Lester Benjamin "Benny" Binion was born on November 20, 1904 near Dallas-Fort Worth, in Texas. In 1951, Binion purchased the Eldorado Club on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada and renamed it the Horseshoe Club. He established a reputation as a casino operator for providing customers with well-received hospitality and amenities. After his conviction for tax evasion in 1953, Binion sold the majority interest in the Horseshoe to Joe W. Brown, but later regained full ownership.

Isaac Eloy Barrón identifies as a Mexican American. However, as he explains, it took a move five hundred miles away, from North Las Vegas to Winnemucca, to learn what it meant to be Mexican—and that he spoke with a Chihuahuan accent. It was also in Winnemucca that Barrón lauched his stellar career as an educator.

Pediatric cardiologist Tina Kwan arrived in Las Vegas as a toddler and attended two private schools before graduating from Kenny Guinn Middle School and The Academy of Mathematics, Science Arts and Technology (A.M.S.A.T.) at Clark High School after being recruited by Principal Wayne Tanaka. After completing University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno, she did her pediatrics residency at University of Arizona in Tucson and her cardiology fellowship at Arkansas Childrens Hospital before joining Childrens Heart Center of Nevada.