Friday, May 2, 2003

Las Vegas mayor tees off on poker author

Oscar Goodman, the brash, outspoken and popular mayor of Las Vegas, never hesitates to shoot his mouth off. Here, he makes some not-so-veiled threats toward best-selling author James McManus ("Positively Fifth Street"). Goodman would later file a defamation claim based on the passage in the book described here. Ultimately, according to the law firm Glassman, Browning, Saltsman & Jacobs, Inc., which represented Goodman in connection with the claim: "The publisher and author (McManus) agreed to delete a false and defamatory passage which made reference to the Mayor from all future editions of the book, formally apologize to Mayor Goodman, and authorize publication of their apology in a full page ad in the New York Times Sunday Book Review."

Mayor Oscar Goodman is furious about his portrayal in "Positively Fifth Street," a new book about poker and Las Vegas that's No. 9 on The New York Times best-seller list -- even though he said he hasn't read it yet.

"I'm not even going to answer a question (about) some jerk who mentions me in (a book) without even talking to me," Goodman said at Thursday's news conference at City Hall.