Significant Events
Goodman appears as himself in the 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino. Later on, he made another brief appearance in the film Looney Toons: Back in Action on the DVD extras.
On June 8, 1999, he was elected mayor of Las Vegas.
On June 28, 1999, Goodman was the first mayor of Las Vegas to have his image placed on $5 and $25 casino chips issued by a Las Vegas casino. The two chips were issued by the Four Queens Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas. In 2006, the Four Queens put out a $200 Silver Strike with the likeness of Oscar on it.
In 2000, a bobblehead doll was issued as a promotion during a Las Vegas 51s baseball game.
In 2002, he became a spokesman for Bombay Sapphire gin, receiving a $100,000 salary which was donated to charity, including $50,000 donated to The Meadows School, a private school in Las Vegas founded by his wife Carolyn.
In April 2003, he was re-elected for a second four-year term, winning 86% of all votes, and becoming one of the most popular politicians elected to office in Las Vegas.
In 2003, Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith wrote a book titled Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman's Life from Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas, which chronicles Goodman's life, including 35 years spent defending notorious U.S. crime figures, including, among others, Meyer Lansky, Anthony "Tony The Ant" Spilotro and Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal (The last two were portrayed respectively, and under different names, in the film Casino by Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro).
In 2003, Goodman was voted the Least Effective Public Official in the Review-Journal's annual reader's poll.
Goodman has been vocal about having a Major League Baseball team relocate to Las Vegas. In 2004 the city failed to secure a move by the Montreal Expos to the city. Instead, the team relocated to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. Later that year, Goodman met with officials of the Florida Marlins. The Chicago White Sox were considering a move but talks fell through after Chicago officials provided incentives for the team to stay.
In recent years, Goodman has tried to get National Football League teams to Las Vegas. On April 24, 2006, he called the San Diego Chargers and asked if they would be interested in moving. Because of a contract, the city could not talk about a possible move. On January 4, 2007 he called again, since the team was not allowed to talk to other cities about a possible move. Again, Goodman was turned down "for the time being. According to Mark Fabiani, the Chargers general counsel, Goodman is a longtime season ticket holder of the Chargers and a fan.
On October 10, 2011, he guest starred in the CSI episode "Maid Man" on CBS, first appearing at the opening of the Mob Museum, which was re-created for the show in advance of its opening.
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