Las Vegas Weekly

August 4, 2009 · 7:37 PM

A bevy of notes: Misplaced showgirls, Wayner’s lawsuit and Holly’s house plans

By John Katsilometes

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, left, and former Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) prepare to open the doors to The Mob Museum during a news conference at the museum site in downtown Las Vegas on Aug. 4, 2009.

Photo: Steve Marcus

A stack of notes has compiled. Let’s get it out of our system:

Booze, not broads

When I arrived at the news conference for the announcement that the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre famous brick wall would be displayed at the Mob Museum, Mayor Oscar Goodman said, “My wife is mad at me! I never said anything about showgirls!”

(I’m tempted to end the item there.)

This tiff was touched off by the Monday List that ran in this blog spot yesterday. The quote, “A showgirl and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin,” for years has been attributed to Goodman, who had been quoted thusly as he answered a question from a fourth-grader at Jo Mackey Elementary School in North Las Vegas who asked what Goodman would bring with him if he were ever stranded on a desert island. Goodman claims not to have included “showgirl” in the original comment.

In looking back to the original reporting of the comment from March 2005, Goodman is quoted as saying “a bottle of gin” when asked the question. He also explained his honest response by saying, "I'm the George Washington of mayors. I can't tell a lie. If they didn't want the answer, the kid shouldn't have asked the question. It's me, what can I do?"

What’s remarkable about Goodman is, in searching for seven quotes to use in that list, I was struck that he says something that could make such a list every time I see him. This morning, in defending the Mob Museum’s focus on organized crime, he said, “I love water colors. I love ceramics. If we put water colors and ceramics in here, we’ll have three people visit and have to shut it down.”

On the name

The Mob Museum’s official name is The Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, and nobody will be using that name when the Mob Museum opens in early 2011.

Lawsuit de la Wayner

The Wayne Newton Camp, which is not really a camp but a way to describe The Wayner’s inner circle, which is not in fact a circle but a small group of friends, family and confidants, wants to make something clear about the lawsuit filed last month by GMAC. That complaint, which said Newton owed $70,000 in lease payments, was dismissed by GMAC within a week of filing. Newton never saw the complaint, was not served and was never required to pay any more than the lease contract required. For what all that’s worth, which seems to be $70,000.

Holly’s home search

Holly Madison says she’s suspending her search for a house, temporarily, awaiting a contract extension (which is not at all official, but highly probable) with “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood. There are three houses she likes in that “Barbie Mansion” classification. Until she decides, she’s crashing on the couch.

Newsmakers in the loo

Usually when I have a chance restroom encounter with newsmakers, it’s at a resort or maybe a sports arena or Buckingham Palace. Someplace like that. But today, just moments ago, I ran into former Harrah’s Entertainment exec Phil Satre and Smith Center for the Performing Arts Chairman Don Snyder in our Greenspun Interactive men’s room. They were in our building taping a video interview in our studio and were on their way out of the office. I would have interviewed them, but, you know …

Here’s a line I like

I wrote an e-mail note about my new computer to a friend last week. “You should use that,” said the friend, who will remain anonymous but is not, in fact, a comedy writer.

Regardless, here is the line:

“The MacBook Air ROCKS. It’s great. It is the Porsche of laptops. Too bad I am the James Dean of writers.”

And finally …

For about nine minutes, I thought I’d originated the nickname “K-(well)Fed” for the suddenly hefty Kevin Federline. Not quite. TMZ is at least one media outlet to dub him so. But I will claim, “K(FC)-Fed.” And after he didn’t leave a gratuity after being comped two bottles of Grey Goose during a visit to Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel last week to record scenes for his in-progress VH1 reality show, I’ll add, “The Stiffer Tipper Upper.”

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