Kim Bird was born October 18, 1943 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955 and attended Twin Lakes Elementary School. Bird grew up in a Las Vegas that was run by the mob and safe for teenagers. She would meet friends in local hangouts such as the Blue Onion and attend sock hops, babysit, and cruise down Fremont Street. She attended high school with black students and was aware of the segregation that existed on the Las Vegas Strip. Bird was married in 1961 and had a son and daughter.

Arby Hambric was born November 24, 1926 in Teague, Texas. He started working in the cotton fields at around age seven and was drafted into the United States Navy, before completing high school. Hambric enrolled in San Diego State College after leaving the U.S. Navy. He also worked as maintenance personnel for Sears and Roebuck, and started a catering business with his wife, Veronica. Hambric moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976 after his wife died, and he became a member of the Southern Nevada Enterprise Company Board.

M.J. Christensen was born in Milford, Utah around 1896. He started out as a railroad watch inspector, out of Milford, before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada and opening his own jewelry business and store. He considers himself a conservative Democrat and states that he led an active political life in Nevada, where he was head of the Merchant’s Bureau in Las Vegas. From there, he went on to become president of the Chamber of Commerce and later, the president of the Better Business Bureau.

Dazzio was born in Pueblo, Colorado and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1950s. He became one of the first students at the Hotel College at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)-- then Nevada Southern-- in 1968 after he graduated from Western High School. He worked with Stardust Hotel and Casino executives while in his early 20s. Dazzio was a hotel operator for ITT Sheraton and was the founding partner for R&R Global Hospitality, a third-party management firm.

Ed Walters was born and raised in New York, New York. Walters was a pool and card hustler in New York when he was in his twenties. In 1959, he was asked by a major crime boss to go to Las Vegas, Nevada to find out if a card dealer was cheating. Ed did figure out that the dealer was cheating, so the crime boss got him a job learning the Western card games at the Fremont during the day and being a pit boss at the Sands at night. He worked at the Sands until 1967 and then at various other casinos until approximately 1981.

Jimmy Wike's family moved to Las Vegas in 1958 when he was nine years old. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Jimmy started as a dealer at the Las Vegas Club and was also a dealer at the Fremont Hotel and Casino, at the Stardust, and at the MGM Grand that later became Bally's. He was a supervisor at Bally's and also taught in a dealers' school while he worked there, he became a pit manager, and ended up a vice president. Jimmy also worked in management at the Hilton and at Casesars Palace.

Helen Daseler was born in Denver, Colorado. She moved to Southern California and attended University High School in Los Angeles. She went to college at George Washington University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. She married Jack E. Daseler who was serving in the US Navy. The couple moved to Europe later and he worked as a teaching principal. The couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1961 and founded the Las Vegas Day School. Helen taught kidnergarten at the school for 39 years.

Source: