Byline: Joe Juliano
LAS VEGAS _ Entering the sunny and spacious 10th-floor office of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, one finds a crown resting to the left side of his desk and a throne where he sits to do his work and, on this day, conduct an interview.
'It's a great time to be king,' he jokes.
Goodman, a Philadelphia native who made his name as a colorful defense lawyer representing reputed mob figures all over the United States, likes to call himself 'the happiest mayor in the universe.' His happiness quotient, however, has jumped to the nth degree this week as NBA's All-Star Weekend approaches.
For the first time in the midseason exhibition's 56 stagings, the All-Star Game and its associated events will be hosted by a city that does not have an NBA franchise. The game will be played Sunday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, capping a whirlwind weekend of activities that include the NBA Jam Session and numerous player appearances.
If the weekend goes perfectly _ and the energetic Goodman sees no reason it won't _ the next step is to see whether NBA commissioner David Stern will modify his stance and approve the awarding of a new or existing franchise to Las Vegas, the largest city of the only state where it's legal to bet on a sports event.
'I've developed a very good relationship with David Stern over the years,' Goodman said last month. 'I'm hopeful that at the conclusion of the All-Star Game, that he'll have been softened up to the point where he would consider not objecting to Las Vegas because of our gambling, and perhaps be more mellow as far as the potential of having an NBA team.
'We're a natural for basketball. We supported the UNLV teams when they were good. It was the hottest ticket in town. We didn't rely on the tourist element there. To have an NBA team here would just be absolutely a perfect fit. It's an NBA-type town in the sense that the NBA represents to me glitz and glamour, and of course that's what Las Vegas is.'
Stern, while he acknowledges that Las Vegas is a 'terrific destination' and that the league's dealings with the city preparing for the All-Star Game have been 'cordial and professional,' said he had not changed his opinion of Las Vegas as a potential franchise.
'We have been quite consistent with this,' Stern said Friday in a telephone interview. 'Our issue is with basketball betting. We are of the opinion that our fans are not point-spread-focused, and we're concerned that it would change the view of the fans if there was widespread gambling.'
Las Vegas is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. The city and the surrounding valley have a population of about 1.9 million. Goodman, 67, running for a third term as mayor this year, said a new person moves into the community every six minutes, a new home is finished every 20 minutes, and 17 schools are built every year.
Add the sense of community to the bright lights of the famous Strip, which is the primary reason that 40 million tourists visit the city every year, and Las Vegas would have all the ingredients to be a world-class city. Not so, says its mayor, who would like to add a franchise from the NBA, or any of the other three major professional sports leagues.
'In order to be the world-class city, you have to have a professional team, particularly in a place like Las Vegas,' he said. 'Most of the folks who have come here haven't lived here for more than five years. They come without being able to identify with anything. The quickest way you're able to get a community spirit and sense of belonging is to have a team with which people can identify.'
Nevertheless, commissioners are leery of placing a team in Las Vegas because of the presence of sports books. For Stern to grant Las Vegas the All-Star Game, Goodman had to ask the casinos that they not take bets. When the casinos agreed, the game was awarded to Vegas.
Stern has said if Las Vegas takes NBA basketball off the books, the city would be a worthy candidate for a franchise. But Goodman, a graduate of Central High, Haverford College, and Penn Law School, calls the fears of Stern and the other commissioners 'old-fashioned.'
'Forty-eight out of the 50 states have legalized gambling,' he said. 'We are the only state that has sports betting, and that's the only thing that distinguishes us, really, from the other states as far as betting is concerned. Gambling is now accepted in the American fabric of life. I don't think it has the negative connotation it may have had.'
Goodman said he would not ask casinos to refrain from accepting bets on basketball as a condition of getting an NBA franchise, saying it would be 'hypocritical.' He added that professional and college sports organizations should be thankful that Las Vegas and the state of Nevada have a system in place to monitor sudden movement in the betting line.
'If there's something unusual, the first thing a casino will do is call the FBI,' he said. 'After they bring the Nevada Gaming Control Board in, they call the FBI, they put a wiretap up, and they get the culprit who's trying to tamper with the game. No other state has that.'
But Stern said the controls in place have no bearing on his opinion of sports betting.
'It's still betting on basketball,' he said. 'It never related to safeguards or not.'
Goodman and Stern had opportunities to talk in October when four NBA teams, including the 76ers, conducted training camp in Europe. Goodman, chair of the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority, a sponsor of NBA Europe Live, showed up in Barcelona, Spain, for the Sixers' exhibition game with a showgirl _ complete with extravagant headdress _ on each arm.
'I think he gets a kick out of me,' Goodman said of Stern. 'I have a lot of respect for him and his intellect. I think he likes to see me with my showgirls. He likes the fact that I do have a good time.'
Said Stern: 'We get along quite well, two ex-lawyers. He has a very good sense of humor, and I enjoy his company. It was a very pleasant experience in Europe.'
Regarding the interest of other sports in coming to Las Vegas, Goodman said the city has had a couple of nibbles from Major League Baseball. Groups inquired into having the Montreal Expos or the Florida Marlins move here in recent years, and Goodman once attended the winter baseball meetings to push his case, but nothing came out of the talks.
Goodman said the experience taught him about the nature of negotiations.
'I won't allow us to be used as a pawn,' he said. 'I was a baby mayor. I was so anxious to have a team that I think we were taken advantage of. I learned my lesson, and now they have to come to me.'
Even with Roger Goodell replacing Paul Tagliabue as commissioner, the attitude of the NFL toward Las Vegas hasn't changed. In his first Super Bowl address, Goodell said he wanted to keep 'a very strong line' between the NFL and gambling, declaring it's not 'in the best interest of the NFL to have any association with sports betting.'
Goodman said Goodell and the NFL are 'missing the boat' and added, 'I'm not going to shed any tears over it. I have little warmth in my heart for the NFL.'
The mayor has been in contact with the San Diego Chargers, who are seeking a new stadium and currently exploring options in San Diego and its suburbs.
For now, it's the NBA that will be in town this week, and Goodman, who used to play basketball in Cobbs Creek Park when he lived in West Philadelphia, is pulling out all the stops to put on a good show.
His wife, Carolyn, will host some events for the league's owners and their wives and show them the entire city and what it has to offer.
'That's going to make a difference,' Goodman said. 'I'm banking on my wife, really, to help me carry the day to get the NBA here.'
His feelings on gambling aside, Stern said that considering a franchise for the city was separate from hosting a successful All-Star Weekend.
'It is not a test run for a franchise,' he said. 'That's not part of the process. We do an analysis concerning demographics, the community, the Fortune 500 companies, the sale of suites and tickets after we get an application from a city.
'It's a great city. A combination of the entertainment capital of the world with the basketball capital of the world we feel will be unbelievable fun for our guests. But we're trying to keep it separate. First things first _ let's get through the week, and whatever happens after that, happens.'
That's fine with Goodman, whose city will be hosting visitors left over from Valentine's Day weddings, as well as the Chinese New Year celebration and a men's apparel show in addition to the All-Star Game.
'There's just going to be a lot of energy in town,' he said. 'It will be a great weekend.'
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