Former mayor catches up with times; hotel may turn back clock

By John Katsilometes

Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015 | 2 a.m.

When he served as mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman made his disdain for computer technology widely known.

The mayor did not use a personal computer, never used social media, never sent or read an email, and never typed, writing all of his notes in longhand. Goodman’s Twitter account, @OscarBGoodman, has been handled by a subordinate since launching in August 2012.

“I am the only person in City Hall who does not have a computer,” Goodman said in June 2011, less than a month before leaving office. “I am a dinosaur.”

As something of a going-away gift, Goodman received a tutorial several hundred pages long prepared by Audrie Dodge, liaison for then-City Councilman Steve Wolfson. The title: “How to Use a Computer.”

Goodman said he would save it to read later.

Finally, the self-proclaimed dinosaur is embracing technology. This month, Goodman and I were talking about his efforts to land a major league sports franchise here for a column I was writing.

“I want to read it,” said Goodman, who recently celebrated his 76th birthday. “Email it to me.”

“What?” I said. “It’ll be in print.”

“No,” he said. “Email it.”

“You’re kidding,” I said.

“No, I am finally learning email,” Goodman said. “That’s all I can tell you. I’m trying.”

Baby steps. And if Goodman ever posts a tweet to his own account, there should be a ceremony marking the event. Summon the showgirls ...

• The Fremont hotel turns 60 next year, and hotel chieftains are uncertain when to have the celebration. (The hotel’s formal opening date was May 18, 1956).

But during a conversation with Fremont General Manager Jim Sullivan at the opening party for the new bar Filament, I broached the subject of inviting Wayne Newton to the party.

Sullivan’s eyes flashed as he said, “I like that idea.”

It is just an idea at this point but one steeped in Vegas legend.

Newton’s history at the Fremont dates almost to its opening. He and his older brother, Jerry, opened at the hotel in 1959, during Wayne’s junior year in high school. The duo spent 46 weeks toiling at the Carnival Lounge, performing six shows a night, six days a week, starting at 5 p.m. and careening into the early morning.

One of Newton’s favorite stories is the night he sang, “I’ve Got the Joy Joy Joy Joy Down in My Heart,” and a man from the audience flung a beer bottle at the stage.

“The guy thought it was blasphemous to sing that song in a casino,” Newton once recalled.

Though the anniversary is far off, the history of the Fremont and Newton’s career are intertwined. If Newton does play the birthday party, maybe he’ll bust out the banjo, though I know which song not to suggest.

• As I recently interviewed former Rep. Steven Horsford, I was reminded of the power of personal relationships in Washington, D.C., where Horsford now is based.

He and I were scheduled to talk about his new position as owner of R&R Resources+ and the company’s budding partnership with MGM Resorts International. R&R Resources+ is working to establish diversity-targeted marketing strategies for MGM’s under-development resorts in Maryland and in Massachusetts.

When Horsford took the line, he mentioned he’d just returned from a meeting with a U.S. senator.

“Which one?” I asked.

It was Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

“We were catching up, and Cory is just a good friend,” Horsford said. “I was sharing news of the partnership with MGM Resorts, filling him in on what we’re doing.”

Booker also is a member of a number of Senate committees: the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; the Committee on Environment and Public Works; the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Booker is a good friend to have — as any or all of his committees will be touched by MGM’s multibillion-dollar developments.