25 years later, Las Vegas remembers 9/11 at New York-New York

Twenty‑five years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Las Vegas marked the anniversary at the New York‑New York hotel‑casino on the Strip. On the Friday that coincided with the 25th day of the attacks, MGM Resorts International employees, veterans and members of the public gathered at the property to honor the 2,977 people killed that day and to acknowledge first responders, military personnel and others whose lives were altered by the tragedy. Robert Stenger, vice president of casino operations at New York‑New York, was working at the resort the morning of Sept. 11. He recalled the initial fear and uncertainty as the events unfolded, followed by the realization among staff that they still had guests to attend to. “ We still had a job to do, ” said Stenger. With commercial air travel halted, many Las Vegas visitors were stranded for several days. Stenger said New York‑New York employees focused on supporting one another while continuing to care for those guests. He also noted the resort’s direct symbolic link to the city under attack. “ When the tragedy unfolded for New York, New York, the connection to that city — I mean, obviously we have a large memorial here and an incredible connection to that city, ” he said while standing beneath the replica of Lady Liberty. “ When that happened, our hearts went out to everybody and everyone that was involved. ” Outside the hotel, a spontaneous memorial began to take shape. Stenger said it started with a few people leaving T‑shirts, hats and teddy bears and “ just kind of grew and grew and grew. ” The Statue of Liberty replica became a gathering point for those unable to travel to New York but who wanted a place to express grief and solidarity. John Flynn, MGM Resorts’ senior vice president of global security and aviation, said the memorial gave Las Vegas residents a tangible way to respond to the attacks. “ If everybody could have gone to Ground Zero and showed their support, they would have, ” he said. “ And so this was close for people to be able to rally around. ” Flynn, who was an Air Force 2nd lieutenant in aviator training when the attacks occurred, said his military mission changed virtually overnight. He deployed in early 2002 in support of operations in Afghanistan and later assisted with operations in Iraq. Twenty‑five years on, Flynn observed that the attacks continue to shape resort security thinking. Training has expanded, security teams have grown and technology has advanced. He added that guest attitudes toward a visible security presence have shifted as well. “ Years ago, guests might have wondered why security officers or canines were present at a resort, ” Flynn said. “ Today, the reaction is more likely to be: ‘Thank you. Thank you for doing that.’ ” ### Thousands of pieces of history The collection now housed at UNLV Special Collections and Archives provides a physical record of the memorial that emerged at New York‑New York. Kristian Taketomo, curator for gaming collections at UNLV Special Collections and Archives, said the archive holds more than 6,000 items, about 5,000 of which are T‑shirts. The assemblage also includes flags, artificial flowers, notes, poems and other