Current issues of two national magazines, Radar and National Geographic Adventure, crown Vegas a nationwide leader—for Radar, it’s in nightlife; for Adventure, it’s in outdoor living. Here's the breakdown:
The article
Radar: “Strip Mining,” a look at “the new nightlife capital of the world.”
Adventure: “The Vegas Draw,” a look at the new No. 1 outdoor city in America. “(Seriously.)”
The tone
Radar: Snarky to begin with; author Tricia Romano opens with a scene at Tao Beach, managing to make sun, booze, topless women and the arrival of Kanye West sound lame. Eventually she settles into a more even tone as she describes the city’s rise as a nightclub destination.
Adventure: Writer Dan Koeppel is curious and open-minded about the possibly ridiculous notion that this city might be an outdoor mecca.
What locals learn
Radar: If you’ve been paying attention, nothing new.
Adventure: For those who’ve been heat-sealed into their air-conditioned homes, cars and offices, the magazine reminds you that there’s a big, active world out there. Best find: If you didn’t know about the China Ranch date farm, now you do. Also, it turns out there’s a town called Blue Diamond next to Red Rock Canyon. It has a bike shop.
Risible sentence
Radar: “But in Vegas, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before a woman morphs into a stripper with fake hair, fake breasts and overtanned, possibly cancerous skin, her life’s aspirations whittled down to two: landing a gig in Pure’s Pussycat Dolls lounge or nabbing a sugar daddy. ‘It’s popular here,’ she muses, ‘marrying old.’” (The “she” being quoted is a three-month resident of Las Vegas.)
Adventure: “... while it has nearly doubled in size since 1990, it is doing better than most cities at managing growth.”
Grade
Radar: C (for cliché)
Adventure: B+ (for imagination).