A Hometown Team: A Conversation with President of the Las Vegas Raiders Sandra Douglass Morgan

Kathleen McInnis: I’m Dr. Kathleen McInnis, a senior fellow in the International Security Program, and director of the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative here at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. We are so thrilled to be joined today by Sandra Douglass Morgan. Sandra serves as the first Black woman to lead as a president of an NFL team, when she became the president of the Las Vegas Raiders. Prior to her current role, she served as the chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, where she led the gaming industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be explored more during the conversation today. We are all in for a fascinating discussion.

I’d like to thank my colleague Emily Harding, who is a CSIS senior fellow and deputy director of the International Security Program, and our in-house NFL expert, for moderating this conversation. But I’ll now turn it over to Candi Wolff, who’s executive vice president, managing director, and head of global government affairs at Citi. Because of Citi’s support, we are able to showcase women who are breaking gender norms around the world in a variety of industries and capacities. So, with that, over to you, Candi.

Candida Wolff: Thank you, Kathleen. And thank you all for joining us today as we kick off the first for the new year of the Smart Women, Smart Power series. Citi has been a supporter of Smart Women, Smart Power for over seven years, bringing together women leaders in foreign policy and national security, and in the business community, to convene a dialogue on the issues that face the global community. We proudly call ourselves the leading global bank as we serve clients in nearly 160 countries, including 95 where we have people on the ground. Our global footprint gives us a front row view on the challenges and opportunities that exist around the world.

2022 was quite a year for a front seat to the world. And we’re all hoping that 2023 will be a bit quieter. But I suspect, sitting here at CSIS, that we would say that we wouldn’t bet on it. Speaking of bets, I’m sure we’d like to ask today’s guest about where to place our bets on the teams that are remaining in the quest for Super Bowl 57, but we won’t put her on the spot – unless Emily does in a minute. (Laughter.)

We’re excited to kick off the first Smart Women, Smart Power Series with a trailblazer in the legal, business, and sports world. Sandra Douglass Morgan joins us for a conversation on her fascinating career and the community work that she’s engaged in on behalf of the Las Vegas Raiders. Thanks again for joining us, and I’ll now turn it to Emily to get us started.

Emily Harding: Thanks so much. I appreciate it. So thrilled to have you here today, not only because of your leadership and the wonderful things that you’ve done for the NFL and for the gaming commission, but also because I’m a huge football fan. In my mind, a football team that’s performing at its best is really the epitome of teamwork, the precision of it, the everybody doing exactly the role that they’re meant to do. And it’s just a beautiful thing when it comes together on the field. So, I want to talk a little bit about football, but also talk about you and your journey to where you are right now.

So, first of all, we love to start off with the origin story. Can you talk a little bit about your career and how you got to where you are today?

Sandra Douglass Morgan: Sure. Thank you so much for having me. It’s really an honor to be here and be able to meet all of you at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. So, thank you, first of all, for having me.

You know, when I talk about my origin story I don’t – it wasn’t mapped or planned, I think, as I expected. I’m sure many, many of us feel that same way. So, I grew up in Las Vegas. I ended up there because my father retired at Nellis Air Force Base, and served, and is a veteran. And the area that I lived, it was near the Air Force base, or when we ended up kind of growing up. And most people there at that time – thinking, you know, late ’70s, early ’80s – had a parent in the gaming industry and had a parent that had some type of military service, just because of where we lived and the proximity of where we lived. And at that time, Las Vegas maybe had 400,000 people. And we’re now well above, you know, 2 ½ million.

So, it was a smaller community. And it was common to have a parent working the day shift, one working swing shift, and just kind of understanding that that was, you know, kind of the working middle class area that we all kind of lived in. And my mother is first-generation Korean American. My father is African American. And they always just really supported me and my sister in everything that we wanted to do, but also always instilled the importance of education and obtaining, you know, that college degree, which was something that they did not have.

So there really wasn’t a choice. And education was always important. As you know, it’s really important in certain cultures to not disappoint your parents. I’m sure in several, maybe more than ones. (Laughter.) And so, then I ended up going to UNR, University of Nevada in Reno, for undergrad. Majored in political science. Took a constitutional law course. And we were talking about just different suspect classifications, and common law, and how that kind of – that ended, whether it be a traditionalist view of interpretation of the constitutional versus it being a living document. And I thought, this is really interesting.

And I didn’t have to get maybe a full time job right away, so I chose to go to law school. (Laughter.) Always then thought I’d end up in California, because Nevada – and this kind of goes back to why it’s just such an honor to lead an NFL team where I grew up – never really had a strong medical school or even a law school at that time. And so we were losing a lot of talent. And there was always discussions, I remember as a child and as a teen, of what we can do to make sure that Nevada’s talent stays in Nevada, because there weren’t really a lot of professional schooling opportunities after the fact.

So, I always thought I’d end up in California, or maybe somewhere else to go to law school. And ended up being in the third graduating class of the UNLV Boyd School of Law. So, it opened, and it actually got its first part of public funding while I was then interning at the Nevada legislature, ended up there. And, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, but I didn’t know why. There were no lawyers in my family. And I remember vividly that first kind of day of orientation of law school. Look to your left, look to your right, you know, someone’s not going to be there with you when you graduate. And just many other issues, not seeing a lot of people that looked like me there, but also not having, you know, an aunt, uncle, cousin, mother, father to kind of say, what is this process going to look like?

So, I just knew I wanted to pass the Bar and get to work. And ended up working at a midsize law firm. Then got a great opportunity at a fairly young age after that to be in-house at MGM Mirage, which I don’t know if anybody here would admit to watching the show Vegas at the time. (Laughter.) But it was funny, it was entertaining. But as a young lawyer, having access to surveillance across, you know, the – which was great evidence. Most of the time, good for me. Sometimes, not so good. But really learned and enjoyed that I enjoyed being part of an organization.

Then when to the city of North Las Vegas, which is a – may still only be the only majority-minority city in the state of Nevada. And went there when it was one of the fastest-growing – the fastest-growing city in the nation. And then the when the recession hit, having a foreclosure on every street. So that was really kind of when I also gained some additional experience on crisis management, if you will, and making sure that you’re not just kind of advocating for your client, but when your client is actually a community that needs, you know, police, fire, parks, and recreation services.

And then after that time, I decided to go back into the private sector, and went to AT&T. And during that time, I was appointed to the Athletic Commission, which is a regulator for boxing and mixed martial arts, which of course has been a host to many, many events in Las Vegas. Then to the Gaming Commission, and then was appointed chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which in Nevada it’s one of the – a highly regulated industry, but also an incredibly important industry to the state. And had wonderful goals. And I still – I did accomplish many of them. (Laughs.)

But then the COVID pandemic hit, at a time where we knew it was coming. I think there was a little bit of denial as to how quickly it would hit, and how it would affect our economy. And, yeah, then we had to deal with that challenge there. And then I went back to private practice after that. And ended up meeting Mark Davis when I was serving on the Super Bowl Host Committee. That’ll be there in Las Vegas in 2024. And ended up now being at my current position as president of the Raiders, so.

Ms. Harding: Yeah, sometimes the twisty paths for a career are the most interesting. And clearly, you know, you’ve been put in some very important positions at critical moments, having to deal with the crises. I want to come back to COVID in just a second, but the 2008 financial crisis – you know, the next question I wanted to ask you anyway is about community and how you operate within the Las Vegas community, and how the Raiders play a role really forming a community around the team. Reasonably new to the city, but popping into a really rich environment there, where you got a lot of fans who are ready to go.

So can you talk a little bit about the 2008 financial crisis, and how there was a rebuilding of Vegas, and then how you think the Raiders being there plays into the sense of community in the town?

Ms. Morgan: You know, Las Vegas truly is an amazing city. One, because it’s always going to have the best dining, entertainment. And the goal is to continue to attract the 35 to 40 million visitors that come there every year, right? And because of that, it’s also been an incredibly resilient city. Obviously, I’m from there. I love it. I’ve seen the city reinvent itself time and time again and overcome just devastating economic tragedies and also community tragedies, whether it be 1 October or the recession. And it’s always been able to rebuild and grow, especially when times when you’re going through stress like that, people want to then come back and enjoy the city, enjoy each other, and have a good time.

And during the financial crisis, though, you know, we have a very strong and resilient working class. These are people that provide customer service, again, to people all over the world. And it’s the place that I grew up in because my mother served in that industry. And because of that, though, their income is dependent on, you know, the tourist economy. So every time we deal with that, we, as Nevadans, always look at how we diversify our economy, how we give our residents and our children the tools that they need to survive, you know, difficult times, but also be able to embrace the gaming industry and what it does, and see how it’s expanding into tech, and into entertainment, and obviously now into sports as well. And being able to kind of provide a more holistic entertainment experience that isn’t just dependent on gaming and gambling.

So that is – the financial crisis and the recession that actually affected the city of North Las Vegas is really when – a really defining moment for me, because I also lived in that city that I was working in, which I think is really important. Because you actually have a tone and a pulse on the community, making sure that we had dispatchers, and law enforcement officers, and firefighters, and parks, and availabilities, and rec centers for people, and programs, after school programs. These are basic services that really affect someone’s quality of life that were really being threatened at that time.

So, it was about more than me. It was about more than the bottom line. It was really about a community and ensuring people wanted to feel safe, and loved, and welcomed where they live. And then that was a time when I really chose to step up. And I realized that you had a lot of people around, and some people have a lot of ideas. Are they willing to take that risk and fight for them? And I think that there was a moral compass for many people at the table. And I definitely think that women brought a different view to that when you’re thinking about, yes, we need, obviously, law enforcement, we need safety and security. We also need to protect those that are the most vulnerable, whether it be childcare facilities and other recreations, and our schools, most importantly.

So, it was a collaborative effort. Happy to have gotten through it. And then, you know, there’s just always going to be another challenge around the bend. But for me, it was really important to encourage anyone, but definitely women, to kind of speak up when there’s challenging things like that because we all have different point of views and different potential consequences that I think maybe your average mayor or, you know, elected official, or even city manager wouldn’t necessarily think about. The kind of – the devastating after-effects. And it’s always social services that are the first things to be cut, unfortunately. But, you know, when you have the right people at the table, they understand that people need not just a safety net, but a community to be able to kind of push through and get through those difficult times.

I can talk about that recession forever, so. I’m sure there’s other topics you have. (Laughter.)

Ms. Harding: We’re going to come back and talk about decision making during a crisis, during COVID. At the end, we talk about your particular story. But I want to talk a little bit about your leadership day to day. You are at the top of a very large and, I’m assuming somewhat high pressure, organization. Those of us who are just football fans get to show up on Sundays and watch and cheer but, you know, you’re living it day-in and day-out and working to build this massive team. More than 200 employees, if I understand it, right? Yeah. So, talk about your – how you lead this massive organization.

Ms. Morgan: Sure. Full time, and then we have, of course, an amazing group of part-time employees as well that help with game day and that game day experience. You know, I came in, honestly, not knowing what to expect. There isn’t necessarily a playbook for team presidents because there’s thirty-two, right? But the Raiders have such a rich history and dedicated not just fan base, obviously, with Raider Nation, but also employees. And the most passionate owner, who genuinely cares about the fan more than anything else – the fan experience more than anything else. So, I wasn’t quite sure what I was stepping into, I think like most people when they take a new position.

But what I realized is that it always comes down to the people. We have to give the fans the greatest experience possible. We have to show them that we’re doing everything we can, obviously, to – I can’t help – I can’t help much in supporting, obviously, coach and GM to do what they can on the field, but I should be doing as much as I can – and I am doing as much as I can – to support the off-the-field efforts with our business operations, whether it be our retail environment or our stadium.

I have to brag a little bit, we got the number-one billboard box score for the year last year, for Allegiant Stadium. And being able to now – to have the Raiders being able to own a stadium, and not necessarily be a tenant but be involved in every step of that fan experience, and engaging that fan experience, and improving it, and also having, you know, non-Raider events in the offseason, whether it be concerts, other sporting events. Obviously, I mentioned the Super Bowl that’s coming, and we’re going to host the –

Ms. Harding: The Pro Bowl, yeah, this year, fabulous.

Ms. Morgan: Yes, the Pro Bowl is actually next week. And the NCAA men’s Final Four, we were just awarded that too.

Ms. Harding: Oh, congratulations.

Ms. Morgan: So that’ll be in late ’27, I believe.

Ms. Harding: Yeah.

Ms. Morgan: So, you know, that bringing – and having the Raiders be involved in bringing those other amazing events to the southern Nevada economy also helps as well. Not just for job growth, but also just for general exposure, and giving other people additional things to do when they visit Las Vegas. So, it’s great leading that team, whether it be our corporate sponsorship team, our Raider image stores, and our sales groups as well.

Ms. Harding: Yeah. I hear it’s a lovely stadium. Hope to see it someday.

So, let’s talk a little bit about women’s role in the NFL. It has been growing. I do love watching on Sundays and seeing ponytails sticking out of the backs of hats. It makes me very happy. And, like I said, you know, I’m a huge fan, and I love the way that a team really comes together, and everybody playing their particular role. What do you see as the growing role of women in the NFL? What is the NFL doing to welcome women into the ranks?

Ms. Morgan: I think it’s – I think the NFL’s efforts to actually just diversify the NFL, especially for women and for people of color, have been great. You know, I also think that we could all do a better job talking about the different roles that women actually have. You know, there is a growing number of coaches. I was so excited to meet, you know, female referees that you kind of see there, as you mentioned, kind of the ponytails running down the field before a game. We have women in the C-suite in many, many teams. Our chief sales officer is a woman. Obviously, our head of HR, head of government relations at the Raiders, all women.

And of the – we have about 240 – I want to say at least a third of the people for the Raiders’ business ops are women. We have a woman on the football operations team, and our data and analytics, and just kind of general operations support. And, you know, women are great at logistics. They’re great at planning. (Laughter.) And there’s definitely just going to be more opportunities. I know there’s a strong base in business ops. And I see a growing number of women in football operations as well. So, it’s just great to see.

And it’s wonderful as well that we support each other. You know, teams have an opportunity to practice for about a week in preseason. And we did that with the Patriots this last preseason. And it was great just to meet the women at all different aspects of their organization and have them meet the Raiders. And it’s just about really connecting. And we talked about the importance of, one, getting to know each other. Obviously, we’re going to compete on game day but, you know, on the business side we can definitely talk, collaborate, and then on football as well, on best practices and what we can do to support each other and grow in the roles. Because it is about our team, obviously, first. But it’s also about increasing visibility and opportunity for other women and the league in general.

Ms. Harding: Yeah, absolutely. It’s very exciting to see. You know, I coach my kid, but seeing women on the field coaching in the big leagues is really, really wonderful.

So, let’s talk about your decision. We always like on Smart Women, Smart Power to ask our guests about a big decision that they had to make, how they made that decision, and then whether or not they think that gender played a role or didn’t play a role. Their unique perspective, whether that played a role in how they made the decision. So, when we talked to you ahead of time, we thought that this conversation around how you handled COVID, as somebody responsible for this huge industry that is highly dependent on tourism, and the kind of decisions that you made going along with that.

So, walk us through it. What did you – what decisions did you have to make? How did you bring your particular perspective to those decisions?

Ms. Morgan: So, it was moving quickly. You know, on the how, it was, I want to say March 13th of 2020, and we talked about – the governor and I and his team – talked about, OK, what – how are we doing this? They talked about, you know, obviously disinfecting surfaces, social distancing. This is very early, though. And, you know, we’re, like, OK, let’s – how do you do social distancing in a casino, right? It’s incredibly difficult. So, we talked about every other chair, and things like that, at table games.

And just it was, OK, announcing to the public, we’re talking about it, we’re thinking about it, but more to come. And then the actual closure, though, happened right before St. Patrick’s Day, which, you know, is –

Ms. Harding: Mmm hmm, probably a big day for you. Yeah.

Ms. Morgam: Yes. Yes. A big day for us. A big day for the state and, I’m sure, for plenty others. And so, the closure was the first time that casinos were mandated to be closed in the history of Nevada. There was an option to close for John F. Kennedy’s assassination in ’63. But, you know, it was optional. These places are designed to run 24/7. So, it never had really been thought out logistically. It’s operated to be open all the time, to welcome people all the time. And there wasn’t really a lot of thought about, you know, closing casino pages. And, as some of you may know, these integrated resorts are cities within themselves, right, employing tens of thousands of people.

And so, for me, it was making sure that we were collaborating. It’s easy as a regulator to say: This is what you’re going to do. But also, we know that we have to give the people that we regulate the tools to understand, this is why we’re doing this. And you have to help us kind of explain the how. Because it’s easy to kind of sit back, draft a resolution, sign it, and kind of just walk away. But for me, again, being from Las Vegas and knowing how it was going to affect our community, I wanted to make sure, one, that those stakeholders were involved, that we were in constant communication with them, and that I was talking to other people on my team.

At the Gaming Control Board there’s multiple divisions – the technology division. How were those machines going to be turned off? Did we have a plan in place to tell them how to expect to do that? They have to give us reports on, you know, how often they’re being refreshed. Are there certain jackpots that have to be owed, the progressive machines that kind of link up to other gaming machines in other states. How is that going to be accounted for? You know, an audit – we have an audit team that actually, obviously, audits and does counts at the cages. How was that going to be communicated? How are you going to actually shut down a casino cage? What are they going to do with that cash? How is it going to be transported to the Federal Reserve?

These are things that I don’t think of –

Ms. Harding: It’s a great premise for a heist movie, though. (Laughter.)

Ms. Morgan: Yeah. Yeah. The investigations division, right? People are constantly being licensed, and companies are, and individuals are. How is that going to be shut down – or, not shut down – actually moved to a virtual environment? As regulators, you want to see the person, you know, before you give them a license. You look at their body language. You’re looking at their kind of – their financial history and their personal history. How are we going to pivot to do that in a virtual environment, when they’re getting a privileged license that is very, very valuable? And, you know, are we going to do those interviews now virtually, but maybe wait to do that in person, that final approval? When is that going to be? We never knew how long the pandemic was going to end.

So, yeah, I could go, you know, on and on. But my approach was to talk to all of those different teams in those disciplines because I, as one person, wouldn’t know all of that. So, to be collaborative and to encourage communication. And at that point in time, you know, people were also fearful of their jobs because the economy was shutting down. So, you have to encourage people to be open with their recommendations. To know that, you know, this isn’t about you. This is about, again, our community, our industry, and how we could make sure that we can get to a point to give as much information as possible, so that we have the best information to hopefully reopen in a safe manner.

Reopening’s a different – a whole different discussion. But so, communication and collaboration, obviously, internally. Talking to our stakeholders because, again, we know what we want from them in order to regulate them, but logistically how can this happen? Are you able to close everything in one to two days? How is this going to affect your business? And then how is it going to affect your employees? We have to also know and communicate how many people are – have to be laid off. How are we going to communicate that to our unemployment department?

Those attempts at – I hate to say this – but having tens of thousands of people, if not hundreds of thousands of people, laid off, it really affected and killed our unemployment system. It wasn’t able to process it that quickly. Having schools being closed, talking to law enforcement about all of that. How do you have childcare? All of those – I don’t think a gaming regulator – and I’m saying this in most states – would have to think about. But because it was our largest industry, and how it had that ripple effect on so many other industries, it was. And so, it was – it became much more than just gaming. And, you know, kudos to the governor for doing – and many other governors, obviously – for doing the best that they could in that environment.

But having that one industry be closed certainly had a ripple effect. And talking about testing capability. There just wasn’t that capacity. Vegas had the interesting, though, dynamic of having so many other relationships and having CEOs of gaming companies that were operating in Macau and other jurisdictions. So almost kind of had – you know, because of those things that were happening in January – we were able to kind of – obviously, not necessarily predict, but see how the virus was going to be spread, have access to masks and testing equipment. So that was a collaboration with our gaming companies to be able to use private planes to fly those masks and other PPO that they were not only giving to their employees but giving to law enforcement, and to firefighters, and to first responders. Working with them on deploying them to hospitals as well.

It was really kind of a group effort. But I think having people from different backgrounds all at the table to understand how it was affecting our hospital system, and having gaming companies actually working with hospitals to do that, in my mind, wouldn’t happen anywhere else other than Nevada. One, because of the resources and the business relationships that they had. And then, two, with it being – it is – it’s growing, but it’s still a very small community, to make sure that we were at a place to have, you know, the sheriff, the CEOs of companies, the head of the school district and gaming regulators, and the governor, all in one room, making sure that we had all the resources available to kind of at least be able to protect our community.

The one thing I do think that gender played a role in is everyone was kind of scrambling, and we knew that we needed to find a way to have a safe reopening of the gaming industry. And that ended up happening about three months later, in June. And it wasn’t, obviously, at full capacity. And it was definitely restricted occupancy. And people were – although people were working together, some people were, you know, kind of running and going different ways. And as a gaming regulator, it was, OK, everyone’s going to come to a Gaming Control Board hearing, which is usually for licensing and discipline.

But we heard from people – our ambulance community. We had the head of our county hospital there. We had our chief of fire department there to talk about how if someone were to be infected with the virus or test positive, and maybe they flew in, how we were going to find a way to isolate them and give them treatment? And it was really kind of a step-by-step process. But people were working separately to come to that conclusion, but I don’t think anyone thought that that hearing would have taken place at a gaming – (laughter) – at a Gaming Control Board hearing.

I think looking back they would have thought, maybe, health – the Health Department would have, other people would have. And the Health Department was there, but it was, look, if we’re going to really welcome 40 million people, and want to welcome 40 million people – obviously not right away, but slowly – back, they need to know what our plan is. They need to know about – you know, whether it be, you know, how people are going to be isolated, how people are going to be protected, what health care services are going to be available to them. And, you know, are people going to be temperature checked? Are people going to have to wear masks? Are there going to be handwashing stations actually on the casino floor?

And so, it’s funny now, you know, walking around and I still think, oh my gosh, there are so many people here. Because it was a time where it was very desolate. But I do think, again, wanting to be collaborative and be transparent, so people really knew what to expect. We know that women control a lot of how family dollars are spent, and want to plan, and want to know what to expect before just kind of hopping on a plane and coming to Vegas, which we welcome those guests too, obviously. But I think for this, knowing how divisive of an issue it was, to be as transparent as possible.

And people would say, oh, people don’t care about that. And I think being a woman and being a mother actually gave me just a different lens on saying, yeah, you may not care about it, but people want to hear about it. And what’s the harm if we’re sharing what the process is, right? It’s better for us to kind of be upfront and tell people, versus them trying to fly to Vegas and find out it may be not what they expected.

Ms. Harding: Yeah. Well, clearly one of your strengths is attention to detail, because the list of things you had to think about just to go through those decisions is amazing. One of the questions that we got from the audience before we started today was what advice you would have for women who are following behind you. So, if you were to reach out to somebody who was graduating from law school today, or in the spring, and were looking at a career that was going to be, you know, looking at maybe the tourist industry, or looking at the sports industry, what kind of advice would you give them?

Ms. Morgan: Not to be afraid to take risks. I spent probably my first half of my career thinking this is – having this image of what it is like to, you know, either be an attorney or be an executive. And a little bit of a wait your turn, which I understand, right? You have to kind of build and want to grow your skill set. But I also know that you have to advocate for yourself, and you have to be willing to take a chance. And I didn’t really start doing that until the latter part. You know, I’m very open about saying I want to learn about different experiences, different industries, different people. I really think that’s a way to kind of learn and be a little bit vulnerable and be able to share.

I don’t know everything about football – (laughs) – but I’m willing to try and I’m willing to learn. Or I don’t know everything about the gaming industry but being open to reach out to potential mentors and take a – take a chance, and take a risk on maybe learning and expanding your skillset. I think that’s incredibly important. You know, you hear about women who – or, you know, studies have shown, I think, that people look at a job description, and let’s say there’s 10 items on it. And women look at it and think if they don’t meet every single one maybe they won’t apply. Whereas men will look at – maybe say, oh, I meet two or three of those. Let’s go ahead and give it a shot. We have to have that mindset. And know –

Ms. Harding: Right, because we’re, like, it says “required.” But maybe it’s not actually required.

Ms. Morgan: Right. And maybe it’s something you can grow and learn within that first, you know, six months or a year. So take a chance on yourself and take a chance on other opportunities.

Ms. Harding: Yeah, that’s great advice, I think for women of all ages, not just the ones who are coming out of school. (Laughs.) Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you being here today. I have to say, number one, go Niners, because they’re my team and they’re playing on Sunday. I’m sorry, I had to do it. (Laughter.) And then also, just to close us out, you are now a year out from your very own Super Bowl hosted in Las Vegas.

Ms. Morgan: Where we will hopefully having the Raiders play in it.

Ms. Harding: Hopefully have the Raiders play in it, absolutely. Maybe the Niners, looking to repeat, but, you know, whatever. (Laughter.) Are you – are you feeling ready? You feeling like you got this under control?

Ms. Morgan: You know, Vegas will be ready. Like I just mentioned, Vegas is resilient. We always rise to the challenge. I just can’t – there’s a little bit of a chip on our shoulder that we have that we’ve finally been known – you know, now that there’s leagues all across the world that know that we can host the biggest and best sporting events. And so, it’s the biggest show on Earth, right? Vegas, we always say, is the biggest arena on Earth. And so, we can’t wait to have everyone come.

You know, it’s an interesting fact that more people come to Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl, even when the Super Bowl is obviously in a different area. So now to have the Super Bowl in our town – and we have, you know, so many venues that can host so many people. I’m just really, really excited for what Vegas is going to do. You know, we’re going to roll out the red carpet for the NFL and for all the people that are coming to visit. So, we can’t wait.

Ms. Harding: Vegas is going to rock it. I can’t wait too. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate it. And good luck with the Pro Bowl next week.

Ms. Morgan: Thank you so much for having me.

Ms. Harding Thanks so much for all of our listeners as well.

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