\uFEFFMARK WAITE / PVTJan Jensen, at left, talks to personal friend Janet Nolder, on opening night while the crowd dances to the Rocky Creek Band in the background. \uFEFFMARK WAITE / PVTBartender Heather Roy, front, waits on customers at The Maverick, a saloon, dance hall and restaurant, during the soft opening. \uFEFFMARK WAITE / PVTBartender Heather Roy, front, waits on customers at The Maverick, a saloon, dance hall and restaurant, during the soft opening. Advertisement

Jan Jensen, who founded the StageStop Casino and ran the business for 12 years, found out on Tuesday of last week she would be able to open The Maverick two days later.

There wasn't time to advertise it, only put up a banner in front of the establishment on Mesquite Avenue. But the news had already been traveling all over town about the new club and Jensen's reputation preceded her. She had a packed house for the so-called "soft opening" May 29.

The manufactured building didn't look like much during the building process. But inside it's richly decorated with wood, brass rails and western fixtures.

Jensen said she went to auctions at Nevada Landing and The Frontier casino to buy accessories for the interior.

"Then I designed it the way I wanted it. I had my cabinet maker put it together. Then I would just use my imagination, like with the mirrors," Jensen said.

The Rocky Creek Band was the opening act, with two girls playing fiddles and adding some nice depth. Jensen said Jack Reeves will take the stage June 13-14, a well-known musician who played at the StageStop when it first opened in 1990. Reeves will have two teenage children playing bass guitar and lead guitar, Jensen said.

It didn't take much to convince Jensen to take another stab at running a nightclub after selling the StageStop.

"I just love dancing and my brother moved here now," Jensen said. "I just had a brain storm when I saw this building and decided I was going to do it again."

Walter's Cajun Barbecue found a home for its restaurant in the front, after serving customers at the Las Vegas Farmer's Market for the past nine years as a catering service. The owners, who come from southern Louisiana, have a sauce with a special family recipe dating back to 1952.

Jensen will be trying a new concept for Pahrump: charging a $5 cover charge on Friday and Saturday nights to hear the band.

"If you go anywhere in Las Vegas or California, you know you have to contribute. These guys will not work for nothing. You can't afford it. There's no money in music, if you want that live entertainment," Jensen said.

She recalled going to the Cowboy Club in Anaheim, Calif. back in the 1960s and '70s, paying $7.50 at the door seven nights per week.

A couple other western amenities include the mechanical bull in one corner, where operator Sean Musselman said, "I can either make you look good or look bad" depending on how fast the riders want to go. Each rider signs a release before mounting.

Then there's the "saddle shots," where a patron sits on a saddle and is served a shot upside down by one of the pretty waitresses dressed in sexy cowgirl attire.

Jensen plans to have live music from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., on Friday and Saturday nights, then bring in the disc jockey from 11 p.m. until closing time at 3 a.m. A jam session is planned on Sunday nights, just like at the StageStop.

"I want to appeal to all ages and that's important, where everyone can have a good time," she said.

Jensen sold the StageStop four years ago to Best Bet Gaming, operated by Shawn Holmes and Lou Sposato. She thinks that establishment will do just fine as a neighborhood casino, grand fathered into the existing gaming regulations. The StageStop is a short distance away on Stagecoach Road just off Blagg.