Mary McCoy was born March 03, 1948 in Lancaster, New York. Her family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada on December 26, 1959. After graduating from Basic High School, McCoy immediately enrolled at Nevada Southern University, which was in the midst of growing into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). During the summer of 1967, she worked at the university's library moving books into the expanded facility. Though she altered her studies program from education to English, she continued to work at the library and continued the job after graduation.

Aaron Rosenthal grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in finance. He started in the gaming industry at The Mirage in 1997 by going through the Management Associate Program and working as a slot operations analyst. He then moved to the Beau Rivage in 2000 into the role of database marketing manager and eventually into the position of director of slot marketing.

Barbara Agonia was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1934. She graduated from Hanover College in southern Indiana in 1957 with a double major in English and speech/theater. Barbara taught English, speech, and theater in Illinois. In 1969, Barbara moved to Las Vegas where her sister lived and enrolled in a master's degree program in English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As she was completing her degree in 1971, she was hired by the Clark County Community College, which is now the College of Southern Nevada.

Stella Butterfield's family, the Goldbergs, was Jewish, and she was born in the Bronx. During World War II she worked for the Coast Guard in the steno pool in Washington, D.C. Stella moved to Santa Monica a few years later while the war was still going on and worked briefly as a riveter for Douglas Aircraft and then as a teletype operator for the Air Force but at Douglas Aircraft. Because she had a hard time getting a job because of antisemitism, she changed her name to Gilbert.

Leonard Fayle, son of George and Jean Fayle, was born in 1904 in Barstow, California and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1926. After completing his education, Leonard moved to Delano, California where he owned and operated a tire store for eleven years. It was while living in California that Leonard met his wife, Anna Trapnell. The couple married in 1932 and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada during World War II.Involvement in local civic and fraternal organizations was important to Leonard and Anna.

Marvelys Lopez-Omaña is a Venezuelan immigrant. Marvelys first arrived in Las Vegas in 1993 as a 17-year-old high school exchange student at Western High School. Her host family, who were Mormons, warmly welcomed the Catholic teenager and became fast friends.

Born in Sri Lanka [formerly Ceylon] in 1970 into a middle-class family, entrepreneur and Realtor Sanje Sedera speaks of his childhood, his Buddhist home life, and his schooling; of learning English during his two years as a high school exchange student in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; of returning to Sri Lanka to complete high school, and of arriving in the U.S. in 1992 on a student visa to attend Idaho State University.