LAS VEGAS (NBC NEWS) - "When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don't go buying a boat when you're trying to pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save on college. You prioritize, you make tough choices."

Those words, used by President Obama in a speech earlier this week have the mayor of Las Vegas fuming...again.

Mayor Oscar Goodman says he's worried the statement will damage Las Vegas' already suffering economy.

"This president is a real slow learner," Goodman said after the speech. "He has a real psychological hang-up about the entertainment capital of the world and an apology won't be acceptable this time."

Shortly after the mayor's remarks, Obama sent a letter to U.S. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada in which he states, "I wasn't saying anything negative about Las Vegas." The president goes on to praise Las Vegas as a great place to have fun.

Mayor Goodman says unless the president does more than just apologize, his visit to Las Vegas later this month will be a very awkward one.

Although the mayor does welcome friends to Las Vegas, at this point, he says President Obama is not his friend.

"I want the president to straighten this out. Otherwise, he's not welcome in my city," he said.

President Obama's latest comment comes almost one year after his first one during a town hall meeting in Indiana in which he said, "You are not going to be able to give out these big bonuses until you pay taxpayers back. You can't get corporate jets. You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime."