A long-time communications leader in Las Vegas' leading industries, Lori Nelson-Kraft is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

A Detroit native, she moved to Las Vegas in 1995 and would go on to run her own public relations firm before guiding communications at Station Casinos and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Lori Nelson-Kraft, now the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

(Lori Nelson-Kraft) Thank you, Amber.

Thanks for the invitation.

-Let's start with the Detroit native aspect.

People from Detroit are proud of it.

What impact do you think that city has had on you?

-Well, it's home, go Detroit Lions, and I love it.

And I think when I moved out west, I kept hearing from a lot of people.

They'd say, You're from the Midwest, aren't you?

And I take that as a badge of honor.

There is something very warm and welcoming about coming from the Midwest--very truthful, very authentic--and I'm proud of that.

I have now lived in Las Vegas far longer than I have lived in Detroit, and so I have two homes, but Vegas is truly my home.

-When you say "truthful" and "authentic," that has such a connection to public relations.

But some people might think, oh, it does not, it's the opposite.

-I believe you're only as good as your reputation, and doors have opened for me.

Relationships that are trusting happen because I'm truthful, because I'm authentic, and that's really been important to me.

And that is the common thread I hear as I've moved around town is that trust is everything.

And when that isn't maintained, there is nowhere else to go.

That is integral.

-You told me a story right before we went on about how you chose this career.

How did that happen?

-Well, back in the day at Eastern Michigan University, I had to meet with my counselor to declare my major.

And during those times, it was a hard copy catalog.

I really wanted to be part of the Business School.

It was really math intensive, and I recognized I wasn't good at math.

And so as I'm waiting for my advisor, I keep thumbing through the book, looking for something similar without the math, and in the School of Journalism, lo and behold, was Public Relations.

And I just was like, You know what?

That's it.

I declared it, no clue that as I entered my first career in Detroit, Michigan, that it would really speak to me and be something that I really loved and invested in.

So it is a good story that you sometimes need to learn what you don't want to do to figure out what you do want to do.

I've certainly learned that within my industry, but it's really kind of cool in that full-circle moment to look back and go, I did declare that as my major.

-Okay, so you moved to Las Vegas with a few years' experience in this field, and I learned this from a recent interview that you did for an award you received.

What was that award?

-Oh, the gaming manufacturers.

It was a lovely recognition at G2E this year as their Communicator of the Year.

And I was, I was flattered to say that I was an advocate on behalf of the gaming industry and that trusted voice.

And it was a very humbling experience and one I'm really proud of.

And, you know, I moved to town when I was 25 years old.

I didn't have one relationship.

I had $8,000 in my savings account, and as my very first boss in Detroit told me, I had a lot of moxie.

He told me that in my very first review, and I thanked him for it based on his tone.

Then I went back to my office, and I had to look up what moxie meant.

And so this town has been really good to me.

I didn't have a job when I first moved to town, but I landed one at an advertising agency that unfortunately, less than a year later, went through a significant downsizing.

And I was a victim of that downsizing.

And as a result of my reputation, my company started by accident because one of the clients I had at that ad agency had called me in after they learned of the downsizing and said, We didn't stay there because of them, we stayed there because of you.

Would you consider staying on in a consulting role?

And that was for City Enterprises after opening the Galleria at Sunset mall.

And you know, there's something about being young, naive, and, you know, a little optimistic.

I hung a shingle outside my one-bedroom apartment.

That grew into a two-bedroom apartment and into office space before I was tapped on the shoulder by R&R Partners to join their team.

-Wow!

-It's kind of a fun story.

-Yeah, R&R and then Station Casinos?

-Yes.

-Were you nervous about that opportunity?

I mean, that was a big one.

-It's-- you know what?

It was a fantastic opportunity.

And through my experiences at R&R, Station Casinos, right after it opened Green Valley Ranch Resort, Lorenzo Fertitta, you know, recognized that there was an opportunity as they were planning for Red Rock to do better in communications.

They hadn't recognized and leveraged the power that strategic communications could really assist them in as they grew their pipeline.

So it was a newly created position, and because of my work with the Nevada Resort Association and work with the LVCVA, I was brought over to Station Casinos and invited to join their team.

And what I loved about it and what I wanted is after having learned on the agency side, I really wanted to go corporate in-house, and what an incredible opportunity to work for a family owned and operated company, the Fertitta brothers, and to get to have a seat at the table and help shape the communications with the incredible business operations they were running.

-What kind of influence do you think the Fertittas had on you and vice versa, because you had to kind of explain to them how communications could help them?

-Well, so Frank and Lorenzo's dad started the "locals casino," called The Casino back in 1976.

It's Palace Station today.

And Frank and Lorenzo really learned everything from their father, and they took that and multiplied it and grew the family empire.

And for me, what was so special, and I don't think people really recognize this, is what hands-on operators they are.

They touch every aspect of the business.

And so sitting in every meeting with them, whether it was development, developing a restaurant concept, expanding, tackling tough issues, they were that hands on, had a point of view, wanted to arm themselves with different opinions.

It was a master class each and every time I interacted with them over those 14 years.

And earning their trust in explaining the role communications could play as we were gearing up to open Red Rock Resort at the time, one of their most ambitious projects, was really interesting because it was a great conversation that you can have gorgeous bricks and mortar and a great facility, but the one thing that really set them apart was their story of being family owned and operated.

And we used that opportunity of Red Rocks' opening to tell the story of the Fertitta family and for the local community to have an opportunity to meet them and see what was in their DNA.

And so it was such an incredible opportunity.

I had no idea 14 years came and went.

It was that fascinating to me each and every day that I walked in those doors.

-And from our conversations, it sounds like you've taken that hands-on approach into the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in addressing the numerous concerns that were raised from its first year.

You come in the second year, and you're sitting in meetings with community stakeholders, people impacted?

-Yeah, you know, it's really important.

It's a delicate balance of whatever organization you're representing, and you're helping them communicate.

You need to understand those business objectives and what they need to achieve, and you have to balance that with the public stakeholders that you interact with.

And you know, from gaming to special events to destination marketing organizations, those stakeholders will change; but communicating effectively, telling stories, and finding ways to connect the audiences with you for what you're trying to achieve, whether you're trying to educate them, whether you're trying to persuade them or get them excited about something, or you're trying to clear up misinformation, it's vital in that communications role that you are trusted.

The relationship we have as journalistic communicator, I'm only as good as my word.

I need to make sure that I'm responsive to you, I get you the information you need, and that it is clear and concise.

And so it doesn't matter what widget or organization, you got to balance business objectives with making sure you're speaking the right language and sharing the information that needs to be shared with your stakeholders.

-I'm glad you brought up the journalist and public relations relationship, because I first met you when I moved to Las Vegas and worked at the NBC affiliate, and the rumor about you was that Lori Nelson has four TVs at her home, and she watches all the local newscasts at the same time, identifies what stories are impacting Station Casinos, and she will call you up and let you know if you got something wrong.

-Well, first of all, that is the most fantastic myth that is out there.

I didn't even know until today it existed.

I'll take that as a compliment, maybe, but I will say, as I share with anyone who works on my team is you are responsible.

Whatever the communication is, it is your responsibility to make sure it is accurate whoever is conveying it.

And so it's always been important to me, as I work with journalists, that before a camera turns on, I know what do they need for their story.

I make sure that if it's complicated or something needs to be explained, we're having those conversations in advance, and, on the off chance or when things aren't accurately portrayed, it's also my responsibility to my employer to ensure that information is accurate.

And so while I did not have four televisions in front of me, in realtime I was keeping tabs on those stories, because when misinformation starts running, it can get picked up from the local market nationally, and then it just airs over and over again.

So misinformation and correcting it matters so it doesn't live out in the universe incorrectly when people in the future are looking at it and they have to tell that story over the years.

And so, yes, it is important to me, but, no, there were not four televisions.

-And a story I imagine you had to address often was Station Casinos and its resistance to unionization.

How did you approach that?

That's a difficult topic.

-Well, that is a tough issue, especially in a town that is very pro-union.

And it wasn't that Station Casinos was anti-union, it was pro-employee.

So going back to that previous conversation about our responsibility as communicators to representing the business interests of your employer and their business goals and objectives is, you know, it's really important to say, You know what?

It's okay that there are-- that we don't see eye to eye, but we have to make sure the information is accurate.

You always have to remember there's two sides to every story, and you have to remember it's important to have a voice.

And if you choose to "no comment" or not have a voice, you allow that opportunity for misinformation to go out, for detractors to speak on your behalf.

And so it is balancing that.

I will say, as I transitioned over to the LVCVA, too, we worked with a lot of different union groups.

And the one thing I'll say is, as I worked with another union, and, you know, there were similar rumors of, you know, Lori Nelson's coming over and that, is that I heard from that union leadership that at least the feedback was that I was truthful, I was transparent, I was authentic, and that while the union may not have liked Station Casinos' messages, they respected how I handled it.

And, you know, and I think you can agree to disagree, and I will share with you, before I even got to Station Casinos, I was friendly and D. Taylor, who was head of the Culinary Union and later head of UNITE HERE, he was a client of mine prior to that at Station Casinos.

And I remember-- you know, he gave me good advice, because I was like, I think D. needs to hear this from me, he shouldn't just read about it or see my transition over there.

And his response when I let him know was, Lori, I have so much respect for you.

Please don't hate me for what we're about to do to you.

It's just business.

-Lori Nelson-Kraft, thank you so much for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-Thanks, Amber.

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