LVCVA cancels ambassador contract for Oscar Goodman

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has 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 immediately 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 officers were taken away from their convention center duties about 260 times between 2013 and May 2017 to drive Goodman to events.

Records showed that Goodman received more than 100 rides to hotel-casino. There also were trips to the Mob Museum, Nellis Air Force Base, T-Mobile Arena, television stations, restaurants, a golf course and even the local filming of a movie. Nearly three dozen of the security pickups began and ended at his home.

The LVCVA said the rides were necessary for safety reasons and to fulfill the requirements of his tourism job.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Las Vegas Sands Corp. operates the Sands Expo & Convention Center, which competes with the LVCVA-operated Las Vegas Convention Center.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4564. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.