Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian (born June 6, 1917) is an American billionaire, and president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping the city of Las Vegas, Nevada and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr. the "father of the megaresort." Kerkorian splits his time between his residences in Beverly Hills and Nevada. One of the richest residents of Beverly Hills, …

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946 in Queens, New York, New York) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, television personality and author. He is the CEO of Trump Organization, an American-based real estate developer, and the founder of Trump Entertainment, which operates several casinos. He received a great deal of publicity following the success of his reality television show, …

John Eric Ensign (born 25 March 1958) is the junior United States Senator from Nevada. He is a member of the Republican Party, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and was recently re-elected in the 2006 midterm elections.

Stanley Ho, GBS (born November 25, 1921), also known as Ho Hung-sun, Stanley Ho Hung-sun, is an entrepreneur in Hong Kong and Macau. Ho is sometimes nicknamed "The King of Gambling", reflecting the government-granted monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for over 35 years. Ho is the wealthiest person in Macau, and one of the wealthiest in Asia.

Stephen Alan Wynn (born January 27, 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut) is a casino resort developer. He is credited with spearheading the dramatic resurgence and expansion of the Las Vegas Strip in the 1990s. Wynn currently lives with his wife in a suite at Wynn Las Vegas, until their home in the Southern Highlands Golf Club is completed. Wynn suffers from retinitis pigmentosa which affects his peripheral vision and therefore his interaction with proximate objects.

Sheldon Gary Adelson (born August 1, 1933) is an American billionaire businessman. He is a property developer and public company CEO based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates the Venetian Casino Resort and the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Lester Ben "Benny" Binion (November 20, 1904 - December 25, 1989) was a well known American casino owner and poker enthusiast.

Calvin Ayre (born May 25, 1961 in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada) is the Founder of the Bodog Entertainment Group, which he launched in 1994. A resident of Antigua, Ayre was featured as the cover story for Forbes Magazine's 2006 Billionaires issue. In 1996, Calvin Ayre reached a settlement without a hearing with the British Columbia Securities Commission for violations of the Securities Act, S.B.C. 1985, c. 83.

Marian Ilitch (aka Malina Bayoff Ilitch) was born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, the daughter of Macedonian immigrants. She met her future husband Mike Ilitch in 1954 when the two went on a blind date arranged by his father. A year later, they were married. They have seven children. The Ilitch's founded Little Caesars Pizza in 1959 and have expanded their interests to include restaurants, entertainment, sports and gambling.

Peter Dicks is the former chairman of Sportingbet PLC, one of the world's largest sportsbooks and online gambling operations. Mr. Dicks achieved notability when he was arrested on September 7, 2006 while in transit at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was detained by U.S. Customs officials under an outstanding warrant issued by the state of Louisiana. The warrant charges Mr. Dicks with running a gambling enterprise by computer, …

Lonnie Theodore "Ted" Binion (November 28, 1943 -September 17, 1998 in Las Vegas, Nevada) was a wealthy gambling executive and one of the sons of famed Las Vegas casino magnate Lester Ben "Benny" Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe. Binion had a brother, Jack, and three sisters: Becky, Brenda, and Barbara.

Nigel Payne (born March 1960) is the former Group Chief Executive and current Executive Director of Sportingbet Plc, which operates a network of bookingmaking websites, as well as the Paradise Poker online poker room. A native of the United Kingdom, Payne has long been an outspoken critic of bans on online gambling; he appears regularly on news programs such as 60 minutes. He is an ardent supporter of legalization and regulation of the industry.

Jay Sarno was a Las Vegas business entrepreneur who owned several high-profile hotels. He was the creator of the Caesars Palace hotel and the Circus Circus, and many credit him with being the father of today's more family-oriented Las Vegas. Ironically, although Sarno seemed to believe that Las Vegas could survive with fewer gamblers and more families visiting, he was himself a gambler. His former wife, Joyce Sarno Keys, once declared that, during one day of gambling, …

Yip Hon was a gambling tycoon in South China. His wealth was estimated to be HK$ 100 million. In his childhood, he stayed in Kong Mun of Kwangtung and usually participated in gambling with his pocket money. He got a nick of "Kwai Wong" (鬼王), namely "Ghost King". In his adulthood, he was in Macau and worked for a casino of gambling tycoon Fu Lo Yung (傅老榕) and helped to crack down "Teng Sik Tong" (聽骰黨), …

Bob Stupak (born April 6, 1942 in Pittsburgh) is a well-known Las Vegas casino owner and entrepreneur. He is the son of Chester Stupak, a man who operated the longest running floating craps game in Pittsburgh. Once the younger Stupak reached legal age, he moved to Vegas and started a coupon book venture. He sold books full of two-for-ones and other items. Stupak later moved to Australia to pursue a similar business venture, …

John D. "Jackie" Gaughan, Sr. (born October 24, 1920) is a casino owner and operator from the early 1950s in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jackie is a native of Omaha, Nebraska who currently calls the El Cortez home.

William Fisk Harrah was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos.

Gary Michael Green was once known as one of America's most intense folk singers, civil rights and union organizers and advocate of Native American rights. His three record albums, recorded in the 1970s on New York’s legendary Folkways records became part of the Smithsonian’s collection in the 1980s.

Jay Cohen (born 1968) was the CEO of World Sports Exchange (WSEX), an online gambling company from 1996 until July 24, 2000, when he was the first United States citizen to be convicted in US Federal Court for violation of the Federal Wire Act for operating an online gambling company from a jurisdiction where it was legal and regulated. As of August 2006, Cohen remains the only executive of a legally licensed (in Cohen's case, …

David Carruthers (born September, 1957 in Edinburgh, Scotland) was the CEO and a board member of online gambling company BETonSPORTS Plc. He served as CEO from July 2000 until July 24, 2006. He was arrested in the United States on July 16, 2006 on charges related to his role as CEO of that company and is currently under house arrest at a hotel in St. Louis awaiting a trial expected in early 2007. Carruthers is an advocate of online gambling regulation.

Michael J. Malik, Sr. (born February 1954) is a self-proclaimed developer and entrepreneur from Detroit, Michigan who resides in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. Since the early 1990s he and his partner Marian Ilitch have been catalysts for legalization of gambling and development of gambling halls from coast to coast and in Hawaii.

Samuel A. "Sam" Boyd (April 23 1910-1993), born in Enid, Oklahoma, arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1941 with only $80 in his pocket. He was able to work his way up through the gaming industry by first working as a dealer, then as a pit boss, and as a shift supervisor. Eventually he saved enough money to buy an interest in the Sahara Hotel. Sam then moved on to become general manager and partner at The Mint in downtown Las Vegas, …

Milton Prell was a casino owner and developer most notable for his projects in Las Vegas. He was also good friends with Colonel Tom Parker, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley. Prell started in the gambling business with a bingo palace in California. Prell ordered that the prizes were to be given out honestly to the players and word got out that the place was honest.

Sidney "Sid" Wyman, (St. Louis, Missouri, June 1910-June 1978) was a famous poker player and hotel owner in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wyman was co-owner of several Las Vegas casinos including the Sands, Riviera, Royal Nevada and The Dunes. Wyman was a highly skilled poker player, regarded as one of the best in the world in his day. His favorite game was Texas hold 'em, which has become popular today. In 1979, Wyman was made a charter member of the Poker Hall of Fame, …

Beldon Katleman (1914-1988), casino owner, widely credited with originating the idea of the Las Vegas all you can eat buffet. From the late 1940s until it was destroyed by fire in 1960, he owned and operated El Rancho Vegas, Las Vegas' first resort hotel and casino. In 1947 Katleman, in an effort to keep patrons in his casino, came up with the idea of the $1 Midnight Chuck Wagon Buffet, the predecessor to the sumptuous buffets now found in virtually every Las Vegas hotel.

Anthony "Admiral" Cornero (August 18, 1899-July 31, 1955) was an organized crime figure in Southern California from the 1920s through the 1950s. He later became one of the first gangsters to become involved in syndicate-backed casinos in Las Vegas, specifically the "Stardust" on the Las Vegas Strip.