Goodman and Station win Round One; MGM’s Free(dom) Ride

The Las Vegas electorate had a lovely parting gift for Victor Chaltiel and Sheldon Adelson.

Which is to say that Carolyn Goodman didn’t win the Las Vegas mayoralty outright yesterday but is a relatively low hurdle away from inheriting husband Oscar Goodman‘s throne. Basically if she picks up the conservative vote — and avoids further rookie mistakes — she cruises to victory in June. With most the major locals-casino operators — led by Station Casinos — in Mrs. Goodman’s corner and County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani banking on heavy union support, the runoff is shaping up as a proxy fight between management and labor. (After going into hiding for the duration of the primary season, the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial page timidly stuck its head over the parapet this morning to give Carolyn Goodman a damn-with-faint-praise quasi-endorsement.)

Starting from a distant third in the polls, Giunchigliani’s door-to-door retail campaigning enabled her to nip colleague Larry Brown by a mere 15 votes when the balloting was done. Brown now has the rest of his life to wonder if he might have had 16 votes more if only he’d not called, late in the race, for repeal of Nevada‘s domestic-partnership law (a bill that Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International pushed to victory over the political corpse of then-Gov. Jim Gibbons [R … as in “retired”]). Carpet-bombing of the airwaves by Sheldon Adelson sidekick Victor Chaltiel was good for a fourth-place finish, at an estimated cost of $215.88 per vote. If you play the ponies, don’t let Adelson make your picks or he’ll put all your wagers on a nag who doesn’t even finish in the money. The real losers were Las Vegas voters, only 18% of whom voted. In a rational world, the 82% who didn’t would renounce their right to grouse until the next election.

Lewis plays The Mirage. No, not Jerry but civil-rights pioneer Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who will headline an April 29 event at The Mirage, co-sponsored by MGM. The congressman will be providing first-hand perspective on the new documentary Freedom Riders. It’s a laudable manifestation of the company’s oft-uttered commitment to diversity in the workplace … and it’s free. (History gratis; try getting that at the Las Vegas Mob Experience!) It’s just unfortunate that the event is slated for 4 p.m. on a weekday, which means that many of us working stiffs will be unable to attend. So clear that Arbor Day calendar, folks!