Fernandez and the Nevada Chamber Symphony celebrate the beginning of their 28th season. The series premiere showcases the orchestra and its recently formed cello ensemble, Trio Serenata, performing a program of Hispanic/LatinAmerican composers and themes. Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library, 507-3459

BRYAN ADAMS’ “BARE BONES TOUR” Oct. 15, 8 p.m. This show provides a rare opportunity for fans to see this singer, songwriter and rock star like they’ve never seen him before: solo-acoustic and intimate. He’ll perform hits like “Cuts Like A Knife,” “Summer of ’69,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” $38-$78.

Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

DR. JOHN AND THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA’S “SPIRITUALS TO FUNK” Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. Under Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Dr. John’s musical direction, the world

premiere of “Spirituals to Funk” represents the first touring partnership between two icons of American music. Based on the legendary Carnegie Hall “Spirituals to Swing” concerts produced

by John Hammond in the ’30s, this show features a blend with five-time Grammy Award-winners The Blind Boys of Alabama that explores connections between jazz, blues and gospel. $24-$59.

Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

AN EVENING WITH CHRISTINE EBERSOLE Oct. 19, 8:30 p.m.; Oct. 20, 7 and 9:30 p.m. This two-time Tony Award-winner has captivated audiences throughout her performing career, from the Broadway stage, television and films, to concerts and recordings. $39-$69. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center

LAS VEGAS PHILHARMONIC’S OPENING NIGHT CELEBRATION Oct. 20, 8 p.m. This grand gala marks an important milestone for the Las Vegas Philharmonic: The 2012/13 season is its first year in a new, permanent home. Joining the Philharmonic are pianist Navah Perlman (Itzhak Perlman’s daughter), violinist Philippe Quint and cellist Zuill Bailey.

They will perform Beethoven’s thrilling Triple

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Concerto and Mussorgsky’s musical gallery-walk Pictures at an Exhibition. $46-$94. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center, lvphil.org

two Grammy nominations and a nationally syndicated daily radio show, his piano solos and engaging audience rapport will charm one and all. $26-$79. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

JOHN TESH: BIG BAND LIVE! Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m. On stage with 14 performers, Mr. Tesh will play Big Band favorites, including “In the Mood,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “Beyond the Sea” and many more. An all-around showman with three gold albums,

AN EVENING WITH LAURA TAYLOR: SOMETHING’S COMING Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. This singer, songwriter and pianist brings her musical talent and presence to the Cabaret Jazz Theater for the first time.

$22.50-$55. Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center

ORGAN CONCERT BY DR. RICHARD ELLIOTT Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m. Performing on a 4-manual and pedal, 54-rank Schantz pipe organ, the Principal Organist for the Mormon Tabernacle opens the season for The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Widely known through his extensive recital schedule and weekly broadcasts of “Music and the Spoken Word,” Dr. Elliott is an accomplished musician who previously played the world’s largest functioning pipe organ at Philadelphia’s Lord and Taylor. Free. Christ Church Episcopal, 2000 S. Maryland Parkway, sncago.org

JOHN PIZZARELLI

CONTINUE

THE CARE

DISCHARGED ISN’T THE LAST WORD. RECOVERY IS. Kindred understands that when a patient is discharged from a traditional hospital they often need post-acute care to recover completely. Every day we help guide patients to the proper care setting in order to improve the quality and cost of patient care, and reduce rehospitalization.

Oct. 26, 8:30 p.m.; Oct. 27, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz,” Mr. Pizzarelli will perform songs from his 20 solo records, which feature the music of Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Duke Ellington. $39-$50.

Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center

AN EVENING WITH KAREN BRIGGS - JAZZ VIOLINIST EXTRAORDINAIRE Oct. 27, 6 and 9:30 p.m. Violin “Soul-o-ist” and incredible virtuoso Karen Briggs has toured extensively with Yanni, and performed with Stanley Clark, Chaka Khan, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Loggins, Patrice Rushen and Diana Ross. $93-$125.

Troesh Studio Theater at The Smith Center

ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. Since 1936, one of Israel’s oldest and most influential cultural institutions has been dedicated to performing the world’s greatest music to audiences in Israel and around the world. Renowned music director Zubin Mehta and pianist Yuja Wang will lead the orchestra in a concert that includes the works of Schubert, Chopin and Brahms. $39$150. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

VOCAL JAZZ SOLO NIGHTS

In the Las Vegas area Kindred offers services in: 3 Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals • 1 Subacute Unit 1 Outpatient Wound Center • 2 Transitional Care and Rehabilitation Centers • Homecare and Hospice Central Admissions: 702.784.4333 www.continuethecare.com

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Nov. 2-3, 7:30 p.m. The College of Southern Nevada’s Department of Fine Arts’ Jazz Singers showcase their talent with individual solos and ensemble selections, ranging from jazz standards to Broadway. $5-$8. CSN’s BackStage Theatre, csn.edu/pac

THEATER Dedicated to Hope, Healing and Recovery

THE FABULOUS KENNY KERR Oct. 5-6, 10 p.m. This wonderful performer holds the distinction of wowing audiences continuously, as America’s longest-running, comedy/ musical female impersonator. $20. Onyx Theatre, 953 East Sahara #16B, onyxtheatre.com

WICKED Through Oct. 7. This clever retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” brings you ’round to the Witch’s perspective. Full of laughs and wonderfully scored, this revamped tale is a classic of its own. $42-$186. The Smith Center

TM

Ganesha Center

TM

THORNTON WILDER’S “THE MATCHMAKER” Oct. 5, 7 p.m.; Oct. 7, 2 p.m. In 1800, an old merchant of Yonkers is so rich, he decides to take a wife. He employs a matchmaker who subsequently becomes involved with two of his menial clerks, assorted young and lovely ladies and the headwaiter at an expensive restaurant. $12. Jim3 House of Performing Arts at Bishop Gorman High School, 5959 S. Hualapai Way, bishopgorman.org

CAFE EVENTS CLASSES SERVICES PRODUCTS MEMBERSHIP

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TOM SAWYER Oct. 5, 6, 12 and 13, 7 p.m.; Oct. 7, 13 and 14, 2 p.m.

Join Tom and Huck Finn for an unparalleled adventure! Boys and girls (and moms and dads) will revel in this charming journey down the Mississippi River and into trouble. $3-$7; season tickets available. Charleston Heights Arts Center, artslasvegas.org

“CHECK, PLEASE” PLUS “NEW YORK STORIES” Oct. 6, 7 p.m. “Check, Please” is a one-act play that follows a series of blind dinner dates that couldn’t get any worse … until they do. Could there possibly be a light at the end of the tunnel? “New York Stories” is a day in the city, expressed through dance.

“The Bus Stop” follows a journey, where every stop begins a new adventure! The soundtrack serves as the storyteller, the compelling music as diverse as the vivid characters. Presented by Gaels Theatre Guild. $12. Jim3 House of Performing Arts at Bishop Gorman High School, 5959 S. Hualapai Way, bishopgorman.org

“ART” BY YASMINA REZA Oct. 12, 13, 19 and 20, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 14 and 21, 2 p.m. A 4 foot by 5 foot white canvas painting with three white lines: Is it art? Does it matter how much it costs? Battle lines are drawn and friendships are tested in this cleverly written and provocative Tony Award-winning comedy by French playwright Yasmina Reza, translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Robert D. Dunkerly. $10-$12. CSN’s BackStage Theatre, csn.edu/pac

ONE-ACT PLAYS Oct. 26-27, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 28, 2 p.m. One weekend each semester, the College of Southern Nevada’s Department of Fine Arts

Join us for conversation, culture, cocktails and more at our Desert Companion on Tour gatherings around town!

Saturday, OctOber 6, 2012 | 9:30 am Andrew Kiraly & Norm Schilling Plant World | 5301 W. Charleston Blvd. tO find Out abOut Our next event, viSit uS Online at WWW.deSertcOmPaniOn.cOm/dcOntOur DesertCompanion.com | 107

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gives students the opportunity to experience the joy of acting and/or directing oneact plays. Each performance includes seven one-act plays. $5 general admission. CSN’s BackStage Theatre, csn.edu/pac

“AH, WILDERNESS!” BY EUGENE O’NEILL Nov. 9, 10, 16 and 17, 7:30 p.m.; Nov. 11-18, 2 p.m.

CSN’s Department of Fine Arts’ Theatre presents Eugene O’Neill’s retrospective portrait of small town family values, teenage growing pains and young love. Directed by Douglas H. Baker and April Holladay. $10-$12. CSN’s Nicholas J. Horn Theatre, csn.edu/pac

LECTURES, SPEAKERS AND PANELS UNLV’S VISITING ARTIST LECTURE SERIES

This great city inspires us, and we have dedicated ourselves to returning the favor. From creating all-new, innovative productions right here in Las Vegas, to inviting the world’s most illustrious companies to share our stage, we work tirelessly to ensure that each and every one of our ballets will take your breath away.

jewels

the nutcracker

the joffrey ballet Photo by Herbert Migdoll

Photo by Jeff Speer

the studio series

new york city ballet moves Photo by Paul Kolnik

romeo & juliet

Thursdays, 7 p.m. The UNLV Department of Art presents weekly lectures featuring an artist, designer or writer: Gary Kornblau Oct. 4, Rebecca Morris Oct. 11, Ed Moses Oct. 18, Bruce McClure Oct. 25, Rebecca Campbell Nov. 8, Kota Ezawa Nov. 15. Free. BPB 102 in the Robert L. Bigelow building at UNLV, unlvvisitingartistseries.com

UNCENSORED VOICES: CELEBRATING LITERARY FREEDOM Oct. 6, 7-9 p.m. Dramatic readings and an interactive discussion with experts on literary censorship and the future of free speech.

Guests include Eva Galperin, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s International Freedom of Expression Coordinator; Professor Jeanne Price, director of the Wiener-Rogers Law Library at the William S. Boyd School of Law; Auggie Romero, activist and ACLU of Arizona Board Member; and Tony Diaz, author and leader of the Librotraficante Movement. Moderated by Las Vegas Review-Journal Political Columnist Steve Sebelius and co-sponsored by the Vegas Valley Book Festival and the ACLU of Nevada, in recognition of Banned Book Week.

Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library, vegasvalleybookfestival.org

FRESH PERSPECTIVES ON US/ISRAEL RELATIONSHIPS Photo by Virginia Trudeau

Subscribe Today

2012-2013 Premiere Season at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

702.749.2000 or visit NevadaBallet.org

Oct. 14, 6-7 p.m. reception, 7-9 p.m. lecture. Part of the Moskow Lecture Series: Consensus, Controversy and Complacency. Featured speakers are Avraham Burg, political leader, author and activist for peace; and Dennis Prager, nationally syndicated radio talk-show host, columnist and author. Moderated by Joe Klein, Time Magazine columnist, author and political journalist. Free with ticket. Artemus Ham Hall at UNLV, moskowspeakerseries.org

INSIDE STORIES: DR. MARK GALEOTTI Oct. 17, 6 p.m. This highly respected expert on Rubies Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust

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the global evolution of organized crime will provide remarkable true stories and powerful insight on the rise of organized crime in Russia, how it spread in the U.S. and globally, and how it affects international security. $35 includes a pre-event reception with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres, presentation and Q & A session in the historic courtroom. The Mob Museum, themobmuseum.org

A STATE OF THE UNION CONVERSATION: AN EVENING WITH FRANK RICH AND FRAN LEBOWITZ

NOV. 1-3, 2012 MAIN FESTIVAL

Saturday, Nov. 3, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Fifth Street School 401 S. Fourth Street 35 Young Adult Authors, Writing Workshops, Nevada Humanities Salon

CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL

Saturday, Nov. 3, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Fifth Street School 401 S. Fourth Street Storytellers and Best-Selling Children’s Authors, Live Music

COMIC BOOK FESTIVAL

Saturday, Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Clark County Library 1401 E. Flamingo Road Top Names in Comic Books, Artist Alley, Portfolio Reviews

More free fun for all ages!

Keynotes by Charlaine Harris and Jennifer Egan, First Friday Poet’s Stage, Las Vegas Writes, and a Steampunk Ball VEGASVALLEYBOOKFESTIVAL.ORG NOV 1-3 2012

www.vegasvalleybookfestival.org or call 702.229.5431 110 | Desert

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Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. Forged in the belly of New York City, author and social commentator Fran Lebowitz leaves a cutting trail of wry wit wherever she goes. Alongside Frank Rich, acclaimed journalist and New York Magazine’s Writer-at-Large, they will discuss the current political climate and what is at stake. $29$89. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

READING BY JAMES LONGENBACH Oct. 18, 3:30 p.m. Black Mountain Institute presents James Longenbach, poet, critic, and Joseph Henry Gilmore Professor of English at the University of Rochester, where he teaches courses on American poetry, British and American modernism, James Joyce, Shakespeare, and creative writing. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and The Best American Poetry series. Free. Flamingo Hotel and Casino Conference Center, Mesquite Room, 2nd Floor, blackmountaininstitute.org

REMODERNISM, CONTEMPORANEITY: ARCHITECTURE SINCE SPECTACLE Oct. 18, 5:15 p.m. Klai Juba Lecture Series presents Terry Smith, Andrew Mellon Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory, University of Pittsburgh. Sponsored by Klai Juba Architects. Free. El Dorado Ballroom at the Flamingo, 895-1076

FROM BEST STORES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO DENNY’S ON THE STRIP Oct. 22, 5:30 gallery reception; 6 p.m. auditorium lecture. Klai Juba Lecture Series presents James Wines, president of SITE and Professor of Architecture at Penn State University. Sponsored by Klai Juba Architects. Free. Hosted by the UNLV Downtown Design Center at the Historic Fifth Street School, 895-1076

LAS VEGAS WRITES: WISH YOU WERE HERE Oct. 25, 7 p.m. Inspired by iconic Sin City postcards, eight of Las Vegas’ best writers delve into their imaginations to conceive short stories and essays that cast a fresh eye on the Las Vegas experience. Writers Quentin

Bufogle, Maile Chapman, Maxwell Drake, Lindsey Leavitt, Corey Levitan, Greg Blake Miller, Kristen Peterson, Lissa Townsend Rodgers and editor Scott Dickensheets talk about their work. Free. Main Theater at Clark County Library

NEVADA HUMANITIES SALON – NEVADA VOICES Nov. 3, 5 p.m. reception in the Poetry Courtyard, 6 p.m. salon in the auditorium.

Readings and showings of creative work interwoven with a discussion focusing on connections, place and inspiration sought and shared by these Nevadans: photographer and writer Peter Goin, poets Shaun Griffin and Donald Revell, fiction writers Maile Chapman and Christopher Coake. Moderated by Christina Barr, Executive Director, Nevada Humanities. Free. Historic 5th Street School, vegasvalleybookfestival.org

FAMILY & FESTIVALS DR. FRANKENSTEIN’S ANIMAL ANOMALIES Oct. 1-31, 9 a.m. daily. A special exhibition of this popular temporary exhibit showcasing unusual animals found around the world. A hair-raising tale with mysterious gooey props and ghoulish games! Free for museum members or included with general admission. Las Vegas Natural History Museum, lvnhm.org

GRAPES & HOPS FESTIVAL Oct. 6, 5-9 p.m. Sample fine wines, a unique selection of beers and food from some of Las Vegas’ finest restaurants - while helping to raise money for Par for The Cure, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research. Enjoy Afro-Cuban and salsa music by Rick Arroyo and the Latin Percussion Ensemble, as well as a silent auction.

Admission includes a sampling glass and unlimited wine, beer and food samples for guests 21 and over. $30-$60. Springs Amphitheater at Springs Preserve, parforthecure.com

GLOWRUN Oct. 7, 6 p.m. festivities; 7 p.m. race. Thousands of illuminated and costumed runners will make their way through the Fremont Entertainment District in the unique and irreverent 7k GlowRun, with live music along the raceway.

The finish line will be AfterGlow, a block party featuring live performances, a bar crawl and costume competitions. $55-$65. Fremont East Entertainment District, glowrun.com

DR. ENTOMO’S PALACE OF EXOTIC WONDERS Oct. 8-Jan. 13, 2013; Oct. 7 members-only preview. Freakish, bewildering marvels of

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the insect world are on display in this exhibit resembling an old-fashioned circus sideshow.

Learn about nature’s most curious creatures from Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches to the Giant Sonoran Centipede. Free for members or included with paid general admission. Springs Preserve

the only festival that honors ancestors.

The museum will feature different ancestor festivals from around the world. Free for costumed children ages 3-11 with a paid adult admission. Las Vegas Natural History Museum, lvnhm.org

FUNDRAISERS

HAUNTED HARVEST

2ND ANNUAL “KIDNAPPED FOR A CAUSE”

Oct. 12-14, 19-21, 26-28 and 31, 5-9 p.m. This family-friendly annual event features trick or treat stations, a petting zoo, carnival games and a haunted house, with a safe-street night on Halloween. $5-$8. Springs Preserve

Oct. 5, 3 p.m. “kidnappings”; 5-7 p.m. “releases.”

Local business and community leaders volunteer to be “kidnapped” and taken to a location to call family, friends and co-workers to raise “ransom money,” set at $1,500 per participant.

Proceeds support Southern Nevada Children First’s Life Skills and Transitional Housing program. Hennessey’s Tavern lounge, 425 Fremont St., childrenfirst-nv.org

ELLIS ISLAND’S OKTOBERFEST Oct. 20, 4-10 p.m. Live entertainment by the Squeezebox Hero, pretzel-eating and beer steinholding contests. Specials include: $1,000 in cash drawings; plus $20 for all-you-can-drink Ellis Island microbrews with an authentic German dinner. Free. Ellis Island Casino and Brewery, facebook.com/EllisIslandLV

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM’S SPIRIT FESTIVALS

22ND ANNUAL CHILD ADVOCACY RECOGNITION DINNER Oct. 6. Gary Waddell will be honored as Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Foundation’s Child Advocate of the Year, for his longstanding contributions to the program and the community. $200-$1,800. The Venetian, casafoundationlv.org

Oct. 26, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. All Hallows’ Eve is not

MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP CONCERT Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. College of Southern Nevada’s Department of Fine Arts’ Choral and Instrumental programs present an unforgettable evening of music and song to benefit the Joe Williams Music Scholarship. $5-$8, CSN’s Nicholas J. Horn Theatre, csn.edu/pac

RICK DELLARATTA AND JAZZ FOR PEACE BENEFIT CONCERT Oct. 19, 8 p.m. The Nevada Youth Alliance presents this extraordinary singer, pianist and composer, one of the finest Jazz artists and top musician philanthropists of our time. $48. Troesh Studio Theater at The Smith Center, jazzforpeace.org

18TH ANNUAL NATHAN ADELSON HOSPICE “SERENADES OF LIFE DOCTORS IN CONCERT” Oct. 27, 7 p.m. Featuring Sheena Easton, Chris Mann and Clint Holmes with special introduction by Brad Garret, this event showcases the musical talents of local physicians while raising funds for Nathan Adelson Hospice’s Bonnie Schreck Memorial Complementary Therapies Program. $38-$315.50. Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

Sure, out here “Nightly Entertainment” may be a far stretch from the Glitz and Glamour of The Strip, but that’s exactly the point.

This is a whole other side of Nevada that’s rich in breathtaking scenery such as star gazing into the Tonopah night sky. There’s also plenty of history, wildlife, Sand Dunes, Off-road trails, Ghost towns, Hiking trails, Small Town Diners and Friendly Folks. So drive out and explore. You’ll find there’s a story in every small town—and an adventure around every bend.

Live Entertainment Nightly.

NEVADA RENO Y CARSON CIT

To get your adventure guide, log on to

NevadaSilverTrails.com Alamo Amargosa Valley Ash Meadows Ash Springs

Beatty Caliente Carver / Hadley Death Valley

Delamar Gabbs / Berlin Gold Point Goldfield

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Pahrump Panaca Pioche Rachel

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y

The custom of costume You would expect the cards who populate Las Vegas to put their own spin on Halloween, wouldn’t you? Halloween parties have become an important part of the Strip scene in recent years, but Halloween celebrations have been an attraction for visitors for decades, as this Las Vegas News Bureau photo shows, and a key part of Las Vegas life from the community’s beginnings.

Soon after the town’s founding in 1905, local groups like the Ladies Aid Society and various society leaders hosted annual Halloween parties as a means of bringing the small population (320 according to the unofficial 1906 census) together. The local women’s basketball team held what the

112 | Desert

Companion | OCTOBER 2012

Las Vegas Age proudly proclaimed “the first exclusively young people’s dance ever given in Las Vegas” for Halloween in 1907. October 31 provides another reason to celebrate: It’s statehood day, when Nevada entered the Union. Although it became a state in 1864, Nevadans didn’t celebrate it as a state holiday until 1933. In 2000, the legislature decided that Statehood Day would be the last Friday before October 31, forever changing the lives of those who grew up in Nevada thinking that in honor of joining the Union, we got to dress in costumes and go door-to-door in search of candy. After all, the state famous for legal gambling should feature a costume made of cards: We’re the trick or treat for the nation. — Michael Green

h a l l o w e e n p h oto at t h e s a h a r a : C o u r t e s y L a s V e g a s C o n v e n t i o n a n d V i s i to r s A u t h o r i t y

history lesson

L I M I T E D T I M E O N LY 2 0 12 R A N G E R O V E R H S E

$999

PER MONTH PLUS TAX

THE LUXURY THAT’S MORE THAN A LUXURY The Range Rover is, quite simply, the ultimate luxury all-terrain vehicle. It stands alone as the recognized leader, at the highest echelon of sport-utility vehicles. It stands enhanced, further extending its prestige with upgrades to the famous exterior for a sharper, more purposeful look.

Nothing else measures up to its finely crafted interior, its world-renowned capabilities or its instant cachet. Powerful, innovative, accomplished and supremely comfortable, the Range Rover truly is peerless. To experience it for yourself, visit Land Rover Las Vegas for a test drive today. $7,995 cash down plus doc. & fees. Plus early lease termination rebate of $3,500. 36 month term.

10,000 miles per year. Based on approved credit. MSRP $82,675. While supplies last. Offer ends 9/30/12.

Land Rover Las Vegas • 5255 West Sahara Avenue • LRLV.com • 579 .0400

Delivering the highest quality healthcare in Summerlin is our passion …

… and it has been for 15 years.

From our youngest residents to our oldest, Summerlin Hospital takes care of you with a range of specialty services:

« Advanced Emergency Services « Breast Care Center « Certified Primary Stroke Center « Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) « Rehabilitation Program « Robotic Surgery Institute « The Children’s Medical Center « The Heart Institute « Nationally Accredited Chest Pain Center « Wound Care/Hyperbarics Program

Join us as we celebrate 15 years of serving Summerlin.

Stop by and tour our facility.

Learn more about all of our services at

www.SummerlinHospital.com

Thank you for supporting us through the years.

657 Town Center Drive • Las Vegas, NV 89144 Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Summerlin Hospital Medical Center. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians.