David R. Wasserman was born on December 3, 1944 in Newark, New Jersey. In 1966 he graduated from Rutgers University with his bachelors in Zoology. In 1970 he received his Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. Upon graduation he served two years of active duty as a captain in the United States Air Force Dental Corps at Nellis Air Force Base.

Sam Boyd and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1941 and he began working as a card dealer. He moved up to a pit boss and then to a shift boss and saved enough money to buy a small interest in the Sahara Hotel and Casino. He became general manager and partner at the Mint Hotel and Casino where he developed a number of marketing, gaming, and entertainment innovations.