In 1965, Chilean-born Mariteresa Rivera-Rogers (b. 1943) and husband Enrique Rivera set out on their adventurous leap and moved to the United States. Sponsored by an aunt living in Las Vegas, their resident visas took only three months to process—a task that would take years in today’s world she explains. Their first home was on Convention Center Drive, though they and their four children would experience several different neighborhoods over the years.

Dallamy has beautiful memories of her childhood in Cuba where she played on the beach and in the fruit orchards. Her parents were separated, so she grew up with her mother and her siblings. Her father was a school teacher who was going to school for his doctorate. He urged Dallamy to pursue higher education, so she began a teaching program and was well on her way to receive a federal scholarship. In her last year of school Dallamy decided instead to move to the United States with her then partner.

For Kelly Benavidez (b. 1976), life began in the northern California community of Daly City in a Spanish-speaking household. Her parents, Amelia and Genaro Benavidez, were among the few Latinos in their area at the time. Her parents felt strongly about immersing Kelly and her older brother in their Mexican culture. They made the important decision to return to Jalisco, Mexico with their young children.

Flo Mlynarczyk was born in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Her parents divorced and she moved with her mother first to Loveland, Colorado and eventually to Los Angeles, California. Upon graduation from high school in 1943, Mlynarczyk moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to live with friends.

Paul Christensen was born on August 26, 1932. He grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada during the World War II era. His parents were M.J. and Hazel Christensen, founders of a jewelry business. He attended the Fifth Street Grammar School, the John S. Park School, and Las Vegas High School. Too young to enlist, he was of an age that could focus on his education and opportunities for success. He attended college, earned a marketing degree, and joined the Air Force ROTC program. He flew B-47 bombers during the Cold War.

William Morgan was born in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Las Vegas with his family in 1969. Morgan entered the slot industry early by becoming an instructor at his father’s gaming school which provided instruction on slot and arcade repair and maintenance. His start in the gaming industry was in 1989 when he became a slot technician at the Imperial Palace. Morgan would later move to the MGM Grand as a journeyman slot technician in 1993 and eventually to the Stratosphere in 1996 as shift lead slot technician.