Melvin D. Close Jr.

Melvin D. Close Jr. was a longtime Las Vegas attorney and a prominent figure in Nevada legal and public life. Born April 24, 1934, in Provo, Utah, he attended Brigham Young University, served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and earned his law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law. He was admitted to the Nevada bar on October 23, 1961, and returned to Las Vegas to build his career in the law.

Close established a law practice in Las Vegas and spent time with the U.S. Attorney General's office, where he formed lifelong friendships with contemporaries including Jim Bilbray, Harry Reid, and Paul Carelli. He later went into private practice with partners Bilbray and Kaufman, and the firm eventually grew into Jones, Jones, Bell, LeBaron, Close, Bilbray & Kaufman, which became Jones Vargas - one of Nevada's well-known law firms.

Alongside his legal work, Close devoted eighteen years to the Nevada Legislature. He served as Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and as Speaker of the Assembly, and later chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Gaming Committee while serving as President Pro Tempore of the Senate. He was inducted into the Nevada Senate Hall of Fame in 1995 and later chaired the Nevada State Environmental Commission. He died in Las Vegas on June 8, 2023, at the age of 89.