You don’t always have to follow the so-called rules. Plus, expanding your education and social networking helps advance a career.
That was part of the advice dispensed Wednesday by some of the leading women in gaming during the virtual Global Gaming Expo as they participated in the panel discussion, “Game Changers: Women in Gaming Paving the Way.”
The panel featured the immediate past and current chairs of the Nevada Gaming Control Board: Becky Harris and Sanda Douglass Morgan, respectively. Debra Nutton, an executive gaming coach and consultant who today works with Resorts World Las Vegas, also participated.
The panel discussion was moderated by Jennifer Gaynor, an administrative law and government relations attorney. She’s the author of That (Expletive) Broad: Women Who Broke Barriers in the Casino and Gaming Industry, a book that shines a light on the stories of women who have made an impact in an industry historically run by men.
“When I wrote the book, I noted that men will apply for a job where they might be only 60 percent qualified. But women will wait until they’re 110 percent qualified before they would think to apply,” Gaynor said. “It’s not because they don’t think they can do it. It’s because they think they should follow the rules and not apply for a job if they’re not fully qualified for it. It’s the rule-breaking thing we need to do a little bit more of.”
“What I have been seeing now is that we’re happy when there’s one woman on the board here and we have a groundbreaker there,” Sanda Douglass Morgan said. “I’m very empowered by this younger generation. We’re trying to follow the rules, while they say the rules need to be rewritten, because they don’t help women. They don’t help minorities or people in the LGBTQ community now.”
Nutton made a career change from a nurse to crap dealer on the Strip and worked her way up the ranks in the industry. She served as executive vice president of casino operations for Wynn Las Vegas, overseeing all table games and slot operations, as well as slot marketing. She previously held executive positions in casino operations at Bellagio, MGM Grand and Golden Nugget.
“Women have to support each other,” Nutton said. “We have to be the advocate for everyone else and push them to the top. We’re fortunate that women are on (corporate) boards today, but look at the time it took and at how it’s celebrated in a way that we still have to talk about it. The best person should get the job. I think we’re going in the right direction, and I think it’s good strong women who will help us get there.”
Becky Harris, today a distinguished fellow at UNLV, was the first women chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
She was an attorney serving as vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the only woman on the committee when a gaming bill came before it in 2015.
During one of the hearings, she said it became clear that she had a different perspective about how the bill would be implemented than anyone else in the room.
“That hearing room was packed, standing room only, and I recall being the only woman present,” Harris said. “I asked what I thought were simple and straightforward questions to which I expected the answers to generally be yes. Imagine my surprise when the entire room in one collective voice answered no.”
Harris said that was at a time she got an email from the UNLV Boyd School of Law about obtaining an advanced law degree in gaming.
“I knew I had to be a part of it, because I knew there was a gap in my understanding with regard to gaming,” Harris said. “I decided to go back to school in my late forties with all the really smart up-and-coming kids who are tech savvy and much more politically engaged. It was interesting as I embarked on that educational career at the same time the attorney general’s office came out with an opinion that validated my perspective. I came to realize my perspective was a little more relevant than was indicated during the hearing.”
Harris said as she approached that new educational chapter, she wanted to get as much as she could out of the experience.
“At the time, I didn’t know I was learning about my future job,” Harris said. “I think anytime you have an opportunity to broaden your education and expand your social network, you absolutely should, because you never know when or from where your next opportunity will come.”
Harris said she has learned that people are too reluctant to reach out to new acquaintances or those not immediately in their social circle and called that a mistake.
“You can’t develop a significant relationship with someone if you don’t work at it, and I find that most people are very kind and willing to help,” Harris said. “All you need to do is be willing to ask. A study once indicated that people looking for a job are more likely to find one through an acquaintance than through a close friend. My advice is if you have the opportunity to engage in professional development of any kind — a fellowship program or internship — absolutely do it. That experience and those relationships become invaluable as you’re looking at what’s in store for your next chapter.”
