By Christina Almeida
The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS - "Vegas is an attitude, a hormone," says Michael Carr, a former president of Playboy's publishing division. "It's a level of energy, mystique, sensuality that lives in a person's heart no matter where they are."

So Carr, now vice president of business development for Greenspun Media Group, has teamed up with the publisher of the hip Miami magazine Ocean Drive to create a glossy magazine called Vegas. It hits newsstands this month in seven major U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.

You won't find hard-hitting journalism in Vegas the magazine, but you will get an occasionally naughty peek at the beautiful people.

The 196-page inaugural edition features supermodel Heidi Klum wearing Versace on the cover.

Part New York magazine and a sexy slice of Maxim, the magazine is a joint venture by the Greenspun Media Group.

It's aimed at "people who have either made it or (are) on their way to making it," said Jerry Powers, publisher of Ocean Drive. "We want to cover the Leonardo DiCaprios who go there on the weekend."

The magazine's launch comes at a time when the Strip is shedding its buffet, family-friendly image and opting for a reputation as a sexy playground to the stars.

Among the features: "Celebs Who Play Here." Other stories focus on Vegas hotspots. In the premiere edition, articles chronicle the lives of George Maloof, who along with his family owns the ultrahip Palms hotel and casino and the Sacramento Kings basketball team, and Donna Baldwin, the socialite wife of Bobby Baldwin, chief executive officer of Mirage Resorts.

The magazine exudes sex appeal with a photo essay of models in provocative lingerie and a racy feature on the women of a topless revue at the Aladdin hotel-casino.

But one industry analyst says the target audience might be too small. "It's a niche, of a niche, of a niche," said Candace Corlett of WSL Strategic Retail, a New York market research firm. "It doesn't have the gambling interest. It's just about the lifestyle in Vegas, the lifestyle in Vegas for the very wealthy."

Powers and Carr aren't worried. The magazine is in the black and has sold out all of its advertising space, more than $600,000, for the first edition, they said.