Robert Gore first came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973 as a public affairs officer with the Air Force. He returned to West Virginia to go into the family business in 1976 and four years later was offered a job with Summa Corporation. Back in Las Vegas, he also served as director of the Air Force Association. At a dinner meeting of the Association, Retired General Bill Becker suggested that an engineering school was needed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Jeffrey Fine is a third generation entrepreneur involved in the real estate, retail, and gaming industries in Southern Nevada. He is the owner and co-founder of Fifth Street Gaming, which owns and manages multiple casinos, hotels, bars, and restaurants throughout Las Vegas Valley. The company's flagship casino is the Downtown Grand in downtown Las Vegas. In 2002 he established Fine Concepts to manage his food and beverage business ventures, including the exclusive development of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf franchise in Nevada.

Bruce Isaacson was born in 1956 in Castro Valley, California and spent his childhood in Oakland, California. Isaacson became the first poet laureate of Clark County (Nevada) in June 2015. He was born in Castro Valley, California to Betty Griffin and Bernard Isaacson, and spent his childhood in Oakland. He received his bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College with majors in economics as well as drama, and continued studying for his Masters of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.