Oscar Goodman was born June 26, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned his undergraduate degree from Haverford College in 1961 and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1964. That same year, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and in 1965 he was admitted to the Nevada State Bar. He served as Clark County’s chief deputy public defender from 1966 to 1967.
Jerome D. "Jerry" Mack (1920-1998) was a banker, investor, and community leader in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mack and his business partner E. Parry Thomas were the first bankers to loan money to casinos in Las Vegas. Mack was a co-founder of Nevada Southern College in the 1950s, now known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Mack and Thomas established UNLV's land foundation, which added 400 acres to the campus in 1967, and they funded the basketball stadium, which was named the Thomas & Mack Center in their honor.
Adele Baratz (née Salton) was born in New Jersey on August 11, 1926 and her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when she was two years old. Her father sold bootlegger supplies and later owned and operated Al’s Bar, a popular place to drink among Union Pacific Railroad workers. For two summers, Baratz worked as a messenger and in the rationing department of the Gunnery School at the Las Vegas Army Airfield.
Joseph M. Neal Jr. was born July 28, 1935. Senator Joe Neal shares many memories of his childhood in Mound, Louisiana. He recalls his mother leaving him and his older brother Willie with a woman named Bea so that she could go to Alexander to get a job. He and Willie were ages 2 and 4, respectively, and were frequently left on their own. Willie would leave periodically for hours at a time and come back with food. He eventually took Joe to meet the couple who were supplying the meals, Mary and Gowens Prayder.