Goodman loses LV promotion contract
Agency cites shutdown in cancellation
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority canceled the contract for former Mayor Oscar Goodman to serve as the tourism agency’s chief ambassador amid the coronavirus threat.
Goodman, 80, who chaired the public agency’s host committee for nearly a decade, was known for greeting visitors with a martini in hand and a showgirl on each arm at tourism events.
He is a past LVCVA board chairman, and his wife, Mayor Carolyn Goodman, is a current authority board member.
“Due to impact of COVID-19 and its closure of the destination, we sadly canceled Mayor Oscar Goodman’s consulting agreement as our host committee chairman,” LVCVA spokeswoman Lori Nelson-kraft said in a statement Monday.
“We greatly appreciate and value his enormous contributions over the past decade to welcome and thank our visitors and honor our hospitality workforce through the LVCVA’S Hospitality Heroes program. Mayor Goodman has always been and will continue to be the biggest cheerleader for Las Vegas, and we adore his enthusiasm and pride for our destination.”
Goodman, a former three-term mayor and high-profile mob lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Review-journal has previously reported that former convention authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter raised Goodman’s salary without board approval from $60,000 to $72,000 in 2015. Ralenkotter at the time had authorization from the board to approve contracts under $100,000.
The newspaper also previously reported that LVCVA security