Thursday, June 26, 2003 | 9:02 a.m.
TIME OUT for a commercial announcement.
It is not generally my style to devote a column to back patting, but in this case I will make an exception. First, it is not my back and second, I am excited about the subject matter enough to share these good feelings with Las Vegans -- people who, I believe, will understand the source of such pride.
Tonight at the Palms Hotel, VEGAS Magazine will make its debut. In what promises to be the launch party of the year -- the invitation list is enviously long -- the newest of the edgy lifestyle publications will take its place amongst the best in the country. What is especially gratifying is that all this is happening at a time when Las Vegas can use the public relations boost and the people who live and work in our major industry could use a shot in the arm.
I know that newspaper people aren't supposed to like the magazine folks, who aren't supposed to get along with their television counterparts or, heaven forbid, their colleagues on the radio. That is not the case here, although I do exhibit a healthy lack of respect for the folks down the street at the other newspaper.
The reason I think the entire city will welcome VEGAS is because Las Vegas needs the boost that will come from a homegrown publication that is devoted to exposing our town to those whose dreams and aspirations coincide with the promise that Las Vegas holds for our visitors. Competition abounds and the ability to set ourselves apart from the rest will determine the level of success in the coming years.
So much for the business proposition of the magazine. The real story is that VEGAS is fun to read. It isn't for everyone -- there are probably a few pages I will have to edit before my mother sees it -- but it is for people who appreciate living somewhere near the edge of a fast-moving society. That's where Las Vegas has positioned itself and that is where VEGAS Magazine takes us.
This thing didn't happen overnight. It was a conversation almost three years ago with a friend at the MGM who suggested that the one thing Las Vegas needed was an upscale, uptown magazine that would be available not only here but throughout the nation and, perhaps, around the world. He was preaching to the choir.
Discussions with brother Danny and our own Jim McGlasson led to some "out of the box" thinking about how to make such a thing happen and with whom, if anyone, to do it. That's where a little luck came into the picture. It brought my friend, Bernie Yuman, with it.
A friend of a friend introduced me to some people who were publishing the kind of magazine we envisioned on the East Coast. That led us to the idea of a partnership that could bring the best of two very different worlds together. We knew the Vegas market. We needed someone who was comfortable in the big outside world. Re-enter Bernie who, with a gentle nudge toward his friend Jerry Powers, the publisher of the incredibly successful Ocean Drive magazine, moved us closer toward a deal that could actually make VEGAS happen.
I was still missing a key ingredient, which landed in Danny's lap in the form of Michael Carr, the former president of Playboy magazine, who had just decided that the good life in Las Vegas beat the fast life in New York City, all those fabulous Playboy bunnies notwithstanding. The pieces fell or, more precisely, were pushed into place and the result is the premiere edition of VEGAS Magazine, complete with a cover covered by the very beautiful Heidi Klum.
I know I am making all this seem kind of easy but the truth is that an undertaking like this takes a lot of hard work and a lot of luck. It also takes a great deal of faith in our efforts on the part of our many good and loyal advertisers and friends. To them, I say that I hope their faith has been justified and I thank them for their support. To those of you who will pick up a copy of VEGAS, I hope you like it and, if you do, let us and our advertisers know. That's how we get to the second, third and fourth editions on our way to another Las Vegas success story.
If you have read this far you should understand my personal gratitude toward our new partners and our old friends and colleagues. When my father came to Las Vegas in 1946, he started his career by taking a chance on a new magazine called Las Vegas Life. We have resurrected that title and now publish it as Las Vegas' pre-eminent city magazine. If he were here today, I am confident Hank Greenspun would look at Danny's efforts, my luck and the results of the work of some very talented people and he would say, "Well done."
He would also say, "Welcome to Vegas." I can't say it any better."
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