After months of stoking rumors, the city's flamboyant and popular mayor said Wednesday that he won't run for the U.S. Senate and will instead seek a third term in his current post.

Mayor Oscar Goodman, known for traveling with a pair of rented showgirls, had told reporters earlier that he was being courted by a group of Democratic senators to replace first-term Republican Sen. John Ensign.

Goodman said he will run for a final term as mayor next year in hopes of bringing a pro sports team to Las Vegas and redeveloping the downtown.

"I love Las Vegas. I love Nevada," Goodman said. "I started certain projects here, and I'm trying to get them completed. I can serve the people much better if I can stay in the state."

The former mob lawyer swept into office in 1999 in his first political campaign. He won re-election with a record 86 percent of the vote in 2003.