Rubio's cousin: His real dream was NFL commissioner

Nevada Democratic state Sen. Mo Denis remembers his Republican cousin from Florida once told him he "would rather be commissioner of the NFL than president."

With his dream job currently occupied and no vacancy on the horizon, Marco Rubio, who lived in Las Vegas for six years as a kid, today announced his candidacy for his second choice.

Denis, 53, is 10 years older than his cousin but remembers that Rubio's father was laid off as a bartender in Miami and moved the Rubio clan to Vegas. Denis' mother and Rubio's mom were two of eight sisters, whose families had come from Cuba in the '50s and then gone their separate ways.

Denis said Rubio's family moved in with them briefly in 1979, then purchased a house around the corner. The GOP presidential contender lived in Las Vegas for about six years, attending CC Ronnow Elementary School and JD Smith Middle School, Denis recalled.

"He was always very intense, even as an 8 to 10 year old," Denis said of Rubio, who played Pop Warner football in Vegas before playing one year as a defensive back at Tarkio College.

Rubio's family moved back to Miami in the mid-1980s as the economy improved. Denis and Rubio see each other rarely, often when the former is in DC. So what does he have to say about his cousin's candidacy and would he consider voting for him?

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