Monday, June 1, 1998 | 10:31 a.m.
Pete Silvagni took great pride in being the grandson of Las Vegas pioneer hotelier P.O. Silvagni.
But independent of such inherited fame, he carved out a career as a real estate developer and broker for residential and business projects in growing Northwest Las Vegas and other areas of Southern Nevada.
A traditionalist, Silvagni, like most of his family, graduated from Bishop Gorman High School, played an excellent round of golf and helped Las Vegas grow into the Southwest boomtown it has become.
Peter Michael Silvagni, the grandson of the man who founded the Apache Hotel where Binion's Horseshoe hotel-casino now stands, died Thursday at his Las Vegas home following a lengthy battle with heart disease. He was 45 and the father of three small children.
Visitation for the Las Vegas resident of nearly 46 years will be noon-7 p.m. today at Palm Mortuary-Eastern. Services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. Graveside services will follow at Palm-Eastern.
"Peter was very proud of the history of his pioneer family and was always willing to tell people about it," Gina Silvagni-Perry, his sister and a local real estate developer and broker, said. "But he did his own thing."
That thing included the sale and development of large parcels of property along the Northwest corridor, including land along Jones Boulevard, Craig Road, Decatur Boulevard and Elkhorn Road.
He was a partner in the construction of the Partell Medical Center on Maryland Parkway. He also built a commercial complex at Sahara Avenue and Jones and numerous mini-warehouses throughout the city.
Peter was long associated with Prudential Southwest Real Estate, but left recently to join his sister in operating Heritage Realty, a firm founded in 1970 by his mother, Olivia Silvagni, who recently retired.
The Silvagni name has been a part of Las Vegas dating back to the late 1920s.
Peter was named after his grandfather, Pietro Ottavio Silvagni, who bought the property on the northwest corner of Fremont and Second streets from Dr. Roy Martin for $30,000. He then built the 100-room Apache Hotel, which opened on St. Patrick's Day 1931, and included a cafe, barber shop and a shoe store.
The Apache became a popular meeting place for locals, executives of the then-under-construction Hoover Dam and dignitaries from Washington, D.C.
In the 1950s, the Binion family entered into a a 99-year lease with P.O. Silvagni and the three-story hotel became the Horseshoe. The lease has been extended and now is set to expire in 2072, Gina Silvagni-Perry said.
Peter Silvagni was the son of the late Mike Silvagni, who oversaw the family's business empire, and the nephew of longtime Las Vegas businesswoman Olga Silvagni Moe, who died earlier this year.
Peter also was a cousin of the late Las Vegas City Commissioner Phil Mirabelli, who was the son of pioneer Las Vegas business leaders Charlie "Pop" Mirabelli and Filomena "Mom" Mirabelli. She was P.O. Silvagni's sister.
Born Nov. 29, 1952, in Oklahoma City, Peter Silvagni came to Las Vegas when he was six months old. He attended St. Joseph's and St. Anne's grammar schools before graduating from Bishop Gorman High School and the University of Southern California.
Peter was long plagued by heart problems and underwent five operations over the years.
In his prime, he was a scratch golfer and a charter member of Spanish Trails Country Club.
In addition to his mother and sister, Peter is survived by two sons, Michael Peter Silvagni and Nicholas Burton Silvagni; a daughter, Gianna Marie Silvagni; and another sister, Patricia Sears, all of Las Vegas.
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