Mayor watches his plate go at auction

Heather Rawlyk

Thursday, May 13, 2004 | 8:40 a.m.

Just minutes after the closing of the first of a two-day ethics hearing Wednesday night, Mayor Oscar Goodman was on a mission: to get his hands on Las Vegas Centennial license plate LV001.

Auctioneer Guy Deiro started the bidding, which escalated to $2,000 in the blink of an eye. With his hand clinching his heart, Goodman gave up bidding and made his way to the Third Street stage at the Fremont Street Experience to take over as auctioneer.

"I hope those of you bidding will bid $1 million," Goodman said. "Anyone bid less than that and I'll have you whacked."

License plate LV001 was the last to be bid on -- and the most desired -- at the Centennial License Plate Auction, where license plates LV001 through LV100 were available through silent and live auction to benefit the celebration of Las Vegas' 100th birthday throughout 2005.

In less than one minute, the bidding for plate LV001 skyrocketed to $12,000. The winning bidder, former Las Vegas Motor Speedway President Richie Clyne, clapped and shook hands with the mayor, whom Clyne said he's known for 20 years.

When asked if Clyne would hand the license plate over to Goodman, he laughed and said, "Well, he has to call me and ask me about that."

Clyne said the city has been good to him, and it's time to return the favor.

"I've made a few bucks here, so I'm going to spend a few bucks here," he said. "That's the way it works. It's a great city."

License plate LV001 wasn't the only item to bring in big bucks. Plates LV002 and LV003 closed at $1,300 apiece, going to Madison Graves of the prominent longtime Las Vegas legal family.

"I have one of the original Nevada license plates from the 1950s -- C-29," Graves said. "I thought these would make a great addition to that. I was born here in Las Vegas and I have pride in the city, and I had to have these (license plates)."

Las Vegas ONE General Manager Bob Stoldal had his eyes on plate LV008, but lost the bid to Jeff Rom for $1,000.

"I came here to get plate LV100, but with the momentum going on, I figured I'd better start bidding," Rom said. "Eight has always been a lucky number for me, and I didn't want to go over $1,000. This worked out perfect."

The live auction of plates LV001 through LV010 and plate LV100 brought in a total of $20,775. The remaining 89 license plates were bid on through silent auction.

Souvenir replica plates of LV100 and plates with the word "VIVA" were sold at $15 apiece to anyone interested.

Money raised through the auction will be added to the $600,000 previously raised through the sales of more than 24,000 Las Vegas Centennial license plates and renewal fees, and will be used to fund the more than 400 events planned for the yearlong Centennial celebration, said spokeswoman Nancy Katz.

"I'm so excited about this auction, not only to bring in money, but to most importantly raise the awareness of the Centennial to everyone in this city," Katz said. "My goal was to make $10,000, so I'm very pleased."