In room 402, a music room adorned with trophies, frames yearbook photos, and a row of student-ready guitars, left-leaning Nevadans prepared to take sides.

They filled up chairs along the three-tier riser, dividing themselves between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders supporters as part of the nation's First in the West caucus. All live in nearby precinct 6725; friends and neighbors by residence, not by political affiliation. They waited for excessive lines outside Sierra Vista High School -- located in a suburb 10 miles southwest of the Las Vegas Strip -- to dwindle enough for the caucusing to begin.

"The line is moving so slow we can't get our people in," said Jerilyn Gonzales, precinct captain and one of about two dozen caucus-goers in the classroom.

A tally scheduled to begin just before noon was pushed back over half an hour. Lines outside the suburban high school wrapped around the block and separated between last-minute attendees and a portion of the 31,000 Nevadans who pre-registered online for express check-in.

If it were up to Gonzales, Clinton would win the Democratic nomination, if only for what she offers the Latino community.

"She cares very much about the Hispanic situation, especially with DREAMers," Gonzales said. "They have such high goals and they're so smart. They need that advantage that they don't get in Mexico."

The Latino Vote

Clinton eventually won the Feb. 20 caucus by an eight-point margin over Sanders but lost the impressionable Latino voting bloc.

An NBC News exit poll found 53 percent of Latinos caucused for the Vermont senator, compared to 45 percent for Clinton, validating various entrance polls that had Sanders winning between eight and 11 percent of their vote.

What puzzles Clinton's camp is that she lost Hispanics despite winning Clark County, home to the state's largest Latino population.

Clinton lobbied Latina activists and actresses to join her in Las Vegas following the New Hampshire primary. She gave a heartfelt response during last week's Democratic town hall, vowing to repeal a law barring immigrations from returning once deported.

She even met with Hispanic cooks, casino blackjack dealers, and housekeepers along the Strip, some hours before the 11 a.m. caucus start time. Yet a majority of Latinos, the fastest-growing demographic in the country, sided with Sanders.

Team Housekeeping

Caesar's Palace was one of 250 caucus locations throughout the Silver State. Attendees walking towards the Milano 1 conference center were inundated with plum and aqua-colored campaign shirts, the latter in support of Clinton.

The avid group of 278 heard a caucus dictated almost entirely in Spanish. Some wore "Estoy Contigo" shirts in support of Clinton, other raised Spanish banners that read "La Boleta Bernie!", and one group - deemed Team Housekeeping - gathered under a raised sweeping broom.

"I have confidence in her. She is a smart, prepared woman who has fought for this. She encourages children, education, and women, and that convinced me," said Clara Watson, a Latina maid with Team Housekeeping. The group, made up of housekeepers from the Bellagio Hotel, wore dark blue "I'm with her" t-shirts over their work uniforms.

Watson added, "It's better that she doesn't promise a lot but follows through on what she promised for everyone. Mexicans, South Americans, immigrants. Everyone."

Team Housekeeping changed "Hillary, Hillary" as the rode an escalator down to the Caesar's Palace casino, united as they walked back next door.

Sanders and Millenials

Clinton garnered 20 percent of support from Latino under 30 years of age ahead of the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Expectations were just as high this time around, given the effort she put into the state.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the median age for Latinos in Nevada is 26 years old; the state's median age is 37. The age range is directly in Sanders' wheelhouse due in large part to the appeal he has with millennials, especially preparing to vote for the first time.

Exit polls following Saturday's caucus found 83 percent of voters age 24 or younger sided with Sanders. Those 45-year-old and up favored Clinton two-to-one.

Fledgling grassroots efforts that began in Vermont - with scarcely-attended stump speeches and word-of-mouth social media posts - brought pockets of success in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. Now Sanders has a presence in Nevada, where young volunteers like Gina Mizzoni spread the word.

"I love that he's motivated my often aloof and complacent generation to stand up and make our voices heard about what is best for America," Mizzoni said. "I've always been frustrated with how so many of my peers take part in the political process. But that's all changed now. Bernie has ignited a fire that I don't think will 'Bern' out for a long, long time."

Mizzoni was one of hundreds inside the Sierra Vista caucus site but was the only one carrying a black hand-made sign with red hearts, a crossed-out dollar sign, and raised text that read "We the people: not for sale."

For a 74-year-old senator to make such an impact with millennials is telling. Many are disenfranchised with the Clinton name. Others, ironically, want a fresh face detached from establishment politics. Sanders fit the bill on every end, and it appears to be drawing once-overlooked Latino and youth voter bases.

"I think that when you take into consideration that Bernie started with single-digit support, the fact that he's now neck-and-neck with Hillary speaks volumes," Mizzoni said. "This is truly a revolution."