Irwin Molasky (February 22, 1927 – July 4, 2020) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist from

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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. He was the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies.

Early life

Irwin Molasky was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family on February 22, 1927 in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

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. Molasky moved with his family to

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. He served in the

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after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His father ran an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

newspaper distribution business and managed several apartments.A.D. Hoplinkas
Irwin Molasky
''

Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal' ...

'', September 12, 1999 Molasky went to a military high school and attended college and worked during summers as a teenager. He attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and transferred to the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA), but did not graduate from either institution. Instead, he worked his way up in construction.

Real estate development

Molasky moved to

in 1951. Soon after arriving he bought property and built an 18-room motel, The Pyramids. With

Moe Dalitz Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las ...

, Allard Roen and Merv Adelson, he founded Paradise Development, a real estate development company in the 1950s.Ed Koch
Desert Inn, Stardust chief helped integrate Las Vegas Strip
''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now ...

'', September 1, 2008 Together, they founded the Sunrise Hospital, the Boulevard Mall and the

Las Vegas Country Club The Las Vegas Country Club is a private membership club located in the Winchester area of metropolitan Las Vegas, Nevada. History It was built on the site of a 1950s horse and automobile racetrack named Las Vegas Park and later the Las Vegas Pa ...

. Later, they also developed the La Costa Resort and Spa in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

. Meanwhile, Molasky became the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies, a real estate development company.University of Nevada, Las Vegas: Lee Business School: Business Hall of Fame Inductee: Irwin Molasky
/ref>Nathan Adelson Hospice: Board of Trustees: Irwin Molasky
/ref>
/ref> He has built the first master-planned community, Paradise Palms and the first high-rise office building in Las Vegas, the 17-story Bank of American Plaza; and the Nathan Adelson Hospice. Additionally, he helped find the right location for the

McCarran International Airport Harry Reid International Airport , formerly known as McCarran International Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located south of downtown Las Vega ...

and assisted with the land purchase for the

Las Vegas Convention Center The Las Vegas Convention Center (commonly referred to as LVCC) is a convention center in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As one of the largest convention centers in the world, it ...

. Moreover, he built the

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Headquarters in Las Vegas, the

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building in Las Vegas, the Casa Grande Re-entry Facility for the State of Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Clark County Detention Facility. Molasky also purchased the Regency Towers high-rise condominium tower after it went into foreclosure in the 1970s. Molasky and

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn ( Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He was known for his involvement in the luxury casino and hotel industry, prior to being forced to step down in 2018. Early in his care ...

later built the Park Towers high-rise condominiums, completed in 2001. In 2007, his company completed the Molasky Corporate Center in

downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming Las Vegas, Downtown Gaming Area was the primary gambl ...

. It is a

green building Green building (also known as green construction, sustainable building, or eco-friendly building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's li ...

used for office space, and is the only building by Molasky to use his name.

Television production

With Merv Adelson and

Lee Rich Lee Rich (December 19, 1918 – May 24, 2012) was an American film and television producer, who won the 1973 Outstanding Drama Series Emmy award for ''The Waltons'' as the producer. He is also known as the co-founder and former chairman of ...

, he was a co-founder of

Lorimar Productions Lorimar Television, formerly Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969

, a conglomerate of

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broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

, and print companies. He also served on its board of directors. Molasky admitted in an interview with ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' that he used the company as a "tax shelter."

Equestrianism

Molasky owned racehorses with trainer Bruce Headley. One of his horses was Kona Gold.

Philanthropy

Molasky was a key figure in the development of the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

through a donation of of prime land at Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway. He also served as the Founding Chairman of the UNLV Foundation, the fundraising arm of the university. Molasky served on the board of directors of Project REAL, a non-profit organization that teaches "principles of democracy, law and the responsibilities of citizenship" to schoolchildren in Las Vegas. The Molasky Junior High School in Las Vegas is named in his honor. Molasky was one of the founders of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.

Personal life and death

Molasky was married to Pepie (Bookbinder) Molasky. He then married Susan (Frey) Molasky. He has three sons and a daughter, all of whom work at The Molasky Group of Companies. * In 1998, Irwin & Susan Molasky Junior High School, a middle school in

, opened in his and his second wife’s honor. Molasky died of natural causes on July 4, 2020, at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molasky, Irwin 1927 births 2020 deaths Businesspeople from St. Louis Military personnel from St. Louis Businesspeople from the Las Vegas Valley American businesspeople in real estate American racehorse owners and breeders University of Nevada, Las Vegas people American philanthropists Ohio State University alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century American Jews