Lauralyn and the Special Sauce
WSG 24 Lauralyn Sandoval
Here we are. The Holidays! I happen to generally love this time of year. I enjoy the temporary change in how we experience our everyday lives: the lights on the Boston Common trees (see below), the smell of a piney candle, Pandora’s Frank Sinatra Holiday Chanel, a 10 foot live freaking tree in my living room (!?). The giant collection of ornaments on our tree include a baby binky from the hospital on a red ribbon, a small rainbow colored arm cast, items made by the girls, something from anywhere we have travelled and strange little elves from the early 60s, to name a few. This time of year the colors are lively, too. From an art standpoint, red and green are called complementary colors and they are knockout for each other. Meaning, really dynamic. I have red, gold and green ribbons tied all over the place in my house.
No matter your religious beliefs, it’s hard not to like the holiday decor. The way everyone participates (generally) by decorating their home doors or businesses. The music we listen to, the goodies we cook and eat, what we wear, what we pay attention to for the happiness and comfort of others. It’s lovely!
Too bad I cannot insert sound on Substack. Imagine “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” playing. It’s so cute and timeless. Written by Edward Pola and George Wyle in 1963, both born in New York to jewish immigrant families. Did you know that the following long list of favorite holiday songs were written by jewish men? I mean, it’s pretty much every single holiday song. I wonder why they were so good at lyrics and tunes. The common thread is male, jewish, European, immigrant, Lower East Side and WWl/ll. Here is a link to what other people have said on the subject, LINK.
"The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" (1897) written by Leon Jessel
"Winter Wonderland" (1934) music by Felix Bernard
"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (1937) written by Irving Berlin
"Happy Holiday" (1942) written by Irving Berlin
"I'll Be Home for Christmas" (1942) written by Buck Ram and Walter Kent
"White Christmas" (1942) written by Irving Berlin
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1944) written by Frank Loesser
"The Christmas Song" (1945) written by Mel Tormé and Robert Wells
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" (1945) written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne
"A Marshmallow World" (1948) written by Carl Sigman
"Sleigh Ride" (1948) lyrics by Mitchell Parish
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (1949) written by Johnny Marks[1]
"Silver Bells" (1950) written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
"Santa Baby" (1953) written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer
"Home for the Holidays" (1954) written by Robert Allen and Al Stillman
"The Christmas Waltz" (1957) written by Sammy Cahn and Juie Styne
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (1958) written by Johnny Marks
"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (1963) written by Edward Pola and George Wyle
"A Holly Jolly Christmas" (1964) written by Johnny Marks
"We Need a Little Christmas" (1966) written by Jerry Herman
"You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" (1966) music by Albert Hague
Just something to think about.
This post was delayed by a week, it was meant to be a pre-Christmas Day reflection. But, when you see it you will have already celebrated (if you do) and are thinking about the New Year. You may also be thinking about what your Holiday season has been like so far. Visiting parents? College kids home? How’d it go? Ours went strangely, though pleasantly. We had a positive Covid test in the house on the evening of the 23rd and that cancelled all family gatherings for us. But, we had a nice time the five of us. Like last year, no where to go. We did dress up to keep the Holiday spirit. It’s fun when the kids are college age. They have something to say and we can all share a glass of cheer. They help out and don’t fight.
You know that feeling the night of the 23rd when you’re sitting in bed and you think “did I get anything for x” or “did I get enough for Kid A or did I get too much for B?” Then you make a note to check the next morning what you got for them but you forget to check because you run out the door to some brick and mortar stores (that you are suddenly super grateful for and a little embarrassed you haven’t been there all year). And then you start. to. buy. You buy things that are so extra that even extra doesn't want them. Those lip balms no one actually uses. The “super handy” tiny tool kit, the cheeky joke cocktail napkins, the smelly candle, or the umpteenth purse sized hand sanitizer all end up in your shopping bag. You think…well, just to cover myself in case aunt Mildred does show up. But, then you see some sales and the rubber band springs free from your wallet. The smarter You says “Look out! Run away from the day-before-christmas sales!” But the weak (wise?) You says “go get that thing, girl! you deserve a little sumthin’ for you, too!” No matter it’s the wrong size, color and non-exchangeable, non-refundable. Swipe it! Wrap it! Throw it in a bag, baby! It’s yours! So, that’s how I’m feeling right now, at 11:10 PM on the 23rd of December.
Both my husband and I have a thing about a lot of gifts under the tree and one big fun thing to play with. It’s obscene. I can’t even post a past photo because it’s a garish display of over the top consumerism. What kinds of “big fun things” have we gotten in the past, you ask? Well, one year Santa brought a 5 foot high old doll house that was actually a model for a home from the 1930s. I bought it at an auction for $200.00. It was so cool. It’s now at someone else's house in New Hampshire (took up an enormous amount of space). Santa has also brought a drum set, a pool table, an old fashioned red popcorn trolley, a mini ping pong table, bean bags, American Girl Doll beds. What super cool presents have you gotten? My secret fantasy is to not get anything and go to Europe and experience “real” holiday cheer. But, that’s for another time. Get ready for New Years and 2022! What will your resolutions be?
Today I am introducing you to Lauralyn McCarthy Sandoval, yet another fascinating woman. When I asked her about what makes the west “The West” (she grew up in California and lives in Reno and Las Vegas), she said gumption and grit. They are also words that well describe Lauralyn.
MAVEN of the WEEK!
Lauralyn McCarthy Sandoval
Lauralyn McCarthy Sandoval is the magic sauce.
Lauralyn McCarthy Sandoval lives in Reno and Las Vegas with her husband, former governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval. She is one of seven children with two of her siblings severely intellectually and physically disabled and has lost two of her siblings and both parents. She says her parents were kind, bright people who just had a very hard time managing given the family needs and lack of supports at the time. Both parents went to college. Her Dad was a WWII veteran and was a fair amount older than her mom. The family went broke at some point and things were hard.
In Lauralyn’s mind, people in her situation either blame others or move on. She says she was smart enough to look at people she wanted to be like and attach herself to them. These adults who weren’t her parents (people she knew: teachers, family friends, nuns, aunts and uncles and people she never met but saw on tv: news presenters, athletes and coaches, etc.) had a huge impact on her. Lauralyn was very close to an aunt and uncle in the Boston area with whom she spent summers. Imagine what being across the country in the 70s and 80s did for a kid from Encino, California where she grew up. One summer her cousins were taking tennis lessons, so she had to too. That summer started a life-long passion for tennis. When she went home after that summer she told her mom she wanted to trade out her wood racquet for a graphite one. Her mother said if she won a tournament she would get her a nicer racket. She won the first tournament she entered and got her racket.
She found the right instructor who coached her in exchange for cleaning courts. She became a top player in California and later a doubles CIF champion. Lauralyn was a Division 1 recruit and fell in love with University of Nevada, Reno. Later her college tennis would prove to be important in her business life. She was a journalism major with the intention of being a regular on “Meet the Press” after establishing herself as an expert (in what she didn’t know). Why else did she choose journalism? Because she traveled so much for tennis she couldn’t be an engineering major and she liked the concept of a liberal arts education. Lauralyn was a serious kid.
While in school she had an internship with an advertising firm in Reno. One of the clients was called IGT, a slot machine manufacturer. When she graduated from school she went back to California and thought she would work for the movie industry. She scrambled for work for a year. All along, while she was interviewing at movie companies, she was calling IGT in Reno constantly for a job. After a year, both possibilities worked out with film company MGM Studios Inc. in Santa Monica and IGT in Reno offering her a job. She chose IGT. Her family thought she was nuts.
Why did she take the IGT job over MGM?
Her family thought she was bonkers for not taking the white shoe movie company MGM Studios Inc. international marketing job, understandably. But, Lauralyn wanted an adventure. MGM was a known entity. She could predict what she would be doing her entire career path. IGT was the great unknown and could also get her to where she really wanted to go: Europe. But in fact, she was sent to Latin America. A 23-year-old female with no real experience and no Spanish language to set up the IGT offices all over Latin America.
The chairman of IGT was a WWII vet who lived through the Great Depression, and she thinks that has a lot to do with why he hired young people with no experience but a proven track record in working hard. Lauralyn was hired as an international management trainee, the first and only female in his training program, with no connection to anyone in the company or industry. She thinks in large part because she was relentless, a D1 athlete with varied interests and gumption. IGT sent her to Latin America without a second thought. IGT hired people for who they were, not for their pedigree or degree. She felt comfortable with that given where she came from.
Lauralyn told me that her mom had undying faith and trust in her. All her life she would fall into unlikely opportunities. She would call her mom and say “You’re not going to believe this but…..” and her mom would say “Of course that happened! And, you’ll be successful!”
East Coast vs. The West?
I asked Lauralyn her thoughts on the East vs. the West. The concept of getting into a training program without a specific degree or maybe any degree might have been a stretch even in the 90s. While the east coast has a deep sense of tradition that doesn’t exist out west, the west is not hamstrung by it. She says the west’s growth came long after the east coast had established, hence the term “the wild west.” No boundaries with a, “if you can dream it and you put in the work; you can build it” attitude. Lauralyn says that’s true in Nevada to this day. When Lauralyn came to Nevada, companies were young and still had their founders at the helm, including IGT, and those founders all had gumption and grit so it’s no wonder “Nevada Grit” was required to be successful. The world has changed, and the businesses have grown into significant entities trading on a variety of stock exchanges so educational pedigrees are more prevalent. Lauralyn is unsure if she would have been hired and promoted and supported with the requirements of today. All she learned at IGT gave her the courage to leave and build a slot machine route at 28-years-old. In an industry full of men, the support and education they gave her led to her be the “first woman to” in some facets of gaming.
Leaving IGT
By 26, living in Latin America, she was helping support her family back home. She came knowing not a lot and left five years later ready to come back to the west and start her own thing at 28. She was approached by some investors who would put up the money and give her a cut to start her own slot machine leasing company. It took her a year to get her first account.
I find this part of her career incredible. To break into the business took constant and relentless pursuit of her customers. This wasn’t a business for hotels, but for the VFW, the Elks Lodge, The Moose Lodge, the Eagles, real Mom and Pop stuff. So, she would go and play cribbage, hang out for hours chatting with these guys. She worked nonstop. The only way to get a customer was to steal them from competitors by gaining their trust and friendship, and eventually she did. By the end she had nearly 700 machines in operation and a lot of great friendships with her customers.
At this point her banker pointed out her investors had made more than a fair return and suggested she buy them out. She gave the investors a choice: you go or I go. They chose to buy Lauralyn out not fully understanding her special sauce, her relationships, were paramount and the business changed.
Why is she so successful?
Lauralyn is not afraid to admit she is always willing to work harder than anyone else. She says she’s not the smartest, but the smartest-hardest worker. She never wants to let anyone down.
Does she gamble?
She gambles for research and fun but is not a big spender and will play some slots, blackjack, poker or craps. She says she wishes there was a chance to win in clothes or shoes shopping as more of her money is spent there!
What does she think about gambling?
She, not surprisingly, is a big fan. It’s great entertainment, and highly regulated. She loves what she does. Never a boring day and there is always something new to think about, new technology, and endless opportunities all over the world.
She now works for Aristocrat Technologies, based in Australia with its US HQ in Las Vegas. They create digital game content and produce physical slot and video gaming machines and games that if I gambled, I’d know about: Buffalo and Lightning Link and much more. They have 7,000 employees all over the world and a market cap of $29.8 billion on the Australian market. The business consists of factories, engineers, mathematicians, production and on and on.
Lauralyn gets married
Lauralyn has been busy, non-stop for almost 30 years. It wasn’t until she met Brian Sandoval, the governor of Nevada at the time, that she found her true love and new family. If you’ve noticed, I don’t typically mention spouses or kids in my interviews. In talking to Lauralyn, marriage to Brian presents yet another bold shift in her life. She met him through her charitable work. She sits on the Foundation Board of Opportunity Village, an organization that sets the gold-standard in serving people with disabilities. She is also involved with The Governors Council on Developmental Disabilities, is an Honorary Board Member of the Nevada Women’s Research Institute and Co-founded Cancer Research Racquet that puts on tennis events around the world to raise money for cancer research. Who knows what the two of them will do in the years to come, so let’s stay tuned.
Stock Questions:
Favorite holiday tradition: Our current family tradition is the same as the family tradition my parents started for us! We all get a book each Christmas. I love it because you never know what book you are going to get and the family can sit together for hours and read.
Books bedside table: my husband and I listen to Audible books together. We listen to a variety of books and recently we listened to what is now one of my all-time favorite books, Last Stand, by Michael Punke who also wrote The Revenant. I highly recommend both books to learn about western American history.
To relax: I like to have morning coffee and go for walks or hikes with my husband! I also like to hit tennis balls with a pro, one of my college teammates or one of my other tennis buddies. Or, I like to go on YouTube and watch wherever videos look interesting in the moment.
Add for the guide: life is best when you are at your best. I’d add ways to help become your best self, keeping what you’ve found enhances your life (like giving back and awesome friends) and growing for the better as you go through tough periods of learning professionally and personally (and there are some really hard times in life). The hard work you put in to become the best you can be, the better chance you have of attracting the best people making for such an amazing life!
A Recipe You Won’t Hate:
Lauralyn’s Apple Pie!
Crust: cut 12 tbsp butter into 2 cups flour and 1 tsp salt until a powder. Add 3-4 tbsp of cold water slowly until dough forms. Divide into 2 balls and roll out top and bottom crust.
Filling: cut up 8 cups of sliced apples, add 2/3 cup of sugar and 1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well and pour into crust. Dot with small amount of butter then lay crust over apples.
Cook: 425 for 50 minutes.
That’s all for now. Almost ‘22! Now what? I have some ideas….Happy New Year!!! xo, k
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