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On the 16th anniversary of 9/11, I wondered if anyone on staff could share firsthand accounts of what Vegas was like on that day.
With bell-ringing, public tributes, moments of silence, and private prayers, today we commemorate events that touched all Americans and people around the world. Thanks to this question, we here at the Las Vegas Advisor and Huntington Press remember the shock of that day 16 years ago, and its grief and aftermath.
We put the question to a handful of our authors, whom we thought could best express accounts of what it was like in Las Vegas.
Jean Scott
When disaster struck on September 11, 2001, all Las Vegas eyes were glued to the TV, just like anywhere else.
For a few days life seemed to stand still, even when we wandered around doing necessary tasks, our pain so great we could barely breathe.
The normally raucous casino atmosphere was strangely quiet, with most of the gamblers scattered around only because their planes had been grounded and left them stuck in a place where they really didn't want to be. Everyone longed to be home—where most Las Vegans were whenever that was possible.
Barney Vinson
Unfortunately, it was a day like all the others at Caesars Palace, where I was a casino supervisor. The cards kept turning, the roulette wheel kept spinning, the dice kept tumbling. In the lounges, the TVs were blaring the dreadful news and customers and employees alike were shocked that such a thing was happening right here in our country. What the hell was going on?
Still, it wasn't enough to stop the action, and the day rolled along. But once the planes stopped flying to Vegas, reality set in. In the following weeks, tourism sputtered to a halt and for a while, it looked like the town would never be the same again.
But life goes on. With terrorism rampant around the world, Vegas is right back where it always was, thumbing its nose at convention and giving its visitors a moment in time to forget the bad stuff. And that's what it's always been about.
Brian Rouff
Basically, I cancelled all my business meetings, stayed home, and watched TV. So I have no idea what the rest of Vegas was like.
Interesting sidebar, perhaps: My wife called the real estate broker she was working for at the time to see if she was closing the office for the day. The broker, one of the craziest people I’ve ever known and not institutionalized, said, “I’m not shutting down my business simply because a few planes flew into some buildings.”
Needless to say, my wife quit soon after.
Deke Castleman
I wasn’t in Las Vegas that day, so I only heard about it second-hand. I recall hearing how eerie and quiet the whole city was — no planes flying in and out; no traffic on the Strip; many people huddled in sports books watching the big screens tuned to news stations; the restaurants and bars all hushed; no lines anywhere.
By contrast, traffic leaving was bumper-to-bumper for 24 hours. With all airplanes grounded, the rental-car companies waived the one-way fees and quickly ran out of cars. Some high rollers bought cars or rented limos to get home. One limo company reported transporting a passenger all the way to New York.
But my strongest memory is hearing about the display of memorabilia that spontaneously sprung up along the fence in front of the Statue of Liberty at New York-New York. Someone set up a couple of card tables and other people dropped off T-shirts, hats, cards, plaques, or just handwritten notes, some from police and fire fighters from around the country. All to give thanks and show support.
I was scheduled to fly in on the 15th, that Saturday. The planes out of Reno started flying a day earlier and I was surprised that I didn’t have to change my reservation. There was a lot of commotion at the airport as they tried to kick start the airline system; the anxiety on that plane was palpable.
When I arrived, Anthony Curtis picked me up and we drove slowly past the display on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and the Strip. Vegas was still reeling. But the big news concerned the layoffs of casino employees in the sudden and extreme downturn in visitation and business. Many weren't rehired and left. It took a long time for the city to recover.
Anthony Curtis
I learned about it at home while getting ready for work. I had a live-in nanny at the time because I was a single dad and she called me into the living room to watch the news. It was a strange day at work. Our receptionist, who was young and new on the job, was most affected. Her mother kept calling and imploring her to come home, because she was scared to be alone. I let her go. TVs and radios were on, but customers came in as usual to get their MRBs and buy books. They were on vacation and some didn’t even know what was happening. Pretty surreal.