Born April 1, 1940, in Virginia, Illinois, Howard McKibben lived at The Baby Fold orphanage in Normal, Illinois, until 1942, when he and his sister, Marian, were adopted by James and Bernice McKibben. Judge McKibben’s father was superintendent of schools, and his mother was an English and Latin teacher. Throughout his oral history, Judge McKibben expresses his gratitude to his adoptive parents for the love and values that inform his life and career, and adoption remains an important advocacy issue for him.

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was the reclusive billionaire, airline owner, aviator, government contractor, and film producer who would have a major impact on the future of Las Vegas after moving there in 1966. By the late 1960s, he owned six casinos on the Las Vegas Strip as well as other hotel-casinos and businesses around the state. Hughes was determined to rid Las Vegas of its ties to organized crime. His presence brought credibility to casino gambling as a business, and contributed to ushering in the era of corporate ownership of casinos.