Goodman recalls ‘Battle of the Egos’ with Donald Trump

If ever an individual could be cocky about his ego, it would be Oscar Goodman. The former mayor of Las Vegas and famed “mob lawyer” actually brags about his ego, often saying it is hard to be humble when he deserves every accolade thrown his way.

But Goodman has an ego equal, and he’s headed to the White House. President-elect Donald Trump and Goodman once held a summit of sorts in Trump’s Manhattan office. The room was barely large enough for these two oversized personalities.

“Carolyn (Goodman) and I went back to New York and saw him on a social visit, and we went to his office and he’s talking to (producer) Harvey Weinstein about ‘The Apprentice,’ ” Goodman said Thursday night at the Plaza. He’d just wrapped up a dinner series talk at his namesake steakhouse, Oscar’s Beef Booze & Broads, titled, “The Red Ladies,” focusing on his more famous female clients. “[Trump] was just about to start that show, and I’d just done my first ‘CSI’ the night before. All I could think about was my ‘CSI’ appearance, and all he could think about was his ‘Apprentice’ show.”

Carolyn Goodman, elected mayor after her husband’s third terms ended in 2011, still tells the story of that meeting. “She has never heard anything like this in her life,” Goodman said. “The two biggest egos in the history of the world, like two ships crossing in the night. We didn’t hear one word the other one said.”

This was in 2004, a couple of years after Trump had walked the “61 acres,” as Goodman calls it, of Union Park, mulling a development where Symphony Park now stands. Goodman does have a knowledge of stepping into public service from the private sector, experiences that can transfer even to the presidency.

“When I practiced law, I did everything,” Goodman said. “I did my research. I interviewed the witnesses. I tried the case. I cross-examined. I made the arguments,” he said. “It’s completely different than going into a position where you have to partner with other people.

“It’s the same thing with the country,” he said. “You have to convince people you are doing the right thing and that you can get the job done.”

Goodman was a registered Democrat when he first ran for mayor, but soon switched to Independent. He has sparred with President Barack Obama over remarks warning companies who took federal stimulus money not to “blow a bunch of cash in Vegas.” But Goodman also supported Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley during the Democratic primaries.

As for whom he backed in the presidential race, Goodman says only, “I was really torn on this one, but I feel my vote is a private one.”

ARTS-SQUARED THEATER

Two of the city’s great artistic companies, Cirque du Soleil and Nevada Ballet Theater, are teaming for the ninth annual “Choreographer’s Showcase” on Sunday and again Nov. 19-20 at Mystere Theater at Treasure Island. Show times are 1 p.m. for this impressive collaboration between choreographers and artists from Cirque productions and the NBT.

And, for the first time, we will see a ticket-taker onstage. But Alexandra Notz is more than just a box-office employee for Cirque (though she is that), she is also a highly trained dancer who graduated from Las Vegas Academy.

“I have been dancing since the age of 3 and I have always wanted to be onstage with Cirque,” says Notz, a Las Vegas native. “It’s the other side of who I am.” Notz was hired by Cirque in May to take ticket orders, and answered the company’s open-audition call to try out for the show at the NBT studios in Summerlin. The audition incorporated three styles of choreography – ballet, hip-hop/Latin and contemporary – and Notz earned her way to the stage. She’s performing in all three “Choreographers’ Showcase” productions.

Would she ever take a full-time role as an artist in a Cirque show? Notz says: “Yes, yes, yes, and yes.”

NAKED AMBITION

Give Mark Shunock credit, already, for an idea of his for the first production show at the soon-to-open The Space entertainment complex: “The Full Monty” is set for staging sometime in 2017. In a case of life imitating art, Shunock is recruiting a few gentlemen who have lost their gigs (or are about to) in Vegas shows to take part in this project. For those who are familiar with the play and the show and are wondering if the final scene will actually be played full-Monty: That is the plan, indeed.

John Katsilometes’ column runs Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.