William Hillman Shockley was born on September 18, 1855 in New Bedford, Massachusetts to William, a whaling captain, and Sarah Shockley. He had two younger brothers, George and Walter. Shockley graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1875. He worked for a time in Florida and California before moving to Nevada.
William N. Thompson is professor emeritus of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He earned a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Missouri, Columbia in 1972. Before arriving at UNLV in 1980, Thompson taught at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1971 to 1980. He also taught abroad at Troy State University's European campuses from 1986 to 1987. His research explores administrative behavior, political economy, public regulation of gaming, and ethics.
Mike Unger was born in Queens, New York in 1947, and spent most of his childhood in Long Island, growing up in a predominantly Jewish and Italian community. As a young adult, Unger was already working hard, running one of his family’s restaurant after school. When he was in high school, his family moved to Los Angeles to accommodate his father’s health needs, and eventually end up in Las Vegas by 1967. Over the next two decades, Unger would work at nine properties in the city.
William S. "Billy" Weinberger (1913-1996) was president of Caesars Palace in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also president of Bally's Park Place casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s and ambassador emeritus for the Golden Nugget and the Mirage in Las Vegas in the 1980s and 1990s.
Kathy Augustine worked in the Nevada legislature from 1993 to 2006. Augustine was born May 29, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. In California Augustine received her Bachelor's Degree from Occidental College and her Master's Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach. Augustine came to Las Vegas in 1988 while working as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. In 1993 she won the assembly seat for District 12 running as a Republican. Augustine was part of the Nevada State Senate from 1994 to 1998.
Musician, arranger, conductor, and composer Anthony J. Franchini was born on August 2, 1898 in Naples, Italy and immigrated to the United States with his family when he was five years old. With only an 8th grade education, he worked as a music teacher in Massachusetts until he enlisted in the Army during the first World War. When he was discharged, he went to New York City, New York to pursue a career in music.