By Rob Wiser, Photos: Tomas Musicionico

t pays to be a friend of Irwin Molasky, as Bill Clinton can attest. “He was trying to solicit my support when he was running for the [presidential] nomination, and we were playing golf together,” recalls the Las Vegas real estate icon. “On the 13th hole he had about a 30-foot putt, and he said ‘If I make the putt, will you vote for me?’ I said, ‘If you make the putt, I’ll campaign for you.’ It was a downhill, rolling curve, 30 feet, and sure enough he stepped up and knocked it right in the cup.”

Irwin Molasky has always associated himself with winners, whether it’s been in politics, Hollywood or horseracing. (His beloved Thoroughbred Kona Gold took home a Breeder’s Cup trophy, an experience Molasky calls “one of the most thrilling events of my life.”) But building is always what he has done best. From thousands of apartment units and houses to golf course communities, hotels, office buildings and shopping malls, Molasky has been a driving force behind Las Vegas’ evolution from cowboy gambling town to modern metropolis.

His projects have included the valley’s first modern, private hospital, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, which he built in 1958; its first enclosed shopping center, the Boulevard Mall, which arrived a decade later; and downtown’s first high-rise, the Bank of America Plaza.

Today, the view from his penthouse atop Park Towers, the $100 million luxury condominium complex he built in partnership with Steve Wynn, bears witness to the scope of his accomplishments. It was here that I paid a visit to the real estate magnate and his sons, Steven, Andrew, and Alan, each a significant figure in Las Vegas in his own right.

While relaxed and personable, Irwin Molasky didn’t achieve mogul status by beating around the bush. His every response is decisive, conveying an encyclopedic knowledge of building, which continues to be his driving passion at age 77. “There’s no looking back and pinching myself and saying how lucky I am, or anything like that,” he says. “There was certainly a lot of luck in it, but there’s also a lot of hard work.” ...

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