To land a high-profile job at a Steve Wynn property suggests you're smarter than the average bear. And Patricia Richards proved that every day as a show-stopping mixologist at Parasol Up, one of numerous restaurants at Wynn Las Vegas. But these days Richards is breathing rarified air because of her recent appointment to oversee the cocktail creation process at all Wynn Las Vegas food and beverage outlets and the soon-to-open luxury resort, Encore, next door. She is the first woman in Las Vegas to hold a position of this kind.

A native of Vancouver, Canada, Richards began her career as a cook, but longed to interact with guests, so she moved to the front of the house as a bartender. She landed gigs at MGM Grand's Fiamma Trattoria and Caesars' BOA Steakhouse before joining Wynn Las Vegas when it opened three years ago. Because of her talent for creatng exciting new cocktails, Cheers magazine named her a 2008 Rising Star.