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Thursday, May 20, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Sun Coverage
Mr. Sun,
Who pays for the showgirls who accompany the mayor to events?
— Karla Nolan
•••
The showgirls are just one more indication that Mayor Oscar Goodman may enjoy politics, but his genius is in marketing.
Along with the oversized martini glass, the Bombay Sapphire gin endorsement contract, the mob lawyer past and quick-draw quips, Goodman knows how to draw attention to himself — and sometimes even the city he governs.
It’s fitting then that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority — the public entity that promotes this sun-drenched adult playground to the world — picks up the tab for his feathered friends. Goodman is chairman of the LVCVA board.
Each showgirl typically costs $200 for the first two hours, and $50 each additional hour, according to the authority, which is funded by hotel-room taxes.
“They refresh me,” Goodman once said of his wingwomen. “We celebrate our history here, and they’re part of it.”
Some may question whether this caricature is the best face for the city to put forward, whether it draws the right kind of attention. But those people don’t work for the LVCVA.
“We believe the use of showgirls is a good business investment, generating publicity for the destination, and ultimately, helping generate visitation to Las Vegas,” LVCVA spokesman Vince Alberta said via e-mail.
Questions for Mr. Sun can be sent to page8@lasvegassun.com.
the only thing good this guy does is advertising vegas, to bad a mayor has other responsibilites. know oscar loves vegas, but the over building of the strip should never have taken place. i'll give him kudos for his love of vegas.
Nice abs on them girls ;-)
The strip is not in Las Vegas.
Goodman has no control over the building on the the strip because it sits on county land, not city land.
I think the showgirls who accompany the mayor are a great advertisement for Las Vegas. Kudos to Mayor for having the courage to promote Las Vegas as well as he does. As far as MarkofT is concerned, The Strip is the economic engine of Las Vegas, with out it; there would be little more than a dusty truck stop here.
Keep up the good work Oscar, well done.
nice perks, or perkies, as they are known
The showgirls (all be it almost extinct) are lovely. Everyone always likes to be around beautiful women, they're eye (arm) candy. I think their cost is cheap compared to what they bring to the photo op. The mayor is happily married to a lovely lady. I'm sure his wife 40 years ago could have been a showgirl!
"We celebrate our history here, and they're part of it."
That's a contradictory statement... But I guess if we're going to celebrate history, the image showgirls are nicer than say old whores from Block 16, or maybe even an actor to represent Yonema "Bill" Tomiyasu to remind everyone in Green Valley that their homes are built on former farm land that fed Hoover Dam workers, and was swindled away from him.
Talk about showgirls and the Mob, suddenly everyone is a historian because they've seen a movie. Mention Octavius Decatur Gass or other historical figures, let alone people who streets around here are named after, and people just give you out blank stares...
Show girls are from the geezer demographic - we need a new image - put these people out to pasture
gosh, I wish he would keep the new face. The old one is..... well, let him keep this one.
Oscar and The show girls are a great advertizing gimic
Upgrade to Go-Go's with hooker boots
This is Las Vegas
Showgirls are a part of Vegas and always will be.
Eat my heart out.
LOL Oscar.
Oscar someday will have to answer for his one time defending and getting off mob killers and criminals in court, but he's done a good job as Mayor of Las Vegas. The girls are real nice looking!!
Albeit.
Great perky perks!
Booze & Showgirls.
Old school Oscar.
Cantankerous ol' cuss.
Wonder if the gals are on the budget chopping block... nah.
this is the FIRST time i have ever agreed with mred.
the showgirls thing is just so worn out and cheesy.
let it go.
it would be like the mayor of tokyo doing photo ops with 2 geisha girls next to him.
stevem and Vegas locals
What would your (idea,logo) be for Las Vegas.
Even this old feminist believes that: 1) This is historically appropriate for a town like Las Vegas (even tho, yes, it is a bit cheesy) 2) These showgirls are not skanks. They have an asset that they can use to make a good living. Much like how I use my college degrees to make a living 3) I agree that the winky-moon face is a marked improvement.
Stevem, I agree with you that the showgirls are cheesy. But then again, so are all of the Elvis clones you see in the tourist areas, so are the singing dealers at the I.P., so are the "legends" shows, so is the Liberace Museum, So is a lot of the carpeting at the older "resorts",But you gotta agree, they are all are part of the Las Vegas experience. I kind of enjoy all of that "history" (well, maybe not the carpeting if it's worn or dirty).
Give the Mayor his prop's. This guy does whatever it takes to promote this city. Love him or hate him he's by far the most celebrated Mayor in the country.
His wife does.
I assumed the girls did it for free -- just the thrill they receive standing next to the mayor should be payment enough.
Oscar wants to cut pay for everybody and then runs around wasting $200 a girl, what a loser!!!
Want to make Las Vegas boom? Loosen up the restrictions on prostitution, marijuana, and sex in the clubs.
Gambling brought prosperity to LV after the depression hit, and these things would lift us out of this depression.
Good Job Oscar, Vegas ROCKS!!!
Probably the same people who pay for Oscar's personal driver.
To my knowledge there are no showgirls performing in venues within the city of Las Vegas. Real showgirls who perform on the Strip work in unincorporated Clark County.
I view Oscar as a classic part of Vegas, and am very fond of him in his role. However, to those who say we need a different image, what would you recommend? What sort of persona do you think would be ideal?
Showgirls are synonymous with Vegas. Why would you want to get rid of them? It's like Time Square in NY, the Hollywood sign and the Sears Tower. These things ARE the cities the represent.
I think this is the suns way of degrading goodman. It would be good to compare costs that Jan Jones ran up compared to Goodmans. I would be willing to bet Goodman is a cheap date in comparison.
I think the showgirls and Oscar are great and great for Vegas!
Goodman a Genius? Only an idiot would want that genius representing and making descions for their city. Michael Bloomberg he is not.
they should have a foreclosure sign follow him around.
Do these girls resemble the Playmate of the Month Club Bunnies who hang onto the arms of an old man to keep him from falling down the stairs or from tripping over his ever present bathrobe scenes.
And the girls that are with the Las Vegas Mayor are not the salt bags that are seen hanging round the portals of the MGM plasterboard photobackground. Copa girls were to stand in line for for the honor of being a Copa girl, rich and poor a like were paid very little to be Copa girls, so where is the complaint about the Mayor of Las Vegas, who has always been featured with 'showgirls'. In the least sense of the word, he does not have a pink light bulb hanging over his head.
When are they gonna post a new Question and Answer?