Thursday, April 12, 2007 | 7:30 a.m.
The scene was typical except that it wasn't: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, at arm's distance from a martini placed on a bar, surrounded by ... hardly anyone.
The mayor stopped in for a spell at the one-year anniversary party at one of the city's hidden gems, Origin India at Harmon Avenue and Paradise Road, where the restaurant shares a strip mall with such businesses as a CVS Pharmacy and Leonard's Wide Shoes. For a few minutes the mayor found himself in an odd spot, unoccupied by well-wishers, so he had time for a few nuggets about his recent reelection.
"I have never run a race I couldn't win," he said. "My first campaign, I ran against my record as a mob lawyer (he also ran against an opponent, Arnie Adamsen, whom he trounced 64 percent to 36 percent). The second campaign, I ran on my record. This time ... I don't even know who my opponents were."
Goodman also laughed about something his wife, Carolyn Goodman, recently told him: "Only fish who open their mouths get caught." But the mayor remained characteristically freewheeling while toasting Origin India's anniversary. Speaking into a microphone, Goodman noted that the restaurant is actually in unincorporated Clark County. To see Las Vegas, he said, you need to go to Paradise Road and Sahara Avenue, where you will see a billboard featuring a woman offering to come to your room.
"I don't know what she does when she gets to your room," Goodman said, "but that is my Las Vegas."
NoteMart
More from the mayor: Since Goodman has been hoops-centric the past several months while trying to turn Las Vegas into an NBA city, I asked for his favorite basketball book and movie. The book: "A Season on the Brink" by John Feinstein. The film: "Hoop Dreams." ...
Two ... and counting: The Worst Person in the World Award that MSNBC "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann bestowed on Gov. Jim Gibbons this week marks the second time Gibbons has received the honor. Olbermann named Gibbons the Worst Person on Oct. 24 as the Chrissy Mazzeo incident blossomed into a national story ...
Prince is leaving the Rio at the end of the month, which also means that his signature restaurant, 3121 Jazz Cuisine, has run its course(s). The restaurant has ceased regular hours of operation , and the weekend late-night jam sessions frequently hosted by Prince (who must sleep about two hours a night on the weekends) have moved into the 3121 Nightclub. One reported rumor has the restaurant that formerly occupied that spot, Fiore, reopening, but on Wednesday a Rio spokeswoman said Fiore is not returning and no plans have been set for that spot ...
Tom Selleck is reportedly in discussions to take over the role of the Montecito resort owner vacated by James Caan in NBC's "Las Vegas." Real-lifers who could easily assume that role (in alphabetical order): Palms owner George Maloof, Flamingo President Don Marrandino, Luxor President Felix Rappaport and Steve Wynn ...
A new restaurant is sprouting at The Park strip mall at 3900 Paradise Road (that's where Firefly, among other notable ethnic restaurants, is located). The new place is creatively called the Park Restaurant, and the sign out front says, "Opening Soon." It must be real soon, because the restaurant's Web site reports it is to open in March 2007. The location is whence Sammy's Woodfired Pizza vacated two years ago to open a new restaurant in Centennial Hills. That joint opens June 14 ...
News flash from Pole-Land: The Fremont Street gentlemen's club Glitter Gulch has reopened after a brief hiatus. Earlier this year the club underwent a $3.5 million renovation, quite a sum for a relatively intimate 6,500-square-foot space ...
One way to look at David Hasselhoff's departure from "The Producers" (his last performance is May 6) is to remember that he originally signed a three-month deal and has simply fulfilled that obligation. Another way is to note that his reason for leaving - to participate in a TV show, in this case "America's Got Talent" - sounds a lot like the reason given by Reba McEntire for leaving the Las Vegas Hilton a few months ago, amid chatter that her ticket sales were soft ...
Transportation transmission: The crush of travelers at McCarran International Airport has forced security personnel to stretch out retractable chain barricades (which recoil like an automatic tape measure) to keep pedestrians from stepping into traffic from the terminal to the parking garage. The method of simply playing traffic cop has evidently failed to stem the tide of folks eager to get home or get into Dodge ...
Sound advice: Someone who says she is a "loyal fan" and who is not my mom turns in the vanity plate DONTDUI on a dark blue Lexus.
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