People familiar with Vegas for jsut a few years should remember the Maxim. It was a small hotel and casino a few blocks uo Flamingo Road from the MGM Grand (the original) that borrowed much of the MGM’s mirrors and chrome 1970s design. It was never that successful, and was completely gutted before being reincarnated as the Westin Casuarina.

The Maxim name and its uber-disco style didn’t cut it in 21st century Las Vegas, but developers are hoping that a casino with the same name will draw demographically-desirable young men with money to burn like scantily-clad celeb centerfolds. From the NY Times:

Maxim, the raucous men’s magazine, has never been shy about putting its name out there. But nothing compares to its latest brand extension, which will affix the Maxim name to a new hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Maxim’s parent company, Dennis Publishing, is expected to announce today that it has signed a deal with a real estate developer, Concord Wilshire Partners, to build the Maxim Hotel and Casino, a $1.2 billion destination hotel with 2,300 rooms and a 60,000-square-foot casino that is to open in 2010.

All the accouterments of any self-respecting new hotel on the Strip will be on hand: a luxury spa, high-end retailers, celebrity chefs, lots of conference space. Then, the connections with Dennis Publishing will be added. Maxim Lounge, a collaboration with the nightlife impresarios Rande and Scott Gerber, will have an outpost in the hotel. And the company’s music magazine, Blender, will get top billing on the outdoor and indoor concert spaces.

A Lad Mag and a Brand in Las Vegas – New York Times

I’m a little disappointed that the original Maxim doesn’t rate a mention here, but writer Lorne Manly still gets props for using the phrase “the increasingly crowded den of upscale, sanitized iniquity that is Las Vegas.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The Las Vegas Marathon isn’t until December 10, but you can start training for it today by joining the Roadrunners Training Program.

Actually, you could have started yesterday at 6 AM, when training officially kicked off with a 3-mile run. By December 10, doing 26.2 miles will seem like a piece of cake.

Well, it might not be that easy, but at least it’ll be doable. I joined up with the Roadrunners in August and finished in 3:52, so anything is possible.

This year, I’ve volunteered to be a pace leader, which basically consists of running at a set pace and keeping the group motivated and running. If you want to run the marathon in a respectable 4:30, come down to the parking lot at Stephanie and American Pacific at 6 AM sharp next Sunday, and you can join me. For that matter, if you want to run faster or slower, there are pace groups for just about every speed, from 3 hours to walkers.

If you don’t want to run, consider volunteering on race day. It’s nice to have an event in Las Vegas that promotes good health (let’s face it, people generally don’t come here to increase their fitness, stop smoking, or lower their blood cholesterol), and it takes thousands of volunteers to make it a success.

You can read a press release here: Las Vegas Marathon: Las Vegas Roadrunners, Training Program For The New Las Vegas Marathon And Half Marathon, To Begin June 4.