A good Hunter S. Thompson story is usually entertaining, including when it involves the Gonzo journalist passing off a hilarious piece of narcissism as a job application or consuming vast quantities of cocaine for breakfast. But a Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas "X years later" article? That could be boring. Luckily, The Daily's Zach Baron addresses the rehash problem of the idea in the first part of his recreation of Thompson's Vegas trip:

You don’t expect him to say yes. Pitching stories on the American Dream is what writers do when their hearts are empty, their minds blank. It is the equivalent of stalling for more time, throwing a Hail Mary down eight with time expiring, a way to mark your commitment and plucky optimism before admitting defeat and moving on to something with an actual chance of success.

A few sentences later, his editor "says yes." (Baron must have read this memo prior to pitching the iPad newspaper.) And off we go on an entertaining ride through Vegas in a "cherry red subcompact Chevy Aveo" with the writer, a female companion named Fleur, and a stop at the Primm Nevada's Midnight Special to talk to a few locals, of which "[n]one of them had heard of the publication for which I was ostensibly covering their race." The full piece is here. The conclusion will be published tomorrow.

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Erik Hayden