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

Twenty-five years ago, people began leaving T-shirts, flags, flowers, photographs and handwritten messages outside the Statue of Liberty replica at New York-New York hotel-casino.

What began spontaneously in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks eventually grew into a collection of more than 6,000 pieces. The mementos became a record of how people thousands of miles from Ground Zero in Las Vegas mourned the dead.

On Friday, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, MGM Resorts International employees, veterans and others gathered at the Strip resort to remember the 2,977 people killed that day and recognize the first responders, military members and others whose lives were changed by the attacks.

The ceremony also marked the transfer of additional items from the New York-New York memorial to UNLV Special Collections and Archives, where thousands of pieces left at the resort have already been preserved.

Robert Stenger, vice president of casino operations at New York-New York, was working at the resort on the morning of 9/11. He recalled the initial fear and uncertainty as news of the attacks unfolded, followed by the realization among employees that they still had guests to care for.

“We still had a job to do,” said Stenger.

With commercial air travel halted, some Las Vegas visitors were stranded for days. Stenger said New York-New York employees focused on supporting one another while continuing to take care of those guests.

The resort also had an unusually direct symbolic connection 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 great 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, a memorial began taking 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 eventually became a gathering point for people who could not travel to New York but wanted somewhere to express their grief and support.

John Flynn, MGM Resorts’ senior vice president of global security and aviation, said the location gave people in Las Vegas a tangible place 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 closer for people to be able to rally around.”

Flynn was an Air Force second lieutenant in pilot training when the attacks occurred. His military mission, he said, changed virtually overnight. He deployed in early 2002 in support of operations in Afghanistan and later supported operations in Iraq.

Twenty-five years later, Flynn said the attacks also continue to influence how resorts think about security. Training has increased, security teams have grown and technology has advanced.

He said guests’ attitudes toward a visible security presence have changed as well.

Years ago, guests might have wondered why security officers or canines were visible 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 held by UNLV 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 it contains more than 6,000 items. About 5,000 are T-shirts. The collection also includes flags, artificial flowers, notes, poems and other materials.

“It’s such a massive collection,” he said. “It’s probably one of the biggest ones that we have.”

Some of its most affecting objects, however, are among its most personal.

“A lot of the personal notes that people left, obituaries and funeral programs too,” said Taketomo. “Seeing the real people that were affected by this is really powerful.”

Taketomo, who is from northern New Jersey, said going through the collection ahead of the anniversary was emotional.

“I’m really happy that we’re keeping the memory of this alive,” he said, “and that we’re taking care of these things that mean so much to so many people.”

During Friday’s ceremony, officials said additional mementos left at New York-New York in the years since the original memorial would be transferred to UNLV to join the collection.

The observance concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony and moment of silence. Attendees were also encouraged to participate in a blood drive at the resort as part of the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“May we never forget,” Flynn said.