Oscar Goodman decides not to run for governor

Ending months of speculation, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced today that he will not run for governor and will instead focus on promoting the city and improving its economy.

“It has been a great ride and I have 15 more months on this ride,” he said of the time left in his third and final term as mayor. “I’m going to keep myself busy for the next 15 months.”

Goodman, who has been telling the media for about six months that he is considering a run for governor, announced his decision at a press conference this afternoon in his 10th floor City Hall office.

The mayor reached his decision last night, he said. Today, a group of volunteers were to begin collecting signatures to place Goodman on the ballot and he said he couldn’t send them out knowing that he wasn’t going to run.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/25/las-vegas-mayor-oscar-goodman-hold-press-conferenc/

I once heard him praise the security forces in all of the casinos as "small police forces" that helped Las Vegas maintain law and order.

If you've ever studied the armed thugs that patrol Binion's Horseshoe Casino, you'll realize how scary that statement was.