Matt Gross for Mayor!

Yeah, I realize it’s too late for travel writer Matt Gross to take up residency in Las Vegas proper. And I understand that filing for the office of Las Vegas Mayor is closed with a mere 18 candidates vying for the chance to look downright drab next to the Technicolor memory of Oscar Goodman.

But, still, the guy captures the heartbeat of the locals in his travel piece in The New York Times like few parachuting journalists. The piece is titled “Lost in Vegas,” which is only the 38,000th time that label has been used to describe the cliché adventures of half-witted columnists and sun-blinded investigative reporters. Fortunately, Gross cuts through the stereotypes.

Ever so gently Gross gets the spirit of the real town. And you’ll notice he does so by giving downtown a chance instead of rushing into a high roller suite at Mega Resort X. All in all, an excellent effort.

And he even liked my El Sombrero Mexican restaurant.