Award-winning poet and musician Norman Kaye was born Norman Kaaihue on September 22, 1922. He and his sister, Mary, were born into a Hawaiian show-business family, and played in their father's band, Johnny Kaaihue's Royal Hawaiians. After serving in the army during World War II, Kaye and his sister formed a group that evolved into the Mary Kaye Trio. They first played Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947.

Burton Cohen (1923-2014) was a casino executive in Las Vegas, Nevada who held management positions at iconic Strip properties such as the Frontier, Desert Inn, Flamingo, Caesars Palace, Thunderbird, and Dunes. Cohen grew up in Miami, Florida where he graduated from the University of Florida. During World War II he served in the Army Air Corps and trained as a pilot. After returning to the United States he enrolled at the University of Miami and earned a law degree in 1948.