LI Duo Wins $175K Deal On USA's Shopping Competition

WEST ISLIP, NY — In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Carl Galian of West Islip threw a party for his son. As Long Island residents began to piece their lives back together, most of the houses in the neighborhood — including Galian’s — were damaged, so he had to improvise to create a game when all those that had been in the family’s garage were ruined.

It was that simple game created in the aftermath of a storm that captured the attention of a nation when, recently, Galian and Anthony Pappone, Galian’s neighbor business partner, and co-owner of the LazySaxs game, recently competed and won the Thanksgiving episode of USA Network’s new shoppable competition series, America’s Big Deal, produced by entrepreneur and Long Island native Joy Mangano.

Describing the road to the win, Pappone explained that when all of Galian’s games were wiped out in the storm, he assembled some items from his garage and created his own game. Each player received one cup and a sack. Players threw their sacks into their opponent’s cup for a number of points.

It was a hit. The game, which was later named LazySax, became a staple at parties, get-togethers, or hangouts at the beach, Pappone said.

“It was originally made (to play) standing up,” said Pappone. “At the beach is where Carl had the ingenious idea to sit down and play it. And it took off from there.”

Nearly nine years later, the game created in one of Long Island’s darkest periods proved a bright light — worth a $175,000 deal with Macy's.

In every live episode of Americas’ Big Deal, entrepreneurs present their products to buyers or “titans”, representing different companies, such as Macy’s, Lowe’s, and QVC.

While entrepreneurs are presenting, viewers can buy their products in real-time. Whichever entrepreneur receives the highest amount of sales during the episode wins the opportunity to make a deal with the titans.

Both Galian and Pappone told Patch they didn’t even consider selling the game for-profit until their wives suggested the idea a year after its creation.

“We were kind of talking about it a lot,” said Pappone. “I was talking about it at home with my wife and she said, ‘Why don't you just try to make the game?”

To create a plastic prototype, the duo followed a friend’s recommendation to work with PSI Molds in Bethpage. The company was able to help them create the first setup of the game.

“We knew absolutely nothing about making any type of plastic game,” said Pappone. “They helped us design it in a way that we can break it down, and created the game it is today. “

Galian and Pappone said that supporting other Long Island establishments was important when expanding their new business. Diamond Trucking in Deer Park, for example, handles LazySax’s warehousing and shipping.

“Carl and I, we like to talk to people and know what's going on with our game and our products,” said Papponne. “So it's nice to support the local businesses.”

On top of working full-time jobs, the men began dedicating their nights and weekends to making LazySax a sellable product. With the support of their wives, neighbors and friends, the duo created the games in a garage, and first sold the product online.

But Pappone told Patch that Long Island vendor events, particularly in Long Beach, truly elevated LazySax’s sales.

“It's kind of hard to look at a picture and really understand how much fun it is,” said Pappone. “But when you see people sitting down and playing this game, most people say ‘Oh, I need to have that’.”

LazySax has evolved since its backyard creation. Players take two setups, which include a LazySax cup and four sacks. The players sit down 8-feet apart and toss the sacks one at a time at their opponents. A player wins three points if the sack lands in the cup and one point if the sack lands on the plate. The game is played to exactly 15 points.

Pappone told Patch that they first learned about America’s Big Deal when a friend told them about the show’s announcement in a newspaper, encouraging entrepreneurs to audition. The show first aired October 14.

“We talked about it, and we both agreed that we should apply,” Pappone said. “And next thing you know, we're on national TV.”

Out of five presentations, LazySax won the most sales within their episode. Since the show was pre-taped for Thanksgiving, online sales before filming took place, along with live studio audience purchases.

Although Mangano said she loved the product, she passed the deal off to Durand Guion of Macy’s and Don Frieson of Lowe’s.

“Gentlemen, you know how much I love this product,” said Mangano. “I do believe it is going to sell off the shelves.”

Guion and Frieson went on to compete over LazySax.

“What we love about this product is that it is for everyone. And as customers walk through our door looking to entertain outdoors — we’re the home outdoors — 22 million people a week will see this product. 24 million online every week,” Frieson told the duo. “You’ve hit a craze that’s going to be fantastic.”

But Galian and Pappone ultimately chose Macy’s, who recently went into a partnership with Toys R Us.

“We are at the start of the holiday season. I’m also excited about what your next product is going to be,” said Guion. I’m thinking about how we start to build a brand around this.”

Galian and Pappone told Patch that since partnering with Macy’s, their sales have drastically increased.

“The opportunity is really accelerating our business to a place where we really didn't think that we would be at for a number of years,” said Pappone.

The duo said that they are grateful for the opportunity to be on the show because of how accessible it is to viewers.

“Joy Mangano can relate to the position we're in right now — you know, she went through it,” Pappone said. “The show caters to people exactly like us, because we're pretty much in the same boat she was in when she started her company.”

They also said that they’re appreciative of how much the show genuinely helps to elevate businesses.

“This show is all about uplifting people, and bringing them to a new level,” said Pappone. Not bringing them down, not criticizing them — really just trying to accelerate the growth of their companies.”