Goodman came to Las Vegas in 1964 with his new bride, Carolyn, with $87 in his pocket. He says when they began their drive across America, the Phillies were in first place. "By the time we arrived here, they were finished," he says. With a degree from Haverford College and a juris doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, he found Las Vegas had unlimited opportunities, which only increased as he began taking on the government in defense of such legendary crime figures as Meyer Lansky. Two of his clients back then, Frank Rosenthal and Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, would be played by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, respectively, in the film "Casino." Goodman played himself in the movie. He had an excellent winning percentage against the government - which he generally attacked as consisting of liars and cheats - and was cited as one of the top defense attorneys in the United States. He viewed his courtroom battles as "an athletic contest," of which he says now: "I loved getting up in the morning, and fighting as hard as I could to protect my clients."

Did he have any qualms with the degree of criminality with which clients were involved? This question comes up frequently.Goodman is prepared. "I was defending their constitutional rights," he says. "And it gave me a lot of money, so I could become the mayor." He pauses and adds, "And as my mother would say, Oscar never defended anyone who hurt anybody; they just killed each other."

Oscar is beyond popular as Mayor of Las Vegas. We think he'll run for Governor next. Kerry ought to grab Oscar now and make him AG, before Oscar gets too committed on that course.

P.S. Here's a secret. Oscar's favorite candy is tootsie rolls. If you ever have any reason to meet with him, bringing along one of the two foot tootsies will earn you a big smile. In fact, we can't figure out why the Tootsie Roll makers haven't yet made a deal to be the offical candy sponsor of Las Vegas.