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.
George Rudiak (1915 – 1995) was born in Moscow, Russia. At the age of five, George emigrated with his Jewish parents to the United States in 1920. He was raised in Los Angeles, California and received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1942.
1942 was the same year the draft into armed services dogged him. Rather than be drafted, he chose to enlist in the US Army Corps. The same year he married the energetic Gertrude (née Rightman) Rudiak.