Drug maker Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, led by Chief Executive Officer Eugene Boyle, seen here Tuesday, has applied for a trademark for the phrase, "What happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas." Photos by Jane Kalinowsky. Samaritan Pharmaceuticals is just one company that wants to trademark a variation of the catchphrase "What happens here, stays here" made famous by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's "Vegas Stories" advertising campaign.

A local drug company's push to promote AIDS medication using the phrase "What happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas" encountered serious resistance Tuesday from local leaders.

But an executive with Samaritan Pharmaceuticals insists his company won't sully its hometown's reputation by implying visitors will leave here with more than their luggage and a few souvenirs.

The controversy began at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority monthly board meeting.

Legal counsel Luke Puschnig, who routinely updates the 14-member board on potential threats to authority trademarks, said Samaritan recently filed two federal trademark applications.

The company hopes to register its own "What happens in Vegas ..." phrase, which is noticeably similar to the authority's popular "What happens here, stays here" slogan.

Because Samaritan's products are associated with AIDS, authority leaders worried that such similar slogans could imply that visitors who indulge in sexual activities here will be infected with a deadly disease.

"Their message really is, 'If you come to Las Vegas, you're going to get sick,'" authority President Rossi Ralenkotter said of Samaritan.

Not so, countered Samaritan Chief Financial Officer Eugene Boyle.

He said the trademark applications would promote the city's unheralded biotech industry by highlighting that potentially life-saving drugs were developed in a place known largely for its casinos.

"We're not trying to pick a fight with the Las Vegas convention authority," said Boyle, a 15-year resident. "We love Vegas."

In addition to AIDS medication, Samaritan works with researchers at Georgetown University to develop drugs to treat patients suffering from cancer, cardiovascular and Alzheimer's disease.

Boyle disputes claims that Samaritan's phrase would affect the city's branding effort, which he said is "in a different class" than his company's intended ad placement in biomedical trade magazines.

"I doubt anybody in Vegas reads any of the journals that I read," Boyle said. "If (authority leaders) really were objecting to it, we'll work something out."

Samaritan's second trademark application was filed to promote an as-yet unformed Nevada biotech association, Boyle said.

That group, Boyle hopes, would include the Nevada Cancer Institute as well as the proposed Ruvo Alzheimer's Institute and Harry Reid UNLV Research and Technology Park.

"When we go to meet with different, major pharmaceutical companies, they're shocked that there's a company in Las Vegas doing research and development," Boyle said. "We have to change that, so that's where this came up."

News of the applications generated mixed opinions among board members.

MGM Mirage executive Chuck Bowling said Samaritan's intended use is minor and may not be worth a court battle.

In addition, trade shows visiting the city often reference Las Vegas' ad campaign when theming their events, a step Bowling believes strengthens local branding efforts.

But Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown termed Samaritan's plan "offensive and derogatory," adding it would cast Las Vegas "in a whole different light" among would-be visitors.

Boyd Gaming Corp. President Keith Smith and Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates also worried that Samaritan could promote its trademark nationally should its initial effort go unopposed.

"It may be a small company today, but it could be larger tomorrow," Atkinson Gates said. "It's not like they're talking about any other state. They are singling out Nevada; they are singling out Las Vegas."

Samaritan was formed in September 1994 and became a public company in October 1997. It employs 10 people locally at its headquarters on Convention Center Drive, just up the road from the authority's offices at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Because its drugs are still in the research and development phases, Samaritan lost $28.2 million from 1994 through 2004, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. Last year's annual report has not been filed.

Samaritan shares closed trading Tuesday on the American Stock Exchange at 51 cents up 12 cents or nearly 31 percent. Volume was about 2.7 million shares.

Samaritan's desire to capitalize on this city's successful slogan isn't unique although it illustrates a larger problem facing authority leaders.

"What happens here, stays here" has become a pop-culture phenomenon, its every utterance indirectly promoting the Las Vegas travel industry. However, that popularity also created numerous imitators who could diluted the city's branding efforts through overuse.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office database lists more than 40 live trademark applications for phrases that include the words, "what happens in."

Some are vulgar ("What happens in Vegas ain't shit"), others overtly commercial ("What happens in Vegas, happens at Cheetah's"). Regardless of their flavor, leaders here worry whether such outside uses could harm the authority's $75 million "Vegas Stories" ad campaign now in its fourth year.

Puschnig also informed the board Tuesday of Bighorn Shirt Works, a St. Hardin, Mont.-based T-shirt maker with numerous applications to trademark phrases such as "What happens in Yellowstone, stays in Yellowstone" and "What happens in California, stays in California."

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson said those uses may be more egregious than that of Dorothy Tovar, a California businesswoman whose clothing products with the phrase "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" sparked a costly legal dispute awaiting trial in U.S. District Court in Reno.

R&R Partners, the Las Vegas ad agency that created the "What happens here, stays here" campaign, is a co-plaintiff in the Tovar case.

Tovar's use, Gibson reasoned, is less harmful because her T-shirts and underwear mention this city whereas Bighorn Shirt Works' products promote other destinations at the expense of Las Vegas' well-known catchphrase.

To ensure that the "What happens here, stays here" campaign remains effective into the future, Gibson said, "At some point we have to draw the line."

Board members directed Puschnig to reach out to Samaritan and Bighorn Shirt Works to collect more information on their plans related to the trademark applications.

Following that report, which will likely come during the Aug. 8 board meeting, authority leaders will decide whether to formally oppose the applications and, if so, pursue legal action against the companies.